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Warner-Lambert Sends a Global Thank-you to Employees Worldwide

On Jan. 27, each of Warner-Lambert’s 44,840 employees worldwide received a Seiko™ watch as a symbol of appreciation for their hard work and achievement over the past six years. The day marked perhaps the largest-ever employee-recognition effort on a single day.


“This program was designed to reward and thank all our colleagues around the world for their part in making [the company] a textbook story of success,” says Sandra Levine, vice president of corporate and financial communications for Warner-Lambert based in Morris Plains, New Jersey, which makes such products as Listerine™ and Sudafed™.


With the advent of Warner-Lambert’s new management team six years ago, which includes Melvin R. Goodes, chairman and CEO, the firm has instituted new values, new products and a new culture. This new team has helped the giant pharmaceutical and health-care organization reach record financial results. It announced its 1997 fourth quarter financial results (basic earnings per share increased 38 percent on a 26 percent sales gain) the same day as the global employee thank you. “It has been a banner year, but I think [it] has been a banner process over the past six years to get us to where we are today,” says Levine.


The recognition effort also was designed to help further unite all the firm’s colleagues in 140 locations globally under one cultural umbrella. The gift was part of the company’s ongoing efforts to recognize workers’ efforts for both tenure and performance.


The idea of what kind of gift to give was tested first with a cross-cultural team to make sure it would be appropriate and well-received by all employees. The slogan “We’re making the world feel better” was inscribed on the back of each watch in the employee’s native language.


“It’s a wonderful thing to see a company bring boardroom values to the workroom floor and sincerely express gratitude to the employees who work so hard every day,” says Kent Murdock, president and CEO of O.C. Tanner Recognition Co. in Salt Lake City which helped Warner-Lambert’s human resources managers put the program together.


“Every time [one of these employees] looks at his or her watch, he or she will probably think of this incredible milestone that the organization reached together,” comments Bob Nelson, president and founder of Nelson Motivation Inc. in San Diego and author of “1001 Ways to Energize Employees” (Workman Publishing 1997). “It’s nice. It’s thoughtful. For most people, it will probably tie into the pride they have for the company.”


However, Nelson cautions companies to make sure the gifts they give don’t send mixed messages. You can’t give people gifts and not meet other fundamental employee needs, such as adequate tools to do their jobs. “People won’t appreciate a token gift if their basic employment needs aren’t being met,” says Nelson. Clearly, every company’s reward and recognition effort should be well thought out to ensure the biggest bang for the buck.


Workforce, March 1998, Vol. 77, No. 3, pp. 13-14.


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Home Health-care How Well Are Your Employees Covered

Home health-care services generally are rolled into a company’s overall health-insurance benefits package, but specific coverage can be negotiated. When you’re ready to renew your policy you might be smart to ask these questions:


1. How does the managed-care organization check accreditation of home health-care providers? Federal and state rules that govern care in nursing homes don’t apply in private homes. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois (www. jcaho.org) accredits home health-care providers, but accreditation is voluntary. Many managed-care organizations are now pressuring home health-care providers to provide accreditation and other credentials.


2. What home health-care services are provided?
Many policies cover skilled nursing care. Find out if your policy also covers such services as physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapies, home-health aides, and such medical equipment as wheelchairs, adjustable beds and traction devices.


3. Are there limits to the amount of services a patient can receive?
Some policies have dollar limits per episode or per year.


4. What are the grievance procedures?
Representatives of the organization should provide satisfactory responses to patients and patient advocates concerning coverage of home health-care services.


Workforce, March 1998, Vol. 77, No. 3, p. 32.

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Are You Legal Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

When it comes to hiring employees—particularly those who will dabble in a company’s finances—consumer reports can be crucial tools. You want to know if the person you’re considering putting in control of the company’s books has a history of bad credit or bankruptcy. It’s not so simple to run checks any more. In September 1997, the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act took effect, changing the Fair Credit Reporting Act in fairly substantial ways.


Dana Connell, a shareholder at employment law firm Littler, Mendelson, Fastiff, Tichy and Reinhard in Chicago, explains the changes and offers a four-step plan for compliance.


Can you offer some background on this act?
Until shortly before [the act took effect], I think most employers weren’t aware of it. It had nowhere near the fanfare of other employment statutes, such as the FMLA [Family and Medical Leave Act] and the ADA [Americans With Disabilities Act]. Also, the agency that enforces it—the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—isn’t one most employers are used to dealing with.


