Workplace of Choice

So, finally we all seem to be getting back to "normal" following the worst economic downturn in recent history. You may be noticing, however, that while "normal" seems better than recent months - it may feel very different than say, 2-3 years ago. As we all get our legs back under us - this is an ideal time for companies, big and small, to start testing, validating, and redefining "normal" within their organizations.  If nothing else, we should all learn from the economic issues that plagued us. Instead of restarting business as usual - think about recalibrating and looking more closely at your organization and your human capital.

Think about:

• Who were the most valuable members of the organization during the height of the crisis? This might have been surprising - were there silent superstars in the ranks that simply needed this opportunity to prove their value and ability?  What made them superstars and the ones able to weather the storm?
• If you had to lay people off, what was the profile of those that were able to step in to pick up extra work? Were they your managers?  Or were other employees able to roll up their sleeves and pitch in?
• Were there roles that had to be eliminated ones you intended to refill when you could?  Do you really need to refill it now or do you find that you no longer really need that specific job because you've gotten along just fine without it?
• Were your Managers able to lead?  Or was it obvious that the Manager Training you've been meaning to get to would have come in really handy when they were helping to communicate change, manage RIFs, or mediate conflict in a very confused workplace?

Before you go out and repeat to your old practices - take a step back and determine what worked well in the troubled times and see if it might make sense to duplicate some of those practices instead.

For example:

• Instead of filling silo-ed roles that are all very specific - think about hiring people that are forward thinkers and doers that might be able to share the load and multi-task.
• Invest in some Leadership Training and Management 101 so that your people are able to grow and be better poised to help in times of change
• Be very thorough in hiring - many times companies 'skip steps' either in desperation to fill a job or the candidate is doing so well with the interviews, they don't feel like they need to check references.

And remember those employees that stuck by you in tough times - instead of thinking "well, at least they had a job" remember that without them you might not have been able to come through as well as you did!!

This is the time of the "new normal."  The perfect time to fix what could have worked better and harness and duplicate the energy and abilities of the superstars and further enforce what worked well!

 

You can't escape social media and personal computer usage on the job - or can you?  Many companies have implemented blogging and personal computer usage policies as part of their Employee Handbook and Information Technology Policy.  The focus of such employee policies gives personal bloggers guidelines on how to reference their employer, their products and their services within their blogs or personal dealings on the internet.  These guidelines are especially important given the Federal Trade Commissions guidelines to protect consumers from erroneous endorsements on social media and blogging sites.   In response to the FTC guidelines, employers are strongly encouraged to specifically spell out what the company allows and doesn't allow with respect to online comments about the company and its products.

While we do a good job addressing guidelines for personal blogging and computer usage, what many companies fail to address is how much personal access to social media and personal usage of computers can they tolerate on the job?  I know what you're thinking - "I don't tolerate ANY personal use, let alone access to social media sites, while on the job."  But, is this really the best policy in today's social media climate?  Should employees be limited to NO personal use during the work day?

Many experts believe that in today's technology climate, this is no longer reasonable and that allowing employee's personal technology access can have positive effects on your workforce.  Companies need to be realistic that social media is the way many people communicate.  By limiting such communication you're forcing employees to be "out of touch" completely while at work.  This may make many employees uneasy and resent the organization's stringent rules.  Allowing them access to check Facebook or send personal emails throughout the day allows them to make a quick connection to the outside world.   According to the Harvard Business Review, there can be additional positive results to allowing personal access to social media sites during work.  An organization that is more accepting of social media in the workplace can be viewed by many people, especially those of the younger generations, as a more attractive and as a forward thinking organization.  Often times we believe that if an employee is spending time surfing the net, that's time they're not working and thus, loosing productivity. Research has shown the opposite; allowing employees to take a quick break allows them to return to their work refocused and more productive.  Lastly, employees feel appreciated and more engaged when employers acknowledge their interest to check and use social media.  The employee feels like the organization trusts them to do the right thing and often times, that trust goes a long way.

Facebook, Twitter, blogging and social media sites are here to stay - so embrace this new technology and determine what makes sense for your organization and design employee policies to support it!

Spring is finally upon us and with that comes not only sunshine but the urge for employees to stretch the rules as far as they can throw a flip flop.  Now is a good time dust off not only your dress code policy as it pertains to warm weather clothing but for other policies as well.  Is love in the air this spring at your office?  It could be and you might not even be aware of the potential pitfalls that could follow.  You may want to consider a non-fraternization policy.

A non-fraternization policy oversees interpersonal conduct by employees and is created with good intent - to prevent employees from engaging in activities that could interfere with safety, employee morale, and employee productivity.  In addition, these policies help to protect the employer from potential lawsuits arising from harassment claims.

