Author: Todd Raphael

A number of things you may not have known about work and life.

Percentage of her life Hillary Clinton has lived in New York:

3/10 of one percent

 

Countries traveled to by Workforce global HR writer Charlene Solomon
20

 

Number of foodservice employees among the Three Men in a Tub:
2

 

Billions of dollars by which President Clinton increased taxes in 1993:
253

 

Number of additional tax increases President Clinton proposed in his Discretionary Spending Offsets Act for Fiscal Year 2000:
75

 

Percent by which Clinton reduced the welfare rolls:
48

 

Percent of jobs created during Clinton administration that are private sector:
92

 

Dollars you would make in one day in 1913 if your boss was Henry Ford:
5

 

Age of British man who held up a school headmaster on January 13, 2000, with a fake plastic gun:
70

 

Age of Derrick Seaver, candidate for the Ohio senate, when he was interviewed by Workforce.com in January 2000:
17

 

Number of the 50 states in which the gap between the richest 20% and the poorest 20% of families is wider than it was 20 years ago:
46

 

Percentage of Americans in 2001 who will be non-Hispanic and White:
71

 

Percentage of Ivy League students that Pat Buchanan says should be Christian and European Americans:
75

 

Colors of hair, combined, worn by Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley on an average day at work:
0

 

Colors of hair worn by Dennis Rodman on an average day at work:
3

 

NBA championship rings, combined, belonging to Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley:
0

 

NBA championship rings belonging to Dennis Rodman:
4

 

Hours after childbirth insurers must cover your hospital stay:
48

 

Hours after C-section insurers must cover your hospital stay:
72

 

Percentage of Workforce.com News Poll respondents who say their office most closely resembles the TV show ER:
58

 

Percentage of Workforce.com News Poll respondents who say their office most closely resembles the TV show Ally McBeal:
3

 

Rank of the word “Plastics” in the most-quoted lines from the movie The Graduate:
2

 

Words Lloyd Dobbler, hero of the 1989 hit movie Say Anything, used when responding to the question, “What do you plan to do for a living?”:
122

 

Female U.S. Attorneys-General before Janet Reno:
0

 

Female U.S. Secretaries of State before Madeleine Albright:
0

 

Approximate number of visitors to Workforce.com from the country of Mauritius on one randomly-chosen day:
2

 

Approximate number of visitors to Workforce.com from the Slovak Republic on one randomly-chosen day:
5

 

Thousands of dollars spent to purchase Babe Ruth:
125

 

Millions of dollars spent to purchase Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Kevin Brown:
105

 

Years Jerry Springer spent as Cincinnati City Councilman and Mayor:
10

 

Emmies won by Jerry Springer as a political reporter:
10

 

Personalities belonging to one former guest of the Jerry Springer show:
15

 

Number of times the word “online” appears in a 1996 Scrabble® Dictionary:
0

 

Current value of Ebay’s stock, in billions of dollars:
18.6

 

Percentage decrease in the value of Rite Aid’s Stock, 1999:
73.6

 

Millions of dollars to be spent over the Internet on prescription drugs this year:
450

 

Pages of Workforce magazine which Drew Carey reportedly skips each month in preparation for his show:
0

 

Notes: Hillary C. born 10/26/47 and moved to Chapaqua 1/6/00…Her husband’s welfare and job-creation stats are from whitehouse.gov… Charlene’s been to England, Wales, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Israel, Cyprus, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Canada, Mexico, the Bajamas, Japan (where she lived for two years), the United States and Jamaica. …Income gap information from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute…Population figures from the U.S. Census Population Projections Program…Buchanan’s suggestion to limit the number of non-white Christians at top colleges made in his 11/28/99 New York Post column…Henry Ford info from 12/27/98 Detroit News…Plastic gun story from Reuters…Online drug info from The Industry Standard and Forrester…The Graduate info from www.homevideos.com; the most-quoted line is ‘Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Robinson?’ …The Butcher, Baker and Candlestick maker were in the Three Men in the Tub poem…Drew Carey’s staff tells us he reads the publication cover to cover…Dobbler’s speech is as follows: “A career? I’ve thought about this quite a bit sir and I would have to say considering what’s waiting out there for me, I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed or buy anything sold or processed or repair anything sold, bought or processed as a career. I don’t want to do that. My father’s in the army. He wants me to join, but I can’t work for that corporation, so what I’ve been doing lately is kick-boxing, which is a new sport…as far as career longevity, I don’t really know. I can’t figure it all out tonight, sir, so I’m just gonna hang with your daughter.”

