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More Ideas to Prevent Age Discrimination

Do you consider the potential for age discrimination when downsizing? The concern is becoming more and more of a problem, especially at high-tech companies.


High-tech companies concerned over whether their policies and procedures treat older employees fairly should note the terms a Massachusetts computer firm recently negotiated with an anti-discrimination agency.


The January 14, 1999 agreement reached between Bull NH Information Systems Inc. and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) settles charges that the company discriminated against older workers during layoffs of 2,000 employees in the early 1990s.


The MCAD ruled against the company in 1996. Both the state and the EEOC continue to press a separate case in federal court, alleging that the company illegally forced older workers to waive their rights to file discrimination claims as a condition of receiving severance pay.


The settlement includes no monetary payments or admissions of wrongdoing. Its importance for employers is in the new policies and procedures it establishes for avoiding age discrimination in the future. The ranks of older workers employed by high-tech companies likely will expand as companies learn to value their expertise and experience. At Bull NH, for example, the average age of the workforce is nearly 50, above that of most other high-tech firms.


Under the settlement, the company agreed to the following six items. These six points are good ones to consider for your organization.


  1. Give notice to former employees of future job vacancies and the right to file a discrimination complaint if not rehired.
  2. Treat seniority as a tie-breaker when making rehiring or termination decisions among equally qualified individuals.
  3. Train supervisors on age discrimination law and require them to report suspected violations to the company’s EEO officer.
  4. Require senior management to review any decisions to lay off workers older than age 40 to ensure that age is not a factor in the decisions.
  5. Review voluntary layoffs of workers age 40 or older to ensure that coercion or duress is not involved.
  6. Change the internal complaint procedure to require prompt and thorough investigations of complaints.

Source: AlignMark, January 1999. 258 Southhall Lane, Suite 400, Maitland, FL, 32751. 800/652-4587.

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Three Ways to Make the Most out of Today

Here are three ways to make the most out of your work today — and enjoy it.

  • Pay attention to your thoughts. Steven Covey quotes in his bestselling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, ” Reap a thought, sow an action. Reap an action, sow a habit. Reap a habit, sow a lifetime.” Don’t let your ideas go unused or unspoken.

  • Share your success strategies. Think about one or two things you do that contribute to your success and share them with someone else in an e-mail, or tell someone about them over lunch. You’ll be seen as someone who cares about other people’s success as well as your own — which is what success is really about anyhow.

  • Do something you wouldn’t normally do. Break up the lunch routine by going somewhere different. Take a different way to work, for no reason at all. Talk to someone at work you don’t know very well. Take longer to do something you normally knock off in a few minutes; spend less time on something that usually drags on.

SOURCE: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1887166416/hrheadquartersA, 101 Ways to Have a Great Day @ Work,” Stephanie Goddard Davidson, 1998.

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Amendments to Defined Benefit Plans

Because Hughes Aircraft Company’s contributory defined benefits plan had a substantial surplus, the company amended the plan in 1991 to establish a non-contributory benefits structure for new participants and provide an early retirement benefits. Hughes transferred the $1 billion plan surplus to the new non-contributory structure, and suspended its own contributions to the amended plan, based upon the surplus. A class representing 10,000 retired beneficiaries filed suit under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), claiming the surplus assets were their vested benefits.


The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined Hughes violated ERISA because the new structure was so different from the original plan that it was a separate plan. Hughes terminated the original plan, using surplus assets for its own benefit without distributing the residual assets to the plan beneficiaries.


Upon appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held Hughes’ actions did not violate ERISA because members of a defined benefits plan have no claim to the plan’s general asset surplus, and these beneficiaries were never deprived of their accrued benefits as provided by the plan. Hughes Aircraft Co. vs. Jacobson, U.S. Sup. Ct., 97-1287, 01/25/99.


Impact:
An employer may amend a defined benefits plan as long as the beneficiaries receive their originally designated accrued benefits.


Source: D. Diane Hatch, Ph. D., a human resources consultant based in San Francisco, and James E. Hall, an attorney with the law firm of Barlow, Kobata & Denis, with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago.

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Labor-Management Partnerships Boost Training

American businesses are estimated to lose more than $60 billion in productivity each year due to employees’ lack of basic skills, according to the Washington, D.C.-based National Institute for Literacy. Yet a mail survey conducted in 1994 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that only 2.2 percent of all establishments in the United States were providing training in basic reading, writing, math and English language skills in the previous year.


“The percentage is dismal,” says Tony R. Sarmiento, director, Worker Center Learning, a division of the AFL-CIO Working For America Institute in Washington, D.C. “What we have is a lack of opportunity for adults to add to their skills—not a lack of interest,” he says. By working together, however, unions and management are creating effective learning environments where adults can take their next steps toward literacy and career development.

“What we have is a lack of opprtunity for adults to add to their skils — not a lack of interest,” says Sarmiento.

HR helps make the partnership possible.
Although joint union-management training efforts aren’t new, many labor organizations have made training and worker development top priorities at the bargaining table. “These kinds of programs gained steam in the ’80s, but the ’90s brought it to a critical mass,” says Marshall Goldberg, director of the New York City-based Association of Joint Labor/Management Educational Program. The partnerships ensure that both sides are held more accountable.


As high skill levels and versatility become increasingly important in a service-oriented, technology-based global economy, HR professionals in union settings (and non-union settings) will have to develop programs in a variety of forms. Programs can vary in cost, governance, design, curriculum and location. Each will depend on the industry and the needs of workers and employers.


The good news is that workplace literacy programs don’t have to be expensive. In fact, federal and state grants and tax credits are available to make the incentives more palatable. Below are some examples of labor and management partnerships that have successfully tackled the training issue.

The good news is that workplace literacy programs don’t have to be expensive. In fact, grants and tax credits are available to make the incentives more palatable.

