Category: Archive

Posted on

10 Ways To Protect Intranet Data

For most human resources professionals, building an intranet is an alluring idea. After all, what better way is there to reduce the blitz of phone calls and paperwork? Automating processes and eliminating mindless work can’t get much easier than this. But behind the buzz about how an internal Web site can revolutionize the workplace and make HR more strategic lies a sobering dose of reality: Intranets can pose a potential threat to security-and not only in ways that are immediately obvious.

Yes, it’s necessary that an organization takes precautionary steps to prevent hackers and disgruntled employees from breaching data within its intranet. It must ensure that private information is kept secure, and that unauthorized access to electronic documents or files doesn’t take place.

You have to deal with viruses and other assorted headaches. Then there are also less obvious threats, like unofficial applications — including games — that can corrupt or destroy data; keeping confidential or sensitive information-from trade secrets to business plans-from being mistakenly or inadvertently displayed online; and improperly designed firewalls that don’t lock out those pesky potential hackers. Without proper version controls and backups, it’s also possible for employees to overwrite or destroy key documents.

Unfortunately, ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to online security. Andy Maxwell, a Washington, D.C.-based intranet consultant for Watson Wyatt Worldwide, explains: “Human resources and finance are the two divisions of a company in which the data touches every employee. Any mistake or lapse in security can be absolutely fatal [for the business].”

John Kelly, a security expert with SCT Corp., a business applications software company in San Diego, adds: “The typical HR professional has long delegated intranet security policy to IT. Today, that’s a huge mistake. The economic and legal risk is enormous-particularly if medical claim records or dependent information is revealed.”

Here are 10 ways HR can play its part in protecting data that is available through an intranet:

  1. Consider using a PIN or password-based system to prevent unauthorized access to files. Although the use of an employee ID and password isn’t the most secure method for authenticating a user (see “Getting to Greater Intranet Efficiency,” page 72), it’s a good balance of convenience and security. A single log-on procedure with appropriate restrictions on access can simplify processes and eliminate the need for employees to maintain multiple passwords, says Giuseppe Cimmino, manager of The Source Online, MCI Corp.’s HR intranet site.

    At Washington, D.C.-based MCI, more than 30,000 employees company-wide access the intranet every month. They’re able to exercise stock options, view electronic pay stubs, update W-4s and engage in distance learning. MCI also puts employees’ names on the Web pages so employees know they’re viewing confidential information.

    Plus, there’s a log-off button to ensure that data is no longer available once an employee has completed an online task. “Although the system automatically logs a person off after five minutes, we want employees to know they have a personal responsibility to protect sensitive data,” Cimmino comments.

  2. Use digital signatures to authenticate a person’s identity. It’s a technology that’s evolving rapidly, but it’s far enough along to pay dividends today. Digital signature/certificate technology makes it possible to verify that a person is exactly who he or she says he or she is.

    While a conventional, printed signature on paper can be forged, that’s nearly impossible to do with a digital certificate. A document is encrypted using a password that’s required by both the sender and receiver. Without the password, the file becomes a scrambled mess. Likewise, any attempt to alter the document once it has been encrypted renders it useless.

    Such systems typically work best for sending sensitive documents outside the organization, yet “Issuing and maintaining them can be challenging,” says Maxwell. The lag time in getting a new employee set up and revoking privileges for a terminated employee-typically a few days-can present problems because employees can’t log on right away or can continue to have access after they’ve left the organization.

  3. Confirm transactions to ensure they are valid. “Whenever any personal data is changed through an electronic system, the person originating the transaction should confirm it,” says Kelly. That means sending a letter or e-mail in response to the employee or manager’s request, ensuring that the transaction is legitimate and that changes have been recorded. Sending out a confirmation also offers an added bonus: “The person can review the information to make sure it’s accurate,” he points out.

  4. Know what data resides on your intranet. According to Steven L. Telleen-director of strategy and business at Santa Clara, California-based Intranet Partners, and the creator of the term intranet-as much as 30 percent of a company’s online content is made up of “unofficial applications and information.”

    When IT managers at organizations use a Web crawler (a software program that automatically indexes content) to survey their intranets, many are shocked to see that servers and pages often sprout like weeds. In some cases, the extraneous content can pose a security or liability threat. Employees at some companies have actually posted classified information or put up opinions and statements not supported by the organization. More frequently, employees load games and various programs they find useful. These applications can crash the network and corrupt files and settings.