My sense is that the act was designed to deal with the fact that there are a lot of consumer-report databases out there that can be used, and that they may not always be accurate. People who apply for jobs may be penalized by information they’re not aware of, and that is wrong.


People who apply for jobs may be penalized by information they’re not aware of, and that is wrong.


So what’s the main thrust of this act?
Employers who want to run a consumer report on an applicant must inform that applicant and receive authorization in a way they never had to before. Historically what a lot of employers did was have a boilerplate at the end of the application form that advised the applicant of a number of things, including the fact that the company might try to get a consumer report on that applicant. That’s no longer good enough. You now have to have a disclosure that you’re going to seek a consumer report, and that disclosure has to be in a separate document.


What’s considered a consumer report?
Virtually any compilation of information on an individual that’s prepared by a third-party agency for the employer’s use in making employment decisions is going to be covered by the act. So if, for example, I used a third party who conducted reference checks for me, that would be covered under the act even though it’s not a credit report. By the same token, there are some things that aren’t covered. For instance if HR employs somebody who does direct surveillance—maybe because HR suspects an employee of theft—that would not be covered by the act because it’s direct observation by the company conducting that surveillance and not by a third party.


So what’s the first thing HR should do in light of this act?
The first thing is something that’s not hard to do, but employers have to prepare for it, and that’s this disclosure and written consent requirement. The disclosure has to be provided in a separate document—employers can include the written consent in it. They’re just notifying the applicant that a consumer report might be requested.


In addition to basic consumer reports, there are investigative consumer reports. An investigative report is prepared on the basis of interviews, whereas general consumer reports are based on database information. So for an investigative report, employers have to do both the disclosure required for a consumer report, and because the FTC views this type of report as a little more invasive, they have to notify the applicant that an investigative report might be made, that the applicant may request additional information as to the complete and accurate nature and scope of the investigation, and that the applicant may request a summary of [applicant] rights that the FTC has prepared. In the case of an investigative report, the employer must notify the applicant within three days of conducting the investigation that an investigation is planned. If the applicant asks for additional information regarding what the employer is looking at, the company has to provide that in five days.


What’s step two?
The employer has to [provide] a certification to the consumer reporting agency. This is just a step Congress has inserted to make sure there’s a record that people are doing what they have to do. This is a certification not to a government agency but to whomever the company is using to get the consumer report or investigative consumer report. It’s a certification of the purpose for which the report is being obtained and certification that the report will not be used for any other purpose. In the case of investigative reports, the employer also has to certify that if an applicant makes a request for further information, that the company will give it to him or her.


What’s step three?
It concerns any adverse action the employer may take based on the report. Before HR takes any adverse action based in whole or part on the report, it has to provide two documents to the individual. One is a copy of the consumer report the company has relied on; another is a summary of rights that the FTC has prepared—those summaries are typically provided by the consumer agency when they give the report. The employer has to do both those things before it takes the adverse action. If HR has requested a consumer report but that isn’t the reason HR chose not to hire the individual, it doesn’t have to give notice.


Before HR takes any adverse action based in whole or part on the report, it has to provide two documents to the individual.


How provable is it that HR didn’t base its decision not to hire on a bad report?
It’s hard to prove. HR might want to consider sending a copy of the report and summary of rights with a cover letter indicating it was a courtesy and that the report wasn’t relevant to the hiring process. At least then there’s no way the FTC can argue the company wasn’t in technical compliance with the act.


Once HR has decided to take adverse action, how long must it wait?
The law doesn’t say how long employers have to wait before implementing the adverse action. Most employers aren’t going to be able to sit around and wait to have some long dialogue with the individual about it.


What happens after the company takes adverse action?
HR has to provide an adverse-action notice to the person it declines to hire. The notice has to be provided orally, in writing or electronically. It has to contain the name, address and phone number of the agency that provided the report. The employer must provide a statement that the consumer-reporting agency didn’t make the adverse decision; employers have to indicate the consumer has a right to obtain an additional free copy of the consumer report from the consumer-reporting agency by making a request within 60 days. Employers also must include a statement regarding the applicant’s right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of information with the consumer-reporting agency.


Does the act require the employer to say what part of the report caused the adverse action?
No, and the act doesn’t provide for some sort of appeal process by which the company may change its decision based on whatever the applicant resolves with a reporting agency regarding the accuracy of the information. The purpose of the act is to make the individual aware the employer is pursuing this information and to whether the company has any obligation to correct its actions if the information it relied on was wrong. Conceivably the individual could come back after the problem has been straightened out, but it’s not some articulated procedure set forth in the act.