Cooperation is the key to effective training.
In most cases of cooperative training and education efforts, a joint board composed of equal union and management representatives has been involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of various programs. According to the AFL-CIO, this approach ensures that a consensus is reached among the two parties. Funding to the programs is most often negotiated in the union contract, although some of the more established and successful programs have received government funding to extend their services to more workers.


John Dietsch is an example of a worker who stretched his potential. A high school dropout at age 17, he entered the military service. Later, he became a truck driver before embarking on a 22-year career as a steelworker at Bethlehem’s Sparrows Point facility in Baltimore.


But when Bethlehem announced plans to open a new cold sheet mill, Dietsch, then 52, was forced to reconsider the importance of an education. He had to pass an entrance exam that established a baseline of basic skills for work in the new mill. He turned to the Merrillville, Indiana-based Institute for Career Development (ICD) for help.


ICD is a workforce training program for eligible members of the Steelworkers Union. It was created in 1989 as a result of contract negotiations between the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) and major steel companies. Today, the joint labor-management initiative oversees the Career Development programs, which includes GED preparation to graduate-level college courses.


Approximately 85 percent of the courses are customized, says Andy Smith, spokeman for ICD. Instructors are hired to teach classes specifically to steelworkers. Access to other courses is made available through a tuition-assistance program that provides up to $1,800 annually to each worker for tuition, books and fees at accredited institutions of higher learning.


Smith says that ICD’s program was negotiated by the union in contracts with 13 steel companies. Those 13 companies have 53 plant sites in 13 states where Career Development programs have been implemented. The steel companies set aside 10 cents for each hour worked by USWA steelworkers to fund the programs. Currently, approximately 10 percent of the 600,000 USWA members have ICD as a negotiated benefit in their contracts.


Dietsch is among those who’ve taken advantage of the educational opportunity. In tutoring sessions, he learned not only what he needed to pass the test, but that he had a passion for learning. After passing the mill test, he announced plans to get a GED. “I’m doing the whole nine yards and I love it,” he says. “The more knowledge I have, the better I’ll be about steel and the world.”


Arlene McKinley came to the same conclusion as Dietsch. She also wanted to improve her career. Like many steelworkers, she dreamed of getting a college degree, but found it difficult to find time for classes. A checker at Bethlehem Burns Harbor, McKinley amassed approximately 65 college credits over a span of 10 years by taking classes whenever her unpredictable schedule as a shift worker would allow it. She needed a more convenient way to go to school and found it in the ICD-sponsored distance-learning program.


McKinley is one of a handful of trailblazing steelworkers who have enrolled in the program, earning college credits through Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, New York, without ever setting a foot on campus. Indeed, forward-thinking programs like ICD are designed to train workers beyond their current job descriptions.

Years ago, it was enough to teach immigrant workers English. As Corporate America shifts to high-performance workplaces, employees need to improve their other skills.

Employers benefit from training efforts such as ICD, as well. Joint programs, says Goldberg, motivate the workforce to learn. “Employees who are involved with continuous learning tend to deal with change more effectively,” he says. The programs also help human resources retain quality workers and attract skilled workers into the organization. By offering the opportunity to retrain and upgrade the skills of current workers who are committed to the company, employers yield a more loyal workforce.


Training partnerships assist adult immigrants.
Labor unions also have provided ESL instruction at the workplace since the early days of the century. But today, through partnerships between educators, employers and unions, the training of larger numbers of immigrants is underway. Years ago, it was enough to teach immigrant workers English. As Corporate America shifts to high-performance workplaces, all employees need to improve other basic skills: communication, problem-solving skills and knowledge of workplace organization.


Many unions have thus negotiated training through the collective bargaining agreements. Among them are the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in New York City, the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA). To extend the educational benefits of union membership, employers and unions increasingly have sponsored programs in which spouses and other family members can participate. In fact, the UAW requires that recruitment for educational programs include spouses.


Although most workplace ESL programs teach job-related English, some also teach what workers want to know and what unions want their members to learn. For example, many programs may teach general life skills such as problem-solving and creative thinking, as well as job-specific instruction. Others may offer worker-centered education where worker rights, such as filing a grievance, are taught.


Through a series of grants from the National Workplace Literacy Program of the U.S. Department of Education, garment workers are combining ESL with broader basic skills education. The Worker Education Program, for example, is a partnership between the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) and 10 companies in three states: Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio. It provides more than 2,000 adult union members with job-specific basic skills classes in ESL, reading, writing and math. It also provides GED preparation, literacy, communications, teamwork and problem-solving skills for the workplace. “In every program I’ve seen that has been established through joint-labor management, one sees higher levels of participation and retention,” says Sarmiento.

Most ESL programs teach job-related English, but many programs teach general life skills such as problem-solving and creative thinking, as well as job-related instruction.

The benefits for the employer and the union also abound. On the HR side, employers will enhance their communication with workers and the union, promote workers from within company ranks, increase on-line production and enhance quality-control measures. On the union side, labor representatives will enhance English communications with their members, gain more active members, increase the number of members using union services, and enhance communication with management of the companies.


So if you’re a union-shop employer, and your labor contract is up for renewal, consider the merit of including training goals in your next collective bargaining agreement. By doing so, HR will be able to align employer and employee training needs, set specific goals and project agreed-upon costs. Remember, as we approach the 21st century, the education and development of your workforce will be the key to your competitive edge.

Workforce, April 1999, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 80-85.

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Continual Learning Racing Just to Keep Up

Choose your survey.Select your research. No matter where you look, vast numbers of workerscurrently don’t have the skills for today’s jobs – and it’s only going toget worse.


   Moreover, employees today must have access to continual training of all typesjust to keep up. Sometimes it feels like a sporting event – trying to run up adownward escalator. If you don’t actively stride against the momentum ofskills deficiency, you lose ground. If your workers stand still, your firm willlose the competency race.