  5. Establish manager controls. Although it’s possible to achieve impressive results using advanced intranet functionality, the more sophisticated the capabilities, the more security becomes an issue. For example, managers might suddenly have access to sensitive or unneeded data, such as an employee’s ethnicity or marital status. That information could be used-or perceived as the basis-for making decisions about terminations and promotions. As a result, it’s essential to consider what data different managers need, and then establish controls to limit access to the appropriate level.

  6. Establish access controls and other physical controls. Sometimes, the most obvious threat is the least considered. When one large supermarket chain in Southern California found a server on its intranet wasn’t responding, an IT manager was dispatched to the scene-only to discover that the entire computer had been hauled off, along with an essential database. To be sure, all the network protection in the world won’t do any good if equipment isn’t protected.

    Not only is it important to limit physical access to computers with access control systems, it’s a good idea to use video surveillance, if appropriate. Unfortunately, employees and vendors with free rein to offices mastermind the majority of break-ins.

  7. Use HRMS security controls and firewalls. “You should build a basic level of security into your base HR application, regardless of the vendor,” warns Kelly. In fact, security in today’s HRMS applications has become far more robust-yet it’s only as good as the checks and balances that have been put into place. That means making sure security features are fully enabled, employees follow guidelines and appropriate firewall protection is in place. For instance, without the latter, it’s possible for hackers to tap into data. Contrary to popular belief, these data bandits usually aren’t teenagers breaking into the system from outside. They’re often employees, temps or independent contractors working in other departments within the same company.

  8. Encrypt sensitive Web pages. When employees are allowed to view sensitive information on an intranet-such as 401(k) statements or pay stubs-it’s essential to provide encryption through the browser. Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer support Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), but it’s up to IT and HR to ensure that sensitive documents and files are sent from the server to the browser in an encrypted form. “It’s cheap insurance that’s very effective,” says Maxwell.

    However, the protection you place on your intranet materials shouldn’t stop there. It’s possible to set controls so that the browser won’t display data stored in its cache. Thus, when an employee clicks on the “back” button, the previous screen is no longer available.

    The system can also be set to disconnect an employee after several minutes of inactivity. “If a person gets up and leaves his or her PC, somebody else can’t view the data,” says MCI’s Cimmino. Such a policy can ensure that the right set of eyeballs views appropriate data.

  9. Develop and coordinate policies with IT. At many companies, human resources depends on IT to develop sufficient security procedures. That’s a big mistake-security is a complex issue and that requires input from various departments. Maxwell notes, “HR must be involved to ensure that the appropriate level of protection is in place. Nobody knows HR data better than HR.”

    It’s also essential to work with IT to ensure that electronic audits can track down violators, and also spot weaknesses in the overall security structure.

  10. Educate workers how to use the system correctly. Companies that teach their employees how to securely use an intranet can prevent a number of problems. In order to protect the company’s data, it’s important for workers to understand how to correctly use passwords, as well as log-on and log-off procedures and digital certificates.

    “A system is only as good as the policies and procedures in place. Security is about cultural issues, as well as technology,” says Jude O’Reilley, a research analyst for Gartner Group in Stamford, Connecticut. In other words, all the protection in the world won’t help if employees do not follow standard guidelines and procedures. It’s up to HR to help educate employees use systems correctly and ensure that they’re minimizing the risk of a security breach.

Keeping the company’s systems and data well protected is the responsibility of everyone within the organization. Although the task can at times seem complicated and overwhelming, there’s no alternative to using proper security techniques in today’s digital workspace-and workplace. Anything less than total vigilance can be an invitation for disaster.

Workforce, September 1998, Vol. 77, No. 9, pp. 78-81.

Posted on

Measure What You Bring to the Bottom Line

Measurement of the results of HR’s efforts — HR’s return on investment (ROI) — is being lauded as today’s high-credibility management tool — a must-use formula for every sophisticated HR professional striving to gain respect as a true strategic business partner. But perhaps, like others in your shoes, you’ve found that walking the talk of quantitative measure isn’t as easy as it sounds.

In fact, you may even be a little bit embarrassed to admit your lack of know-how in this area. Hearing almost daily about the importance of economic value, bottom-line impact and net benefit, you’re convinced colleagues are measuring their way to a higher HR plane, leaving you behind to ponder your ignorance. Are you alone in your discomfort with the measurement task? Not by a long shot.

