Category: Archive

Posted on

How to Help Your Family Understand Your Work

With all the changes in today’s workplaces, most people are struggling to balance work and family. People are working longer hours, doing more with less, and finding themselves stretched to their very limits by the demands of their jobs. As a result, those who matter most to us may feel left out, or wonder what it is you do when you go away for so many hours each day. Here are ten ways to share your work with your family:


  1. Videotape the place where you work. Do a “walking tour” showing the reception area if you have one, the cafeteria or breakout room, and most importantly, your office, cubicle, or work area. (Make sure you have a family picture or family momentos visible in your workspace. Include “hello’s” from some of your colleagues if you feel comfortable.


  2. Invite your family members, perhaps one at a time, to join you for lunch. Some parents allow their children to each have a special “Dad or Mom” (or Grandma/Grandpa, Aunt/Uncle) day when they get to take a day off from school to visit their family member’s workplace.


  3. Help organize a “Bring Your Family to Work” day or an Open House Expo in which families come to learn more about what their relatives do.


  4. Give your family members logo gifts from your organization so that they feel like they are a part of your work life. By creating a feeling of partnership with your family, you are helping to stop feelings of jealousy that you care more about your job than you do about them.


  5. Ask your family members to help you with a work project. It may be as simple as stuffing envelopes, or stapling papers, or filing and sorting; however, if it is done as a family, it brings closeness rather than separation.


  6. Start contests at your workplace that involve families. The DMV at Virginia sponsored a wonderful contest in which they asked family members to draw pictures of what their Mom/Dad/Grandpa/Grandma/Aunt/Uncle did at work all day. The pictures were then framed and now hang in the hallways and reception areas. The customers enjoy them and the atmosphere they create, and the children love to come in and see their drawings hanging where their family member works.


  7. Bring home articles about your work, pictures of your boss and co-workers, and samples of your marketing materials. If you help create a product, bring home examples to show your family. Children also love the fun little “gimmicky” things we often get at trade shows or from vendors.


  8. When you receive a reward at work, make sure you share it with your family. Invite them to the ceremonies, if possible.


  9. Invite colleagues to your home, particularly the person to whom you report, so the family members can get to know them.


  10. When you’re involved in a long project, give your family a calendar so they know exactly the extent of your commitment. Each night at the dinner table they can check off a day, and you can report on your progress.


SOURCE: Barbara Glanz, Barbara Glanz Communications, Inc. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved.

Posted on

What is Your Firm’s Corporate Hidden Identity

You know those times when you hear someone use inappropriate language? You know when you read a vendor’s brochure and get a sense that something isn’t right? You know those times you visit a company Web site, or read a brochure and realize you’ve found a winner?


The words that transmit those messages to you are known as “corporate criteria words.” They indicate the values and focus of a company. Simply, everything the company does or says or publishes paints a seemingly invisible picture of itself. All of those cues add up to a hidden corporate identity.


What is the hidden identity being transmitted by your company? What do your criteria words say about you? Are you a victim of inappropriate language?


You can determine the answers to those questions simply making a list of the important words you find. Let’s concentrate on the hidden identities at corporate Web sites.


Determine if the opening page of your site is inviting to all visitors.
If it isn’t, determine who it does invite. What’s the most important focus. Is it sales? That would indicate a firm that replaces innovation with production and pressures workers to meet quotas and follow set procedures. If you were a potential customer, would you want to do business with a company like that?


Corporations can be divided into two camps. One values people, the other values things. People values would be indicated by the words: Communication, interpersonal, learning, achievement, fun, challenging, people-oriented, nurturing, caring, team, together, collaborate. Things would be indicated by the words: Technology, science, processes, production, cutting edge, engineering, analysis, systems. Companies using those words might treat their people like things.


The significance of this elementary culling point is enormous. Imagine you’re a young genius looking for a corporation to call home. If you’re a people-oriented person, you won’t be happy working in a thing-oriented company. On the other hand, if you’re a thing-oriented person, you won’t feel comfortable in a warm and fuzzy culture where everyone talks about feelings.


Now, let’s say you’re a people-focused company looking to attract people who have excellent interpersonal skills. The criteria words you use to describe your organization will have to align with the criteria words of the people you want to attract.


One firm that is a victim of inappropriate language is Dell (http://www.dell.com). Their Web site drops the ball on both ends of the linguistic spectrum. The language on the main page and other major pages reads like vacuous, generic advertising and says nothing of substance about the company or its people.


Is HR human?
Most companies claim to be looking for the perfect worker. Then, when you see what they value, you can determine what “perfect” means. On some sites, on the Job Opening pages, there are listings for Public Relations Managers, but no mention of people skills in the job description. The same goes for “Human Resources” listings.