   “Continual learning” is no longer a buzzword – today it’s a businessrequirement of critical importance. According to a Workforce survey in May 1998,100 percent of the respondents said that workers will need more problem-solvingskills in the future; 95 percent said they expect the HR department to helpemployees develop these skills in conjunction with employees developing them ontheir own. A whopping 98 percent believe that employees will need moreinterpersonal communication skills than they currently have.


    Addto these figures the fact that huge numbers of entry-level workers are cominginto the workplace ill-equipped to handle everyday jobs, and it becomesglaringly apparent that learning and continual education must be a top priorityfor all organizations striving to achieve a competitive edge.


    Butdon’t think that HR has to go it alone. Today, employees and employers sharemutually in the benefits and expenditures associated with learning initiatives.Progressive, front-running companies view learning as a joint activity withequal commitment from both sides. For example, companies such as Johnson &Johnson, IBM and EDS create corporate cultures that support and enhancelearning. They take a strategic approach to continuous learning, and they deviseways to partner with employees in their learning endeavors.


   “As you look at today’s competitive environment, one of the critical needsis for the organization to continue to learn. First you have to constantly helpemployees build the skills they need to be proficient at their current job.Then, if you want to be an employer of choice, you have to create a workenvironment in which people can continue to grow,” says Michael Carey, vicepresident Organization Planning and Development at New Brunswick, NewJersey-based Johnson & Johnson.


   Indeed, HR pros are examining how to learn in entirely new ways. “Work ismoving faster and faster, and people can’t keep up,” says Nancy Forbes,market research manager at the Atlanta office for New York-based IBMCorporation. “But I think it’s a shared responsibility – it’s theindividual’s obligation to pursue and make the most of the continuous learningthat’s available, and managers have to support them with the tools and timeoff [for learning and training activities].”


 


Learning is part of the corporate culture
    For decades, technologygiant IBM has created a continuous learning culture. The company offers at least40 hours a year of training per employee (compared to an average number of fourdays of training, according to the 1997 ASTD Benchmarking Forum by the AmericanSociety for Training and Development).


    In today’s businessenvironment, where you must change and adapt so quickly, transformation has tobe the focus of learning. People can learn all of the skills they need in a newenvironment, but that learning could be wasted if they don’t see the value inskill development. They have to believe that learning is important and sharinginformation with colleagues is beneficial.


    Building a corporateenvironment in which people share information is essential. Like a relay event,it creates a chain of education between individual contributors, and enhanceseach individual’s contribution. “If you want to develop a culture thatsupports learning, you first start by rewarding and promoting team players whoare learning continually, and sharing their knowledge with each other,” saysJackie Fenn, vice president and research director of Advanced Technologies atBurlington, Massachusetts-based Gardner Group. “It’s important to show thatcontinuous learning and sharing learned experiences between contributors isobserved and rewarded by management.”


    When you create anenvironment that encourages continuous learning, where people recognize thelong-term benefits and want to participate in the experience, the specifictechniques used for education and training are secondary – it’s attitudethat’s important. That has to come from the top.



Companies take a strategic approach to learning
    If learning is part ofthe company’s mission, it must be integrated at a strategic level. IBMillustrates how to accomplish that. First, the company determines whatcompetencies are needed most in the marketplace. This multi-step processincludes researching the current market by working with salespeople, customerservice people and technicians, and talking with customers every day tounderstand their needs.


    Another important stepis to research future trends and identify short and long-term competencyrequirements. For example, IBM sees e-commerce (conducting transactions over theInternet) as becoming more critical in the daily lives of individuals.Therefore, the organization is taking steps to eliminate potential workforceperformance gaps in order to ensure employees have the skills they need toenhance that part of the business. They then determine what performance andskills the business needs to maximize opportunities in this growing area. 


    That process, in and ofitself, is a huge endeavor for HR, but well worth the investment of time andresources. When you conduct a gap analysis, you can then accurately determine astaffing and development plan to address deficient areas. However, putting theplan in action can be the biggest challenge. “In my experience, you can talkabout theories and you can write wonderful strategies, but the execution – theimplementation – is really the difficult part,” says Robert Weintraub, managerof Learning Strategy for IBM Global Services in Selmers, New York.


    Indeed, implementationis the major hurdle in this feat. HR managers at IBM now decide how to helpdevelop people – to give them the skills, tools and appropriate infrastructure -to maintain a competitive edge and differentiate IBM. Obviously, all of this iswithin the context of business demands. For instance, the company used toemphasize traditional training, but that can’t be the exclusive trainingapproach any longer.


    “We can’t afford totake people away from their jobs and they can’t afford to leave them,” saysWeintraub. “They have to be onsite with customers or in laboratories orwherever they may be assigned.” So although IBM still brings 10,000 to 15,000people to their learning campuses annually, they’ve also developed technologyto enable different ways to learn. Employees use interactive television andcomputer-based training. But, that’s still taking the person away from thejob, even if it is modularized and they can do it in sections. So the companyhas developed what they call Learning Space, where courses and professors exist,but the system is asynchronous. This means that the instructor sets up deadlinesand content, and students manage the scheduling based on personal convenience.


    Another initiative inits infancy at IBM is retraining its trainers to be learning facilitators.Educators in the classroom are put on project teams (sometimes on teams withcustomers) to help facilitate learning. These educators understand the learningrequirements, and determine how many formal sessions and other informal learningactivities are needed to support learning objectives. Mentors also work withindividuals face to face, over the phone and through technology in anapprentice-type situation.


 


Create ways topartner with employees to increase their competencies
    “We make afundamental assumption that improving our capacity to learn, grow and adapt willbring us competitive advantage in our marketplace,” says Betty Black, managerof the Account Leadership Program for Plano, Texas-based EDS. “Partnering withour employees will result in a satisfied customer and an increase in profits.Any given technology becomes obsolete very quickly, so really it’s ourcapacity to change and learn that is a competitive differentiation for us.”