Can the applicant obtain damages for technical mistakes?
Yes. This is a statute for which employers have to be careful they don’t make mistakes that are really just technical mistakes, because if they do, the applicant can pursue all kinds of damages as well as attorneys’ fees. I don’t believe there’s a limit, and I believe applicants can file for punitive damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. But most of this stuff employers can prepare for and develop forms for. As long as HR is willing to be kind of nerdy about it, it can prevent technical mistakes. For example, what employers should be doing right now is developing these notice and authorization forms. They should have some idea also of how they’ll respond if they’re requesting investigative consumer reports and the applicant requests more information regarding the nature and scope of the investigation—because they’re only going to have five days to put that together. They ought to be preparing what forms they’re going to use when they take adverse action based on credit reports. There are just some forms they need to have ready in the word processor to get out when these things occur.

Workforce, March 1998, Vol. 77, No. 3, pp.79-82.

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Survive Your First Relocation Outsourcing

Finding the right vendor doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Follow these tips and you’ll stay firmly in control.


Assess your situation before shopping around:


  • Develop a strong, tiered relocation policy for your employees.
  • Break down the different areas of relocation so you can itemize costs.
  • Estimate time and costs of HR’s current relocation role.
  • Project what time would be saved if relocation were outsourced.

Be in control of your search:


  • Benchmark as many firms as you possibly can.
  • Ask for references from other HR clients and relocated employees.
  • Check with the Washington, D.C.-based Employee Relocation Council and the Alexandria, Virginia-based Society for Human Resource Management for referrals and experiences.
  • Visit each prospective vendor’s office.

Be a prepared, articulate client:


  • Clearly state the employee’s goal and situation—professionally and personally. Define your expectations.
  • Meet the person who will handle your account. Ask about caseload.
  • Evaluate the firm’s flexibility to match your needs, budget and culture.
  • Determine the vendor’s long-term commitment to stay in the relocation industry.
  • Leverage free services.

Forge the partnership:


  • Set up a mechanism for employee feedback, such as a customer survey.
  • Ask for some follow-up measures.
Workforce, March 1998, Vol. 77, No. 3, p. 72.

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Five Myths of Today’s Labor Market

As pointed out in the main story, organizations these days are facing economic crossroads because of a growing labor and skills shortage. Following are five myths to be aware of as you plan for your company’s future workforce needs.

  1. It’s a buyers’ job market.
    Not any more. These days, skilled workers can pick and choose whom they work for. They also can negotiate perks and benefits once reserved for the corporate elite. And the shortage is driving up wages. Consider: In Denver, the demand for skilled telecommunications technicians is so strong that the starting pay for a phone equipment salesperson has doubled to $40,000 a year since 1992. Communications analysts in the same region receive calls from headhunters on a regular basis. That was unheard of only a few years ago. Today, many companies are piling on the perks and benefits, including liberal tuition reimbursement and stock options.

  2. Skills shortages center mostly on computers and technology.
    There’s no question that the lack of computer-related skills accounts for some of the problem in today’s labor market. However, the lack of skilled labor permeates many fields. Currently, there’s a shortfall of 300,000 to 400,000 truck drivers nationwide. Within the shipbuilding docks along the gulf, companies are short thousands of marine-grade welders and electricians. All of which are causing backlogs in deliveries and forcing companies to turn away work. Says Joel Kotkin, a senior fellow at the Los Angeles-based Pepperdine University Institute for Public Policy: “Over the last quarter century, there has been a decline in the blue-collar professions. Now, we’re paying the price. There aren’t enough skilled trade workers available.”

  3. The lack of skilled labor won’t hurt my company.
    According to the National Manufacturers Association, 48 percent of companies believe their current workforce lacks the ability to read and translate drawings, diagrams and flowcharts. Although companies have pumped up budgets for training, it’s questionable whether workers will be able to keep up. For instance, Kotkin notes that the lack of truck drivers and dockworkers has slowed the delivery of cargo in some parts of the country from three or four days to 15 or 20. “At some point, it becomes a ripple effect and everyone is impacted,” he says.

