Has Hollywood met reality

Turn on most of the talk shows these days and almost everyone in recent days has had Tom Hanks on promoting his new film Larry Crowne. For those of you not aware of the plot,Tom Hanks plays the part of an employee who often has been rated by management and fellow employees as the best employee of the month for a big-box retailer. He has worked for the company since he got out of the Navy and  is now in his 50's. He gets a request to come to the manager's office and is told he is being let go because he does not have a college degree.

With the knowledge that EEOC and the Department of Labor are cracking down on injustices in the workplace, have you stopped to look at whether or not the requirements you place on positions are actually bona-fide occupational qualifications. I would suspect that the retailer would have a hard time justifying that Larry Crowne coul dnot do the job because he does not hold a college degree.

We realize that in these tough economic times corporations are doing what they can to beef the quality of the workforce for the coming changes, but the Larry Crowne scenario opens a couple of concerns. First, in the movie Tom Hanks plays an individual who is obviously a hard worker and in his 50's. So the question that come sot mind is did they violate the ADEA regulations and potentially discrimination laws by releasing Larry Crowne. More important, the exit of Larry Crowne represents a knowledge drain from the store since his knowledge of how best to do his job goes out the door when you send him on his merry way.

So I leave you with two suggestions. First from the trailers it looks like a fun movie and it hits the theatres tomorrow. Take time over the weekend to go enjoy it. (By the way I get no compensation from the production company and Tom Hanks and I are both related to the 16th Presidient of the US). Second really review the requirements of your positions and think about whether requiring a college education for a position such as Larry Crowne is a necessary requirement to perform the duties of the position or does it just make your organization look good int he eyes of the public?

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Wednesday Morning Hodgepodge Beware

welcome to hump day and here are some Wednesday tidbits for your consideration:

According to TLN Blog

A woman's husband had sued AT&T for Workers Compensation over the death of his wife from a blood clot. For the record she weighed over 300 pounds and worked from a home office three out of the five days per week. THe argument was that due to the fact that she was expected to be seditary in a desk chair to complete her work, the direct result was the creation of the blood clot which got into her lungs and killed her. The Mayo Clinic has completed studies which indicate that are seditary lifestyles could be hazardous to your health. A Judge has ruled that in fact her estate is eligible to receive workers compensation payments. Yhis could be a warning to look at your work evironments and ensure that employees have the time to get up and move around through out the day.

From one of the legal blogs I receive daily

In a Facebook with a twist. We had reported earlier about the case of the Connecticut woman who was fired because of what she posted on Facebook about her employer which the company considered to be derogatory in nature. The National Labor Relations Board came back and said that what she said was covered free speech under the National Labor Relations Act. Now the issue has arose again, this time with information that was put on Twitter. IN this case however the employee was warned that the use of social media was against company policy and the employee continued to ude the media. As a result the company fired him. In this case the NLRB said that the cases were different in that the employee was warned that the actions were against company policy and therefore he was not covered under the same conditions and they upheld his dismissal.

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Untitled

From DCI Consulting

Effective June 14, 2011, OFCCP released a much anticipated new FAAP directive, outlining the application process to seek approval for and develop an affirmative action plan by a business function or unit rather than establishment. The OFCCP Director (Director Shiu) will determine final approval of the Functional Affirmative Action Plan (FAAP) agreement and written approval will be provided to the federal contractor. Expiration of the functional AAP agreement is now three years and, similar to establishment based AAP(s), FAAP(s) will be exempt from another compliance evaluation for 24 months from the date of closure of the previous compliance evaluation.

Requesting a Functional AAP agreement

The directive outlines specific protocol to follow when requesting a FAAP agreement. The federal contractor must submit a written request to the OFCCP Director explaining why it believes that use of a functional AAP would be most appropriate with timeframes in which it will take to move from establishment based to functional. The contractor must identify a corporate representative, name and contact information, responsible for overseeing the FAAP request. Also, the following criteria of a function or business unit must be met in order to be considered eligible for the FAAP program:

1. Currently exist and operate autonomously.


2. Include at least 50 employees.


3. Have its own managing official.


4. Have the ability to track and maintain its own personnel activity.

The request must be received no later than 120 calendar days prior to the expiration of the current corporate headquarters AAP or within 120 days from the award of the Federal contract if this is a first-time contractor or else the agreement will be denied by OFCCP. The OFCCP FAAP unit will provide a written acknowledgement of the request within 10 days, but this receipt will not constitute approval. OFCCP will send a letter requesting a conference within 30 days of receiving the request. The federal contractor must provide additional information on the people representing the contractor during the conference and must submit documents outlined in Attachment B of the directive. Additionally, Attachment C in the directive outlines discussion points the corporate representative must be prepared to discuss during the conference. Past compliance will be reviewed for determining if corrections have been made or if there are recurring violations. The OFCCP Director will review and approve the agreement once the federal contractor and FAAP Unit reach agreement. Until approval is granted, contractors are required to create establishment AAP(s) and if an establishment based AAP compliance evaluation is scheduled prior to final approval of FAAP agreement then the contractor must undergo the establishment based AAP compliance evaluation.
Additional key items to note that will be taken under consideration by the OFCCP when applying for FAAP approval:

1. Current reporting structure under the requirements of a conciliation agreement.


2. EEO violations of the requesting contractor for the past three years from the date of the application, including EEO violations from other local, state and federal government agencies.