Employers have the right to set rules prohibiting employees from activities including office romances.  They can prohibit supervisors from getting involved with subordinates and vice versa, and they can refuse to hire married co-workers.

Relationships among employees raise issues of equity, fairness and favoritism regarding the involved employees' work responsibilities, salary, and/or career progress.  Employers may stipulate that if a conflict, disruption, or other performance problem arises as a result of such relationships, one of the involved employees may be transferred and/or disciplinary action may be imposed.  But be aware that even then, future decisions regarding all employment practices (promotion, demotion, transfer, termination, rates of pay) could be viewed as discriminatory based on these relationships.

Consider the outcome of a relationship that has ended (on a negative or positive note).  What was once viewed as welcomed behavior from one employee to another can change overnight and you could suddenly be involved with a hostile work environment or sexual harassment claim.  By discouraging relationships or by stipulating that the company be made aware of them ahead of time, employers can proactively manage a potential problematic situation.

Your non-fraternization policy should be discussed during Harassment training. Training should also include education regarding off-site and off-hour situations.  Employees who are friendly with each other and spend time together after work hours need to know that their behaviors are still subject to your policies.   Happy hour at the local watering hole may lead to situations that can easily be considered against company policy.

Employees have the right to choose their friends and romantic partner, however, employers also have a right to limit romance in the workplace in order to maintain a safe, equitable and productive work environment .  Consider the reason for instituting the policy, specifics on what is and isn't acceptable and how the current social landscape is today to ensure that a new or updated policy is successful and works for your culture.

We're just coming off "the most wonderful time of the year"...but Rewards don't always have to come just during the holidays and new year!  Rewards can come in many different forms and serve many different purposes:

• Something given in return: something desirable given in return for what someone has done
• Money offered in return: money offered as a reward
• Benefit received: a benefit obtained as a result of an action taken or a job done
• Something reinforcing desired behavior:  something positive that follows a desired response and acts to encourage desired behavior

Rewards can come in many different forms.  Before you give a reward, it's helpful to know the following:

1. What is being rewarded? Specifically state the behavior or result that is being rewarded.

2. Why is it important? How does it help the business achieve its goals, financial metrics or other key performance indicators?

3. What result(s) did the behavior produce? Cost savings, customer satisfaction, process improvement, etc. You want to quantify it so the positive behavior can be replicated!

There are lots of different ways to reward positive behavior:

• Cash awards: Money is obviously the most readily used. Also consider gift cards, cafeteria "free lunch" certificates or giving a charitable donation in an employee's name.
• Non-cash awards: A handwritten thank you note, recognition at a company meeting, peer recognition or a company "wall of fame" are ways to recognize employees.

Regardless of the reward vehicle you use, but sure to:

• Be timely: Recognize the positive behavior when it happens, not 3 weeks later!
• Reward consistently: Be sure to recognize big and little accomplishments...but do so proportionately. A major cost savings may justify a cash reward, but solving a minor problem on the fly, may just require a "thank you"
• Be sensitive: If the employee you want to recognize is shy or quiet, reward them quietly, not in the company meeting! Respect the employee's style and preferences by recognizing them in a way they will feel comfortable. You certainly don't want to minimize their positive behavior by making them uncomfortable.

What is your Company doing to reward employees? 

Wellness, Wellness, Wellness - we've been hearing about it for the last several years now. But with the concept of getting and keeping our employees healthier through Wellness, we also hear the accompanying arguments from employers on why a Wellness program isn't feasible:

• We don't have a budget.
• If we do spend money, what's the ROI?
• No one has the time to exercise more.
• Is it really our business what our employees are doing with their lives/bodies?
• We don't have the additional staff needed to communicate and run a Wellness program.

Well, as we turn the corner into 2010 and see that employee benefit increases had another year of double digit increases for many with no end in sight, Wellness is fast becoming the only way to start nipping at the heels of this runaway train.

The medical conditions that end up costing the most to both consumers and in return companies are not surprising.  Even less surprising is that they haven't changed in the last several years. Heart Disease and Cancer are the top cost "drivers" for company-sponsored health insurance.  Although we won't be able to eliminate these diseases, early detection through screening and prevention will go a long way to reducing overall medical spending.