  4. Foreign-born workers take jobs away from Americans, and they accept jobs for less than the prevailing wage.
    In reality, foreign workers account for a small portion of the workforce. The Cato Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Jack Kemp’s Empower America, found that the total number of foreign workers receiving visas in 1995 was 99,000, or 0.079 percent of the workforce. Although only one-third of the engineers and scientists in the high-tech arena comes from other countries, firms can’t fill the positions with Americans. And for a very simple reason: the number of Americans trained in engineering and computer science has dropped from a high of 50,000 in 1986 to 36,000 in 1994, Kotkin notes. What’s more, in a review of 230,000 visas granted by the U.S. Department of Labor, the institute found only 418 cases in which a worker was paid less than the prevailing wage.

  5. Ongoing layoffs and a robust economy indicate this is only a temporary situation.
    While economic projections have a way of haunting those who make them, most experts say the labor shortage is here to stay. During the 1980s, workforce growth stood at 2.5 percent annually. Today, that figure has dropped to about 1.2 percent, and many expect the figure to slide to below 1 percent in the next century. Fewer bodies combined with jobs that require increasingly sophisticated skills could wreak havoc on the economy. And while some companies continue to lay off workers in droves, it’s mostly high-wage and low-skill positions that have been made obsolete by technology. “It’s a skills mismatch,” says Carol D’Amico, senior research fellow at the Hudson Institute in Indianapolis.

Workforce, March 1998, Vol. 77, No. 3, p. 48.

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Passion Should Guide HR Management

Workforce talked with Cara Jane Finn, vice president of employee services for Remedy Corp., about HR. The highlights:

Q: Why did you get into HR?
A: It’s a sad but true story — I owned and managed a wholesale manufacturing shop in San Diego back in the late ’70s and early ’80s. We had some sales people, some warehouse workers, and 100-plus folks who sewed nylon wallets. Most of the workers weren’t legal immigrants. Late one day one of our sewers came to me and in broken English explained how the woman who sat next to her had pierced her finger with the sewing needle and had been sitting with it for more than four hours, not knowing what to do. She was terrified I would fire her.

I rushed to her and in my broken Spanish explained that not only was she one of our best workers, but I wouldn’t do that to anyone. I took her to the hospital. I then realized that I had neglected the entire human part of running a business. I dove into both the legal and ethical sides of human resources, and it changed my entire worldview of business. I ran five more businesses (before coming to Remedy), and my focus on people and cultural environment grew with each experience.

Q: What’s the best part of your job?
A: Watching folks (at every level) grow, succeed and be ecstatic about their jobs! Another wonderful thing is being a leader in the cultural development of the organization.

Q: What’s the toughest part?
A: I think my “tough part” is no different than any other manager. It’s that first, difficult, honest conversation — whether it’s with a receptionist, the entire company or the CEO — when things aren’t going well.

Q: What was one of the best decisions you’ve made as an HR person?
A: Personally, one of the best decisions I ever made was to be frank as a way of life. Speaking your mind and being honest can be dangerous, but if you’re careful and kind about it, the results are wonderful. Professionally my focus has always been to be the best business person I can be who has a focus on people. I think that focus has served me well.

Q: What advice do you have for other HR professionals?
A: You must be a leader in your company — by that I mean you must be part of the strategy and soul of the organization. If you don’t know “who you are” as a company and what your “values” are, discover what they are, or find a company that knows. Vision and values are the foundation of greatness, but the magic is in people. Give them vision, focus and meaning, and nothing will stop you.

Q: Is there any area you’re currently concentrating on?
A: Hiring difficulties. Recruiting is probably one of the toughest things any company in Silicon Valley can do. There are companies out there willing to do just about anything — for engineering and marketing people especially. Seven years ago, when I started here, that wasn’t the case. There were more engineers than jobs in this area. We were a small start-up and it was easy to get good talent. Then the valley started to heat up in ’95. Things got stirred up in recruiting. But even with the recruiting environment changing so much, our recruiting practices have never changed. It’s easy to say we do “fun” things, these attention-getting things, for recruiting purposes, but it’s not the case. It’s not in reaction to the environment — it’s just part of who we are.

Q: What will be your big push this year?
A: We’ve been discussing turning up the fire. We’ve had tremendous success, but that was yesterday. We want to turn our attention to the next four years. I’ve started hounding [the executives] about really sending this message — really focusing on the future. It takes a lot of guts when things are going as well as they are to shift the focus on doing more. Not everyone is comfortable with that. But being one of the old-timers here, I know it’s incumbent on us to get over our success and focus on the future.