3. Federal contractors may still choose to request a combination of establishment and functional based AAP(s) through the functional AAP program.


4. Demonstration by Federal contractor that recordkeeping and affirmative action responsibilities can be managed for all functional or business units regardless of size.


5. Agreement to submit personnel activity in acceptable electronic formats if requested during a compliance evaluation (e.g., Acess/Excel).

Modifying an Approved Functional AAP Agreement

The OFCCP Director and the FAAP Director must be notified in writing within 30 calendar days of any significant changes which alter the original agreement (to determine whether the agreement needs to be modified or amended) or else OFCCP may terminate the FAAP agreement. If the agreement is modified, the agreement will still not extend the three year term.

Updating a Functional AAP Agreement

Contractors are required to report at least once a year within 30 days following the anniversary of its agreement any minor changes and if the contractor fails to submit an annual update then OFCCP may schedule the contractor for a compliance evaluation [emphasis added by author].

Renewing a Functional AAP Agreement

To be eligible for renewal, a contractor must have had at least two functional units undergo a compliance evaluation during the three year term [emphasis added by author]. If the contractor only has one functional unit then that unit must undergo a compliance evaluation during the three year term. OFCCP will use administratively neutral selection criteria to select at least two functional or business units to be audited during the three year agreement term. Must submit a renewal request no later than 120 calendar days prior to the expiration of the current functional AAP agreement. The agreement will expire at the end of the three year term if the contractor fails to request a renewal.

Termination of Functional AAP Agreement

Either party may terminate the functional AAP agreement with a 90 calendar day written notice including a brief explanation of the reason(s) for the termination and the effective date of the termination. Examples of why OFCCP may terminate agreement include violation of the laws and regulations enforced by OFCCP (e.g., employment discrimination, failure to develop and maintain an AAP, failure to maintain accurate records, failure to permit OFCCP access, failure to make good faith efforts, failure to account for all employee’s in an AAP, or failure to notify OFCCP of any modifications). If terminated by OFCCP, the contractor may not reapply for another FAAP agreement for a period of three years and all employees would need to be covered by establishment based AAP(s) within 120 days from notification of termination.

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Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management comes to Lakeland, FL

Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc, will bring its 2 day class on the inclusion of six sigma process improvement methods to HR November 7 and 9 at Polk Corporate College in Lakeland, FL. For more information contact David Woodward at 863-669-2329 or dwoodward@polk.edu

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IRS Makes mid-year adjustment

The In­ternal Revenue Service is increasing the tax de­duction motorists can take for using private ve­hicles for business, a rare midyear move sparked by high gas prices.

Starting July 1, motor­ists who use their per­sonal vehicles for busi­ness will be able to de­duct 551/2 cents a mile from their taxable in­come, the agency an­nounced Thursday. That's an increase of 4 1/2 cents from the first six months of the year.

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Show Me the Path

I had posted an announcement of an upcoming date of our seminar on applying six sigma to HR and a peer of ours within the HR industry sent back a comment asking what is the validity to a PHR? The response takes me back to the introduction of the Certified Relocation Professional Exam in 1990, when a well known real estate broker asked why do I need to know the profile of a typical relocation buyer because I only sell homes.

In both cases the same response is generated. Everyday when we enter the world of HR (as if we ever leave it) we are faced with two paths we can go down. The first path is to proceed as if you are in your own little world. A world where the only thing that is important is what your department does today. We solved a hiring dilemma. We solved a benefit issue. We resolved a compensation issue. What is important is not what the business enterprise is seeking to achieve as we are our own entity.

The second path is to understand that despite what you were brought up to believe, there is no such things as a silo in today's business enterprises. What you do today as implications for the entire rest of the organization. Your responsibilities are to do what is necessary to enhance the objectives of not HR but of the organization. HR is a vital part of the operation as we show management the path to successfully utilize human capital. without us management could be opening the doors to significant problems. We are the path to keep them out of trouble. That does not mean that we fade into the background. We need to be in the face of the organization and showing the path to success.