In the real world, there are few companies that consistently measure the bottom-line results of their HR investments. Rather, most are using extensive measurement sporadically at best, and many not at all.

Even sampling a few of the organizations that made it onto Fortune magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” (January 12, 1998) indicates that quantitative measure in the HR field is in its infancy. Not only does it appear that few companies measure the return on their HR investments, but in some cases, merely discussing the concept of HR measurement seems to invoke a high level of discomfort. Even a company like Ventura, California-based Patagonia Inc., a supplier of outdoor sportswear which invests heavily in employee amenities, and ranked 24th on Fortune’s list, does little to measure return in any standardized fashion.

Terri Wolfe, vice president of human resources for Patagonia — a company known for a recreational culture, family-friendly environment and top-notch child-care centers — is quick to admit this fact. “Oh, you’d better go somewhere else to get information on measuring results because that’s not something we do here,” Wolfe responded when asked to comment on the topic of measuring HR results.

But wait — that’s no reason to breathe a sigh of relief. Measuring the return on HR investment is the wave of the future, and the time has come for HR to step up to a new challenge: bottom-line accountability.

Experts agree that measuring HR’s ROI is essential.
Few will argue the value of measuring results for demonstrating impact in any business or organization concerned with profitability and growth. But should this concept really apply to the HR world?

You bet it should. HR shines the light on its contributions when it can show in dollars and cents that its efforts and initiatives are moving the organization closer to its fiscal goals and objectives. If HR isn’t able to quantify its contribution to the bottom line, then it will continue to be viewed as “overhead” — a term which implies that the HR function merely sucks up resources as opposed to adding value.

Undoubtedly, the “overhead” categorization further removes HR from the desired position of “strategic business partner,” a designation reserved for internal business units that can demonstrate the cost and value of expenditures and investments, showing linkage to a contribution to the economic health of the organization.

Dave Ulrich, professor of business administration at The University of Michigan and author of Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results (Harvard Business Press, 1997), is a strong advocate for measuring the results of HR’s efforts. According to Ulrich, “That which is inspected is expected. In a world of competing demands, if we don’t measure HR work, it won’t get attention.”

“If you become over-focused on the (bottom-line results), you can get to a point at which you need to do a ROI on conducting the ROI to make sure it’s worth the time spent measuring results–it can get a little crazy.”

A recent study conducted by New York City-based HR consulting firm Tillinghast-Towers Perrin (Towers Perrin Monitor, April 1998) loudly demonstrates how measuring HR’s contributions in actual dollars can be a big attention grabber. In the study, Tillinghast-Towers Perrin looked at 17 personal lines property/casualty insurance companies as they relate to impact on employee satisfaction, motivation and retention.

The study confirms that HR policies and practices can play a vital role in customer retention, which has a huge, quantifiable impact on the bottom line. A very strong correlation was found between customer retention levels and employee turnover. Low turnover among employees and sales agents proved to be critical in maximizing customer retention levels in the personal lines insurance business (and is likely to have the same result in other service-based industries).

The research focused on the economics of enhanced customer retention and found that a personal lines company with $1 billion in annual premiums can expect to realize an added value of up to 6 percent of its current premium volume, or $60 million, by increasing its customer retention rate from 85 percent to 87 percent. Furthermore, if this same company increases its policyholder retention rate to 90 percent, it realizes an added value of up to 14 percent of its current volume — $140 million. That’s the kind of measurement that catches senior management’s eye and demonstrates in no uncertain terms that HR’s programs can have real impact on the bottom line.

And having impact on the bottom line is something every HR organization should be concerned with today. Jack Phillips, author of Accountability in Human Resource Management (Gulf Publishing Company,1996) and president of the Performance Resources Organization, a Burlingham, Alabama-based consulting firm, says its more important than ever for HR to measure ROI. “Pressure to improve productivity and increase efficiency in a competitive environment has brought scrutiny to all functions, activities and expenditures,” says Phillips. “HR is responding with a variety of approaches to measure this contribution and ROI seems to be the best strategy to meet this important challenge.”