Derrick Seaver, who this month becomes old enough to vote, is running for state representative in Ohio’s 85^th district, which lies near Dayton and includes Wapakoneta, the hometown of Neil Armstrong.

Seaver talked to Workforce about his campaign plans, his platform and his generation.

 

Workforce: Tell me a little about you. What you’re into.

Seaver:: Well, politics dominates my time, especially these days. However, I enjoy professional athletics and I have a girlfriend who I have been dating for a year and half. I consider myself a pretty popular person and I enjoy all forms of social interaction. It goes with the territory.

 

Workforce: Why are you running? Why are there no other Democrats running?

Seaver:: I’m running for the same reason that I hope all candidates run. I care for the people of the district that I live in and I believe my opinions and viewpoints are good for the district. I feel that now is as good of time as any to express them publicly.

There are four Republicans vying for the position, and their names are Dave Shiffer, Richard Herron, Bill Ross and John Adams. I don’t know much about them individually, except maybe their professions.

No other Democrats are running because of the Republican stronghold on this area. They believe that I am probably what they need to break it, because of the novelty, the free press, and the excitement.

 

Workforce: How are you campaigning?

Seaver:: Lately, I’ve taken my campaign to two fronts.

I have made appearances on the CBS Early Show and the Ohio News Network—’Ohio’s Talking’ program. I have also been included in many newspaper articles and radio shows.

More importantly than the media aspect, I have been scheduled to speak at nine local organizations over the next three weeks. I feel that this is the most important of a campaign that I have vowed to keep on the grassroots and in the hands of the people. I look forward to taking these one day at a time, and spreading my message across the district.

Workforce: Have your opponents acknowledged your presence in the race?

Seaver:: No they haven’t, due to their own primary. They have their priorities set like that, as I would too. (But) the media has been more than good to me, from the local to the national level.

 

Workforce: What do you care about?

Seaver:: Education, abortion, gun rights, agriculture, and campaign finance reform make my “plank.”

I am anti-vouchers, and anti-proficiency testing. I am pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment. I am in favor of extending low-interest deposit loans to small farmers. I am an agricultural preservationist, and oppose most forms of corporate farming. I am in favor of hard campaign finance reform.

 

Workforce: Who will you hire to do constituent services? Other folks in your graduating class?

Seaver:: No, currently I have a five-person committee. The head of that committee is my 34-year old history teacher, who is a life-long conservative Republican.

 

Workforce: If you hire a 40-year-old, or a 60-year-old, will that be a little awkward?

Seaver:: Not at all, those are the kind of people I would like to represent.

 

Workforce: What’s the difference between the people your generation and people in their late 20s and 30s, Generation X? Is there more of a “go-getter” attitude?

Seaver:: People my age tend to me more apathetic, as opposed to the overly politically active people of a generation past. But there are exceptions to both rules. Technology makes politics a lot easier, and I’m pleased to be knowledgeable in it.

 

Workforce: Is the older generation taking you seriously, or are they treating you like a novelty?

Seaver:: The older generation thinks, for the most part, that I am something that all generations need to see. It breaks the apathetic mold of my own generation. The novelty is there, of course, and it is a good thing too.

T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the store,
Few employees were working; the rest were quite bored.

The network was down; there wasn’t a spare,
Even the IT folks were pulling out their hair.

Gen X-ers played football, the endzone a desk,
The Boomers rolled eyes and belittled these pests.
The quarterback Shawn got a cut on her face,
I knew that soon OSHA would visit this place.

Then straight from my briefcase there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my cubicle to see what was the matter.
The cell phone was ringing, I knew it quite clear,
My emotions were torn ‘tween curiousity and fear.

The voice on the end of the phone gave me pause,
It wasn’t Bill Gates, and not Santa Claus.

What to my joyous ears should I hear,
But the sound of HR, somewhere very far from here.

