Bigby Havis & Associates
Dear Workforce How To Reward Truck Drivers For Sales Leads
QDear Workforce:
Our smalltrucking and transportation brokerage company has experienced dynamic growtheach of the past 10 years. We are seeking a practical rewards program to giveour drivers incentives to seek out and submit viable leads for new business.Where might I find such a model – one that stipulates what qualifies as a”true” lead that can be acted on by our sales staff?
– Ted
Dear Ted:
It sounds as thoughthere are two things you want to reward: first, you want the drivers to learn toidentify and pass on promising leads to sales staff. Second, you want toultimately increase the number of actual sales generated from driver referrals.You can reward the behavior and the results individually or together. Forexample, if you choose to reward separately, a potential program mightincorporate the following features:
To increase driver awareness andactivity, conduct periodic “lotteries.” Each qualified leadsubmitted earns the driver one chance to win either cash or a prize ($25gift check, coupons for movie tickets or caps with the company logo) over acertain period of time. This rewards those drivers who consistently submitqualified leads and motivates volume.
To reward referrals that increaseactual sales, provide additional incentives for leads that lead to newbusiness. Each referral resulting in a closed sale would produce a secondseparate award, again either cash or a prize, potentially linked to the sizeof the sale generated. This rewards drivers that identify the”best” leads – ones that lead to increased revenue for thecompany.
Alternately, theprogram could be combined, with all qualified leads earning thesame or similar awards.
The most streamlinedapproach to determining eligible submissions is to leave the decision to thesales staff following up on the lead. The sales staff itself also should beinvolved, either informally or formally, in determining the criteria for a”qualified” lead, as well as for providing feedback to drivers thatwill allow them to adequately pre-qualify leads on an on-going basis. Establishand communicate simple criteria, such as:
The prospective contact and companyactually exists
The prospective contact is able topurchase directly or influence
The purchase of your services
The prospect is within the territorycovered by the company and
The prospect has a current or futureneed for your services.
The simpler theprogram is to explain and administer, and the more focused it is on elicitingthe behavior you hope to motivate, the more impact it will have for what youchoose to invest. Although HR or another group can provide administrative anddesign support for the program, involvement and buy-in by the sales team and thedrivers will be crucial. Keep in mind as you design the program to ensure thatthe awards will not generate problems in calculating hourly rates under FLSA, orintroduce any additional tax-reporting requirements.
SOURCE: Melissa Meller, TheSegal Company, New York City, Feb. 15, 2001.
The information contained within this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion. Also, remember that state law may differ from federal law.
Vision Correction Surgery Benefits Going Mainstream
Laser vision correction surgery is hot, and it’s sure to get hotter.
This year, an estimated 1 to 1.5 million people will get the procedure.That’s only a drop in the bucket of the more than 100 times that many Americanswho wear contacts or glasses. The procedure, which was approved by the FDA in1995, was first thought of as uncovered elective surgery, like cosmetic surgery.
Now, employers and insurers are realizing what huge demand there is, and areworking on incorporating it into benefits plans.
For one thing, it gives them a staffing advantage over competitors.”This is a heck of a recruitment and retention tool,” says BillGurzi, marketing director for Work/Life Benefits, a Lakewood, CA-basedconsulting company.
Secondly, it meshes with the business results of the organization. If youremployees are firefighters, astronomers, or surgeons, helping them see bettermay be money well spent.
Among the options for employers wishing to offer the benefit:
Discounts on surgery
A few years back, surgery could cost as much as $6,000 for both eyes, andthose insurers who were cutting deals with employers were offering significantdiscounts to employees.
The employer gets a usually free opportunity to offer something new toemployees. The insurance company or vision plan gets a chance to market to thecompanies’ employees — a much more targeted form of advertising than commercialsand such.
Now, however, the price of surgery has gone way down, to sometimes as low as$1000 for both eyes. Discounts have gotten smaller, or non-existent, in somecases.
When discounts are offered, it’s often at a 15-25% discount. VSP, forexample, which is the nation’s largest provider of eye-care coverage, struck adeal with CIGNA earlier this year to offer CIGNA participants 20-25 percentdiscounts. Patients must go to certain doctors and laser centers to receive thediscount.
Shelly Weber, work/life manager at Ericsson Inc., in Dallas, Texas, saidEricsson looked into offering the benefit after receiving requests for thebenefit from employees. Ericsson partnered with The Laser Center and is offeringa $600 discount per eye to all employees and their extended families. The LaserCenter isn’t the cheapest place to get the procedure done, but Weber says”I’m trying to get them to lower their price.”
The employer usually doesn’t pay anything to offer a discount. In cases wherethey do (e.g. self-insurance), it can be unexpectedly costly. Mitch Bramstaedt,a Chicago, Illinois-based health care consultant for The Segal Company, saysthat “there are instances where the first-year costs are much higher thanwas expected because of the pent-up demand. As a result, vision correctionsurgery can be a very expensive benefit.”
Flexible spending accounts
These are IRS-approved accounts into which employees can withhold a certainamount of their paychecks into a tax-free account. Employees can then tap intothat money to pay various out-of-pocket medical expenses.
This year, the IRS updated their regulations to specifically state that it’sOK to use a flexible spending account for laser eye surgery.
Let’s say an employee sets aside $3,000 during the year for laser eyesurgery, and they live and pay taxes in California. If they’re in the 28%federal income tax bracket and 7% California tax bracket, they save $1,280 forthe year (they avoided 28% federal + 7% state + 7.65% FICA taxes). It’s acheaper way of paying for surgery than by handing the ophthalmologist $3,000 incash.
As an option in high-end health plans
Employers who want employees to have the laser-surgery option in their healthplans can offer a Cadillac plan during enrollment season.
Employees can thus choose to pick that more-expensive plan — sometimes aspart of a vision plan, sometimes as part of a general health plan — and get thelion’s share of their laser surgery expenses taken care of.
The deputy sheriff’s association in California, for example, uses BlueCross’s HMOs and PPOs. If sheriffs choose the high-end Blue Cross PPO, he or shecould have laser vision surgery entirely or almost entirely paid for as part of theirmedical plan. The plan provides $1,500 per eye toward the surgery.
Education and safety
Employers planning on offering the benefit should consider a certain amountof education on the safety of the procedure.
“Employers have to explain to their employees the risks involved,”says Lita Weinstein, director of employee benefits for the 10,000-employeeDenver Public Schools.
The school system has offered a discount for about two years. Weinstein saysher organization partners with a laser center to send brochures out about theprocedure, and invites the laser center to open-enrollment meetings in order to educateemployees.
Technology Eases the Connection With Laid-Off Workers
Tough economic conditions can force many firms to lay off valued workers.Later, when times improve, you may want to contact and re-hire them. Yet theemployee contact information may be out of date, and there’s no way of knowingwhat new skill sets these workers may have acquired in the interim — making itdifficult to match them with open positions.
An answer to this dilemma could be found in your applicant tracking system orHRMS. While the applicant tracking system is primarily designed for recruitingand tracking new hires, some can also be used to track layoffs and laid-offworkers. And an HRMS may also have this functionality.