Phillips also points out that HR expenditures are on the increase, often making an organization’s human resources the “greatest single expenditure in most organizations.” This factor alone, Phillips says, places an even greater requirement on HR to prove to senior managers there’s a return on this investment. “The threat and extent of outsourcing is creating more emphasis on ROI. One of the most important strategies to prevent further outsourcing is to show senior management the return on investment of existing functions and processes.” Phillips also indicates that as functions are outsourced, the ROI process becomes a useful tool to measure the success of the outsourced activity.

HR is reluctant to embrace ROI measurements.
Given all of this, why aren’t more HR functions calculating the return on their investments? Phillips says he feels many HR professionals are still reluctant to accept responsibility and meet the demands of ultimate accountability. According to Phillips, many HR professionals contend that measurement and evaluation systems (particularly in ROI) are too difficult, too costly, and in some cases, impossible. Phillips is quick to respond that, in reality, ROI is possible within most budgets and can be “simplified and implemented with little cost.”

Still, it seems most companies are approaching the measurement challenge at a less-than-rigorous pace. Even high-tech leader Sun Microsystems, headquartered in Mountain View, California, and ranked 69th on Fortune’s list, hasn’t hit the ROI issue head-on, but progress is being made. Ken Alvares, vice president of human resources, explains that when dealing with HR programs, whether it be employee support services, training and development programs or quality initiatives, the measurement factor can be a difficult nut to crack.

Alvares, a self-described believer in “measuring everything you can,” says the problem lies in the fact that the end measurements are only as good as the assumptions they’re based on. “When it comes to measuring the results of some HR programs, I have a hard time trusting some of the numbers,” Alvares says. “For instance, when we’re trying to isolate revenue increase per head and start assuming those increases can be attributed to one program, I think the results are open to question.”

If a new progam improves pricing, time to market or quality, Alvares believes the return will be there.

However, Alvares does submit that in some situations, the measurement factor can be relatively clean and easy. For instance, the Sun organization implemented a software program that allowed salary change data to be entered and calculated far more efficiently, saving hours of work and improving productivity. Alvares explains it was relatively simple to calculate the cost of completing the same amount of work before and after using the new software. However, by press time, Alvares couldn’t provide Workforce with exact costs. Measuring return on investment can be fairly simple in situations where costs and expenditures are easy to identify.

Practitioners provide how-to advice.
Calculating ROI in the above example would involve subtracting the cost of the investment (dollars spent on software, training and implementation) from the savings realized through improving productivity and reducing hours spent on the process. By dividing the net savings by the cost in dollars, you arrive at your result.

To simplify an example like this, let’s say the initial cost of an investment was $50,000 for a 12-month period (hypothetical cost of software and implementation). And let’s assume that improved productivity, reduced people hours measured in an hourly pay rate, and a reduction in temp help resulted in an overall annual savings of $75,000, or a net benefit of $25,000 ($75,000 to $50,000). Deriving the result would involve dividing the net benefits ($25,000) by the initial cost ($50,000) for a result of 50 percent. Again, this is an oversimplification of what’s typically a complex process, but it’s a framework nonetheless for measuring results in traditional financial terms.

Unfortunately, Alvares admits, not all initiatives are as easy to measure and quantify. So rather than approaching the measurement conundrum with the same old approaches, he takes a different tack by asking the HR committee to demonstrate that their investments are creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace, either through product competitiveness or people competitiveness. If a new program improves pricing, time to market or quality, Alvares believes the return will be there.

The same holds true for investments that allow the Sun organization to maintain peak productivity through people processes. “We tend to use critical incident methodology, looking at business results before and after a change initiative,” Alvares says. He cites a specific example of this process when Sun did a pilot study to see whether engineers were more productive working alone or in teams that involve a lot of interaction. The initial assumption was that engineers prefer to work in isolation on individual projects. A video camera was used to monitor a pilot group of engineers who were placed in a more integrative environment.

The findings indicated that the engineers were more productive in a group and there was a significant benefit to the sharing of knowledge that took place. Alvares said the company went forward with a restructuring in this area because key indicators led HR to believe the return would follow in dollars and cents, which the company may or may not measure down the line.

Obviously, there’s not one right way to measure HR’s ROI. The approach can vary by each initiative and its expected results. However, Phillips suggests that HR should use traditional ROI approaches because middle- and upper-level managers must support HR programs and approve additional funding. These managers prefer the same type of calculation used to evaluate investments in the plant, equipment and new products — calculations that are somewhat unfamiliar to the HR world.