From your experience, you know that if a company fails to mention people in its public relations, it either has a focus on something other than people, or it’s a victim of inappropriate language.


Mobil’s motives.
For example, Mobil has a link to a page titled “Working at Mobil.” The copy says, “Mobil is a valued global partner due to our technical skills, our financial strength, our experience managing major projects, and our dedication to environmental leadership and good corporate citizenship.”


Writers are trained to place such a list in order of importance. You’ll see that Mobil lists technology first and something called “corporate citizenship” last. There’s no mention of people but there is lots of mention of “our.” From a people perspective, all you have to do is count the number times you find “you” and “our” or “we.” That’s a contest you don’t want “our” and “we” to win.


At the other end of the language spectrum is PeopleSoft (http://www.peoplesoft.com). It contains language that so comfortable and alluring that you want to roll around in it. They even have a page titled “Fun.” I collected criteria words from three categories:


  1. People: continued growth, people (four times), value-added employees
  2. Integrity: Openness and honesty
  3. Job posting: think, proactive, communicate, relationships

Look for what’s missing
Many companies have a page giving executive profiles. Make a list of the criteria words in the biographies. You might find some hint there, but chances are, a public affairs writer drafted the bios from a fact sheet. What’s missing will likely give you a better indication of the company’s values.


For example, at the Mobil Oil site, the CEO and COO have similar biographies. The criteria words are: Serve, join, director, named, elected, appointed, member, responsible for and graduate. It seems they value position and esteem. There is no mention of civic service, other people, teamwork, passion or how anyone ever benefited from their being appointed.


Exxon’s hidden identity is actually worse than Mobil’s. They never mention any people. I didn’t find the word “people” mentioned even once on their Web site.


Create the right criteria words
If you’re a company in a competitive industry and you’re looking for the best people, you naturally want to do everything you can to attract them, instead of repel them. By selectively inserting the right “criteria words,” you can achieve an alignment with the exact people you want to attract. Here’s how you do it:


  1. Decide which of your corporate values you want in your new hires to align with.
  2. Determine the precise criteria words that communicate those values to the people you want to attract.
  3. Insert the criteria words in all your written communications.
  4. Conduct some Values Training throughout your firm to educate your employees on exactly what your company values.
  5. Give a list of criteria words to any and all people who would have the opportunity to answer a telephone.
  6. Train your copywriters and other communicators to understand fully who you are and what you value.

Imagine if the corporate “line” is that it values education, innovation and provides a challenging, exciting, fun environment. Then, when a young genius calls, the HR representative treats the young genius like someone applying for an entry-level clerical job. A breakdown in any of the hidden identity links will show the company as dishonest.

Posted on

Reality Doesn’t Have a Job Description

The judge explained that we were potential jurors in a wrongful termination case. Because of that, the attorneys on both sides would be asking a lot of questions about our jobs, work histories, attitudes toward our employers, and so on. I suspected my chances of being chosen for the jury were somewhere between slim and nil, but I assumed the questioning would be interesting. What do employees think about work?


I didn t expect it would get interesting so quickly. The lawyers began with what I thought were the easy questions: “What s your job?” and “What s the nature of your work?” I was surprised when most of the panel found the questions tough to answer.


One woman explained she had been hired as a secretary for one executive, who subsequently left the organization. While they were looking for his replacement, she was asked to help another department. Eventually, the first executive s replacement was hired and she was asked to be his secretary, too, but retained the other duties she had taken on during the hiring process. Then another secretary went on maternity leave, and the woman assumed her work as well. That situation, too, proved to be permanent. The woman concluded, “My job description really bears no resemblance to what I actually do.”


Think how much better off organizations would be if they really knew what skills the workforce had and where in the organization those skills were. Ultimately, it would make for smarter management of the workforce.


When asked about her job, another woman answered by saying, “Do you mean what they think I do, or what I really do?” One man said his organization had changed hands four times in the preceding 18 months and that he no longer even knew who he reported to. And so it went. Only a handful of the prospective jurors could easily define their jobs.


We all know how it happens. A problem presents itself and we solve it. Then another problem surfaces and we solve that. Over time, the cumulative effect of the decisions has taken us somewhere entirely different from where we intended to go. Employees seem to understand how it happens, too. There was very little anger or confusion about the mercurial nature of work; it just was. In fact, some seemed grateful to have the opportunities to do new things and acquire additional skills.


If there was any frustration, it was about the fact that so many of the changes in work tasks and responsibilities happen below the radar screen of The Powers That Be. The potential jurors felt the changes would play no part in future job assignments, salary increases and so on. In other words, while they understood the semi-random nature of workplace change, they felt the future would be entirely random.