Workforce, February 1998, Vol. 77, No. 2, p. 40.

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Making Domestic Violence a Business Issue

Workforce talked with Jim Hardeman, corporate EAP manager for Polaroid, about the company’s domestic-violence program. The highlights:

Q: Why do you believe domestic violence is an issue businesses should respond to?
A: In 1992, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health stated that approximately 750 workplace homicides occur annually, and that 4 percent of these acts of violence involve intimate relationships. If 4 percent can be translated into an actual number of deaths, is 30 [4 percent of Polaroid’s workforce] female employees’ deaths insignificant? Then, there are an estimated one million workers who annually become victims of nonfatal workplace violence. Incidents such as intimidation, sexual harassment, stalking, assaults, battery and rape carry no price tag. No dollar amount can balance the impact of depression, panic disorders, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders and other addictive illnesses stemming from incidents of workplace violence.

Q: Aren’t there significant costs incurred from domestic violence?
A: Oh yes. Victimization in the workplace can cost an estimated $55 million annually in lost wages.

Q: Why don’t more businesses take action?
A: For the most part, businesses don’t have the knowledge to deal with family violence incidences in the workplace and many businesses still maintain the view that what occurs in partner abuse is a “private family affair.” No internal protocols are in place as a response, and furthermore, no training for employee assistance program workers or human resources personnel administrator professionals are recommended.

Q: What advice do you have for other organizations interested in putting together guidelines for handling incidents of domestic violence?
A: Protocols, guidelines and policies that address [domestic violence as it manifests into workplace violence] need to be developed through a formal, well-thought-out process; skipping a crucial step could result in communicating “false hopes” of safety to employees and serious liability concerns. In fact, issues of liability must be of considerable concern when formulating plans of implementation, as well as associated training of management and educating the workforce. Knowledge of company personnel policies and grievance procedures are a must.

Q: What other lessons can you share with HR?
A: A company’s materials [regarding domestic violence] should be clear and straightforward. For example, in our Recommended Procedures for Safety and Protection in Family Violence Situations, we have a definition [of family violence]; a detailed description of how employees, managers, HR and EAP counselors should respond; elements of a safety plan; and resources. [Polaroid has consulted with hundreds of companies about these plans.] We take extraordinary effort not to victimize employees further.

Q: How do you guarantee continuing employee involvement?
A: You have to continuously improve your materials. You also want to issue statements periodically that remind those in the workplace that the issue is still alive. You can’t just say, “We did that last year.” You have to keep making it better.

Q: Do you encounter any resistance when you try to implement these programs around the country?
A: People sometimes think it can’t happen in their workplaces. You simply need to talk to them and show them that it can happen anywhere.

Q: Can Polaroid’s guidelines be adapted in company’s with foreign operations?
A: We recommend that management in non-U.S. sites develop their own geographic and culturally appropriate policies to manage any workplace violence issues.

Workforce, February 1998, Vol. 77, No. 2, p. 84.

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RIF Avoidance Strategies When Downsizing and Restructuring

For an agency to efficiently and effectively restructure and/or downsize, it is critical that three management tools be in place to allow for proper planning and personnel utilization. These tools are:

  • Workforce forecasting
  • Position management
  • Skills analysis

Listed below is a glossary of options public agencies may consider when trying to downsize or restructure their workforce. While not all options will work for all situations, it is in the agency’s interest to exercise all feasible alternatives whenever possible before resorting to reduction in force procedures. When evaluating the options, agencies should focus on the objective(s) for the change because this will determine which options are most likely to yield the desired results:

 

Certification of expected separation:
This is an early warning signal to employees that they stand a strong likelihood of being separated from their job within the next six months. Receiving this certification allows employees to register in the Interagency Placement Program (which may result in outplacement to another agency) and the Reemployment Priority List (which may result in outplacement to another part of the agency in the local commuting area). Issuance of this certification also allows participation in the Job Training Partnership Act, administered by the Department of Labor, which provides a wide range of outplacement and retraining services.

 

Contracting out:
Non-critical or non-full time functions or services can be contracted out on an as needed basis. This would eliminate or reduce the need for additional full time permanent employees.

 

Discontinued Service Retirement:
This retirement authority applies to employees whose jobs are abolished and who face involuntary separation. These employees may be given an immediate annuity if they meet early retirement eligibility (i.e. 25 years of service at any age or 20 years of service and at least 50 years of age).