“In today’s labor market, companies are well advised to try and keep intouch with the employees they want to recall, so if the opportunity comes up,they can bring them in quickly,” says Jim Spoor, CEO of Spectrum.
From employee to candidate
With some of Spectrum’s (and other) systems, Spoor says you can create customsnapshots of each laid-off employee, and also periodically send update lettersto former workers. These letters encourage them to keep you posted on newlyacquired skill sets, as well as where they’re currently employed. You can alsosend them passwords and user names so they can update their existing employeerecord themselves over the Web.
Ceridian Source 500, an HRMS, tracks and runs reports on terminated employeesfor both reporting purposes as well as the possibility of eventual rehiring,says Tom Milliken, a Ceridian representative. Laid-off employees are designatedas “terminated” — as opposed to coding them as “active,””FMLA,” “Leave of Absence,” or other terms.
Still, it is the applicant tracking system — both the traditional andWeb-based — that is probably best designed for layoff tracking. A commonscenario in many large organizations is laying off employees in one particulardepartment. Personic’s eRecruiter, for example, can determine if any of thoseworkers have skill sets that could match open job requisitions in other areas ofthe company. You can then easily reactivate the employee file as a candidatefile in the eRecruiter database. The candidate can apply for open positionsthrough the Personic’s eCandidate interface on the corporate Web site, or youcan simply add him or her to the workflow process for a particular requisition.
Along the same lines is Cluen’s Encore Search Management Software, which usesan “attribute tracking” device to “tag” an individual whenhe or she is laid off. You can be as specific as you need to be with”tagging.”
“For example, if you wanted to find all the HR vice presidents who dealtwith benefits and compensation who were laid off in the Topeka office, you cando so through running one simple report,” says Cluen spokesperson AaronO’Hanlon.
Another system, called SonicRecruit, first identifies workers to be laid off,and tracks the status of a layoff notice. Then, it tracks the status of theemployees once they are officially let go. After the exit interview, thelaid-off worker can be rated on the likelihood of their returning to thecompany. When the firm goes back to hiring mode, the firm can recall allcandidates to whom they want to re-offer jobs.
Helping employees in their job search
Even if your organization will not be re-hiring in the near future, you canstill maintain good relations with laid-off workers by utilizing your applicanttracking system to help them find new jobs.
VirtualEdge’s E*TRACK System offers a “Transition Module” thatallows companies to work with outsourcing and staffing firms. Laid-off workerprofiles can be selected, approved and pushed to a central database, whichoutsourcing firms can access.
Another system, Gemdrop Recruiter, lets employers identify laid-off employeesas “public,” which allows outside users to access and view thecandidate’s resume, contact information and credentials. It also features aproprietary built-in technology called “Shine” that allows jobcandidates to create online presentations that provide a more intensiveintroduction to their skills and experience.
In the end, it’s smart to use your technology to help track and managelayoffs — because it can pay off in the future. Says Spoor: “When it’stime to re-hire, a former employee who already has a couple of years’ experiencewith your organization, who understands your culture and your products, isreally your safest bet.”
Policy Exceptions In Todays Business World, Flexibility Is The Key
All human resources professionals in one instance or another have had to dealwith the challenge of policy-related exceptions. These same individuals oftenspend a considerable amount of time delivering comprehensive policies andprocedures to their organization’s human resources. As a result, when confrontedwith a request to circumvent “policy,” they often intuitively assume adefensive mode.
The reasons for opposing exceptions are fairly well known and obvious:”they are setting precedent,” “will open the proverbialfloodgates,” “will lead to inconsistencies,” etc.
However, in today’s rapidly changing business environment, rigidity mustoften be replaced with flexibility to serve “customer” needs,especially in an expanding global environment where many of the old rules don’twork. The challenge to human resources professionals is to become more proactive,rather than reactive, and to change the focus towards managing and controllingthe process, rather than being controlled by it.
Getting ahead of the curve
Organizational openness to policy exceptions may run the gamut from the”zero tolerance,” often found in old-line autocratic organizations, tothe “no limits anything goes” approach prevalent at many dot.comcompanies at the apex of their prosperity.
Historically, the autocratic approach has proven to be successful in managingan International HR (IHR) environment.
Managers and employees knew the “rules” and were hesitant to try togo outside of them; the HR department generally said “no” whenasked. In today’s worldly business environment, employees are different becauseit’s still a seller’s market for high quality talent in the labor market. Also,managers are different because they’re being held accountable for results andstaff departments to become enablers rather than barriers.
Lastly, HR departments are different because they must find ways to”partner” with their internal clients rather than control them.
Policies once interpreted as the “law” are now designed to setbroad parameters to guide, rather than dictate, managerial behavior. They are alsosensitive to cultures and environments that extend beyond headquarters.
The easiest way to avoid exceptions might be to have no policies at all anddeal with issues on a case-by-case basis. The reality is that thesolution to each “case” becomes the newest de facto policy andprecedent, where it then becomes the starting point for the next negotiation. Thereality is that there are few organizations of any size or complexity that caneffectively survive in a “policy-free” environment. It would also benaive to believe that the last agreement wasn’t the newest informal policy.
Designing policies that are broadly written (which are becoming more of thetrend) provides an environment where fundamental organizational objectives areprotected. At the same time they allow for flexibility that will facilitate anorganization’s ability to meet real challenges.
It is easy, for example, to say that the organization does not, as a matterof policy, pay international assignment premiums. However, the policy may seemludicrous when trying to convince a valued employee to accept an internationalassignment in a remote third-world country. In this situation, the hiringmanager needs some flexibility to successfully conclude the negotiations withthe employee.
There are a number of proven proactive steps that can be employed whenmanaging exceptions.
Develop formal documentation (however broadly) that at a minimum willallow one to frame and control the discussion and serve as a compass throughoutthe discussions.
Gain line management credibility and assurance that you are willing tolisten to reasonable requests, while adhering to the precept of maintaining aculture and consistency within the organization.
Develop a reputation demonstrated through the practice of beingreasonable, open to suggestions and empathetic to unique situations, not be theproverbial rubber stamp.
Ensure that those requesting exception approval know that they must cometo the table with sound reasoning, and a legitimate and verifiable business reason.Also, understand that every request is not the turning point in theorganization’s history.
Successfully achieving these goals will enhance your reputation as a businesspartner and will have a positive effect on the number and type of exceptionrequests received.
Understanding your own policy or intent
Exceptions are often granted simply because there isn’t a legitimate reasonnot to approve them. Aggressive managers will seek to exploit this void.Organizations that have gone to the trouble of articulating a philosophy orpolicy have a right to expect HR professionals to be able to articulate theunderlying rationale. If it is not possible to articulate why something isdiscouraged, there is a loss of credibility with line management.
Once exceptions are made, take the time to research the policy issue from theorganizational perspective. Find out if similar requests have previously beengranted or denied (it is a fairly safe assumption that the requesting party hasdone so). Make sure there is an understanding of the underlying intent of theestablished policy.
If it is troublesome arguing why a particular policy must be followed in aspecific case, it may be that the policy no longer makes sense. Policyprovisions that may have seemed reasonable and necessary a number of years agomay now be outdated and in need of change.
