Category: Archive

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She Missed One of the Fundamental Reasons.

While some points that the author makes are accurate, I think she missed one of the fundamental reasons why women are not paid as much as men for the same work.


I have been in the workforce for 30 years of full-time employment, 19 of those years have been in Human Resources, and I have observed that the inequities arise not mostly on education, experience or hours of work; but simply on the assumption that if a woman is doing a job it must be worth less.


I will give you a real example. In one company I worked for the positions of mediator between Management and the Workers were held by men, and during this period the jobs were all assigned levels of 10 and 11. Most of these people were not University-educated but had risen through the ranks and assumed the position.


Over a period of time women began to request the opportunity to work in these positions, within a short period of this occurring the FULLY QUALIFIED level for the job became a Level 8. No facet of the work had changed (including the hours of work) yet the job was immediately assigned a lower status, therefore a lower rate of pay.


You can observe this same phenomenon in banks and other parts of the white collar workforce.


It just strikes me as ironic that a woman wrote this book!

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I Agree in Theory

While I agree in theory with the author’s statistics, in practice I still see a disparity between men and women’s pay. As an HR manager for a mid-size bank, there is most definitely a “glass ceiling” and a difference in pay even when all issues are considered, such as job worth, seniority, education, number of hours worked and responsibilities.

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We Forgo Working Lunches to Get Real Work Done.

My first comment would be–it’s a free world and everyone is entitled to their opinions, HOWEVER……

I strongly disagree with Ms. Hattiangadi’s statement that “Unfortunately, the gap amounts to nothing more than voodoo statistics–a carefully constructed “factoid” designed to incite women.”

In my experience, women who work in similar positions as men with similar backgrounds (and often more experience and education) are paid less. To address the issue of “hours worked”–has Ms. Hattiangadi taken into consideration the issue of “hours worked” vs. “productivity”? Right, wrong, or indifferent–career women with children may be in the office fewer hours during the week but are often more productive.

Generally speaking, we forgo two-hour plus “working” lunches in order to get real work done and are often more efficient in meetings and one-on-one issues with co-workers, employees, vendors. etc. So, not sure who Workforce’s demographics are but my guess is that the majority of your readers are career women and you will likely hear from many of them who live this on a daily basis and don’t think much of this author’s “opinion.”

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Trust is a Must, But How Do You Earn It

If you want your employees to trust you, you must trust them.


As simple and obvious as that premise may seem, it is violated in workplaces across America every day.


A lack of trust is often reflected in seemingly minor acts, such as locked supply cabinets or a policy requiring a note from a doctor when someone is out sick. Such actions set people up to deceive you.


Recognizing that employees sometimes take sick time when they are not sick, we eliminated sick time at my former company, Database Technologies. Instead, everyone received four weeks of vacation. We told employees: “You’re adults. You determine when you will work.”


We also gave employees a great deal of autonomy, rather than establishing layers of management to tell them what to do. As Robert Levering once said, “Bureaucracy is a manifestation of distrust.” Bureaucracy is a way of checking up on people.


In addition to showing employees that you trust them, you must also gain their trust by telling the truth and keeping your promises. Don’t schedule meetings for which you do not plan to show up on time, and avoid canceling or postponing meetings when at all possible. Be careful not to exaggerate, too. For example, don’t tell employees revenues grew by 55% when they grew by 45%.


Trust is a two-way proposition. If you want trustworthy employees, you must be a trustworthy employer.

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Investing in Retention Can Save Money

The success of a cutting edge high-tech business often depends more on attracting and maintaining a qualified workforce than it does on finding new business.


In high-tech businesses, turnover averages 30 to 40 percent! Human resources experts estimate that it costs four to five times an employee’s salary to replace the employee, including search fees, lost time, retraining and other costs.


When a third of the workforce leaves each year and it costs four times an employee’s salary to find a replacement, more money is spent replenishing the workforce than is spent on salaries for the existing workforce.