I can t help but feel there s some truth in that assumption, and I think it s a lost opportunity. Think how much better off organizations would be if they knew—really knew—what skills the workforce had and where in the organization those skills were. That knowledge would make it easier to deploy talent when needed. It would be easier to address pay inequities, establish succession plans and even reduce turnover. Ultimately, it would make for smarter management of the workforce.


Gathering that data won t be easy, I know. Maintaining it will be tougher still. But HR stands to gain a lot by initiating an effort, particularly if supervisors and even employees themselves have responsibility for managing such knowledge.


Employees understand the reality of business today. The question is, can we use that reality to our advantage?



Other columns by Allan Halcrow:


Posted on

Establish Independent Contractor Status Using These Tests

Issue: Your company began hiring its sales staff as independent contractors after you became aware that a number of other companies in your industry had been hiring salespersons as qualified independent contractors for several years. The IRS now challenges you on your sales staff’s employment classification. How can you show the IRS that your salespeople are, in fact, independent contractors?


Answer: An employee who might otherwise be classified as an employee can qualify as an independent contractor under a safe harbor rule contained in Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978.


Your business may qualify for an IRS Section 530 “safe harbor” exception to employee status if you can prove ALL THREE of the following:


  1. Consistent treatment: Since December 31, 1977, your company and its predecessors consistently treated individuals doing similar work as independent contractors and have never treated a current “independent contractor” as an employee; and
  2. 1099s filed: Since December 31, 1978, your company has filed all the required federal tax returns (Form 1099-Misc.) for independent contractors; and
  3. Reasonable basis: There existed a reasonable basis for treating the workers as independent contractors. Reasonable basis may be proven in several ways. Following are some common examples of showing reasonable basis:
  • Your company relied on similar judicial precedent, a published ruling, technical advice to the company, or a letter ruling to the company, or
  • In a past IRS audit, your company was not charged taxes or penalties for treating workers doing similar work as independent contractors, or
  • It is a recognized practice in your company’s industry to treat certain types of workers as independent contractors. There is no fixed percentage of an industry that must be shown.

Here, the employer should show the IRS that many other companies in the industry have been hiring salespersons as independent contractors for several years, and that he relied on that longstanding practice in his industry in doing the same.


Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.


The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.


Posted on

Play Show-n-Tell With a New Employee

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.

Posted on

Keys to Success for Selling on the Internet

Faced with an ever-growing list of questions about how toleverage the Internet, many managers are increasingly reluctant, or at the veryleast perplexed, about how to sell over the Internet,” says Tom Knight,principal at Sibson & Company, global management consulting firm.

He adds, “This is particularly true in commercial businesseswhere many managers believe that selling over the Web is for consumer productsor commercial products that have become commodities.”

Knight says, “If you, or your company, hope to break throughby selling through e-channels (e-commerce), regularly reviewing the followingquestions will help ensure your success.”

1. What productsshould we sell and to which segments via e-channels?
Three critical inputs are required to make this determination: a) anunderstanding of the customer’s purchasing preferences, b) a product levelunderstanding of the cost to serve each segment via current channels, and c) aproduct level estimate of the cost to serve each segment via e-commerce.

2. How should were-define sales roles in light of the addition of e-commerce channels?
You must know: 1) Which activities would provide additional customer value? 2)Which activities would enable the firm to justify a higher price, and 3) Whatskills and capabilities do sellers require to take part in these activities?

3. How should weadjust our sales coverage models in light of our new channels?
Once decisions have been made about the new role of sales people, the firmmay begin to optimize its sales coverage model by considering: 1) What type ofseller is required for each account? 2) How many accounts can each seller covergiven his new role, and 3) Which accounts offer the most growth?

4. What incentivesshould we deliver to ensure the success of e-channels?
Ensuring the success of e-channels with incentives is a complex issue. Onone hand, organizations must decide how to reward sales people for salestransactions in which they play a part, as well as for marketing the use ofe-channels to customers.

On the other hand, managers must decide whether and how toencourage customers to conduct business over e-channels, and how to do so in acost-effective manner.

5. What type ofcustomer experience should we provide within e-channels?
As Web surfers know, all good Internet sites create a “reason to return.”Unfortunately, in the world of e-commerce, the equation is not so simple; notonly must the site be enjoyable, but it also must allow customers to dobusiness the way they want to do it.

6. What is requiredfor us to continue to deliver value with e-channels?
Many managers start e-channels because they allow companies to get intobusiness fast, but they fail to realize that faster order capture also meansgeometrically faster delivery.