In responding to exception requests, the answer may necessitate a resounding”NO,” but the answer often deserves to be “YES.” Make sureyou’ve done your homework before you enter into the negotiations.
What should be open to negotiation?
Once having completed all of the research possible, it is plausible that whatis being asked for is not an exception, but simply a request for organizationalflexibility that is within the intent of the original policy.
One goal of a corporate staff department is to be a business partner and nota success barrier. Listen to the request, match it against what you know aboutthe intent and objective of the policy and determine if the request backs theunderlying policy intent.
If the request is proven (to you) as being necessary, then it shouldn’t beviewed in the context of being an exception, but rather as something that isnecessary for success in a business unit and operational objective. Be firm, butbe reasonable.
Some requests, however, are clearly exceptions and should be treated as suchor simply not entertained. Some examples:
Those that are significantly outside of reasonable cost thresholds anddon’t appear to make business sense. In these instances, it is the requestingmanager’s obligation to provide the business reason and the return on investment(ROI) justification in making the request, not the HR department! If they can’tdo it, then it is time to send them back to do their homework.
Requests that are contrary to the intent of the original policy, or arecontrary to company or host country culture. In such cases, the business caseargument needs to be strong and not built on unfounded suspicions or fears. Askyourself, has the requestor made a sound case or is it an emotional plea?
Requests that appear to circumvent the spirit and/or intent of national orlocal labor law, or regulatory issues
Issues that have ramifications far beyond the immediate situation (i.e.,benefits, tax filing requirements and allowances consistently denied to others).
Consistency and equity still count
One of the primary purposes of a policy (formalized or not) is to maintain alevel of consistency between groups of individuals, organizational entities,etc. Obviously, an unrestrained culture of granting policy exceptions isdiametrically opposed to consistency.
Where an organization is willing to consider exceptions, a monitoring processmust be established to identify when (or if) anomalies arise.
Is one area (IT, a sales unit, etc.) receiving all of the exceptions whileothers are forced to conform?
Are exceptions granted more frequently when males are the beneficiariesrather than females? (This raises obvious EEO issues.)
Does the European management team find itself more successful than theAsian team?
Do all of the exception requests revolve around one or two specificissues? If so, it may be an indicator that the policy simply isn’t working.
Consistency is an important objective and one that requires vigilance inorder to maintain.
Arriving at a win/win
The goal throughout the entire exception negotiation process is to arrive ata place that:
Resolves the situation at hand in the most fair and appropriate manner.
Enables both parties to have fulfilled their managerial and professionalresponsibilities.
Maintains the organization’s underlying culture and business objectives.
Developing and fostering a cooperative and mutually respectful relationship,as opposed to an adversarial environment between the “gatekeepers” andline management is a necessary ingredient. It is also important that bothparties in the negotiations have the ability to conclude them. It is afrustrating experience when, after a series of e-mails, telephone conversations,and perhaps personal visits, one of the parties must then go “getapproval.”
Finally, it is important to recognize that the final negotiations are justthat, negotiations. Parties cannot come to the “table” withintractable positions. Each party must be open to movement.
After the deal
Once the deal is concluded, it is important to document what transpired andnot duplicate efforts the next time the same issue arises. Think how much easierlife would have been if there was a solid source of reference the first time youstarted the negotiation process
Finally, remember that in today’s fast moving, ever-changing globalenvironment, the successful organizations maintain the flexibility necessary toaddress varying business and family situations and cultures, and can negotiatepolicy exceptions competently and carefully.
10 Interview No-Nos
In-depth interviews are decisive for the interviewer and the interviewee inunderstanding what the job requires and what the employee has to offer. Don’tmake the mistake of not selling the position to an applicant by neglecting these10 common errors.
- 1. Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions.
- If you uncover anything during the reference checking or employment historyreview process that warrants tough questions, do not be afraid to ask about itduring the interview. It is important that you begin your relationship with anew hire on a frank basis.
- 2. Don’t oversell your company.
- Interviewers make mistakes by bragging about how things are booming, whilenot giving specifics to back up claims. He follows this up with a pat statementlike “Since the company was founded a little over a decade ago, we’ve beenon the right path and that road is now smoother than ever.” An adeptinterviewer will lay out the strengths and weaknesses of the firm, putting themin perspective. Do not paint an unrealistic picture of your company in order tolure an applicant on board.
- 3. Don’t ask for information you already have.
- Interviewers ask, “Why don’t you tell me about yourself? Let’s see, howlong ago did you start your current position?” This shows a lack ofinterest in the candidate since this information was obtained earlier. Theinterview should be used to obtain new information or to confirm or rejecttentative information already acquired.
- 4. Don’t allow yourself to be interrupted unless there is an emergency.
- The interview is sometimes interrupted twice, first by a salesperson stickinghis head in the door and then by a telephone call. Too many interviewers allowthe interview to become disjointed by not taking steps to prevent interruptions.Your office door should be closed. Put calls and messages on hold.
- 5. Don’t talk too much.
- Interviewers tell applicants, “Well, I’m sure you have a lot ofquestions about the company and the job. Let me try to anticipate some of themfor you.” This is a classic case of an interviewer who loves to hear hisown voice. At the most, an interviewer should say one word for every four spokenby the person being interviewed.
- 6. Don’t use the interview as your therapy.
- Too many interviewers use their sessions to spout out their concerns aboutthe company. When an interviewer vents emotions in an interview, he or she mayfeel better, but may lose a prospective employee in the bargain.
- 7. Don’t be afraid to spell out in detail the requirements of the position.
- When one applicant got a word in edgewise and asked about the specificrequirements of the job, she was brushed off with the pat answer, “Butthen, I wouldn’t be concerned about that if I were you. I’ve always believedthat if you can sell, you can sell.” It is imperative that people know whatis required of them before beginning a job. The interview is the time to outlinethe job’s requirements, as well as your criteria for evaluating success in therole.
- 8. Don’t gossip or swap war stories.
- Many interviewers try to find familiar ground they can tread over with theapplicant. Though this might seem like a comfortable way to get an interviewunder way, inquiring about friends and relatives can get things sidetracked,wasting a huge amount of time. The interview should be devoted to obtaining asmuch information as possible in order to make a sound hiring decision.
- 9. Don’t put the applicant on the defensive.
- There is no point in creating unnecessary tension during the interview.Knowing an applicant’s personality strengths and weaknesses is vital to makingthe best hiring decision. A speech embodying a long-held philosophy isinappropriate, but a frank discussion of the importance of detail in the job –and how she might deal with the detail aspect of the job — would beconstructive and would allow both people to make a more reasoned decision.
- 10. Don’t be afraid to make the interview as long, or as short, as you deemnecessary.
- The final mistake commonly made is that interviews are concluded in anunnecessary rush. As interviewers notice the time, they realize they are latefor another appointment and excuse themselves hurriedly. To be effective, theinterview should make the fullest use of everyone’s valuable time. There are notset guidelines on length, so long as you clearly spell out the anticipatedlength of the interview and so long as the time is spent wisely.