Phillips recommends HR professionals use five key measures to analyze the return on HR’s efforts:

  • The investment in the HR function — stated as the total department expense divided by operational expenses, or divided by employees to make it comparable from one organization to another
  • Absence rate — unexpected absences and number of employees who leave the organization without being asked to leave
  • Turnover — including both those who leave on their own and those who are terminated
  • Job satisfaction — the percentage of employees who feel good about their work and the company, derived from standard employee attitude survey data
  • Organizational commitment — productivity and performance statistics — high productivity and performance reflect strong employment commitment.
Additionally, Phillips suggests that for the measurement process to work best, employees must be involved. He recommends that employees receive training on measuring results, and are given direct responsibilities for applying and supporting the program or processes, including data collection and analysis. Phillips believes most companies have a long way to go before being fully versed in the language of measurement, but he feels strongly that even small steps can make a big difference.

Where to look for measurement opportunities.
Ulrich agrees that HR professionals aren’t doing very well in the measurement area. “When we do measure, we often look at activities, such as the number of people who had 40 hours of training this year, the number of people hired, the percentage of the workforce on variable pay and so on. Instead, we need to look at outcomes and results and ask, ‘did we do the right training, hiring and compensating to get the desired business results?’”

But, Mark Teachout, Ph.D. and executive director of learning and performance technology for USAA, a worldwide insurance and financial services company (39th on Fortune’s list) based in San Antonio, Texas, says he doesn’t believe it’s necessary to measure the results of every initiative. “If you become over-focused on the [bottom-line results], you can get to a point at which you need to do a ROI on conducting the ROI to make sure it’s worth the time spent measuring results — it can get a little crazy.” Teachout believes HR professionals should be focused more on improving results rather than proving them, and prefers to reserve true quantitative measure for cases in which accurate measurement is possible and significant dollars are involved. USAA’s “Live Work” program for new sales members is a good example of such a case.

Teachout oversees the “Live Work” program, which involves putting new service reps through an eight-week sales and service training session. During the last phase of classroom training, trainees are on the phone with actual business prospects selling policies and financial services. The training staff is able to calculate the revenue they are generating while training is in progress. Results for 1997 indicated that new trainees generated over $1 million in sales, a ROI of 192 percent, which was calculated by dividing the cost of designing, developing and implementing the training by the net benefit (annual sales revenue).

USAA also measures the ROI for an amenity package that includes the world’s largest private office building, on-site tennis, golf and soccer areas, two fitness centers and five on-site child-care facilities.

Paul Menchen, vice president for HR policies and programs at USAA, believes that, when it is coupled with a competitive compensation and benefits package, USAA’s amenity package helps contribute to a low turnover ratio. However, Menchen admits that there are no specific quantitative measures in place to firmly support this data, other than positive feedback from employee opinion surveys and exit interviews.

Menchen explains, “We feel it’s important to treat employees well and provide them with a comfortable work environment. We believe by doing so, we keep turnover at a minimum. We may not directly measure results of those efforts, but we feel confident that if we treat our employees well, they, in turn, will show that same consideration to our members,” suggesting that lower turnover ratios and happy employees can lead to better customer retention and improved business results.

Ulrich offers this advice to HR professionals grappling with measurement: “Do it, do it now. Even if you don’t have perfect measures, involve some financial, strategic-thinking, bright types who are comfortable with creating measures, and don’t let the lack of measure keep it from happening. Also, be consistent with measures and track them over time.”

In his book, Ulrich outlines five areas HR can measure to demonstrate results:

  • Productivity measures — output per unit of input (improvements in these areas might be traced back to increased training, improved work structure and so on)
  • Process measures, such as improving systems and workflow
  • HR costs and/or benefits for any specific initiative
  • Employee retention, morale, commitment and skills
  • Capabilities of the organization, such as speed (cycle time), learning, shared mind set, and accountability
Despite HR’s discomfort with the topic of measuring its results, dollars, cents and ratios speak volumes when it comes to getting top management’s attention and support for HR’s efforts. It’s time to elevate HR to a new playing field, and measuring results may be the only credible way for HR to truly step up to the plate. Are you in?

Workforce, September 1998, Vol. 77, No. 9, pp. 34-40.

