Category: Archive

Editor’s Note: On a whim, Workforce Department Editor Scott Hays signed up for a class titled “Human Resources Management,” as part of the HR/Management Certificate Program at the University of California, Irvine. Each week, he’ll visit one nugget of knowledge from the course, helping you move slowly in the direction of becoming a more strategic partner.

Ever hire what you thought was the perfect person for a job, only to realize later that he or she lacked the necessary job skills?

These days, people spend more hours developing the skills they need to excel at interviews than they do honing their job skills. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but still … consider the title of one book on the market, The Interview Rehearsal Book: 7 Steps to Job-Winning Interviews Using Acting Skills You Never Knew You Had. Here, the directors of a consulting firm help viewers learn such “trade secrets” as how to research the role you’re playing, how to look the part, and how to use simple exercises to effective physical communication.

Well, Gary Dessler in his book, “Human Resource Management” (Prentice-Hall Inc., 1997), makes the point that interviewers can be influenced by these nonverbal behaviors. Dessler mentions several studies in which job candidates who demonstrated greater amount of eye contact, head moving and similar nonverbal behaviors were rated higher than candidates who demonstrated low eye contract, low energy and low voice modulation.

“An otherwise inferior candidate who is trained to ‘act right’ in an interview will often be appraised more highly than will a more competent applicant without the right nonverbal interviewing skills,” writes Dessler.

He also claims that an applicant’s attractiveness may play a role, and that according to one study, attractiveness was consistently an advantage for male applicants seeking white-collar jobs, and only for female applicants “when the job was non-managerial.”

So what can you do to avoid the pitfalls of hiring someone just because of he or she happens to be attractive or possesses exceptional nonverbal skills?

The Santa Rosa, California-based BrainwareMedia.com has produced two videos: “How To Hire the Best Person Every Time” and “Nonverbal Communication—the Silent Language.” Here are several suggestions from both videos:

1. Communication during an interview takes place on several levels: 7 percent verbal, 38 percent tone of voice and 55 percent body language. While the job applicant may say one thing, the subconscious often reveals the truth through nonverbal behavior. By observing and correctly interpreting these communication skills, even if rehearsed, you can greatly improve your hiring decisions.
2. Remember that certain gestures may be used differently by different cultures. Always probe deeper by asking more questions or rephrasing original questions to uncover the truth.
3. Take copious notes during interviews on how each candidate responded to your questions and on the questions each person asked you.
4. Develop a candidate-performance summary chart. Review the job description, review the primary technical and performance skills you’ve identified as essential for the job, and then review your notes and make your evaluation.

Source: “Human Resource Management” (Prentice-Hall Inc., 1997) by Gary Dessler.

Editor’s Note: On a whim, Workforce Department Editor Scott Hays signed up for a class titled “Human Resources Management,” as part of the HR/Management Certificate Program at the University of California, Irvine. Each week, he’ll visit one nugget of knowledge from the course, helping you move slowly in the direction of becoming a more strategic partner.

It’s not paranoid to think a potential job candidate may be working undercover to ferret out unlawful discriminatory hiring practices.

In one lawsuit, for example, a female job applicant alleged that she had been propositioned during a job interview with an employment-referral agency after she reported that she had no money to pay the agency’s referral fee. “Testers” were then sent to the same interviewer, all of whom claimed that they did not have the money for the referral fee. Female testers were routinely propositioned. A Superior Court jury in Washington D.C. heard the tester evidence and returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs.

As many of you already know, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act states that all public and private employers of 15 or more persons cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin with respect to employment.

Gary Dessler, in his book, “Human Resource Management” (Prentice-Hall Inc., 1997), makes the point that the increasing use of employment discrimination testers has made it that much more important for hiring mangers to avoid asking questions concerning, for instance, a candidate’s marital status, child-care arrangements, ethnic background, or workers’ compensation history.

“Although they’re not really seeking employment, testers have legal standing, both with the courts and with the EEOC,” writes Dessler.

Two years ago, the EEOC announced that it had contracted with two agencies to conduct pilot testing programs. Under the contracts, the agencies each received $100,000 to train and send testers to various employers.

A judicious human resources manager will take steps in planning the interview process and conducting the actual interviews to ensure that its interviewers avoid discrimination and tester claims. Dr. James Fharf is president of Fharf & Associations, an Alexandria, Virginia-based consulting firm. Fharf is the former chief psychologist at the EEOC and author of several sections of The Civil Rights Act of 1991. He says that since the advent of various tester programs, some companies have been motivated to begin training their managers and supervisors in nondiscriminatory hiring practices. Here are his suggestions for HR managers who are worried about testers:

1. At a minimum, avoid using unstructured interviews. It’s hard to score the quality of each answer under this conversational-style approach. Also, a potential job candidate (or tester) may be able to prove that you treated him or her differently.
2. Instead, use pattern or structured interviews. By asking the same questions of every job candidate, an employer can avoid the appearance of “disparate treatment,” the intentional disparity between the proportion of a protected group and the proportion getting the job.
3. Revisit EEOC guidelines, and all local employment opportunity laws.
4. Build an internal audit system to ensure that interviewers are treating all job candidates uniformly and consistently. Also, make sure they’re focusing on the skill requirements of the job and not on personal characteristics.