From How To Hire & Develop Your Next Top Performer by Herbert Greenberg.Copyright © 2001 by Herbert Greenberg. Reprinted by permission of TheMcGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Sample Policy for the Copying of Software
Use the document below as a startingpoint and modify with your company information. Employees are to sign theagreement.
Acquisition, Use, and Copying ofSoftware
ABC CORP will acquire software only bypurchasing it from authorized software distributors in accordance with theprocedures set forth below. Further, it is ABC CORP’s policy to respect allcomputer software copyrights and to adhere strictly to the terms of all softwarelicenses to which it is a party.
Acquisition and Use of Software
Software acquisition channels arerestricted to ensure that ABC CORP’s Systems Administrator has a complete recordof all software that has been purchased for ABC CORP computers and can register,support, and upgrade such software accordingly.
All software acquired by any ABC CORPoffice must be purchased through the Systems Administrator. Submit a PurchaseOrder to the Systems Administrator, and he/she will arrange for approval of thePurchase Order, payment, and delivery of the software.
No software may be purchased by using corporate credit cards, petty cash, travel, or entertainment budgets, etc.
No software may be acquired or used for ‘alpha’ testing, demonstration, or other trial purposes, without the advance written approval of the Systems Administrator.
No shareware or other ‘Public Domain’ software may be acquired or used without the advance written approval of the Systems Administrator. Shareware software is copyrighted software that is distributed freely through bulletin boards and online services. It is the policy of ABC CORP to pay shareware authors the fee they specify for use of their products. Registration of shareware products will be handled the same way as commercial software products.
No software or program coding is to be downloaded from an external source, without the advance written approval of the Systems Administrator.
No employee-owned software may be installed on ABC CORP equipment without the advance written approval of the Systems Administrator.
No ABC CORP software may be given to any non-ABC CORP users, including clients, contractors, customers, and others.
No ABC CORP software may used in violation of the software’s license agreement. This includes use of the software on local area networks and on multiple machines.
All software purchased for ABC CORP orits branch offices will be shipped directly to the Systems Administrator at ourheadquarters office, who will complete registration and inventory requirements.Software will be registered only in the name of ABC CORP and the job title ordepartment in which it will be used. The Systems Administrator will maintain aregister of all ABC CORP software and will keep a library of software licenses.
The register must contain: (a) the title and publisher of the software; (b) thedate and source of software acquisition; (c) the location of each installationas well as the identification number of the hardware on which each copy of thesoftware is installed; (d) the name of the authorized user; (e) the existenceand location of any backup copies; (f) the software product’s serial number. Dueto personnel turnover, software never will be registered in the name of theindividual user.
When software has been purchased forthe headquarters office of ABC CORP, the Systems Administrator will install thesoftware and keep the original software (and any authorized backup copies) in asecured and locked area.
When software has been purchased forother offices of ABC CORP, the Systems Administrator will make and keep anyauthorized backup copies, and then will send the original software andinstructions to the particular ABC CORP office for installation. Afterinstallation, the office must keep the original software in a secured and lockedarea as instructed by the Systems Administrator. No other installation orcopying of the software may occur without the advance written approval of theSystems Administrator or, in the event of an emergency, his or her supervisor.
Use on Home Computers
Generally, ABC CORP-owned softwarecannot be taken home and loaded on an employee’s home computer if it alsoresides on an ABC CORP computer. If an employee is required to use software athome, ABC CORP will purchase a separate package and record it as anorganization-owned asset in the software register. However, some softwarecompanies provide in their license agreements that home use is permitted undercertain circumstances. If an employee is required to use software at home, he orshe must first consult with the Systems Administrator to determine ifappropriate licenses allow for home use.
Copying or Alteration of Software
The copying of software by anyone otherthan the Systems Administrator is strictly prohibited. The Systems Administratorwill create and keep any backup copies of software allowed by law.
No ABC CORP employee may alter anylicensed software or related documentation, for use either on company premisesor elsewhere, unless ABC CORP is expressly authorized to do so by agreement withthe licenser.
Unauthorized duplication or alterationof software will subject individual users to disciplinary action, up to andincluding discharge, and may result in civil or criminal penalties under theU.S. Copyright Act.
Employee’s Duty to Report Violations
ABC CORP employees learning of anyacquisition, use, or copying of software in violation of this policy shallnotify their department manager or the Systems Administrator immediately.
Audits and Enforcement
Department managers and team leaderswill be responsible for enforcing this policy in their organizations.
The Systems Administrator will havesole responsibility for the interpretation of this policy. The SystemsAdministrator will be responsible for providing guidance to the requirements ofthis policy and for conducting periodic audits to ensure compliance with thispolicy.
The Systems Administrator will conductat least annual audits of ABC CORP’s computing equipment, including portablecomputers, to ensure compliance with all software licenses. Surprise audits maybe conducted as well. Audits may be conducted using an auditing softwareproduct. Also, during the audits, the Systems Administrator may search forcomputer viruses and eliminate any that are found. The full cooperation of allusers is required during audits.
Employee Acknowledgment
If you have any additional questionsabout the above policies, address them to the Systems Administrator beforesigning the following agreement.
I have read ABC CORP’s policy on theacquisition, use, and copying of software, and agree to abide by it. Iunderstand that violation of any of the above policies may result in discipline,up to and including my termination.
______________________________________
User Name (Printed)
______________________________________
User Signature
______________________________________
Date
SOURCE: © 2000, Donald C.Slowik, Attorney at Law with Lane, Alton & Horst. For informational purposesonly. Individual policies should be developed with assistance from competentlegal counsel.
Reprinted with permission of E-PolicyHandbook: How to Develop Computer, E-mil, and Internet Guidelines to ProtectYour Company and its Assets by Nancy L. Flynn, published by AMACONBooks. All rights reserved.
| The information contained here is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. |
How The Web Will Change the Structure of HR
Here’s a look at HR’s technological journey from ERP to Web,and how ultimately the Web could change how Human Resources itself is configuredin an organization:
- Portals and the Web
- History of HR information systems
- Web-based systems
- The new HR department
- HR service delivery
- Impact on HR
- Vendor manager role
- Customer service reps’ new role
- Critical HR tech positions
Portals and the Web
Today’s new browser-based HR portal technologies, with point-and-click easeof use, mixing text, data, and video, are changing the way we manage humanresources. These technologies are the new vehicles by which critical informationabout people is now captured, edited, stored and retrieved, and shared withothers who need that information.
Managers and employees can now directly access this information and makeon-the-spot decisions about employment, development and pay without involvingthe HR function, and without using antiquated paper-based processes. Thisinformation sharing also takes place between systems, new or legacy, whetherit’s via the Internet, corporate intranet, or extranets, and puts a premium ondata structures.
The biggest development over the past several years on the technology front,enabling this direct employee access, is the Web-based HR Information Portal. AHR Information Portal is a set of applications that provide users a singlegateway to customized and personalized information. These portals bring togetherinformation both from sources within the organization and outside theenterprise.
They are also the underpinnings of the new “HR Store” ande-commerce HR, where employees can directly shop for discount travel, homemortgages, and other items such as child care and elder care.