Posted on

Case Study Addressing Cultural Differences

Loctite Corp. was founded in the mid-1950s by the Kriegle family. Thirty years later, the Hartford, Connecticut-based adhesive-making company became publicly traded. The Kriegles held 40 percent, and began selling shares to the Henkel family in Germany. For 10 years, the Henkel Co. acquired shares from the Kriegles, and the two families maintained a comfortable relationship. Then, the Henkels decided Loctite could give them a global presence. By January 1997, the Henkels owned the company.

“That changed our lives,” says Bruce A. Vakiener, executive vice president of Loctite Corp. and the person responsible for global HR. “We have gone from a billion-dollar, very entrepreneurial, innovative company with a flat management structure to part of a $14 billion German conglomerate. The philosophies of the companies are different. The cultures of the companies are different. And the [cultural differences] between a German organization and a U.S. organization are very significant,” he says.

Loctite faced tremendous HR challenges. For one, Loctite is organized on a regional basis. Henkel is organized in country units. When the Henkels tried to pull some of the business units together, they faced individual country managers who refused to relinquish control to a regional manager.

Another factor affecting unification has been the German desire for knowing lots of details before moving forward on a project. This is especially difficult when American managers are unclear about which decisions the Germans need to approve.

To help with these dilemmas, Loctite uses Chicago-based IOR, an intercultural and global relocation firm. “The No. 1 issue that needs to be addressed is people’s sense of anxiety about loss of control,” says Peter Burgi, a consultant with IOR. “Best practices in merger situations [include doing] as much of the immediate changing as you’re going to be able to do as quickly as possible. Failure to do this will allow political power issues to go underground and resurface as cultural differences.”

Loctite created cross-border teams for people to get to know each other. The company developed a cultural-sensitivity program, and senior managers also take German language lessons. “I think we’re on the road to being successful,” Vakiener says. “However, we weren’t able to reach increased sales figures on the original time frame because we spent much more time focusing on acquisition issues, as opposed to growing the business. We blurred our focus for the last 18 months.

Global Workforce, September 1998, Vol. 3, No. 5, p. 16.

Posted on

Where to Post Family Leave Posters

Where did you hang up your office’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) poster? Is it in a location used by everyone? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, you must put the poster up in a conspicuous place, regardless of whether or not you have any eligible employees. The Labor Department also says:


  • The poster and the test must be large enough to be easily read and contain fully legible text.
  • If you violate the posting requirement you may be assessed a civil money penalty.
  • If you fail to post the required notice, this prevents you from taking any adverse action against an employee, including denying FMLA leave.
  • When applicable, you have to provide the notice in a language that your employees can read.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C, August 1998. Check with your state department of labor for more information.

Posted on

Q-and-A on Employee Anger

Pamela L. Pommerenke is a professor of Human Resource Management at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad Graduate School of Business. Professor Pommerenke received her Ph.D. in Organizational Theory from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics and Sociology. She teaches in the areas of strategic human resource management, organizational behavior, and entrepreneurship, and regularly consults with local large and small organizations. Most recently Pommerenke has been working to set up alternative work option programs within the automobile manufacturing industry. Pommerenke’s current research focuses on the practical and productive use of contingent employment, virtual officing, and other alternative employment arrangements as a strategic response to internal and environmental challenges.


Conflict and resolution between the employee and supervisors… When an employee comes to HR for advice or just to vent what is the responsibility of the HR manager to communicate the problem to the supervisor, especially if the employee really just want to vent?
Human resource personnel now more than ever answer to many masters. However it is clear that above all else, the integrity of confidentiality must be maintained, in all areas of the workplace, not just within HR. If an employee conveys information to a human resource professional and has made clear they simply want to talk or receive some guidance, it is not up to the HR representative to make the call to decide to pass on the information to someone else or to intervene. Clearly an exception is if laws are being violated. But short of this, the employee needs to feel their privacy will be respected in order to facility and maintain the trust relationship which I’m sure your organization attempts to cultivate and develop.