    EDS enhances continuouslearning through a two-pronged approach, which begins with a partnership betweenthe company and its employees. Part of the approach relates to mindset orculture. How do you create a corporate culture that establishes continuouslearning as a core business value? One key element is senior leadershipcommitment. Another is building awareness through ongoing communication. “Thechairman of our company, Les Alberthal, said, ‘EDS is nothing more than whatits people do and say on any given day.’ So it’s important that our skillsare honed to meet our customers’ business needs,” reiterates Black.


    EDS began creating thiscontinual learning partnership when they implemented several transformationalprograms. These focused on mindset and organizational issues emanating fromPeter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the LearningOrganization (Doubleday/Currency, 1990). After that, the company began lookingat alternative ways to learn in addition to traditional lectures. Central tothis mindset was to understand different learning styles and to incorporatethose styles into the culture.


    “We’ve reallyemphasized the mutual responsibility between manager and employee,” saysJennifer Dominguez, director of Training and Education of EDS. Managers aretheir coach and guide, but the employee takes charge of the learning and thecareer development.


    While the organizationspends time and energy to create a mindset that values constant learning, EDSalso has standardized systems in place to make continuous learning a reality.One of the key tools is the Career Resource System, which has four components.


    First, employees areprovided with a job family matrix, which defines the skills needed for each typeof job, and skills required to progress to the next level. Theperformance-review tool is the second piece, and gives employees feedback frompeers, managers and teammates.


    The third piece is thecareer planner, which helps employees stay on track with their future goals andinterests. Lastly, employees can access an automated career library throughCD-ROM or the Internet.


    Johnson & Johnsonalso supports a strong learning partnership with employees. In addition to beingrecognized as a front-runner in terms of development, the New Brunswick, NewJersey-based company is also known to be quite generous in the way it approachespartnership. “We say J&J people have shared responsibility in theirdevelopment. The company will provide the environment, the tools and theresources, but employees have to show the energy, the interest and the drive togo forward,” says Carey.


    One unique approachJ&J uses to enhance learning resources is their involvement in asophisticated interactive Web site, called TalentAlliance. The Web site allows participants from many different companies toexamine long and short-term career planning, skill building and personaldevelopment. There’s also a section devoted to assessment where individualsmay choose to ask for feedback from colleagues and be reviewed by peers andsupervisors on a confidential basis.


    There are multipleadvantages to using this type of technology. The self-directed skill-competencysections allow individuals to benchmark against others who are inside andoutside their corporation. It’s also completely self-initiated and paced atthe individual’s speed. It encourages individuals to develop their skills andcontinuously learn. It spurs motivated workers to pursue a panoply ofeducational possibilities that will continue to make them employable in the longrun.


    “If you’re nothelping your people improve, they’re losing ground,” says Carey. And keepingpace in this breakneck gallop with constant change and learning is a tandem raceindeed.


Workforce,April 1999, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 66-68  SubscribeNow!

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Preventing Age Discrimination

By the year 2005, individuals who are age 50 and over will make up 25 percent of the work force. As the workforce continues to age, discriminatory practices will tend to take on new meaning. Often, younger workers may not even realize that what they are doing can be deemed discriminatory. For example, the following are examples of activities that may now be considered discriminatory based on one’s age:


  • Making an older worker to choose between a layoff without health benefits and little chance or recall and early retirement.
  • Using financial incentives to lure older workers into retirement, regardless of their performance.
  • Re-deploying younger workers during times of layoffs and reorganization, while eliminating older ones.
  • Failing to offer older workers the same flexible work options that are available to younger workers.
  • Denying benefits to older workers.
  • Hiring younger workers to assume key responsibilities because the employer assumes the older worker will retire.
  • Failing to offer older workers equal job-related training and career development opportunities.
  • Leaving older workers out of key corporate activities.

Source: AlignMark, Maitland, FL, January 5, 1999

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Assess Your Skills Shortage

AchieveGlobal asked trainers and managers in a variety of industries why many of their workers do not have a knowledge of basic workplace skills and behaviors.


Among basic skills and behaviors that are lacking are the ability to manage interpersonal relationships and differences; communicate to co-workers, supervisors and customers; and maintain self-esteem and a work ethic. Overall, workers do not know how the workplace operates or what their employers’ basic expectations are.


The company then developed the following questions to ask supervisors, managers and HR professionals in order to assess your employees’ skill levels and the impact of that deficiency on the workplace.


  • What competencies and skills do you look for in hiring line and staff employees?
  • What role do fundamental workplace skills play in your hiring profile?
  • Do you have to make compromises in selecting job candidates or in expectations of job performance?
  • Do these compromises affect the length of time for the employee to become productive?
  • What impact does employee “ramp-up time” have on the performance of your organization or service?
  • How many line or staff employees do you hire in a year?
  • How is your retention of such employees? Are you hiring repeatedly for the same position?
  • What are the main causes of turnover in your organization?
  • What are the effects of turnover on productivity and on team morale?
  • What are the effects of turnover on your customers?
  • How much and what kind of training do new line and staff support employees go through?
  • How are your line and staff support employees’ listening skills? Ability to ask questions and clarify?
  • How do your line and staff support employees accept and learn new tasks?
  • How do your support employees handle problems with peers? With supervisors and managers?
  • How are your organization’s absenteeism rates?
  • Can your employees articulate problems and work with others in a constructive manner to solve them?
  • What role will your line and staff employees play in your organization’s growth?

What are some of the barriers you face to promoting from within?


SOURCE: AchieveGlobal, Tampa, FL.

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Expats The Squandered Resource

The obstacles that organizations facewhen they globally conduct business are daunting: political turmoil, economiccrises, complex labor laws, poor infrastructures and more. How ironic, then,that one of the greatest threats to business success comes from within: thefailure to effectively manage expatriate assignments. That failure is widespreadeven though expatriate assignments are the first step most companies take whenthey establish operations overseas, and despite the prevailing wisdom that thoseassignments routinely cost $1 million – or more.