But even more significant is the ability to use Web-based applicationsthrough HR Portals for knowledge management, organizational learning, anddistance training. Companies are now combining classroom teaching with otherlearning forms such as real work projects and knowledge databases using theInternet as a delivery channel. Individualized instruction programs can now bemade available anyplace, and at any time.
This description of cutting edge Web-based HR all starts with access to aWeb-based HR home page, which brings together a company’s plans and programs forthe user.
These HR home pages and their links represent the end products of a HRstrategic technology planning and transformation process. The transformationprocess integrates the various components of HR service delivery fordramatically improved ease of customer use and lower overall cost, compared withearlier HR technology systems.
Along with Web technologies, employee self-service is another basic idea thatmakes possible the new HR Portals. Although self-service does not necessarilyrequire HR Portal or Web technology, they greatly enhance its capability.
Self-service enables employees and managers to directly access theirinformation for decision-making and make updates to their data from their PCs orworkstations. This capability is especially useful for dealing with complex HRtransactions such as career planning, retirement calculations, handling openenrollment, and stock options.
History of HR information systems
In the early 1990s client/server systems became the ideal configuration formost companies, and they began the somewhat arduous task of migrating theirlegacy systems to these new packages designed under the more advanced structure.
They offered advantages in functionality, storage capacity, performance, andlook and feel to the users, and gave the companies an opportunity to re-engineerand streamline their HR processes at the same time.
Re-engineering in the early 1990s was all the rage since it was based uponmany of the same principles and ideas as the quality initiatives, which provedso successful in the manufacturing and supply chain areas. The plan was to applythose quality techniques to the HR area. So the approach, strongly backed by theIS professionals as well as the HR folks, was to redesign the HR processesbefore they put in the new technology.
In that way they would fit the new technology to the new process and not haveto change it later. It seemed to make great sense, and the newer client/serverproducts were marketed with this in mind. In fact, another initiative in thesystems world was contributing to this thinking as well: Enterprise ResourcePlanning (ERP) systems.
Most companies were dealing with an increasing number of systems that werebuilt with inherent differences while the maintenance and upkeep of them wasabsorbing an inordinate amount of the IS resources, people and money.
The systems had different software languages, hardware platforms, and datastructures, and perhaps the time had come to replace most if not all of theseseparate computer-based systems with a single suite of integrated applicationsand modules.
These new ERP systems were designed and built to work in harmony; with asingle set of databases; and common processes and standards, which would applythroughout the enterprise. Leading the pack were global software vendors such asSAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Lawson, and Baan who expanded their client/serverproduct lines to compete in this market. They offered applications in all majorareas of business including manufacturing, purchasing, logistics, finance, andHR.
So the HR and IT departments thought it made perfect sense to abandon theolder HR systems they had been using and to move to the newer products andre-engineer their processes at the same time.
However, history tells us it did not quite work out as planned. Thecomplexities of business are such that tackling a full-scale ERP project for amid-sized or large organization was a massive undertaking, affecting almostevery department’s work, and requiring dedicated resources from user departmentsand IS far beyond anything they had tried before.
Many companies are still in the midst of determining how far they want to gowith this effort since they are enormously expensive and time consuming. Also,the HR modules are usually somewhere down the priority list, since themanufacturing and logistics processes usually go in first. Many HR modules arestill being implemented; thus, many ERP projects may never get to work on the HRneeds.
Even where HR was able to acquire a client/server product and install it as asingle project, not connected with an ERP initiative, the road has not beensmooth. It turns out that there are so many processes and sub-processes to workon in HR, that the projects were being delayed for years while process teamstried to figure out how they wanted the processes to be handled with the newtechnology.
Many companies abandoned the re-engineering work and moved on to installing a”plain vanilla” HR system. For some companies who were able to fighttheir way through the development and implementation phases, with or withoutre-engineering, it often took years and millions of dollars to do so.
This was far beyond what the companies thought it would take at the start,and often these projects were so costly that any benefit from the implementationwas gone. The client/server toolkits, promised to be easy-to-use by HR novicesbecame complex. The software programs, applications, and databases that comprisethe systems turned out to be extremely difficult to load, modify, and put intoproduction. Not that this was all the fault of the software companies.
Users demanded more functionality in the products before they would buy them,and legislation and compliance demands grew over the years. The combined effectthough of the complexities and unsatisfactory track record of lots of goodcompanies was enough to put fear into almost any IS manager’s heart. As aresult, many companies have halted their plans to install such systems.
Web-based systems to the rescue
With this brief history, we can see more clearly why the Web-based technologyappears so attractive. Implementation times for applications run in weeks ormonths, not years. The systems are visually appealing and XML, HTML, VisualBasic and SQL logic is fairly easy to understand.
But Web-based systems cannot easily replace all HR systems’ functionality,and still are not equipped to fully replace the complex nature of HR processing,such as a multi-state payroll system. Therefore organizations still must spendsignificant sums to maintain and upgrade legacy HR applications until technologyfinds replacements cost-effective. But companies are exploring alternatives tocostly client/server ERP projects and are finding some answers.
Some question if, at the end of the day, this Web and HR Portal technologyhas really helped the HR function, employees and managers, all that much. Weband HR Portal technology are dramatic advances not because of the technology,but because the Web has been integrated with self-service, HR services centersand other Web applications.
As a result, the services available to employees are much more advanced thenever before. So from a customer service and usage standpoint, HR Portals are abig step forward.
From an implementation point of view as well, Web-based systems are easier tobuild and implement, and the major vendors have now expanded their ERP productlines to include these capabilities, putting themselves in a better position tocompete with the vendors of Web solutions.
Using this technology for decision making purposes, sharing data, andperforming routine transactions will grow dramatically in the years ahead andperhaps be as important as the telephone as a communication device as bandwidthgrows.
It’s easy-to-use, can-handle multi-media, is accessible virtually anywhereand is relatively inexpensive. Difficulties in security have been overcome withfirewalls and encryption. Most companies are using their corporate Web sites toadvertise jobs, collect resumes, complete employee and manager transactions,including accessing sensitive data over the Internet, not just the corporateintranet.
This means that technology is finally reaching the end users faster, and alsodirectly, without intermediate or derivative applications. The employees andmanagers are the targeted users and the systems are not just being used as atool to help the HR function, with a side benefit for the others.
The new HR department
Due to the impact of these technologies and fundamental business changes, theHuman Resources Department, as we know it, is gone. No longer do we have asingle group of people where you can find out all about the benefit plans,salary programs, and career opportunities in a company.
Today’s companies are simply too diverse in terms of their products andservices, and global reach, to be able to operate under a common set of HRprograms, administered locally, the way organizations were able to in the past.And with this business diversity came a bewildering array of new compensationand plans, training and development programs, union agreements, and relocationpolicies to contend with-just to mention a few.
Another large influence on HR complexities is a growing scarcity of skilledworkers, especially the “knowledge” worker. These people, able tounderstand and build the systems of the future, demand a changedemployer-employee relationship.
Pension plans based on working for one company for 40 years no longer havemuch appeal. And authoritarian management styles, outdated compensation plans,and overly strict employment arrangements didn’t fit the needs of the youngercomputer-literate workforce either.