Fast delivery requires superior integration of a company’sinformation systems, from order capture and entry to processing, fulfillment,shipping, and billing. Delivery is also complicated by the fact that orders anddeliveries now come in greater number and smaller increments, making it harderfor companies to achieve the same economies of scale of distribution as theyonce knew when they shipped by the freight car.

7. How should we thinkabout pricing our products?
The challenge of pricing for e-channels is complex and ongoing.Comparison-shopping is easier over the Web, particularly for non-commodityproducts. Managers must first decide whether discounts are warranted on certainproducts within certain segments. Then they must go to work creating a pricemonitoring and modeling system that frequently reviews the competitiveness oftheir prices and the profitability of products, as well as customers.

8. What decision support tools and information arerequired to manage selling over e-channels?
With the added complexities of regular customer re-segmentation, pricingmodifications, and leveraging free time created by new sales roles, a varietyof information and decision support tools are required.

Leading companies have learned to identify information anddecision support system requirements by thinking in terms of “exploitableexceptions” in their interactions with customers. The challenge is to equipsellers and managers with the information and decision support tools necessaryto take fast, full, and complete advantage of opportunities that yourcompetitors have not yet noticed.

9. What’s our returnon e-commerce?
As in most business cases, returns depend on where, when, and how much youinvest. E-commerce’s potential to affect all functions and units of a businessmakes calculating an ROI an illusory exercise. However, approximations arepossible, and most who have run the numbers agree that the returns are huge.

SOURCE: Sibson, Chicago, IL 1999.

Posted on

2000 Optimas® Award Registration Information

Optimas® Award Registration


When:

Thursday, March 23, 2000

Time:

Cocktails at 5:30
Dinner and Awards at 6:15

Location:

Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago
Chicago, IL

Cost:

$55

Register now as space is limited!


Send a check for $55 per person attending to:


Workforce Optimas® Registration
PO Box 2440
Costa Mesa, CA 92628


Please include name, title and company of each person attending.

Posted on

Build a Strategic Model for Customer Service

A strategy for maintaining customers should take into account the overloaded marketplace, elevating customer service from simply “caring” to producing positive memorable interactions that help reinforce loyalty.


These five strategies, called the SERVE model, include the basic interpersonal competencies that are traditionally part of customer service, along with competencies that require providers to take a broader perspective of their roles.


The five strategies of the SERVE model are:


  • See the big picture and how customer service fits into it.
  • Establish an authentic human connection with each customer.
  • Render timely, accurate and thorough service.
  • Value and respond to unique customer needs.
  • Extend a hand to repair and strengthen relationships with customers who are upset or angry.

These strategies give service professionals more discretion in evaluating and decision making; focusing them on a higher standard of service and allowing them to reap customer information that is valuable to the organization.


SOURCE: AchieveGlobal, Tampa, FL, October 1999.

Posted on

A Word to the Wise About Video Monitoring

Issue: Because of all the incidents of workplace violence in this country, you want to provide the best security protection for your workplace and your employees—you believe you should monitor building entrances, lobbies, hallways and work areas. Are there any steps you should take before you have video monitors installed?


Answer: Definitely. You need to take several steps before the first monitor is installed.


What should HR do?
Here are some suggestions on how to implement a video surveillance program while minimizing potential liability:


  • Be prepared to justify the monitoring from the start.
    Employers should be able to show that monitoring was initiated to serve legitimate business interests. Monitor only to the extent necessary to protect a legitimate business purpose.
  • Be reasonable—use the least intrusive means to accomplish the business purpose for which monitoring is designed.
    Don’t monitor restrooms or employee lounges where a reasonable person would have a higher expectation of privacy unless absolutely necessary to protect persons and property. Put reasonable time and location limitations on monitoring. Employers should be able to show that any monitoring was only as broad as necessary to fulfill their legitimate business interests.
  • Notify employees about any monitoring that may take place.
    If common areas and employees’ workspaces and surrounding areas are being monitored, tell them. Making policies known to employees goes a long way to defeating any expectation of privacy that they may have. Note that any limitation on the reason for the monitoring might be construed to limit the scope of the employee’s consent, so word your notice broadly. The 1999 American Management Association (AMA) survey of workplace monitoring practices revealed that some employers (up to 26 percent) fail to notify employees that monitoring is taking place. Do not make this mistake.
  • Make notification to employees concerning workplace monitoring a part of the employee handbook.
    Communicating the policy in writing (especially if it includes a requirement that employees sign to acknowledge they have received the policy and are aware of it) further bolsters a minimal expectation of privacy.
  • Be aware of and comply with applicable federal and state statutes and any state common-law rights.
    What is permissible under federal law may be prohibited under a state statute or a certain state court decision. Check with legal counsel to ensure that whatever you’re doing—or whatever you’re proposing to do—doesn’t run afoul of one or more of the various state and federal provisions on wiretapping, privacy or applicable constitutional provisions.
  • Be sensitive to employee’s “privacy rights.”
    Monitoring should not extend into highly private areas in the workplace, such as restrooms and lounges. Also, monitoring generally should be limited to the workplace, unless there’s a compelling, work-related reason for moving beyond the workplace (for example, the investigation of fraudulent or unlawful conduct arising out of the employment relationship). Even then, the monitoring should be reasonable in scope and relatively unobstructive.
  • Train supervisors, managers and security personnel about applicable legal restrictions.
    Merely having lawful policies isn’t enough. Ultimately, an employer’s liability will turn on whether its electronic-monitoring policies were applied lawfully and evenhandedly by those who are responsible for doing so.
  • Protect the confidentiality of any information obtained through monitoring.
    Have safeguards to protect against unauthorized access to the information by persons who don’t have a legitimate business purpose for obtaining it. Adopt reasonable procedural safeguards on the use and disclosure of information gathered through monitoring.