    Evidence ofCorporate America’s failure is found throughout the results of “MeasuringExpatriate Success,” a survey of HR professionals recently conducted byWorkforce in conjunction with Valhalla, New York-based Prudential RelocationInternational. More than 300 professionals answered the survey, which looked atnumerous aspects of expatriate assignments. The results show that companies withexpatriate employees are generally providing pre-assignment support effectively. 


    But the results alsoshow several causes for concern. Many assignees are sent abroad without clearlydefined goals for the assignment. Costs are often not projected or measured.Women are almost completely overlooked for assignments. And the repatriationprocess is rocky, at best. It’s little wonder that the assignment failure rateis significant, or that companies lose many repatriated employees within a yearof their return. 


    Given the importanceof expatriate assignments, why are the problems so widespread? According to theexperts in global HR that Workforce spoke with, the reasons are plentiful:internal corporate politics, cultural issues, family concerns and more. 


    The problems alsoreflect the fact that in most organizations, HR has a limited (or nonexistent)role in expatriate selection, management and repatriation. Instead, HR’s roleis primarily administrative support. That’s true even in organizations inwhich some HR staff members are dedicated solely to international issues. 


    Clearly, HR has yetto become a full strategic partner in all aspects of the business. Much of thework that is now routinely done within HR relative to domestic issues has yet tobe applied to offshore operations. The good news is that HR has a powerfulopportunity to make a real impact on businesses expanding abroad. To have thatimpact, HR must begin at the beginning: with selection. 


HR’s role is limited
    There are manybusiness reasons for sending employees on an expatriate assignment. Respondentscited more than 11 different objectives for assignments, including opening newmarkets, transferring skills, facilitating a merger or acquisition, and settingup new technologies and systems. Given the breadth of purpose, it isn’tsurprising that many types of employees are being sent abroad. (It’s importantto note that the study looked at employees sent from their home country toanother country on company assignment. Therefore, some expatriates are citizensof other countries coming into the United States.) 


    Middle managers arethe employees selected for assignment most often. But the list also includessenior managers, sales staff, engineers, IS programmers, scientists and HRprofessionals. 


    What is surprisingis the selection process. The overwhelming priority in selecting candidates istheir technical, management or other job-related skills. Almost 100 percent ofrespondents cited skills as the “most important” or a “very important”consideration in selection. A candidate’s personality traits – adaptability,flexibility or preference for autonomy – are given much lower priority, eventhough personality traits often play a larger role in an employee’s success atadapting to a new culture and working productively. 


    “Even thoughpeople probably have seen enough failed assignments, there isn’t a lot ofrecognition that there are different skills needed for internationalassignments,” says Kevin Oakley, international HR manager for PhillipsPetroleum Co. in Bartles Bille, Oklahoma. 


    Fewer thantwo-thirds of respondents said that personality is a very importantconsideration in expat selection, and 11 percent said it has little or noimportance. Family issues (such as spouse’s dual career concerns, the healthof family members or concerns for children) are the lowest priority. Just overone-third of respondents said family issues are important, while 25 percent saidthey aren’t important. 


    The relatively lowpriority of family issues in the decision-making process is somewhat surprisingbecause respondents report that accompanied employees (those on assignment withtheir spouse or domestic partner and/or children) are slower to becomeproductive on assignment and leave their organizations in greater numbers afterrepatriating. 


    The emphasis ontechnical skills (“hard data”) over “soft” issues (such as job fit orpersonality) in the selection process may reflect the discouraging reality thatof all the constituencies involved in the selection process, HR has the leastinfluence on the decision. 


    The primaryselection roles are played by senior management (such as the CEO), line managersin the country of origin, and line managers in the destination country – eachwas identified as playing the most significant or a very important role by 60 to65 percent of respondents. Functional managers were cited as most important orvery important by 55 percent of respondents. (Figures total more than 100percent because respondents were asked to identify everyone who played a role inthe selection process and to weigh their importance in the process.) 


    In contrast, HR wascited by just 31 percent as playing the most important or a very important rolein selection. A stunning 34 percent report that HR plays very little or no rolein the process. The results weren’t any more encouraging when respondents wereasked to specify HR’s role in the selection process. Five percent report thatHR has no role at all. Almost two-thirds say HR “serves in an advisorycapacity only.” A small but significant number (almost 20 percent) “presenta group of candidates from which the selection is made.” Just 7 percent havethe “authority to veto a selection,” while a tiny 3.5 percent actuallyselects employees for overseas assignments. 


    Of course, it’snot always appropriate for HR to select candidates for assignments abroad. “HRis here to support the business manager, but not really to make those decisionsfor them,” says Jerry Strickert, manager of international assignments forDallas-based EDS. 


    Brenda Spilker,director of HR planning and development for Calgary-based Suncor Energy Inc.,agrees, noting that usually HR doesn’t have final accountability for theselection. “Project managers want the final accountability for thedecision,” she says. 


    But they agree thatHR should still be involved. “The best way for HR to be involved is really tomake the tools available and to try to get involved early on in the selectionprocess,” says Oakley. 


    He suggests usingtools to help employees self-select for assignments. “Everyone wants aninternational assignment, but they really don’t know what’s involved untilafter they’ve accepted it,” he says. Even a simple questionnaire for theemployee and family members can help raise the issues they’ll face livingabroad, Oakley says. 


    Strickert takes it astep further. EDS encourages employees who are interested in an overseasassignment to assess their own skills and readiness. The employee’s currentmanager is then encouraged to use a behavioral interviewing tool to assess thecandidate. In three major business units at EDS, that process yields a pool ofpotential candidates from which assignees can be chosen. 


    However, in mostorganizations, HR’s current value is in providing pre-departure services toexpatriates and their families. In that role, HR is largely successful. Mostexpats are given a wide variety of support, including a pre-assignmenthome-finding trip, language training and cultural preparation. 


    Therefore, employeesare generally well prepared for their assignments. However, what they’reexpected to do is often an open question. 