So I take you back to the questions posed by the real estate broker and the HR peer- is there validity in thinking out of the box? Definitely. It is a matter of professional survival. It is a requirement for your organization not your department to grow. It is a requirement for you to grow. The rapidly expanding global workforce requires new ways of doing things. This is because what worked in the past may not work today. We have new challenges within the workforce and they call for out of the box thinking.

So when someone suggests a new out of the box direction for what you deliver do not rely on viewing its validity from the past perspective. Look at the methodology being presented and see how it will increase your value to your organization.Look at how the new methodology will allow you to grow as a human resource professional.

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The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management comes to Clearwater, FL. Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc.'s two day workshop on the use of six sigma in the HR function will be presented August 11 and 12, 2011 at the Corporate Training Center of St Petersburg College. For more information contact Sharon Mercer at 727-341-4429. HRCI has awarded 13 Strategic Business credits to this workshop.

The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management come sto Clearwater, FL

Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc.'s two day workshop on the use of six sigma in the HR function will be presented August 11 and 12, 2011 at the Corporate Training Center of St Petersburg College. For more information contact Sharon Mercer at 727-341-4429. HRCI has awarded 13 Strategic Business credits to this workshop.

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Need help with healthcare costs?

I received this email from the President of the Tampa Bay Executive Forum who owns a benefit consulting firm:

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Hope this note finds you well and in good spirits.

A few weeks ago we came across this web site which helps consumers identify and learn more about market prices regarding various healthcare services in areas where we live and work. With all of us wanting to become more informed and better consumers of healthcare services we thought to pass along this web site for your use. It may help you or people you know.

Please read about and become familiar with this site “Health Care Blue Book” and learn what they have to offer and understand what data they will collect from you.  Also, read their privacy statement and then make your decision regarding using the site.

We use it to help understand markets, services and pricing. There is also a national discount pharmacy program & network which is available free of charge. Perhaps this would be of interest to you as well as other folks you know.

Below is an excerpt from the web site providing a summary statement of what’s available. The web site is http://www.healthcarebluebook.com

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Breaking News

US Supreme Court overturns Walmart Sex Discrimination Award

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Do you walk the HR walk and talk the HR talk?

It is now summer and residents of Florida are once again telling children and tourists about the Stingray shuffle. It is a pure example of risk management. You have a choice either you shuffle through the sand when you enter the water and chase away the stingrays or risk getting stung by the barb in their tail when you accidentally kick one.

The purpose of the example is that demonstrates the power of walking the walk and talking the talk. I hear all the time HR professionals bemoaning that they are not heard, are not at the partner table and are considered second class citizens within the corporate hierarchy. So my question is do you teach and practice the stingray shuffle within your organization?

In this highly competitive, global workplace we function in every day the ground rules are changing. We can no longer say we want a seat at the table and expect we are going to get it. The days when we were judged on what role we play in the organization has basically died. What we need to do is change our focus from asking to showing why we need to be in that strategic environment. We do this by walking the walk and talking the talk.

Here are some strategic thoughts on how to place yourself in the new environment that is our organizations:

1) Do you hear what the customer hears - Have you taken steps to really understand what the organization's clients expect from the organization. Surprise management and ask as a HR professional to tag along with the outside sales people and while there ask the client representative what they expect from their dealings with the customer service representatives of your organization. May very well change your recruiting efforts.

2) Do you hear what management hears (or doesn't hear) - HR, based on what Dave Ulrich calls the HR deliverables, is a vital part of the organization. But this is only true if you are the voice for the utilization of human capital. We don't mean that you tell management how to handle benefits or compensation. Rather we are talking about knowing and understanding the overall business and its strategic initiatives and how the human capital assets of the organization assist in bringing the strategy to a successful completion. We also do not anticipate that you are the employees best friend. we do expect that you are comfortable enough in your expertise as a human resource professional to tell management when they are right and just as important when they are wrong.

3) Can you measure your deliverable -  The key to the changed role for HR is to be able to document the outcomes through the use of verifiable, accurate data. It is just as important that you be able to present these data points in a way that is easily understood. The data needs to be presented in not only raw data but in terms of financial metrics which clearly demonstrate the contribution of the human capital assets.

So here is your challenge for today and going forward. Are you asking for a seat at the table or are you walking the HR walk and talking the HR talk in order to demonstrate that you need to be at the table. That you need to be at the table not because you asked but because the data you bring to the table enhances the strategic objectives of the organization both internally to the culture of the organization and externally to the needs and demands of the customer base.

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The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management coming to a city near you
July 21-22 Gainesville, FL
July 28-29 Columbus, OH
Sept 15-16 Pensacola, FL
Oct 20-21 Ocala, FL

For more information contact dan@dbaiconsulting.com

The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management coming to a city near you:
July 21-22 Gainesville, FL
July 28-29

Rules of Engagement

 We are all involved in a highly competitive world in the economic workplace. Our success is based on the degree to which our organizations can be the first to innovate a new product, service, or process. This innovation comes out of a high level of collaboration among the human capital assets of our organizations. To further the scenario our organizations are beginning to be faced with the impact of the Generation Y or millenials who have never seen a conversation that they did not like.