With a little old voice, so sweet and inspired,
They told me our firm had just been acquired.
From London and Brisbon and Lima they came,
A multinational conglomerate, I forgot the name.
No downsizing! No layoffs! No TQM and firings!
On hope! On faith! On plenty of hirings!
To the top of the world! To the top of Wall Street!
A buyout awaits! This offer can’t be beat!

A dream job was here, and no one could stop me,
Not even Ms. Reno could call this a monopoly.

So off to the blue cooler I flew,
I settled for water, though it was high time for brew.

I smiled with glee, and jumped up and down,
Our HMO would finally include ultrasound.

Our 401(k) plan, which now wasn’t nice,
Would soon be administered by T. Rowe Price.

I’d now have to comply with the FMLA,
But my son and I would have three months to play.

Training employees would involve lots of red tape,
But my budget would rise by a factor of eight.

Candidates would flock to the ‘Net for our jobs,
Our rivals need resumes; we would have gobs.

Our name would include an ‘e’ and ‘dot com,’
No one would know why but my four-year-old Tom.

We’d outsource the payroll and more paperwork,
They’d reassign stuff that drove me berzerk.

I knew not the details, only one major fact,
This was finally a chance to make a real impact.

My greatest joy, I have to reveal,
That the CEO was the only one gone in the deal.

I sprang to the intercom, and got down on my knees,
Hit pound thirty-four to page employees.
I told them what happened, and about the White Knight,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Add Your Own Lines

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Ever have a new employee come in the place? He or she does the tour of the warehouse, and the next day forgets who everyone is.

Try this: When a key employee is hired, have other employees who will be working with that employee bring something in about themselves. Each of these veterans will give this object to the new kid on the block to hold on to permanently.

It could be a magazine article that person recently read and enjoyed; a photo; a joke; food; or an item they built or broke in the back of the plant.

The new employee will have something tangible to keep, allowing this new hire to remember not only each person introduced, but something unique about them. And it will be something good to laugh at a few months down the road.

The 1990s have been a decade of work/life awareness, from finally appreciating the family to cracking under pressure. And this awareness has been reflected in the movies that Hollywood has been pushing out. Here are some of the work/life movies we have most enjoyed.

When you’re done, add your own favorite movies.

Regarding Henry

1991

A powerful and emotional Harrison Ford movie about work/life balance and family. Take your attorney to see it.

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

Jodie Foster’s work takes over her life. Creepiness takes over ours.

City Slickers

1991

The one movie here about escaping from work; Billy Crystal is sick of his gig selling radio time. Funny, good acting and a good message.

Glengarry Glen Ross

1992

Notice to employer: This movie not to be used as a sales training video.

Falling Down

1993

One of Michael Douglas’ many work/life movies, this was about an L.A. man on a rampage after his job pushes him to the end of his rope.

The War Room

1993

Fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary about life working on The Slick One’s first campaign victory. Stars James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.

Swimming With Sharks

1995

Frank Whaley tries to climb the ladder of success by playing Hollywood assistant to abusive employer Kevin Spacey.

Heat

1995

Starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, whose family relationships suffer while trying to do his job.

American Beauty

1999

Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening show you what can happen to a family that suffers from work/life imbalance in the ‘burbs.

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When conducting a job interview, do you ask the candidate what he or she learned about your company from the visit to your Web site they conducted in preparation?

Here are some advantages of using this line of questioning:

• You’ll learn how what image your company is projecting, and whether that image is the one you want possible applicants to have of your firm.

• You’ll learn how much research a candidate has done in preparation for the interview.

• You’ll learn how the candidate thinks. Take an instance in which you worked in HR for Saturn, and you asked a candidate how she would change the Saturn site. A candidate could answer: “It’s interesting that you offer your customers an opportunity to build their own Saturn. What I’d do however, is ask them a little more about themselves first. How big their family is, what their safety concerns are, how low they’re trying to keep their insurance rates, etc. Then I’d the use the Web site to help them build the car, making suggestions for them …”

• You’ll learn about the candidate’s knowledge/interest level about your industry. A candidate could answer: “I was really impressed with your Saturn Web site. But what they’re doing at Chrysler is pretty interesting too …”

• You’ll get an idea whether the candidate generally the sees a “big picture,” the little details, or both (of course, the type of person you’re looking for will likely vary from job to job). A big-picture candidate answer: “You’re obviously doing a great job of selling the Saturn concept online. I got the impression this was a car I wanted …” A detail-person answer: “I was impressed with your site. It was really easy to find the address of my local dealer. You might want to add in the e-mail address of that dealer.”