I have a client company for which I regularly facilitate Sensitivity Training. A common concern expressed by employees is the harsh and profane language routinely used by senior management. Middle managers hesitate to speak up.
This sounds like an organizational culture issue. As we all know, it is one thing to identify an organizational culture, it’s values, norms, and assumptions. Yet it’s quite another to manage, manipulate, or attempt to change these cultures in a directive manner. And typically any attempt to change cultural norms takes a huge amount of time and effort. Short of an attempted major overhaul, you might tackle the profane language problem from the perspective of sexual harassment. Clearly certain kinds of profane language can potentially be viewed by some as a form of harassment and thus should be addressed accordingly. I would suggest trying to either integrate this specific issue into existing sexual harassment training courses or creating a targeted segment specific for senior management, or management in general.

Posted on

Intranets Online Resources

To secure your intranet, you need the tools to make it happen. Here are several vendors and resources who offer Web-based security tools and are accessible online:


AXENT Technologies: Offers systems for security assessment, intrusion detection, remote access security, single sign-on, web security and firewalls.


Encryption Privacy and Security Resource Page: Provides information about encryption, including updates on political and legal issues.



Internet Security Systems: Sells intrusion detection systems and firewalls that control network access and detect security threats within individual data packets. www.issgroup.com


Microsoft: Offers information about its Internet Explorer browser and various servers for Web transactions and commerce.


Netscape: Offers information about various Web products, including its Navigator browser, Enterprise Server and Certificate Server.


Network Associates: A leading vendor of network security software products, including antivirus software and encryption.


RSA Data Security: Provides detailed information about Web and e-mail data security.


Security Dynamics: A leading vendor of secure ID systems.


Verisign: A leading provider of secure server IDs and digital certificates.


Workforce, September 1998, Vol. 77, No. 9, p. 80.


Posted on

Books on Intranets

Follow these links to Amazon.com…


The 21st Century Intranet
Written by Jennifer Stone Gonzalez
CD-Rom edition
Published by Prentice Hall Computer Books, January 1998


Building an Intranet for Dummies
Written by John W. Fronckowiak
CD-Rom edition
Published by Idg Books Worldwide, September 1997


The ABCs of Intranets
Written by Peter Dyson, Pat Coleman, Len Gilbert
Published by Sybex, April 1997


Intranet Resource Kit
Written by Prakash Ambegaonkar (Editor)
CD-Rom edition
Published by Osborne McGraw-Hill, February 1997


Building the Corporate Intranet
Written by Steven L. Guengerich (Editor), Douglas Graham, Mitra Miller, Steve Guengerich
Published by John Wiley & Sons, November 1996


Intranet Business Strategies
Written by Mellanie Hills; Paperback
Published by John Wiley & Sons, September 1996

Posted on

Web Sites on Intranets

Use these Web sites to start your online research…


Intranet Design Magazine is an extremely well-organized and informative site that contains useful tools and articles about intranet software—its “Cacheworthy” and Online Reference sections are especially helpful.


Intranet Journal is not only a good reference for learning how intranets work, but it also includes a section that features lengthy, chapter-by-chapter previews of books about intranet building and development.


The Intranet Research Center page on CIO WebBusiness’ site, which lists links to tools, resources, reports and examples.


Brought to you by David Strom Inc., a networking and communications firm in Port Washington, New York, this page is a comprehensive list of links to everything you need to learn and to get started with building a corporate intranet.

Posted on

Is Wage Inflation Imminent

Does the current tight labor market feel like a pressure-cooker to you? It should. From placards in business windows on Main Street to signing bonuses for pubescent employees, wage-earners everywhere know that today’s corporate mantra is “Employees wanted-part-time, full-time, anytime.” With unemployment at a stunning 4.3 percent at press time, there are signs everywhere that show the market is about to blow the lid off our wage complacency.


Consider the ingredients in the pressure-cooker: unemployment is at a 28-year low; there’s been more than 3 percent wage inflation (according to the Employment Cost Index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 1998); and while corporate profits rose 20 percent each year from 1992 to 1995, two million workers lost their jobs and those who were working got skimpy raises, if they got them at all. Doesn’t common sense tell you that serious wage inflation must follow?


Many economists note that you can already see the steam rise. Salaries and wages for executive, administrative and managerial occupations rose 4.9 percent over last year, with the service sector outpacing manufacturing. In the broad areas of professional services and information technology, the markets are fiercely competitive, and have been for the last several years, which drives wages up.


Meanwhile, recent college grads are commanding higher starting salaries than their predecessors. Packages offered to MBAs have skyrocketed 10 percent or more, and even psychology majors are being offered 8.9 percent more than they were a year ago. Mitchell Held, an economist with New York City-based Salomon Smith Barney, suggests that in some sectors, these increases are starting to mirror what we saw in the late 1980s.