Management challenged the very relevance of the HR function itself, as wellas the HR programs offered. No wonder then that traditional HR plans andprograms, and the traditional HR function, found themselves obsolete.
What we are dealing with now in most companies is a HR function undergoingprofound transformation to adopt a new mode of operation: The ability to offerindividualized HR plans and programs to each employee.
HR plans and programs need to be streamlined, tailored and packaged to meetthe specific needs of each employee, similar in concept to the customer-drivenmodel that businesses have adopted. And, using the latest HR Portal technologywill deliver and administer these in a self-service mode since it enables fasterindividualized service at much lower cost. In sum, the HR function isdramatically changing its focus on several fronts.
|
New Technology Transforming HR |
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| From: | To: |
| Local | Global |
| Administration | Self-Service |
| Internal programs | Outsourcing |
| Transactions | Business information |
| Employer-oriented plans | Individualized employee/manager plans |
It must be remembered that today’s Human Resources departments are stillrequired to deliver a myriad of plans and services to the managers and employeesof an organization, and beyond those groups to their dependents, as well as toretirees and applicants for employment.
Further, these plans are required to comply with legal regulations andcontractual agreements.
The number of such HR plans and programs that need to be administered cover awide range of subjects such as:
|
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The challenge is in how to enable HR to deliver Web-based plans in acost-effective manner. And shifting the work while it is ongoing is not easy,since the plans must be continually administered in an efficient manner; theplans themselves change due to changes in regulations and plan design; and thetechnologies are always evolving.
So merely having a desire to improve and a vision for how to use technologyto handle some of the work is not sufficient. We need well thought-outmethodologies on how to bring about successful change.
The new model for HR service delivery
At the center of the interaction with the technology is the Web-enabled HRPortal and self-service network, which will be the gateway through which thetransactions that involve access to the human resources information databasesystem, and well as with other major internal and external systems.
Also prominent in the delivery picture is the Human Resources Service Center,which handles day-to-day inquiries from employees and managers regarding plans,policies, as well as specific questions around such issues as compensation, openjobs, payroll and benefits.
In the future, it is envisioned that such service centers will also be usedto handle deeper management inquiries such as those involving performancemanagement and staffing, whereas today those interactions are best handled bythe HR business partner.
The HR work itself within the new model gets redesigned and repackaged intothree basic types, and the allocation will change depending upon where the workis performed. The three types of work and new roles for the HR staff in the newmodel would be as follows:
Strategic partnering with the line businesses
- At a leadership and senior level
- At the local, generalist level
Centers of expertise housing the required HR functional specialists
- Can be centralized or localized
Service center administration
- Centralized.
For some of the current HR staff, the work after “E-Engineering”will remain mostly the same if they were involved in the work before thetransformation. Primarily this is the work of HR strategists, policy makers, andgeneralists. But this will be a minority of the HR workers. Most will find thattheir work has been altered in some fashion.
Some will find that the work they were doing has been shifted to technologyand can now be handled through the Portal or self-service, or the work has beenoutsourced to a vendor. Perhaps it will have been physically transferred toanother site in the country or region, or out of the country altogether. Whereonce they were the focal point for the activity, they may no longer be. Thatcomponent of their work will be gone.
Some of the HR specialists will move into centers of excellence units,perhaps within a shared service organization.
Professional HR staff impact
The following is an outline of the positive impacts on several of the HRroles under the new HR Model:
HR vice president and senior managers
Implement new HR plans and programs quicker.
Develop new service delivery pathways with vendors and suppliers.
Permit faster access of information to customers.
Ability to develop standard HR programs and processes and deploy themquicker and at less cost.
Ability to access meaningful HR enterprise-wide business information onproductivity measures, key dashboard data, and process results.
Provide a key component for developing a best-in-class HR organization.
Focus on growing and developing organizational strength across businessunits and geography.
HR business partners and consultants
Ability to quickly and easily provide senior business managers withinformation about their entire organization, regardless of organization orbusiness boundaries.
Ability to respond quickly to line management and customer needs.
Ability to standardize and monitor programs/processes within businessunits (if not enterprise wide).
The focus shifts to value added work from transactional-based work.
HR directors and HR business heads
HR business resources will be able to spend time on business issues andactivities, not supporting corporate activities that might be distractions.
Access to other HR systems resources whether global and regional HR whenneeded.
Access to expertise located in centers of excellence.
Access to specialty resources and solutions (e.g. automated applicationssuch as those provided by Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, Synergy, Aspect, Resumix,Restrac etc.)
Use of common tools and systems will reduce maintenance and support costs.
The focus shifts to value added work from transactional-based work.
HR functional specialists
Ability to standardize and deliver HR programs and processes faster and atless cost.
Access to global and regional HR systems resources when needed.
Access to expertise located in centers of excellence.
Access to specialty resources and solutions.
Use of common tools and systems will reduce maintenance and support costs.
The focus shifts to value-added work from transactional-based work.
Essential to this model is that the key HR staffs within the business groups,and the corporate and regional offices work in close contact with seniormanagement to help ensure that the HR plans, programs and the delivery ofservices are aligned with the overall business objectives.
Other changes to the work will take place as well. With the growth ofoutsourcing and the introduction of shared services units, it becomes necessaryto reexamine supplier activities that could be managed centrally or regionally.Also with the HR work now redesigned, a new role that of handling more complexemployee inquiry tasks has taken shape. And, all are dependent upon technologywhere there will be new jobs as well.
New vendor manager role
A role that is still emerging is HR vendor management. The purpose of thisrole is to oversee the growing list of outside suppliers to HR and including thevarious contracts and service level agreements (SLAs) that have been signed andput into place.
Here is where the process measurements are key, since many of the vendors arenow monitored by such metrics. Many if not all areas of HR could potentially beoutsourced, with such areas as payroll, staffing, relocation, benefits anddisability management, HR service centers, and HRIS operations among those mostlikely affected.
Customer service representatives’ key new role
The HR Customer Service Representative handles a wide range of inquiries fromthe various groups they support; employees, retirees, managers, and outsidesuppliers and vendors. They are trained to either handle the incoming callsand/or e-mails directly, or to walk the customer through the transaction on thespot.
They have access to a HR database, applicable policies and practices througha knowledge base, and a case management tool. Whatever they need to enable themto perform their job within reason is provided. Appropriate time for follow-upand completed documentation regarding the transaction is built into theposition.
Expanded HR technology positions crucial
Technology is the underlying foundation upon which the new HR organizationwill operate. The traditional HRIS positions such as analysts, programmers,database administrators, will be needed, as well as telecommunicationsspecialists, LAN, PC, and Web specialists who develop, maintain and keep securethe various HR, payroll and benefit systems.
These roles will continue to be shared with the Information Technologyorganization.
However, several new technology roles have been added to help bring about thenew HR model. These include:
A knowledge base specialist is required to build and maintain the neededpolicies, practices and procedures to support the employee and manager selfservice initiatives in a way that allows employees and HR staff to access theapplications via the Portal or service center in the appropriate manner.
An overall HR Information Manager who will establish and maintain with theSubject Matter Experts the standard definitions, usage, access privileges, andprivacy rules for all HR data elements.
