Just step away from the computer…when you are angry at a co-worker, supervisor or one of your staff.  Messages you send in heat never go away, and could come back to haunt you!
An article in the Society for Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org) advocates email training for employers and managers.  According to one attorney e-mail has become the #1 form of evidence in any employment law dispute.  Another attorney (obviously they are kept busy by this issue) said that a lot of misunderstandings result from the written word, rather than direct communication when you can hear the tone of voice and see body language.
So why do we use e-mail so readily?  For a lot of folks it is easier than a direct confrontation, and easier to avoid having to compromise.  When we receive an upsetting e-mail it is also a natural reaction to fire back, because it just takes a “click”.  The back-and-forth in a dispute can really get out of hand.
What should one do?  First – don’t respond right away (the 24-hour rule is always good if you can wait).  Also, if it seems that the issue could escalate, a phone call or a personal visit is a much better way to handle the situation – also there’s no traceable document!  I have been surprised to find, when I visit the “complainer” in person, that either the problem isn’t so great, or it isn’t the real issue.  Sometimes a little patience will reveal that outside pressures are escalating something easily solved.
There are occasions where a quick response is appropriate – one important one is when an employee sends an offensive joke via the company e-mail system.  In that case the manager also has a document to produce if discipline becomes necessary. 
It isn’t just the angry or careless e-mails that can cause trouble.  In many cases an employee who is being disciplined will produce e-mails from the manager or supervisor praising his or her performance, and these can come back to cause trouble.  Advice:  never do performance reviews via e-mail.  Always meet with the employee and then document with hard copy.
So – we all need to review how we communicate with this great-though sometimes difficult-media.  In large companies it has been suggested that some sort of reminder training occur on a regular basis, cautioning against inappropriate or careless use of the e-mail media.  When in doubt – don’t click that button!!
 

Tags: effective learning, performance management, team building

Performance reviews are not fun for either the employee or the reviewer, but in the past were viewed as a necessary evil of working in an organization.  The fact is, however, that they are not a requirement except in the case of some governmental or union employees.  The other fact is that they take an enormous amount of time and create lots of stress for everyone.  So why do them?
An article in Legal Section of the Society for Human Resource Management site brings up some interesting points.  The April article by Judith Droz Keyes discusses both the reasons for and the pitfalls of performance reviews.
The formal review system was developed predominantly as a defense against discrimination lawsuits in the 50’s and 60’s, to justify terminations and disciplinary actions.  They were also supposed to serve as an honest and accurate assessment of an employee’s job performance relative to the employer’s standards and, to the performance of the team.  They were intended to motivate the employee to achieve great things and improve the morale of the company. 
The problems with these evaluations are many.  First and foremost, most supervisors are not good at reviewing their staff, and tend to avoid confrontation.  Therefore the employee may have been reprimanded in some way during the year, and at review time will get a satisfactory rating, so as not to cause waves.  In other cases, the language used in the review is not clear – saying “I would like to see” rather than “this job requires”.  In addition, most supervisors are not held accountable for the quality of their review process, so there is no consequence, until the employee is let go and a lawsuit is file.
That brings up the second problem.  Many times the review process is designed more as a career path management tool than a disciplinary tool and so problems with employees may not be accurately documented in the process.  Then, when an employee files a “wrongful termination” suit, they cite their years of positive reviews as evidence.  Sadly this means that the supervisor must now always look at the process as a potential legal pitfall rather than a helpful tool for management.
Yet another problem with the process is the lack of timeliness of the feedback.  Management should be addressing problems or achievements as they occur, rather than waiting a prescribed amount of time to give praise or criticism.  As a supervisor I had to keep careful notes during the year to avoid the “feeling of the moment” – the employee had just done something to irritate me that might affect my attitude during the review.
Finally (though there are probably more issues I haven’t thought of) there is the legal side of employment which says you need to be careful about commenting on things such as “professional attitude”, excessive absences, or cases where there is a conflict with the supervisor.  Any comments must be weighed against the protected rights of the individual employee, which tends to lead to a very bland review.  It is very difficult to deal with an employee with serious health issues when their position is vital to the organization and slows down the whole business process.  A supervisor must be very careful to comment in language that addresses the goals of the company and how they are not being met…or some other cleaver way to discuss the problem.
So if not performance reviews, what?  As mentioned earlier, timely addressing of the issue, either positive or negative, is much more useful for both employer and employee.  Record of these discussions need to be documented just as in a review, especially when compensation is tied to performance.  In place of a review, a “career plan” showing goals for the employee to work toward would be much more useful.  The goals should be developed through mutual input and allow the employee to show how they would like to grow in the business. 
Whether you are a manager or part of the staff in an organization, it is a challenge to keep dialogue open and keep everyone on the same page.  Good luck!