Despite these indicators of wage inflation, the government still reports that total compensation, including benefits, is increasing 3.3 percent, which is smack in the middle of the range we’ve seen over the last seven years. “It’s interesting that with such low unemployment, we haven’t seen it driving up wages significantly,” says David Smith, assistant professor of economics at the Glaziadio School of Business at Malibu, California-based Pepperdine University.


So what’s going on? Can we breathe a collective sigh of relief and leave the kitchen, assuming the pressure-cooker can be unattended?


No. Wage inflation seems inevitable, though experts argue about the rate. The real news, however, is that we have to consider wage inflation in ways we haven’t looked at it before.


What’s keeping the market at these levels?
To begin with, the economy is working harder than usual to keep wage inflation in check. Inflation is running 2 to 3 percent, which bolsters the status quo. The real gross domestic product (GDP) plays a role, too. Economists believe growth that is greater than 2.5 percent is healthy, although growth that is greater than 3.5 percent raises fears that an overheating economy will result in inflation. The GDP increased 3.7 percent in 1997, but is forecasted to grow only 3 percent this year-this more moderate growth projection has eased fears of inflation.


There are other competitive forces at work, too. “The strike at General Motors eases the labor market because of direct lay-offs, as well as the related industries that are affected,” says Smith. “The Asian [economic] crisis also has a cooling effect on jobs here.”


And despite the outward cockiness of many employees, they may privately admit to some lingering concerns about job security. Given the incentive options and restricted stock that companies have granted to many employees, it has increasingly become expensive for many people to take a job down the street for just a few dollars more.


The unusual interplay of these elements in the economy is working to keep wages stable, but it is being offset by other elements that are driving wages up. First, history is catching up with us. For the past seven years, employee wages represented the lowest share of national income since 1968; profits during this period represented the highest share since 1968. Today’s workforce is eager to make up for lost time.


In many ways, it’s already happening. Entrants to the job market are earning more than their predecessors, which has turned up the heat beneath the pressure-cooker-and it’s only a matter of time before that group expects wages and those ahead of them demand parity. In addition, we’ve become more creative in how we pay people. Signing bonuses, stock options and giveaways from pizza to vacations are now commonplace, but they aren’t figured into government measures of salary-meaning wage inflation is undoubtedly higher than numbers indicate.


Look at wages in context.
Should you be panicking and planning an off-site meeting to rework your compensation strategy? Should you be making plans for rampant wage inflation and start cutting costs elsewhere to make up for it? Yes and no.


More has changed in recent years than the ways we pay people for their services. The entire work contract has changed. Guaranteed job security is out; a focus on careers and job skills is in. Accordingly, employees are looking at much more than just wages when making job choices (see “Job-hunting Professionals Are Looking for Respect,” Workforce, June 1998). They’re also watching corporate culture, advancement opportunities and other factors. Given that change, it doesn’t make sense for employers to isolate the wage issue, either.


Yes, the wages you pay must be competitive, and it’s safe to assume that you can’t hold the line on wage inflation much longer. But the pressure to recruit and retain talented employees only begins with wages and salaries. Even in such overheated environments as professional services, where a dozen calls a week from search consultants isn’t unheard of, you don’t want to take an ad hoc, reactive approach. “Especially in tight labor markets, when individuals are already working long hours [and] they’re being compensated well, they’re going to value other sorts of things-things that aren’t often taxed,” adds Smith.


“Going to an ad hoc compensation approach just to get people in the door actually works against retaining your broader workforce,” says Fran Engoron, global leader for organizational effectiveness and development at New York City-based Pricewaterhouse Coopers. “We want to be at the high end of competitive pay within the marketplace, but we want to be there for all of our people, not just the new ones,” she says. The company has an overall philosophy that offers a total work experience, including stimulating work content, an enriched personal development program and extensive training-a work environment that’s fun and embodies a sensitivity to work/life balance.


Clearly, golden handshakes and sign-on bonuses will get individuals to join. Equally apparent is the fact that many sectors need a fire to light up some of the wages and keep them fair. Nevertheless, HR’s best approach to the question of wages and salaries is to view it within the total structure of the organization.


Workforce, September 1998, Vol. 77, No. 9, pp. 103-104.