Service center technologists who will deal with supplying data to theshared services unit, handling case management systems, CTIs, call-pathing, etcand tying that unit to the HR Portal and other HR functional units.
Portal communication specialists who build and maintain the Portals andWeb sites, who create and transmit the important HR information messages andcontent to the various groups relating to ongoing activities and the changemanagement programs.
Enterprise data mining and Data Mart experts to build and support neededtemplates and information sets of HR and mixed HR/business and productivity datafor managers and HR users.
Field systems analysts, including global and regional representation, todefine the needed local and regional HR data needs and to support the users intheir locales.
E-Engineering analyst and Business Process Redesign (BPR) consultingcapability to integrate and streamline work processes to maximize both costsavings and the power of technology through the Web, workflow, and self-serviceand collaborative transaction systems.
A quality control and measurements capability to maintain the desiredlevel of data cleansing, accuracy, and customer service.
The incumbents in the new global roles and positions must be able to dealwith the varying levels of technical sophistication found in other countries aswell as the various legal and privacy regulations that apply. Certainly thesechanges demand new competencies for the HR staff to fulfill their new roles.
In the future there will be an increased emphasis placed on interpersonalskills, consulting skills, “pure” HR functional knowledge, businesssavvy, and technology. Global awareness and experience will be at a premium.
Summary
The emergence of HR Portals and self-service technologies has created a majornew opportunity for the HR function. With these solutions, and theRe-Engineering and E-Engineering methodologies that go hand in hand with them,organizations can at last alter the HR structure and roles to provide moresupport to the line businesses; reduce HR delivery costs; and develop new andexciting services for its customers.
At the same time HR can give them more personalized plans and programs.Organizations moving to the new model of operation will have a strongcompetitive advantage since they provide new business information to managers,reposition HR professionals to build more productive workforces, and unleashpowerful new tools to increase learning and education.
From Web-Based Human Resources by Alfred Walker.Copyright © 2001 byMcGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Reprinted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Compamies,Inc. All rights reserved.
On the Contrary Talkin’ About Chicken
Yesterday, I’d just gotten comfortable at my favorite table in myneighborhood Starbucks when I noticed two 70-somethings seated at the table nextto me. Although they sat mere inches from one another, they communicated as ifthey were standing on opposite ends of a dark mountain tunnel.
“I’M WILLING TO GO FAR FOR GOOD CHICKEN,” bellowed the gentleman inyellow pants on the left.
“YOU DO LOVE YOUR CHICKEN,” agreed his companion, a man whoseenormous black glasses made him look like a political cartoon.
I smiled at the poultry lover in a subtle I-like-chicken-too kind of way.Then I removed a fresh yellow highlighter from my pocket, took a sip of mylatte, and began to read through the folder of interview notes I’d brought withme. I read one sentence before my concentration was interrupted.
“KNOW WHO HAS SURPRISINGLY GOOD CHICKEN?” queried the man with theglasses.
“WHO?” asked Yellow Pants eagerly.
“RED LOBSTER.”
“RED LOBSTER?”
“SWEAR TO GOD.”
Yellow Pants couldn’t accept the information. He did, however, agree that theshrimp platter was second to none. Yellow Pants then went on to explain, instupefying detail, the exact location of every good chicken restaurant within 90miles of the Denver metropolitan area.
I put down my highlighter and began drumming my fingers on the table,wondering how long the chicken chatter would continue. I looked around andnoticed two men in dark suits sitting at a table on my right. They were tappinginto their Palm Pilots, jotting notes on a legal pad, and strategizing about anupcoming sales meeting. They were doing exactly what people are supposed to doin Starbucks: work.
As I listened to the older gentlemen on my left and the salesmen on my right,it dawned on me that the biggest difference between retirement and the workingyears is the ability — and desire — to talk about chicken. At length. I wish I hadtime to think about chicken, I muttered to myself as I jammed a folder into mybriefcase and headed off in search of a quieter table. But I’m busy. I havedeadlines. I have to multitask whenever possible. Even my idle time is filledwith projects and purpose.
Take running, for example. When I go for a run, instead of admiring thedaffodils that are starting to push through the hard-packed winter dirt, I tryto generate new story ideas and make sure I keep my heart rate at 70 percent ofmaximum for at least 25 minutes.
When I go to the dentist, instead of wasting time in the waiting room readingabout Tom and Nicole or Meg and Dennis, I compare the allocation of my stockportfolio against the allocations suggested in Money magazine. No sense wastinga good 20 minutes.
I’m not like this physical therapist I know who just converted to part-timeand now leaves work at one o’clock every day so she can work on her golf game orwatch Oprah. If I took off at one o’clock, I’d expect myself to write a novel.Or learn Japanese. By dinner.
I didn’t realize how bad this constant do-think-plan mentality was until lastnight, when I found myself alone in a restaurant waiting for a friend. I didn’thave a notebook, so I couldn’t jot notes or plan the next day’s activities. Ididn’t have a cell phone, so I couldn’t check voice mail or leave impressiveafter-hours messages for my editors. I hadn’t even brought a report or magazineto read.
So, I read the menu. Four times. I looked out the window. I read the menuagain. I asked for a glass of water. I read the menu again. I checked my watch.I started to sweat, and within the space of minutes, I’d wrapped my arms aroundmy waist and begun to take deep sucking breaths like a junkie curled in thedarkened corner of an abandoned warehouse.
By the time my friend arrived 15 minutes later, I was utterly disconsolate.Not because she was late, but because I’d been forced to spend 15 minutes — 900whole seconds — idle and alone with my thoughts. There were things I could havebeen doing, should have been doing. But I went to the restaurant unprepared. Thetime had been wasted.
After I explained my dismay to my friend, who was not nearly as apologeticfor her tardiness as I thought she should have been, she looked at me and asked,gently, “Why did you think you had to do anything? Quiet time is a goodthing, you know.”
And then it dawned on me. The ability to cogitate about things like chickenand Red Lobster is not a side effect of one’s employment status; it is afunction of one’s perspective. My friend was right: idle time is not wastedtime. Taking time out, even for 15 minutes, allows you to reflect on your life,generate new ideas, and appreciate things like chicken and the many ways it canbe cooked and how many other animals, when cooked, taste like chicken. It’s whypeople take vacations and have Sundays off, and why there are wonderful thingsin the world like books and plays and champagne and hiking trails. Idle time maynot be good for our careers, but it’s essential to our souls.
So here’s my challenge: for the next week, try to take time every day to bealone with your thoughts. Hide your to-do list. Turn off the radio in your car.Look at the clouds. Go to bed a half-hour earlier without a book. Do somethingbecause, well, just because. Then, when you’ve figured out how to be idle — how todo or think or talk about anything that pleases you even for a brief amount oftime every day — let me know how it goes. I’ll be with two old guys at this greatnew chicken restaurant down the street.
Workforce, May 2001, pp.21-22 — Subscribe Now!
The Invisible Factors of Telecommuting
Telecommuting is becoming a fact of life for many these days. It is flexible,cutting costs and keeping staff happy because they can have better balance ofwork and personal lives. More and more employers are offering telecommuting as atype of flexible work arrangement to their staff. Telecommuters do not see theirmanagers, colleagues and clients.