Assignment goals and costs often areunclear
    Although the averageexpat assignment lasts 2.7 years and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars,there’s still a large gap between identifying the broad business purpose (suchas opening a new market or facilitating a merger) and setting specific goals forthe assignment. 


    Just 33.5 percent ofrespondents say their organization always sets measurable goals for assignments.Another 22.5 percent set measurable goals 75 percent of the time. But almost athird (31 percent) set measurable goals half the time or less. And a shocking 13percent say measurable goals are never set for expat assignments. 


    Respondentsacknowledge inadequate planning is a problem. Almost two-thirds of respondentssay that the lack of a defined goal has impeded the success of assignments, andanother 57 percent say ambiguity in communicating the goal to the assignee hasbeen a problem. 


    So why does theproblem persist? Some organizations get so focused on the logistics of theassignment that its purpose gets lost in the shuffle. “I’m working with acompany right now that is sending its first expatriate,” says Carrie Shearer,a consultant with The Thobe Group in Dallas. “I had a hard time getting thecompany to understand that it was important to specify what the person wasexpected to be doing. They eventually realized they wouldn’t want to get onthe plane if they didn’t know why they were going.” 


    In other situations,the company may have set goals. “Sometimes what happens is the sending companythinks they’ve set a goal, but when the person actually gets to the location,they find out that’s not what the company actually needs,” says Shearer, whowas a global HR professional with CalTex for almost 18 years and has been anexpatriate herself. 


    Because there arealmost always two constituencies involved in an assignment – the sending companyand the host – there can be disagreements between them. Shearer says the clientthat was about to send its first expat discovered during the preparation phasethat the sending organization and the company accepting the assignee haddifferent ideas about the purpose of the assignment. 


    That situation wasresolved, but in some cases, the antipathy lingers. Goals may be unclear, saysone HR professional, because employees in the host country don’t really wantthe expat, or see him or her as temporary and, therefore, unworthy of the timeand effort required to set and measure goals. 


    But the distance canmanifest itself in other ways, too. “The sending organization can’t alwaysset the goals,” says Malou Roth, vice president, human resources training anddevelopment for Molex, winner of 1999’s Workforce Optimas Award for GlobalOutlook. 


    To illustrate thepoint, she mentions a hypothetical situation in which a marketing professionalis being sent to Germany. HR may have a broad outline of what he or she issupposed to accomplish. But specific goals, relative to account management,customer service and market share, are likely to be set in Germany. “I reallydon’t need to know the details in Chicago,” she says. 


    Ultimately, howspecific the goals for an assignment are, and who sets them, are very muchdriven by the broad purpose of the assignment, how much experience a company haswith expatriates, and where the company is in its life cycle. It may also beaffected by the location of the assignment – the experts note that goal setting,in the American sense, isn’t part of the culture in some other parts of theworld. 


    When goals are set,once again HR plays a minor role. Respondents say that senior management in thedestination country is involved most often in setting goals (63 percent reportthat such is the case in their organizations). Others involved include seniormanagement in the home country (cited by 48 percent), line managers (46percent), employees themselves (39 percent) and department managers (29percent). HR was cited as playing a role in goal setting by just 16 percent ofrespondents. 


    Those involved insetting goals are also the people who measure them, and in very similar numbers.Again, HR’s role is smallest – only 16 percent of respondents say HR plays anyrole in measuring the goals. Most often, goals are measured annually (by 74percent of respondents), but in some instances every six months (22 percent).Almost half of respondents (45 percent) say that goals are sometimesre-evaluated and altered. Equal percentages of respondents (33 percent) say thatif goals are unmet, then assignments are extended until the goal is met or,conversely, assignments are curtailed if goals are met early. 


    HR’s peripheralinvolvement in setting and measuring goals is reflected in the actions taken inresponse to measurement. Mid-assignment interventions that take best advantageof HR’s expertise are relatively rare. The most common – cited by 38 percentof respondents – is to implement a performance management strategy. But only 13percent of respondents say that job training is offered to expats who aren’tmeeting goals, and only 8 percent say that cross-cultural training is used as anintervention.


    With goal-settingroutine in just one-third of organizations, it shouldn’t be surprising thatcosts often aren’t projected, either. Only about 40 percent of respondents saythat their organizations project both direct and indirect costs of expatriateassignments. Another 30 percent say they project direct costs only. But asurprising 17 percent report that whether they project costs depends on theassignment and the managers involved. And 14 percent don’t project any costs. 


    Lance Richards,director of international staff for Irving, Texas-based GTE International,“can’t imagine” business environments in which direct costs aren’tcarefully projected. HR partners at GTE calculate costs from the outset. Forexample, if the business-development division is developing a project inBotswana, HR will calculate the cost of an assignment including everything frompre-assignment assessment to housing, utilities and repatriation costs. 


    “On the front end,we can say this expatriate assignment is going to cost us X dollars,” Richardssays. “That’s very valuable to business-development people. It helps themanswer the question, ‘Can we make a profit on this?’” 


    But even when costsare projected, they’re often irrelevant. Almost one-third of respondents saytheir organizations never compare the actual cost of an assignment to theprojected costs. About 70 percent of respondents say comparisons are madebetween projected and actual costs, usually during the assignment. 


    Collectively, thesenumbers show that only about one-third of all expatriate assignments havemeasurable goals and fully complete projected costs. About one in sevenexpatriates are sent abroad with no articulated goal, and with no projection ofthe assignment’s cost. The rest of assignments are somewhere in between. 


    Almost nodemographic slice holds a monopoly on good or bad expat management. Settinggoals and projecting costs (or failing to) doesn’t correlate to company size,expat population, size of the HR function, number of HR professionals dedicatedto international issues, or years of experience in managing expats. In fact, theonly reliable predictor of effectiveness in managing expats is industry:Companies in education and legal or management consulting have by far the besttrack record, while those in oil, gas, mining and chemicals have by far theworst. 


    Given theuniversality of the issues, it shouldn’t be surprising that the failure ratefor assignments is high. 