Many Workforce members have for years been using the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to hire disadvantaged job candidates who may otherwise have been shut out of the work force.

When President Clinton recently rejected an $800 tax bill, which included an extension of the expiring WOTC, it left the fate of the tax credit up in the air. In an exclusive interview with Workforce, Rep. Amo Houghton, a New York Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, talks about the prospect of a special “extender” bill that would revive the WOTC. He also discusses what Workforce members can do to influence the congressional process, why Congress keeps toying with the tax code, and what’s happening with the minimum wage.

Workforce:

So it looks like the big tax cut bill isn’t going to fly. Does that mean the WOTC is dead?

Houghton:

No. WOTC as well as the research and experimental credit expired on June 30, 1999. Other so-called extenders expire December 31 and on other dates. The House Ways and Means Committee marked-up an extender bill after the President vetoed the big tax cut bill. The extender bill has not gone to the floor of the House, but that might happen any time. The Senate Finance Committee will probably mark-up their version of the extender bill in the next week or so.

Workforce:

I see. So play oddsmaker. What are the chances of this?

Houghton:

. It is not certain. However, the Chairmen–Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees–have publicly indicated their desire and intent to extend the credits on a retroactive basis. I believe there will be a final bill. Of course, this could always go off track as we struggle to complete the Appropriations bills in order to finance the government.

The latter is the only thing we must by law do to keep the government going! I anticipate we will complete an extender bill that will be signed into law. It may be for a shorter period for WOTC, say a year, rather than the 2 1/2 years that was in the big tax bill.

Workforce:

If Workforce.com members want to make an impact, what can they do? Who can they call or e-mail?

Houghton:

. Well, be aware of the program and especially watch the expiration date. We’re in a budget confrontation here, so it is likely that once again we will end up with a short WOTC extension. I strongly look forward to the day when we enact a bill with a permanent extension of WOTC, or certainly a multi-year extension. So Workforce.com members should make their views on the subject known to their representative and senator–especially if the elected officials are members of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee. That’s where most of this gets worked out. You can always call, e-mail or write your elected official. Believe me, that gets results. There is nothing like hearing from your own constituents–those people who are making the system work.

Workforce:

What’s an employer to do now? Keep hiring people eligible for the credit and hope it returns?

Houghton:

.Good question. That’s why I dislike this process we seem to go through every year, at least recently, on the extenders. For example, if I were still in business, as I was for over 30 years, I would not include the research and experimental credit in my planning.

If it’s on a year to year basis, without any hard assurance it will be continued, that is not an incentive to increase your research. However, based on the assurances of the Chairmen, I am optimistic, but cautious. I think you keep filing the paperwork to assure the company will get the credit and assume at this point it will be re-extended. We should know the answer relatively soon.

Workforce:

What if the bill doesn’t go through this year? What happens next year?

Houghton:

. It certainly is a problem if an extender bill is not enacted this year. Why? Because if we go over the calendar year end (most taxpayers file their returns based on the calendar year), then it becomes more complicated if the WOTC is extended retroactively back to July 1, 1999. Any bill would probably not be enacted until next summer. So you have many months of uncertainty, while you are trying to determine whether to delay filing the business income tax return or to later file a claim for refund.

This also creates problems with forms, etc., not to mention the negative opinion of the program that results from such uncertainty. An even-worse scenario would be to not retroactively extend the credit, but start anew in 2000.

Workforce:

With so many parts of the tax code on-again, off-again, how the heck can the average employer plan a work force and a business?

Houghton:

. Another good question. Some of the on-again, off-again is driven by revenue, or the lack thereof. We have a “pay for” rule on any new tax legislation. That creates problems because the estimated budget surpluses are small for the next few years (other than social security surpluses, which we are trying to avoid spending) and there are lots of calls on the money.