 

Freeze hiring:
Freeze hiring from external sources or freeze movement into impacted area. This allows vacancies to be ‘stockpiled’ which can be used to place employees before or during a RIF, thereby avoiding or at least decreasing the number of employees affected by a RIF.

 

Freeze promotions:
Freeze career ladder promotions and merit promotion actions. This normally is combined with a hiring freeze of impacted positions.

 

Furloughs:
Involuntary lay-offs without pay. The process used to furlough the workforce depends upon the length of the furlough. Furloughs if over 22 non-consecutive days or over 30 consecutive days require RIF procedures. Furloughs of less time fall under adverse action procedures (part 752). Furloughs are most appropriately used to meet a temporary fiscal shortfall rather than a permanent fiscal reduction.

 

Internal ‘stopper’ list:
A list of surplus employees who must be considered for positions within the organization before recruitment from other sources can occur. A qualified employee on this lisy may ‘stop’ management from filling this position from any other source.

 

Involuntary reduction of hours worked:
Management initiated reduction in the number of hours part-time and intermittent employees work. (note: this may require adverse action procedures if it was not part of the employment agreement.)

 

Job redesign:
Restructure the position to include new duties. Caution must be exercised if this restructuring results in grade level change. Job redesign may result in a need for retraining.

 

Job sharing:
Allows two or more employees to convert from full time to part-time and share the work of one or more positions. While the agency is responsible for the benefits package of each employee, the annual salary will be reduced by one position.

 

Management directed reassignment:
Reassignment initiated by management to a vacant position in another part of the organization or agency. This reassignment may be made to a position in the same or different commuting area and is not subject to RIF regulations as long as the employee is not reduced in grade. An employee who refuses this directed reassignment is subject to part 752 separation under adverse action procedures.

 

Non-permanent personnel actions and work schedule changes:
Avoid hiring additional permanent full time employees by using temporary and term appointments (whenever appropriate), details, temporary reassignments/promotions, or by increasing the number of hours part-time and intermittent employees work.

 

Optional retirement:
Encourage eligible employees to consider optional retirement although management must exercise caution between encouraging and coercing. Agencies may want to consider offering a decision making class on whether retirement is right for them at this time. Supplement the class with transition assistance services for those who opt to retire.

 

Outplacement:
A good outplacement program can contribute significantly to reduce staff levels. This program may be limited to employees occupying impacted positions or may include the entire workforce which may provide additional placement opportunities for those who want to remain at the agency. Outplacement programs may be directed to other parts of an agency, other Federal agencies, or to the public and private sector.

 

Overtime instead of hiring new employees:
A viable option when the work is not of a continuing nature.

 

Reduce overtime expenditures:
Allow compensatory time off in lieu of overtime payment or place severe restraints on the use of overtime.

 

Reimbursable details:
Detail employees outside of the organization to perform reimbursable work. Reimbursement may include not only the employee’s salary but also the cost of benefits and overhead.

 

Retained grade/retained pay:
Agencies have the authority to grant retained pay whenever the employee’s pay is decreased as a result of a management action (i.e. reassignment from a special rate to a non-special rate position). Agencies may grant grade retention to employees who are or might be reduced in grade as a result of reorganization or reclassification. This may be offered to the employee on a ‘voluntary’ basis when it is in the interest of management. The employee may decline the offer and later compete under reduction in force procedures if they are invoked.

 

Retraining:
Training employees for skills in non-impacted positions (i.e. for another part of the agency or another agency). Retraining generally refers to updating skills which have become obsolete or training designed to equip individuals with the necessary skills to enter another occupation. Retraining generally focuses on competencies needed in a new or redesigned job.

 

Separate temporary employees and re-employed annuitants:
Both groups of employees may be separated at the will of the appointing official.

 

Temporary help services:
Used to meet manpower needs during periods of peak workload.

 

Temporary hires instead of permanent employees:
Allows maximum placement opportunities for impacted permanent employees in the event of a RIF because temporary appointments may be easily terminated.

 

Training programs:
Formalized training programs (i.e. intern, apprentice, or upward mobility) develop the skills of an agency’s workforce to meet future staffing needs. These programs provide avenues for employees with surplus or obsolete skills to make positive career transitions.

 

Voluntary change to lower grade:
Initiated on the part of the employee. This may allow the employee to remain in the same line of work (or change the line of work if that is the employee’s preference) or at the same work location when the current position is subject to abolishment or relocation.