    In definingassignment failure, several scenarios were evaluated. Respondents assigned thegreatest importance to damaged relationships with clients/vendors; 69 percentsaid it’s the “most important” or a “very important” factor indefining a failed assignment. The next greatest importance in defining a failedassignment was given to an expatriate’s decision to return home early (62percent cited it as “most important” or “very important”), followed byfailing to meet revenue goals (59 percent report that it is most or veryimportant).


    Least importance indefining failure was given to an expat’s inability to replace him- or herselfwith a local hire (just 30 percent said it was most or very important). 


    Using all thesepossible scenarios to define the problem, 75 percent of respondents report atleast some failed assignments in their organizations. The greatest number ofrespondents (28 percent) report a failure rate between 10 to 19 percent. Butsome organizations have been particularly unsuccessful: 5 percent report thatmore than half of their expat assignments have failed, and 2 percent say thatall their assignments have been failures. 


    Given the relativescarcity of expatriate assignments (the average responding organization has3,200 employees and 24 expatriates), each assignment is clearly important. Eachfailed assignment is costly and potentially very significant. It’s clear thatresources are being squandered on overseas assignments. And even greaterproblems arise involving repatriation. 


Repatriation gets less attention
    When it comes timeto repatriate employees, the same one-third of organizations who set goals andproject costs also plan the return home: They have a plan in place before theassignment begins. 


    Other organizationsaren’t so effective. One in four don’t begin formal repatriation discussions(to address not only the move home, but next job assignments, as well) untilthree to six months before the end of the assignment. But 4 percent wait untilonly two months before the return to discuss it, and a whopping 27 percent ofrespondents say their organizations may not have a repatriation discussion atall. 


    Expats oftenaren’t given much notice before the move home, either. Although 42 percent ofrespondents say that their expats are given 3 to 6 months notice, 14 percent saythat expats get two months notice or less – and 18 percent say that expats getno formal notice at all. 


    Organizations alsoare much less likely to offer help to employees as they return home than theywere given at the outset of the assignment, despite the fact that experts saythe return home can be just as great an adjustment. Almost three-fourths ofrespondents say that expats are given home-finding assistance when they return.But only 30 percent say that employees receive orientation counseling (toaddress such issues as the financial implications of a return), and only 21percent report providing career counseling. 


    “The perception isthat if you are coming back home, you shouldn’t have any difficulties,” saysFranchette Richards, manager of the human capital services area for ArthurAndersen. “Companies are unaware of the very real, very painful things thathappen to an expat coming home.” 


    Expatriatesreturning home find that “both their personal and professional lives havechanged,” says Franchette Richards. After being autonomous and pursuing a WildWest means of getting things done, expats return to bureaucratic red tape.“They feel stifled,” she says. “They aren’t allowed to use theircreativity.” In addition, they often face family difficulties at home. Shesays that companies need to look at what they offer employees when theyrepatriate, citing counseling and a career plan as particularly important. 


    In some instances,that happens. GTE’s Lance Richards says his organization gives expatriatesinformation about their return before they leave. Richards describes arepatriation matrix, which includes time frames for the return process up totheir placement in a new job. “The key to successful expat assignments, asidefrom the good selection process, is managing expectations,” he says. 


    Too often, thatdoesn’t happen. Repatriation plans – along with a solid selection process,effective goal setting and realistic cost projections – are happening in only aminority of companies. Consequently, the failure rate for assignments is high.As market pressures and a tight labor market escalate, failure is a luxury thatfew companies will be able to afford. Managing assignments for success isimperative, and HR has an unprecedented opportunity to get involved and to makea real impact. 


    “It’s a case ofold-school HR versus new-school HR,” Richards says. “Old school is where HRdoes what it does and no one really knows what’s going on. New school is anintegrated, business-partner approach, in which we’re closely involved andaccountable for numbers.” 


Workforce,April 1999, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 42-48 SubscribeNow!

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Basic Skills Training 101

Unless you’re one of those rare human resources virtuosos who has a natural talent for teaching, it won’t be easy designing and implementing a workplace literacy program—especially one that will help employees improve the skills needed to retain their jobs, advance their careers and increase company productivity.


A successful workplace literacy program requires a lot more than just stuffing paycheck envelopes with Project Read® brochures. Most HR managers, all too aware of their limited expertise in this area, choose alliances with local educational institutions, community colleges or even private firms skilled in developing, customizing and delivering basic workplace skills programs. It’s just easier than trying to build something from scratch.


Be sensitive in your approach to skills assessment.
Developing a more highly skilled workforce first requires a job analysis and skills assessment to help you identify and close the gaps in reading, math, communication skills and other areas. The City of Phoenix, for example, conducted a survey over a decade ago that revealed many employees lacked the basic skills to be considered “promotable.” As a result, the Public Works and Personnel Departments partnered with local community colleges and Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County to develop a curriculum for city employees. “It’s just more feasible to work with outside consultants who already have the assessment and training tools,” says June Liggins, Phoenix personnel curriculum and training coordinator.

You should encourage employees to transfer their new skills to the workforce.

However, assessing employees can often lead to stress. Sometimes people think they’re at a higher reading or math level than they really are. Most managers agree the curriculum should be tied as closely as possible to workers’ skills and what workers actually do.


You should also encourage employees to transfer their newly acquired skills back to the workforce to improve, say, cycle times or marketing, or to increase employee bonuses. Above all else, consider that maybe you’re better off relying on professional instructors than the do-it-yourself approach.


Employee reluctance must be overcome.
Perhaps the toughest hurdle to overcome is getting people to volunteer for a literacy program. “Employees are just too self-conscious,” says Jack Fenimore, president of the Newburgh, Indiana-based Literacy Now, a nonprofit distributor of educational materials. “They don’t want to admit they can’t read, particularly to their employers.”