I believe a better approach than what we’ve been doing–adding new tax provisions one after another–is to take a serious crack at simplifying the tax code. It was estimated in 1991 by the Tax Foundation that a small business spent $4 for every $1 it paid in taxes. Also, there has been recent testimony that the annual cost of tax compliance is about $800 for every man, woman and child. There has to be a better way and I believe it is to concentrate on simplification. That’s what I’m trying to focus on in as chair of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee–writing articles and introducing simplification legislation.

Workforce:

You’re the sponsor of the WOTC bill, you wrote it. You must believe in it. What do you say to skeptics that claim this is just more corporate welfare?

Houghton:

Well, first of all I have no problem with “corporate welfare” in the bigger sense of it encompassing all of us into one body–if it helps all. In the narrow sense, which is the typical use of the term, I don’t consider the WOTC program some corporate giveaway. This is a program that I view as a “welfare to work” program in its true and best sense. After welfare reform we are now getting down to the long-term unemployed. Of course, our strong economy has been a major force in reducing unemployment.

Nevertheless, many of the potential employees who qualify as a member of a WOTC targeted group, and thus qualify the employer for the credit. I’m told many times these individuals need basic employee training on how to work, e.g. arriving on time, proper dress, communication, becoming part of a group. An employer takes on a responsibility and additional costs when such a person is hired. WOTC encourages the employer by offsetting some of these additional costs. The benefits of the credit are significant–one, to the employee who obtains a job and begins to acquire work experience and self-respect, and two, to the employer who can end up with a loyal employee, and three, to the country in the sense that people are working and contributing. Of course, no one even mentions the fact that WOTC costs less to society than having that person on welfare. So a giveaway–I think not.

Workforce:

Are there any other incentives you’d like to push through (or that are already around but you think employers might not know about)?

Houghton:

. Well there is the welfare-to-work program which is similar to WOTC but more directed towards the long-term welfare recipient in the sense that there is a bigger credit. Hopefully, as the long-term welfare recipient is absorbed in the work force that credit will no longer be needed. We tried to merge it with WOTC this year, as an additional targeted group in order to eliminate some confusion and duplication, but were not successful. We’ll try again next year.

We also tried to expand the employer base for WOTC to include section 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. We had a hearing on this subject as well as other issues regarding WOTC. Again, we were not successful in expanding the program to include non-profits, but we’ll keep working on these issues.

Workforce:

What other ways can Workforce.com members bring disadvantaged persons into the workforce and at same time fill recruiting needs?

Houghton:

. Well, first spread the word on the WOTC program as much as possible. I’m not sure it is used by small businesses as much as it could be. Part of that problem is probably due to the paperwork requirements and the fact that we keep extending it on a short-term basis. We probably need to do a better job of advertising the program. Also perhaps expand the pre-certification procedure, which would likely make the small business person more willing to hire someone–i.e. the paperwork has been done and the employer knows the person qualifies.

Workforce:

While I’ve got you, what’s going on with the possible minimum wage increase?

Houghton:

. A bill has been introduced in the House to increase the minimum wage by $1, phased-in over three years. In an attempt to offset the cost of this increase to businesses, especially small concerns, there are a number of tax provisions in the bill. Most of the provisions were in the vetoed tax bill; however, some were not. Plus there is the problem of paying for the tax provisions-about $35 billion over five years–if the on-budget surplus is off the table. The Democrats may offer a substitute bill with a $1 increase phased-in over two years and a few tax provisions at a lower cost. At this point, it is unclear how this will end up.

Workforce:

. It’s tough for employers. With mini wage, the wages they have to pay all of their employees could shoot up, and they don’t know “if” or “when.” With WOTC, they don’t know what’s going to happen either.

Houghton:

. You just have to keep working at this. You need a lot of patience here, because some of these things just take an inordinate amount of time to accomplish. Of course, we are always interested in input from groups such as yours. We want to know how we can improve the program. Thanks for your interest.

A few nights ago, I was speaking to a manager about his relationship with the human resources director. He told me he thought the human resources professional could not be trusted.

“Is he not doing a good job?” I asked. “Or does he not understand the business?”

“Neither,” said the manager. “He understands everyone’s business and everyone knows it.”

The manager went on to explain that HR regularly gossiped about how the CEO viewed the performance of various managers.

The story is unfortunate, because HR clearly had access to the channels it needed in order to impact the organization. On the other hand, the HR director was shooting himself in the foot by leaking more secrets than a bribed spy.