So what can an employer do to improve employee retention? The following are among the elements a successful retention strategy might include:


  • Hire carefully. A job candidate with the technical skills you need is not enough. Consider whether the candidate shares your company’s vision and will adapt to your workplace.
  • Communicate. Ongoing two-way communication with employees is essential.
  • Recognize good work. Don’t wait until the next job performance review to tell your employees what a good job they’re doing. Provide positive reinforcement on an ongoing basis. Try to be positive four times as often as you make negative comments.
  • Reward good work. It is much more cost effective to reward employees for good work than it is to recruit new talent. Make a significant percentage of your compensation package variable, so that both you and your employee benefit from high-caliber performance.

These are just a few of the elements that should be included in a retention strategy. It takes a great deal of effort to develop staying power, but if you have the right employees, it’s worth the effort.

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A Clear Vision Will Help Attract, Motivate and Retain Employees

If your employees don’t know what you hope to achieve, they can’t help you achieve it.


Conversely, a clear vision will challenge and excite your employees. Your vision must be something you and your employees believe in not just intellectually, but emotionally.


In addition, it should reflect an understanding of your core ideology, what you do better than your competitors and how you can make money with it.


Disney’s vision, for example, is, “To make people happy.” Merck’s is, “To preserve and enhance human life.” These are great examples of successful corporate vision statements, but the best example I’ve seen of a grand and noble vision was President Kennedy’s vision for NASA’s space program. President Eisenhower’s vision for NASA was, “Maximum capability in space.”


It was succinct, certainly, but not inspiring.


Compare it with President Kennedy’s vision: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” His vision had a measurable goal and a timeline for achieving it. To hear him state this vision, which he did often during his administration, is to be inspired.


A vision statement is just part of how a company defines itself. Every company should have not only a clear vision statement, but a mission statement and a values statement. What is the difference between the three?


Your mission statement defines what game you’re in. Your values statement defines the rules of the game–at least the way your company will play it. And your vision statement defines how you plan to win the game.


A company that fails to define itself clearly lacks direction, and so does its employees.

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Table of Contents March 2000

CoverStory

HR ThatReally Works!
Optimas Awards Winners 2000


It’s the most wonderful time of the yearagain! No, not because it’s tax season. It’s timeto honor this year’s 10 most outstanding HR departments!

 


General Excellence: SAS Institute
Inc.
By Charles Fishman


SAS Institute isn’t an employer — it’s aprovider. Employees don’t have to worry about balancing work and life becausethey’re one and the same.


Competitive Advantage: Jamba Juice
By Brenda Paik Sunoo


In the come-and-go food industry, Jamba Juice hasfound recruiting and retention strategies that can squeeze out winners from adry labor pool.

Innovation:Jellyvision
By Kelly Dunn

Jellyvision was growing so fast it didn’t have time to consider HR –until employees asked for it. Then they used their creative edge todevelop HR that is equally creative.

Financial Impact: IBM
By Gillian Flynn


HR at IBM suffered drastic cutbacks. But the remaining department developed acall center that saved $180 million dollars for ol’ Big Blue.


Global Outlook: United Nations
By Brenda Paik Sunoo


A diverse group of professionals bring staff development issues to the top ofthe United Nations’ list of concerns.

 Partnership:Connecticut State Department of Education
By Nancy Wong

Connecticut’s Department of Education fought to improve the schoolenvironment and bring cooperation to the labor-management relationship.

Managing Change: Bayer Consumer Care Division
By Jennifer Laabs


The HR team at Bayer’s Myerstown, Pennsylvania,production facility initiated a process that helped the plant become moreprofitable.


Service: QUALCOMM
By Samuel Greengard


QUALCOMM offers a range of online training coursesand college degree programs to employees in five states and Israel.

Qualityof Life: Patagonia
By Jennifer Laabs

By providing a culture that supports employees’ passions, Patagoniareaps success and, in turn, supports “green” causes worldwide.