 

Voluntary early retirement:
This retirement authority must be requested through the agency’s chain of command and approved by OPM. This allows individuals to retire with reduced age and/or service requirements (and under CSRS with an annuity reduction as well). Again, agencies can encourage attrition through this authority by offering a decision making class and transition support. Voluntary early retirement coupled with a voluntary separation incentive payment may enhance the number of separations considerably.

 

Voluntary leave without pay:
A request initiated by the employee for time off from work without pay.

 

Voluntary reassignment:
Reassignment out of the impacted area to another part of the organization or agency. This may be done through one-on-one negotiations or through the use of an internal placement program (i.e. surplus list or ‘stopper’).

 

Voluntary reduction in hours of work:
Voluntary changes on behalf of the employee from full time to part-time or intermittent. Voluntary request by a part-time employee to change to intermittent or to reduce the number of part-time hours worked.

 

Voluntary Separation Incentives:
Cash payments made to employees who voluntarily leave the Federal government. Agencies must have Congressional authority to offer this incentive. Presently there is a blanket authority for all agencies through March of 1995 (some agencies, such as the Department of Defense have individual buyout authorities which go beyond the March 1995 deadline). At present, the incentive is limited to severance pay entitlement of $25,000 whichever is less.

 

Waivers or modification of qualifications requirements:
Agencies have the authority to waive or modify (other than positive education requirements) qualification requirements for in-service placement to vacant positions.

 

SOURCE: U.S. Office of Personnel Management

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Recruiting and Selecting Management Training Program Candidates

Following are portions of a handbook on the “Future Managers Program” (FMP) at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York. This portion describes the recruitment and selection process of candidates for the program. The FMP has prompted Workforce to give the MTA this year’s Workforce Magazine Optimas Award in the Partnership category.


Recruitment and Selection Process for the Future Managers Program
The selection process consists of five phases that take six to nine months to complete. All phases of the program are managed by the MTA’s executive and organizational development department. All candidates must be currently employed full time by either the MTA or one of its operating agencies. In order to qualify for the program, all candidates must have:


  • An associate’s degree (bachelor’s degree is preferred)
  • Three years or more of full-time work experience (two or more at the supervisory level is a plus)
  • A record of achievement in the workplace.

The operating agencies determine the operating department (and/or specific position) the FMP participant will specialize in before recruitment. Usually, the participating department targets a position that the participant will be developed for. The operating agency may have additional qualification requirements, depending on the nature of the position. If so, these will be included in a job posting.


How To Apply
Internal candidates who meet the minimum qualifications should mail a resume to the address shown on the FMP poster and the job posting. The cover letter or resume must include the applicant’s name, address and daytime phone number. This information is crucial since the MTA will only respond to applicants by mail to inform them of their status. Because the selection process is lengthy and the applicants are many, it will take a few weeks before replies are mailed. No reply will be mailed prior to the application deadline date.


Selection Process
Phase 1: Recruitment Once the targeted departments/positions are identified, the MTA launches a recruitment campaign. The MTA advertises the program through written communications, distributed and posted throughout the agencies.


FMP Poster—A poster is distributed to the operating agencies stating the program requirements, application deadline, and instructions for applying. The posters are placed in visible areas throughout the agencies and at headquarters.


Job Posting—Along with the FMP poster is an agency-specific job posting describing the position for that agency. The style of the job posting for each of the operating agencies is similar; however, the content may differ slightly if the targeted department requires additional educational or technical skills from the potential participant. The application period for the FMP is one month.


Phase 2: Resume Review—The MTA reviews all resumes received by the deadline. Those individuals who meet the minimum qualifications receive a formal employment application, which must be completed and returned to the MTA. This application provides standard information that may have been omitted in the resume.


Agency Resume Review—Each operating agency selects several individuals to form a resume review committee to review the application and the resume of each qualified candidate. The MTA encourages a diversity in these groups. Usually they will be made up of the agency liaison, representatives from the operating department, and representatives from the EEO and Human Resources divisions. This committee will choose approximately 30 candidates to attend the next phase of the program, the Open House. Note: when a candidate applies to the FMP, he/she is applying to the program, not just to one agency.


Phase 3: Open House This phase consists of a one-on-one interview of about 30 minutes with each of the candidates. After the interview, the candidates are invited to a general session to hear more about the FMP and its requirements. The MTA coordinates the scheduling for the Open House and provides all the necessary materials and a location for the interview. IT is possible for a candidate to be invited to more than one Open House interview since each agency review team looks at all the resumes. Upon completion of this phase, the operating agency will complete reference checks and choose candidates who most closely fit the targeted department/position.