Other monitoring activities.
Note that there are additional specific requirements when employers choose to monitor employees’ work, e-mail, voice-mail or computer files. In those situations, one of the most important requirements is notifying employees that business equipment—whether a computer, a telephone, software or a desk—belongs to the employer and should only (or primarily) be used for business purposes. If an employer has told employees that they shouldn’t be conducting personal, private matters in the workplace, it reduces the likelihood that the employer will be successfully sued for invasion of privacy. Don’t even think of “bugging” offices or surreptitiously intercepting oral conversations.


Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.


The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.


Posted on

Can You Add Portable Toilets

Issue: As the HR manager of a warehouse facility, you are responsible for complying with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations at your work site. Your facility has four permanent toilets designated for men and one permanent toilet designated for women. During the peak season, the afternoon shift employs additional workers, so more toilets are needed. In lieu of adding additional toilets, you propose to add portable toilets. Is the substitution of portable toilets an OSHA violation?


Answer: Portable toilets under these circumstances are probably not a violation. OSHA’s general industry sanitation standard requires a minimum number of toilets. It uses the term water closet, which is defined as “a toilet facility maintained within a toilet room … which is flushed with water.” Toilets are to be provided in accordance with the table below, based on the number of employees.


Number of Employees: 1 to 15


Minimum number of water closets (a): 1



Number of Employees: 16 to 35


Minimum number of water closets (a): 2



Number of Employees: 36 to 55


Minimum number of water closets (a): 3



Number of Employees: 56 to 80


Minimum number of water closets (a): 4



Number of Employees: 81 to 110


Minimum number of water closets (a): 5



Number of Employees: 111 to 150


Minimum number of water closets (a): 6



More than 150 employees (b)


Footnote (a): Where toilet facilities will not be used by women, urinals may be provided instead of water closets, except that the number of water closets in such cases shall not be reduced to less than 2/3 of the minimum specified.


Footnote (b): One additional fixture for each additional 40 employees


However, the current American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guidelines for toilet facilities in places of employment do not require the use of water closets, and OSHA is authorized to adopt the national consensus standards of ANSI and other OSHA-accredited organizations. Accordingly, OSHA would treat substituting portable toilets for “water closets” as a de minimis or insignificant departure from its requirements if the following circumstances are present:


  1. the lack of water or temporary nature of the installation makes installing plumbing impracticable;
  2. the portable toilets are readily accessible by employees;
  3. the portable toilets have adequate lighting, are secure, and have heating as necessary; and
  4. the portable toilets are well-maintained and properly serviced.

If the portable toilets fail to meet the criteria set forth above, OSHA could cite the employer for a non-serious violation, which can carry a civil penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation.


Note that other relevant provisions of OSHA standards must be met. For example, employers are also required to provide hand-washing facilities.


Cite: OSHA’s general industry sanitation standard, 29 CFR 1910.141(a)(2); (c)(1)(i); and (d)(1)-(2). American National Standards Institute ANSI Z4.1-1995. Sanitation, CCH Employment Safety and Health Guide, 1143.


Source: CCH Incorporated is a leading provider of information and software for human resources, legal, accounting, health-care and small-business professionals. CCH offers human resource management, payroll, employment, benefits, and worker-safety products and publications in print, CD, online and via the Internet. For more information and other updates on the latest HR news, check our Web site at http://hr.cch.com.


The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.