Tags: change management, employee feedback, employee morale, job seeker attitudes, performance management, team building

An article in the Society for Human Resource Management Legal Issues section gives a bleak picture of UI costs across the country. Speaker Douglas Holmes, President of UWC spoke before a session of the SHRM employment law conference last week.  He provided some interesting facts. 
State unemployment taxes increased as a percent of wages about 34% from 2009 to 2010, and are expected to go up even more in the next year.  Also, thirty-two states have outstanding federal loans (from the FUTA fund) to the tune of $43.6 billion.  Interest on those loans is approximately 4% for 2011. Interest amounts cannot be paid from state UI taxes, according to federal law, so states will have to have special assessments or increase the FUTA rates to meet these costs.  Spending on unemployment is at an all time high, as we have seen in the news.
How can companies affect their UI costs?  Management, both in their policies and in their employee hiring, reviewing and firing, can have a major effect.  The SHRM article had some ideas on what Human Resources can do to help mitigate these costs.  Some are pretty obvious: review and verify tax rate notices, make sure that your employee and contractor classifications are correct, and make sure that you have accurately reported wages.
Also, HR should work to protect the company’s experience rating.  Filing claims accurately and timely is important.  Spending time appealing incorrect determinations will help the company down the line, and make sure a company HR representative attends these hearings. 
Finally, review and improve hiring procedures and performance management appraisals.  Careful and accurate documentation in these processes can reduce UI claims.  Any employment actions or disciplinary procedures should be reviewed for accuracy and thoroughness.
Training for managers and supervisors on a regular basis is important.  Working with state unemployment agencies to help identify training or internships for unemployed workers can help serve some of your needs while reducing unemployment claims.  Most of all, stay on top of this issue!  It is only going to get more costly in the near future.

Tags: employee benefits, For Employers, industry news, performance management

As we all have heard, corporate profits dropped significantly (some sources say by 1/3) in the latest economic downturn, and companies were cutting and slashing wherever they could, including eliminating some product or service lines.  Because  of the belt tightening companies have become very efficient at delivering their product or services with fewer resources.  As a result, second-quarter 2010 profits for industrial companies in the S&P 500 stock index were $189 billion, up 38% from a year ago.  The outcome in many cases was as much a result of cost savings as revenue growth.
But..how does that affect the staff that got to keep their jobs?  And what are the long-term effects of this new way of working?
An article in the Society for Human Resource Management news (1/7/2011) highlights some of the problems in doing more with less.  Companies know they cannot continue cost-cutting to success, but for the last two years that was the major tool in the toolbox. 
Among the problems mentioned in the article are:  Diminished capacity, capability and agility, misaligned organizational structure, broken business processes and declining workforce engagement.  These issues can greatly affect future success.
Diminished capacity refers to not having enough staff, which can directly affect the company’s cost structure and ability to deliver the goods.  In well-staffed organizations there is the ability to shift people rapidly to respond to shifting business needs.  In a reduced-staff organization the employees have to focus on their immediate responsibilities, leaving little time to help in other areas.  Obviously the inability to respond will affect the company’s ability to compete.
Misaligned Org Structure can, as a result of rapid reorganization, leave an organizational chart that no longer is aligned to support the business. There are resulting gaps in roles, work process, accountabilities and information flow.  Structural gaps also occur when companies eliminate middle management positions without eliminating the work, forcing employees to take on added responsibilities.  Employees unprepared for management issues often end up “winging it” to the detriment of the company.
There are also broken business processes, partly as a result of prior reliance on long-term employees for “tribal knowledge” of the operation.  By failing to document or address the broken processes the companies can lose core efficiencies – and have to re-invent the wheel.
Eventually the workforce becomes disengaged.  In the short term everyone was glad for the job, and willing to pitch in.  It has become obvious, however, that this  situation is going to continue for quite awhile.  Not only that, but these loyal employees aren’t seeing monetary rewards for their efforts.  These employees are hunkered down until new opportunities arise, and then some organizations may lose a lot of valuable talent.
Unless companies address the problems created by the downsizing, they will start to lose the advantages gained by the initial cuts.  They need to be able to manage the new structure and reevaluate skills needed to stay competitive – and be ready for the next wave of new business!

Tags: change management, employee morale, Hiring Trends, industry news, job seeker attitudes, performance management

Keeping you informed!  Just in case you were feeling slighted, a recent survey on pay raises found promotions and raises down significantly.  WorldatWork’s Promotional Guidelines Survey, conducted last fall, focused on promotions because that seemed to be the only way employees could earn substantial pay raises in this economy.  What the survey found was that only 7 percent of the employees in large U.S. organizations received promotions last year, down from the average of 8.1 percent.  The survey also noted that the raises themselves were down considerably.  Officers and executives, the hardest hit, saw raises go from an average 11.4 percent in 2005 to 9.5 percent in 2010.  The problem for companies is that they have to show opportunities for career advancement to keep top performers, thus companies budgeted separately for these increases. 
It seems from other economic news that non-executives are taking pay reductions, or their benefits are being cut.  Overall it is now a waiting game as companies try to manage growth without having to add a lot of employees.  Hang in there!

Smart Phones are also coming to the attention of mobile security experts as more and more business is conducted on these devices.  Hackers are developing malware  to exploit security issues that may include a less-than-optimal browser, user authentication, and data encryption technologies.  According to an item in SHRM News, in 2010 more than 1 million smart-phone users in China were infected with a “zombie” virus hidden in bogus anti-virus programs.  Another case involved a worm connecting infected iPhone devices to a server in Lithuania, enabling criminals to control the phones.  Adding to the problem, according to the January 2011 article, is the bring-your-own-computer movement allowing employees to use their own mobile devices in the workplace, which can infect company servers.  It is up to companies to either disallow the use of those devices as is done in the national laboratories, or to restrict important data so it cannot be accessed through these devices.  If a document has to be emailed the sender needs to strip any identifier info such as social security numbers from the mail.  Hopefully soon the security systems will be upgraded to deal with these issues, as the world is certainly addicted to the Smart Phone!

Tags: benefits, employee benefits, employee morale, industry news, performance management