Phase 4: Assessment Center Following the Open House phase, each agency selects up to 12 candidates to attend their assessment center. This phase provides a fair and ethical approach to the final selection of candidates.


The assessment process is designed to measure the extent to which the candidates demonstrate certain managerial abilities and to provide objective data about the candidate. During the one day that candidates spend at the FMP Assessment Center, they participate in group and individual exercises, including paper and pencil tests, simulations, role playing and group discussions.


Each agency will assign personnel to act as assessors (one for every two candidates). The assessor pool is usually made up of the Agency Liaison, representatives from human resources/recruitment and training, FMP graduates and operating department designers who must commit four full days to the process. All assessors are given intensive training at the MTA to become familiar with the exercises in the Assessment Center.


The task of observing behavior and evaluating strengths and development needs of the candidate is a difficult one. The process is very objective since each candidate is evaluated by a different assessor during each of the various exercises. Based on the information gathered on each candidate (including reference checks, the initial interview, and the assessment center data), the assessor team makes written recommendations as to which candidates to send to the final phase, the Executive Interview.


Phase 5: Executive Interview An Agency Executive Committee meets to interview the candidates who were recommended. This executive-level interview may be a panel or individual interview, depending on the agency. The interview date, time and place are arranged with the candidates by the Agency Liaison. The final decision is made by the Agency Executive Committee and the results of each interview are communicated to the MTA. The operating agency notifies the candidate of acceptance and makes the actual job offer. Once an offer has been made and accepted, the MTA notifies the remaining candidates of their status.


SOURCE: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Department of Organizational Development and Training, New York, New York. All rights reserved.

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HR’s Possibilities Are Endless and Exciting

The highlights:

Q: Why did you decide to get into human resources?
A: I’ve always loved learning. I actually taught school for two years after college. I love [how I feel] when people’s behavior changes because of what they’ve learned, and that I may have had something to do with that. That [love] flowed into the people areas of business — HR. People learning and developing and growing, that’s tremendous; there’s nothing like that, nothing more challenging or rewarding.

Q: What’s the best part of your job?
A: Every HR person I talk to says the challenges today are greater than at any time. When you begin to address those challenges, people are the only thing that makes the difference. They’re the bottom line. So the opportunity for HR to make a huge difference is there.

Q: What’s the toughest part?
A: If you take that challenge — to make a difference — it makes the job really tough. It’s stressful. It used to be the key part of my job was making sure the lines in the parking lot were straight. Now I know what we do affects our competitiveness, affects the company. I sometimes don’t sleep as well as I used to.

Q: What does being a strategic business partner mean to you?
A: What being a strategic business partner does not mean to me is reacting to business manager requests and problems. What being a strategic business partner does mean to me is taking a leadership position on those issues which truly influence the strategic direction of the business.

Q: What does being a leader in the organization mean to you?
A: For an HR person, being a leader in the organization means you have the same opportunity, responsibility, accountability and influence as any other member of the leadership team. Being a strategic leader means you can show evidence that you have actually influenced the direction of the business.

Q: What advice do you have for other human resources professionals?
A: What frustrates me is I see some HR people who have their heads down, who say we [in HR] have no respect, we’re not important. But then I’ll talk to another HR person, maybe someone within the same organization, and [he or she says] just the opposite. The only thing that limits us is intelligence, energy and commitment, and the attitude and mindset of the HR person. I encourage human resources people to look at themselves, to see how they feel about change, creativity and ownership. If they in all honesty don’t like change, are adverse to owning a situation, they’ve got a problem. They’re not going to be able to influence the organization in the way it needs to be influenced.

Q: What’s the greatest contribution HR professionals can make in the years ahead?
A: To lead organizations in their action to hire, train and motivate individuals while, at the same time, being the initiator of actions that result in organizational success.

Q: You’ve been recognized on numerous occasions as being a leader in your field. To what do you attribute this?
A: First, TI as an organization has demonstrated business success. Secondly, the HR team has initiated activity in a broad range of areas which have been successful, such as diversity initiatives, work/life initiatives, major redesign of benefits programs, innovative reward and recognition activities and succession planning. It should be noted that these activities are evident globally.

Workforce, February 1998, Vol. 77, No. 2, p. 32.