Source: “Human Resource Management” (Prentice-Hall Inc., 1997) by Gary Dessler.

Editor’s Note: Workforce Department Editor Scott Hays signed up for a class titled “Human Resources Management,” as part of the HR/Management Certificate Program at the University of California, Irvine. Each week, he visits one nugget of knowledge from the course, helping you move in the direction of becoming a more strategic partner.

Today millions of U.S. workers belong to unions. And these aren’t just blue-collar workers, either. White-collar workers and public employees are also forming unions, mostly to get better working conditions and more pay, and to protect themselves from the whims of management.

In his book “Human Resource Management” (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997), Gary Dessler suggests companies develop strategies for human resources professionals to effectively deal with unionization, “lest they commit unfair labor practices.” For example, it’s an unfair labor practice for employers to interfere with an employee’s right to self-organize, it’s an unfair labor practice for companies to discriminate in any way against employees for legal union activities, and it’s an unfair labor practice for employers to refuse to bargain collectively with employees’ representative.

If a charge of unfair labor practice is filed with the National Labor Relations Board, an investigation could lead to an injunction or an order that the employer cease and desist. To avoid such problems, writes Dessler, “employers should have rules governing distribution of literature and solicitation of workers and train supervisors in how to apply them.”

Dessler uses several sources to compile a number of steps you can take to legally restrict union organizing:

1. Non-employees can be barred from soliciting employees when they’re on duty, not on a break.
2. Employers can usually stop employees from soliciting other employees if one or both are on paid-duty time and not on a break.
3. Most employers can bar non-employees from the building’s interiors and work areas as a right of private property owners. In some cases, non-employees can be barred from exterior private property areas such as parking lots—if there’s a legitimate business reason and not just to interfere with union organizers.
4. Employees can be denied access to interior or exterior areas if the employers can demonstrate that the rule is required for reasons of production, safety or discipline.

In addition, writes Dessler, there are guidelines you can use to preserve a union-free work environment, including: detecting union organizing activity as early as possible; “remember that your best source is probably first-line supervisors;” never voluntarily recognize a union without a secret election supervised by the NLRB; present your case to your employees forcefully and relentlessly;” and postpone any elections as long as possible.

Finally, consider the option of not staying union-free. “Union membership may make health benefits available at group rates … and industry-wide or association-wide wage agreements can remove the burden of having to negotiate salaries and raises with each of your employees.”

SOURCE: “Human Resource Management” (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997) by Gary Dessler.

Editor’s Note: On a whim, Workforce Department Editor Scott Hays signed up for a class titled “Human Resources Management,” as part of the HR/Management Certificate Program at the University of California, Irvine. Each week, he’ll visit one nugget of knowledge from the course, helping you move slowly in the direction of becoming a more strategic partner.

Never underestimate the long reach of the U.S. government when it comes to equal employment opportunity protections.

In theory, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars all public or private employers (of 15 or more people) from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The new and improved version of 1991 makes it even more important for human resources managers to adhere to both the spirit and letter of all equal employment opportunity laws.

But as a practical matter, does the 1991 Civil Rights Act apply to U.S. citizens employed in a foreign country by a U.S.-owned company? Or can you surreptitiously fire an employee because of her race, or demote an employee before of his sexual orientation?

In his book, Human Resource Management (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997), Gary Dessler makes the point that, “at least theoretically, U.S. citizens now working overseas for U.S. companies enjoy the same equal employment opportunity protection as those working within U.S. borders.”

Notice the emphasis on the word “theoretically.” Most Congressional legislation only applies to people living within U.S. borders. A federal law prohibiting smoking in restaurants, for example, would be unenforceable in a Dublin pub. But recall, too, that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was created by Title VII to investigate job discrimination complaints and, if necessary, sue on behalf of the person or persons who filed the complaint. And yes, they can investigate complaints from U.S. citizens employed in a foreign country by a U.S.-owned company.

Dessler notes exceptions where civil rights protections may not be universal (for example, if Title VII guidelines violate the law of the host country).

That aside, it’s never smart to buck the U.S. government. Mike Loewe, managing director of Detroit, Michigan-based Lion Mobility Consulting Services, is a good source of info on issues related to equal employment opportunity protections and expats. Here are just a few of the highlights from our conversation:

1. Educate and train employees to conduct themselves appropriately in accordance with local laws, as well as the policies and practices of your organization.
2. Maintain a corporate policy in the host country that states clearly your company’s strict adherence to equal employment opportunity protections.
3. Conduct site-specific cultural training and orientation programs before an employee leaves for his or her international assignment.
4. Implement a mentor program in the host country to better acclimate an employee to the day-to-day office functions.
5. Assign someone in your home office to serve as a counselor, of sorts, for expats with issues concerning equal employment opportunity protections.

Source: Human Resource Management (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997) by Gary Dessler.