So, what's an employer to do? Listed below are some examples of how to get started and begin impacting your company's bottom line when it comes to employee benefits and Wellness:

• Implementing prevention programs are no longer ‘a nice to have.'  If employers want to start curtailing their medical benefit increases, it is in their best interest to help their smokers to stop smoking, their obese to seek nutritional/emotional/physical support and to help their employees reduce their overall stress level.  All these unhealthy behaviors have a direct impact on health and in turn, your company's bottom line.
• Offering wellness incentives for employees can motivate them to action.  Encourage employees to set goals for their health.  For example, hold a cholesterol screening, which indicates the risk of Heart Disease, and then encourage employees to work toward reducing their numbers.  Reward employees for reaching their health goals.
• Structuring the medical plan to allow for better or total coverage of screening tests is another way to ensure that employees are staying current on recommended testing.
• Don't underestimate the "soft" cost of disease - although Heart Disease and Cancer are the top two costs - Depression can actually cost the company more than any other condition due to these "soft" costs. The costs of fighting depression include not only medical and drug spend, but time off (either in disability, PTO, or Leaves of Absence) and the cost of lack of productivity. Wellness efforts, coupled with an EAP can work wonders in this area!

Although we keep waiting for skyrocketing health costs to - well, stop skyrocketing, it appears that a concentrated Wellness effort which is better looped into overall HR policies and objectives might be more than a just a wise use of time and resources, but a necessary one too.

It's the end of a long, stressful year and your employees deserve a reward for all their hard work.  The holiday season reminds us that a party is a great way to show employee recognition and let employees relax and enjoy some leisure time together and with management.  Company parties take on many different forms - during the day in the conference room for pizza, after work at the boss's house, or on a Saturday night at a function hall ballroom.  Perhaps you've conducted harassment training recently so feel you've covered all the bases, but whether you're hosting a casual or more formal event, there are some additional topics you should be mindful of to ensure the company and the employees enjoy themselves in a safe and legal way.

Be sensitive to the fact that there are many religious holidays that occur at the same time, don't focus the party around any specific religion.  Also, company parties should be voluntary; employees shouldn't feel pressured to attend or discriminated against for not attending. 

Alcohol can increase the chance of negative behaviors and liability.  If you are serving alcohol, consider serving beer and wine only, distribute drink tickets or consider a cash bar to decrease the chance that someone might imbibe too much.  Note the ages of any younger employees to be sure you aren't serving minors.  Serve plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages.  Arrange for a cab service to be available to drive anyone home who should not be driving.

Assign one or more persons to abstain from alcohol and "monitor" the party at all times.  This person can be on the lookout for someone who shouldn't drive or they can spot a potential harassment issue.  Remind employees that your anti-harassment policy is in place at all times, regardless of the time of day or the location.  Just because they are not "working" does not mean that they shouldn't remain professional during the party.  If employees are welcome to bring a guest, be aware that guests may not understand the company's policy guidelines and that employees are responsible for their guests.

January is a popular time for legal HR issues to arise coming out of the holiday party season.  But if you're aware of potential risks and assume a heightened sense of employee behaviors, everyone is sure to have a great, risk-free time!

Tell us your ideas on creating on fun, safe and legal holiday party.

 

 

Now is the time of year that employees begin to look at their vacation and PTO balances and realize that they have three weeks of vacation to take before the end of the year, or they'll loose it.  Do you allow them to take it all in one block?  Do you require them to break it up into shorter amounts (i.e. a week at a time) or do you make an exception and allow them to carry time over?  On the flip side, maybe you have an employee that already has a planned vacation but has already taken too much time this year and has no additional time to take...

Time Off is one of those HR policies and employee benefits that is very close to an employee's heart and therefore issues around time off can often be contentious between the employer and employee. Whether you have a vacation or PTO policy, having a well-defined and market competitive time off policy can help promote employee retention and employee motivation.   Your employee handbook should outline the policy and all the specifics around taking time, balances and the logistics.  When writing your policy consider the following:

• Eligibility - When are new hire eligible to begin taking time?
• Pro-rated time - What is the threshold for part-time employees to take time and how is it pro-rated?
• Accrual amounts - How does time accrue?  Does it increase based on length of service, position or some other measure?
• Approval process - What is the process for requesting time off?  Who keeps track of this?
• Taking time - Are there requirements around how much time an employee can take in a row?  Do you limit employees to only a week at a time, or maybe 2?
• Use it or lose it - What happens to unused time at the end of the year? 
• Carryover - How much time can an employee carryover at the end of the year?  Are they required to take this carried over time during the first 3 or 6 months of the year?
• Payout - Do you have a policy to payout employees for unused time?
• Negative balances - What will you do if an employee wants to take time they have not yet accrued?
• Termination - Keep in mind that any unused accrued time must be paid out to the employee upon termination.  You'll want to write your policy in a way that will not result in excessively high balances that require payout upon termination.

Once you've written and published your policy, the most important thing you can do is, STICK TO IT!  An employee policy that is constantly having exceptions made is not an effective policy and only breeds dissatisfaction among the employee and employer!