Years ago at Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola—when company officials first introduced a workplace literacy program—employees were given the opportunity to volunteer if they felt they needed to improve their reading, writing and math skills. Less than half stepped forward. “But once employees went back into the workforce and started sharing their experiences, the participation rate jumped another 20 to 30 percent,” says Jim Frasier, manager of learning research and evaluation for Motorola University.

Workplace literacy training must meet not only your company’s needs, but also the needs of your employees — otherwise, they may not participate.

Companies that really want to encourage employees to get involved in their own education need to convey straight from the CEO’s office that it’s a business issue that’s driving the need for skills improvements. Once that’s established, managers should consider a range of programs that are both innovative and expansive, not only for your existing workforce, but for alternative labor pools, as well.


There are ways to keep the training costs low.
Although the Washington, D.C.-based Manufacturing Institute’s Center for Workforce Success recommends employers invest at least 3 percent of total payroll to educate and train employees, workplace literacy programs don’t have to be expensive. For many small and mid-size companies, there’s little expense beyond the time involved in planning the program and releasing employees from work to participate in classes. For example, the cost of the Phoenix Literacy Program has averaged about $2.25 per employee-contact hour, according to city officials.


There are many ways to keep the costs of your basic skills programs low, according to Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance of Business (NAB). Some states offer tax credits, some unions share expenses, and federal and many state governments offer grants.


It’s not even necessary to conduct classes only at corporate headquarters. Collaboration is actually a good thing for effective training and education, and, in truth, no single company, educational institution or government agency can tackle the challenge alone. “Companies need to sit down with educational institutions and others, and decide what specific skills are needed in the workforce,” says Helene F. Uhlfelder, Ph.D., director with the Atlanta office of AnswerThink Consulting Group, a management consulting firm.


HR managers need to consider these key points.
Workplace literacy training must meet not only your company needs, but also the needs of your employees—otherwise, they may not participate. According to NAB, there are a number of key points you should consider when developing a workplace literacy training program.


  • Involve management, supervisors, employees and union in the development stage. Successful programs should be supported by every department in your company.
  • Align the program with company objectives, practices and job requirements.
  • Whenever possible, workplace literacy skills training should be linked with other training required in the workplace.
  • Be flexible about when and where classes are held, and provide incentives for participating employees.
  • Allow for self-paced learning. Employees will come to the training with widely divergent skills and learning abilities.
  • Use a variety of instructional methods and media, from self-paced computer programs and workbooks to one-on-one instruction.
  • Provide ongoing feedback to help employees gauge their own progress.
  • Ensure employee confidentiality. Otherwise, they may not participate.

To get training off the ground, you need support.
Diane Bronson Young is CEO and human resources director of Ridgeville, Ontario-based J.F. Young International Inc., an educational training and consulting firm. She has more than 15 years of experience in literacy training, and works primarily with companies interested in setting up educational upgrading programs for their employees.


“The two most important elements when establishing a company literacy program are support from management and confidentiality,” she says. “If you don’t have support from management, the program will end up a failure. Management must believe a literacy program is important for employees and the company. And guaranteeing confidentiality helps encourage employees to get involved.”


According to NAB, basic skills programs have increased productivity, reduced errors and improved sales and on-time delivery at various companies around the country. Of course, the key to solving the lack of basic skills in the workforce is what happens after class adjourns. Training is not a one-shot deal. It took Motorola eight years to complete basic skills training for 8,000 of its production workers. The City of Phoenix continues to educate its employees. And if you believe the research that as much as 20 percent of the American workforce may still be functionally illiterate, then you’ve got to believe implementing a workplace literacy program is a must—no matter how long it takes.

Workforce, April 1999, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 76-78.

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The Glass Ceiling is Intact for Expats

If you’re an expatriate, it’s stillvery much a man’s world. Although survey respondents represent every industryand organizations of all sizes, and although employees in several types of jobsare sent on assignments, the overwhelming majority of expats are men. In theaverage organization, 90 percent of expats are men.


    But the glassceiling becomes even more apparent when respondents answer questions abouteligibility. Of employees who are eligible for an expatriate assignment,respondents say that 71 percent are men. In organizations with a list ofidentified employees from which assignments are made, 75 percent are men. Giventhat women constitute approximately half the workforce, these numbers arealarming. 


    But the news getsworse. Despite the eligibility numbers, only one woman is actually offered anassignment for every ten men who are offered one. In other words, the number ofwomen offered assignments is consistent with the number of women expats onassignment. But that number represents fewer than half of those who areeligible. 


    There doesn’tappear to be any business reason for the discrimination, either. Respondents saythat women accept assignments at a greater rate than men do (90 percent of menaccept versus 99 percent of women). Women are also less likely to return earlyand have a greater assignment success rate. 


    So why are women sounderrepresented? Some experts attribute it to a perception that family issuesare a greater concern for women. Others see it a reflection of the belief thatwomen fare less well in certain countries or cultures. 


    Although one HRprofessional admitted, “I don’t know if I would want to be the first on myblock to send a woman to Japan to do marketing,” others downplayed thecultural barriers. “I think it’s more an American perception than areality,” says Carrie Shearer. “Women will have a great deal of difficultyin Arab cultures. But if they are set up properly, women can be quite successfulin Asia, Africa, and even South America.” 


    Malou Roth suggeststhat the situation may be driven more by domestic concerns than internationalones. She says that some organizations, concerned about their affirmative actionprograms, are less likely to send women or minorities abroad than to developthem at home. Because there also may be a perception that expatriates are offthe radar screen at home, organizations may choose not to send high-potentialwomen away for two years. “I think that a lot of people really feel that womenhave a better chance of accelerating their career growth in the UnitedStates.” 


    Franchette Richardssays that that’s even more likely to be true in some organizations than inothers. She says that women are more likely to be selected in newerorganizations, and less likely in industries in which men have traditionallydominated, such as oil or gas. 


    In any case, ifcompanies are to have long-term success in the global marketplace, they can’tcontinue to overlook half the workforce. 


Workforce,April 1999, Vol. 78, No. 4, p. 46 SubscribeNow!