This “invisibility” makes the telecommuting environment verydifferent from that of a traditional office. How can managers supervise thetelecommuters? How can one ensure that their work is up to standard? Wouldtelecommuters feel isolated? Would any confidential commercial information beleaked? These are just some of the many things you may be concerned about.
Telecommuting contract
Apart from resorting to management and technological solutions, a common wayof tackling these issues is by having the telecommuter and the manager enteringinto a telecommuting contract. If any party misbehaves, the other can sue on thecontract and claim for compensation in respect of loss and damage.
By spelling out the rights and obligations of each party, the telecommutingcontract would have psychological implications too — that it is a tangibledocument evidencing the commitment of both parties to make telecommuting amutually beneficial success. Here is a list of the main terms to be included inthe contract.
Frequency and duration of telecommuting
To facilitate planning and organizing resources, it is practical for thetelecommuter and the manager to agree as to how often and how long thetelecommuter will telecommute. You may include details such as specific days ina week, certain time slots in a telecommuting day and whether the telecommutingschedule might change if the agreed telecommuting day falls on a public holiday.
Given that our business environment is becoming more unpredictable, you mayconsider having some flexibility by inserting a clause allowing each party toreview or even amend the telecommuting schedule if necessary.
Communication frequency and protocol
The telecommuter and the manager do not see each other physically. Thetelecommuter might need guidance or even approval in handling certainsituations. The manager would want to effectively manage the telecommuter –even remotely. Communication becomes ever important. It is recommended thatthere are provisions in the contract regarding the minimum frequency that thetelecommuter and the manager would communicate — reporting progress, givingdirection or just keep each other posted of the on-goings.
It is also practical to state in the contract communication protocol whom totalk to and on what issue. While the usual case is for the telecommuter to talkto his/her immediate supervisor in many instances, how about if the supervisoris not available and the telecommuter needs to resolve something urgently? The”reporting chain” should be clearly stated in the contract. If thetelecommuter cannot get hold of the supervisor, the contractual provisionsshould indicate to whom s/he can talk to.
Performance measures
One of the most-cited concerns about telecommuting is whether thetelecommuters would be able to do a good job — given that they are working awayfrom colleagues and supervisors. The common perception is that when the managercannot see telecommuters, there is no way to tell whether they are workingproperly or not! It is therefore important for the telecommuter and the managerto agree on performance expectations and evaluation criteria.
It would be practical to focus on tangible performance “outcomes”– examples being a research report, project brief or strategic plan. You mayalso want to include specific criteria such as attaining client or projectobjectives, relevant content, good analysis, clear expression, professionalpresentation, meeting deadlines, etc.
With the current business environment constantly changing, the work of thetelecommuters might also change rapidly. It might be flexible to state in thecontract that both parties agree to on-going review of the performance measuresand evaluation criteria.
Technologies, equipment and resources
Technology is making telecommuting possible — email, fax, wireless phone,digital palm-top, etc. Any inadequacy, malfunctioning or even breakdown of thetechnologies would adversely affect the effectiveness and efficiency oftelecommuting. Organizations are now increasingly aware of the importance ofinvesting more in technologies to support their telecommuters.
The manager should therefore agree on behalf of the organization that thetelecommuter could have adequate, appropriate and effective technologies andother related equipment and resources necessary to telecommute efficiently. Inreturn, the telecommuter should acknowledge that such technologies, equipmentand resources are and will remain the property of the organization and that s/hewould make the best endeavors to use and maintain them with due care.
Both parties should also co-operate to run system maintenance and securitychecks from time to time. They should also agree that the manager would arrangefor reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred by the telecommuter in thecourse of his/her telecommuting.
Training
Training programs for both the telecommuter and the manager would equip themwith the knowledge, skills and management strategies in coping with the newchallenges and taking advantage of the new opportunities from telecommuting. Itis important that both parties are committed to on-going training to make thetelecommuting a success. The telecommuting contract should include stipulationsthat each party is obliged to attend all corporate training programs as requiredfrom time to time.
Intellectual property and confidentiality
Information becomes the key currency in today’s digitalized economy. Nobodyever wants to imagine the consequences of leaking confidential commercialintelligence — such as product design or marketing plans — to unauthorizedparties which could be existing or potential competitors.
A telecommuting contract should provide that the telecommuter keeps allwork-related information confidential no matter where s/he is working. Thetelecommuter should also acknowledge that all work that s/he produces at thetelecommuting site remains the intellectual property of his/her employer, andthat any use, reproduction or exploitation of the same requires his/heremployer’s consent.
Taken as constructive dismissal?
Constructive dismissal arises when an employer’s actions are such that theyhave, in effect, terminated an employee. Examples include cases where anemployer has significantly changed the duties or remuneration of an employee. Ifan employer suddenly assigns an office-based employee to work from home, theemployee may be able to argue that s/he has been constructively dismissed– butthis may not be the employer’s intention!
Some employers try to get around this by arguing that telecommuting is a termof employment and that is what the employee wants when they negotiate the deal.This is the reverse of the above situation — because in this case the employeemay argue that s/he is constructively dismissed if the employer asks his/her toreturn to the office (especially when telecommuting is not working well!).
In order to avoid the possibility of a constructive dismissal claim, it ispractical to include provisions in the contract that the telecommuter volunteersto telecommute and reserves the right to return to the office after havingconsulted with the manager. For the protection of the employer’s interests, thecontract should state that the manager reserves the right to have thetelecommuter return to the office if the telecommuting arrangement is notsuccessful.
Occupational health and safety
Generally employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workingenvironment. It is unlikely that employers would have control over a homeenvironment where the telecommuter will work. If the telecommuter sufferseyestrain because of dim lighting or back pain while sitting in an ill-suitedchair, should the employer be held liable?
International practices differ. The Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA) of the US Department of Labor issued a compliancedirective in February 2000 that OSHA would not undertake health and safetychecks at home workplaces and would not hold employers liable for employees’home offices’ health and safety matters.
The rationale is that the Administration respects individuals’ privacy andexpects employers to do the same to their telecommuters. However, multinationalswith overseas offices having telecommuting arrangements should be aware thatother countries might have different policies. Countries like the UK andAustralia still have the practices of employers undertaking regular health andsafety checks at the employees’ home workplaces.
In any case — whether the employers are liable for occupational risks attelecommuters’ home offices or not — it is advisable that the telecommutingcontract has clauses stating that the telecommuter is under a duty to take allpractical steps to make the home working environment safe and healthy and not todo anything that would cause or lead to direct, indirect or potential harm toanyone.
Who should be involved?
Preparing a telecommuting contract should not just involve the lawyers. Theprovisions will affect not just the telecommuter and the manager but also theorganization as a whole. The decision as to which provisions to be included orhow the provisions should be phrased often depends on managerial ortechnological considerations.
Apart from telecommuters, managers and lawyers, relevant business units suchas the human resources and information systems departments should also getinvolved in the drafting, negotiating and finalization of the contract.
The information contained here is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.