Vision: GTE
By Charlene Marmer Solomon


The challenge to GTE HR managers was tantalizing:find a credible way to measure HR’s contribution to the business.

 


HR101


Training


In this month’sissue, HR 101 shows you the problem with skills gapping, and why high-techtraining tools may never be “top of the line.”


Departments


News Angle
    — HR Goes Flat at Coca-Cola
   — Labor Department PutsStock in Overtime


The Buzz
    — Working Wounded: How To Sponsor Employees
   — On the Contrary: OnWriting and HR


InfoWise
Caught in the Web of Customer Service


Forté
Training Conference Launches a NASA Move


Legal Insight
Another Look at the Employee Handbook


Your HR Career
Negotiating Pay Raises; To Stay or Go


Crossfire
Can Immigration Solve the Labor Shortage?

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IDear Workforce-I How Much to Pay in Bonuses

Q


Dear Workforce:


What is a standard percentage that companies tend to allocate to bonuses and how much do employees receive as a percent of base salary?
— Uzma Siddiqui, HR manager, Pakcom Limited


 


A

Dear Uzma:


The allocation percentage varies greatly depending on industry and employee group. This percentage can be a factor of various performance measures and is generally only reported for top management.


 


 Top Management

Avg. Bonus Pool

As a Percentage of Net Profits after Taxes

12.7%

As a Percentage of Total Revenues

3.8%

As a Percentage of the Total of Base Salaries

21.3%

 


 

Percentage received a bonus in 1999

Average paid (as a percent of base salary)

Top Management

68%

35.1%

Middle Management

46%

13.4%

Supervisory Management

29%

8.7%

Professional and Scientific Personnel

27%

7.9%

Technical and Skilled Personnel

18%

5.8%

Data reported above is all industries combined.


 SOURCE: Salary.com, Needham, MA, February 10, 2000.


E-mail your Dear Workforce questions to Online Editor Todd Raphael at raphaelt@workforceonline.com, along with your name, title, organization and location. Unless you state otherwise, your identifying info may be used on Workforce.com and in Workforce magazine. We can’t guarantee we’ll be able to answer every question.

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Evaluating Skills for Hourly Employees

Frontline, hourly employees make up more than 70% of the U.S. workforce. Asking specific questions about their skills, experience and attitudes encourages more honest and insightful answers, which helps lower the risk of making costly hiring mistakes.


When interviewing for skills, keep the following questions in mind:


  1. What does it take to be a good (job title)?
  2. Have you found any way to make your current job easier or more rewarding?
  3. How do you schedule your time?
  4. What do you do when your schedule is upset by unforseen events?
  5. What is the most difficult part of your job?
  6. What problems do you encounter in doing your job? How do you handle them?
  7. What are some things you find difficult to do? What do you feel this way?
  8. What aspects of the job do you consider most important?
  9. Describe your strengths in terms of specific skills, knowledge, and personal attributes.
  10. What will your previous supervisors say are the two areas you need to work on?

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Keeping People in the Loop

The breakneck pace of today’s business world makes regular communication in all levels of business more challenging than it used to be. Even with the myriad modes of communication that we have available, it’s not always that simple to find ways to keep people up to speed.


Below, some concrete actions you can take to keep proactive communication at a maximum–and misinformation at a minimum.


  • Establish a No Surprise Rule for yourself and others. Make withholding bad news the absolute worst violation of all.
  • Don’t be an information-hoarding Power Broker. Ask each member of your unit to identify the kind and amount of information that would help them be more successful … and make sure they get it.
  • Regularly update your boss and colleagues on your activities and progress. That way, if anyone has a problem with where you’re headed, you’ll find out before going too far down the wrong path.
  • Choose an area and designate it as Information Central. Provide bulletin boards for displaying activities in progress, results, project status, production data, new products, and other general information.

SOURCE: Reprinted with permission: 144 Ways to Walk the Talk. Copyright Performance Systems Corp., Dallas, TX.