It serves as a good reminder that keeping confidential matters confidential can be important not just for legal reasons but to maintain your own value and respect.

Not-so-ancient tradition holds that if you rearrange the letters in a word or phrase you can unlock a hidden code.

Here are a few interesting examples below of anagrams you probably didn’t know about. Add your own to share with other curmudgeon-like members.

CEO Salary (A Real Cosy)

Generation X (R a Toxin Gene)

HR Software (Fat Err Show)

The Manager (Me Nag at Her)

Recruitment (Rent Rut Mice)

A Review Time (I Weave Merit)

Managed Care (Menace. A Drag.)

Company Retreat (Once-a-Term Party)…(Yet, Part Romance)

Workforce Online (We’re For Ink. N’ Cool!)

A Merger (Err Game)

Family Leave Act (A Fallacy I’ve Met)

Casual Wear (Raw USA Lace)

Employee is Sick (Ye Pick Some Lies)

Termination (Not in a Merit)

Human Resources (A Scheme Run Sour)

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Teresa Wickens, who is pursuing an HR graduate degree online, talks about why she decided to use virtual learning.

First, tell me how you decided to study human resources.
I graduated from the University of Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota in May 1997. My undergraduate degree is in social and behavioral sciences. I decided to pursue a human resources degree when the company I used to work for started demonstrating poor HR practices. With a bachelor s degree, I could only go so far, and it wasn’t HR specific.

Why distance learning?
The community I live in doesn t have a four-year college. It offers a satellite program for the University of Utah, but it was 51 hours and required a GRE test. I wanted a school that was fair and unbiased.

How did you decide which school to attend?
I subscribe to Training magazine and found an ad in the magazine for Ottawa University of Kansas City. The school is located in Overland Park, Kansas. When I contacted the school s graduate adviser I was very pleased with the personal way I was treated. The school looks at your resume and you must be at least somewhat active in an HR field.

Tell me about the program.
At Ottawa, all students are required to attend an intensive four-day weekend. A student attends classes from Thursday morning until Sunday afternoon, and gets 32 hours of classroom time in before heading home. Then, the rest of the course is completed online. The school encourages students to interact by doing small-group activities during this time. I created a chat room on my personal Web site for anyone to use during the course.

So everything else, like tests, is done online?
Our quizzes are taken either online or the professor assigns problems and we e-mail responses back to her. There are discussion forums in which the instructor will throw out a question or case study and we have to write a 3 to 5 page response and respond to other student s comments. I can log into the forums whenever and wherever I am, which is nice if an HR person travels a lot. The instructors grade us on our comments and “attendance” in the forums.

Have you had any problems accessing the Internet?
No.

Would you recommend this method of schooling?
I enjoy the classes and the students are great. The good thing is that it requires a great deal of critical thinking and there is no real “rote memorization.” I use real-life issues and am encouraged to use problems from my personal situation. The class is perfect for someone who is self-motivated and enjoys learning from any medium. The student definitely needs to be computer-literate and task-oriented.

Is the lack of human contact a problem?
The only negative aspect is statistics is hard to learn and teach over the Internet. The other classes are introduced at the intensive weekends and you meet the other students. If you re lucky, several stay with the program and you go through the classes together for the entire program.

Is this really a profession for online learning? Isn t HR about people?
Actually, by the time a student becomes an HR graduate student, much of the role-playing and other interpersonal stuff isn t applicable. The lessons deal with hiring, budgeting, strategic planning and more analysis. The core courses include planning training, research and organizational behavior. It is a higher level than undergraduate courses and involves a lot of critical thinking and application of theories and laws.

What are your career goals?
To move into HR management, possibly specializing in organizational development or training. I ve had a work setback and hope it doesn t hurt my chances for a good position.

Is this the future of HR education?
I m not sure. I believe people who live in more remote areas will gradually use this medium more to further their education. The intensive weekends make a difference with this one. Other schools don t require any residency.

What s the most important thing you ve learned from your experiences in HR?
Mentor other HR students. Get involved in making sure your organization knows to come to you for the answers to employment questions. Don t let them get away with treating employees poorly or abusing employees trust and faith. Learn everything you can about changes in HR.

Workforce Extra, May 1999, p. 6.