The direct outcome is our human capital assets of today and more important going forward depend on the usage of social media to find the answers to their questions and to hold an ongoing conversation. The hidden point coming from the social media world is that it is primarily about the conversation --good or bad.

Ever since Facebook and other mediums came into existence, a great debate has been heard across the land on how we control the usage of social media by our employees. Social Media policies have been created that reportedly created very strict rules about what employees were and were not allowed to say in the social media world.

The came a rash of legal decisions governing the degree to which corporations could control the conversation. This was culminated in the case of a Connecticut woman who spoke out about the working conditions at her employer. The company retaliated by dismissing her from her job.

In the past week I have seen no less than 5 emails from Labor law firms who have warned corporations to be careful on what they do based on the National Labor Relations Board stating that she was fired illegally. The NLRB based their view on Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act:

Section 7, is the heart of the NLRA. It defines protected activity. Stripped to its essential, it reads: Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection. Section 7 applies to a wide range of union and collective activities. In addition to organizing, it protects employees who take part in grievances, on-the-job protests, picketing, and strikes.

We need the conversation. We need the collaboration. We need the innovation. We need open and frank discussions about the way we operate. So lets not turn off the dialogue through policies which control the threads. So lets not turn off the dialogue in the name of being overly cautious. Lets not try and guide the dialogue by trying to anticipate what might be said.

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From Constangy Brooks and Smith:The EEOC's 5 warnings about medical leaves and the ADA

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held a public hearing this week on leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This is a smokin' hot subject, particularly in light of the ADA Amendments Act and its regulations, which expand the ADA's coverage to a dramatically larger population, the "new," more activist EEOC under Chair Jacqueline Berrien, and two recent multi-million-dollar settlements in leave-of-absence lawsuits brought by the EEOC against Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Supervalu, Inc. (Jewel-Osco).

John Hendrickson, the EEOC's Regional Attorney for Chicago, said that these settlements contained five lessons for employers, and that's what I'd like to talk about today because Hendrickson's points are consistent with warnings we've been giving to employers for quite some time.

1. An "inflexible period" of leave will not satisfy ADA requirements. Most of the employers I've worked with have very generous leave of absence policies -- one employer I know offers up to two years of leave for a single medical condition (and possibly more, if the employee contracts a new condition). However, many policies provide for "automatic" termination if the employee's leave exceeds the designated period of time.

Nunh-unh, no can do, says the EEOC.

If the employee needs, say, two years plus two weeks, but then will be able to return to work, you have to consider granting that additional two weeks.

Or, if the employee can come back but needs reasonable accommodations (including reassignment to a vacant position), you have to consider allowing the employee to come back in the new capacity.

And when I say "consider," I mean, seriously. I mean, if you decide to say no, you'd better have a darned good reason.

Your next question may be, Well, if our leave is so generous and we still have to do all this when an employee has been out of work (and probably receiving disability benefits or workers' compensation), then why on earth do we want to offer so much leave in the first place? And my answer to that would be, Good question, and a point that was made by an employers' lawyer who testified at the EEOC hearing. You can shorten the "minimum leave" under your policy, as long as you comply with the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act. (You should check applicable state laws, as well.)

2. "Appropriate leave" requires an "individualized assessment" when the designated leave period expires, if not before. See #1. The "individualized assessment" would include determining whether the employee needs additional leave beyond the official company maximum, and whether the employee can come back to work with a reasonable accommodation.

Many employers still require employees returning from medical leaves of absence to be "100 percent recovered," or able to return to work without restrictions. These requirements have arguably violated the ADA from the get-go (in my opinion, they have), but there is no question that they should be scrapped in our modern era. If an employee has restrictions, the employer is supposed to assess whether the employee can return to work with a reasonable accommodation. If not, then it may be ok to terminate. But if so, then the employer should allow the employee to return to work.

And, have I mentioned that "reasonable accommodation" includes reassignment to a different vacant position?

3. Keep your friends close, and your leave administrator and ADA decisionmaker closer. Many employers outsource leave administration to a third party. Meanwhile, the person making decisions on ADA accommodations is usually someone in Human Resources, in consultation with the employee's supervisors and managers, and possibly legal counsel.

This is a fine arrangement, as long as the leave administrator stays in close contact with HR or legal counsel, and knows how to identify potential ADA issues. (Which should be a cinch now that virtually everyone on an extended medical leave qualifies for ADA coverage.)

That said, third party administrators, or even in-house leave administration "specialists," should almost never be the ones to terminate an employee for hitting the maximum allowable leave. A best practice would be for the leave administrator to refer these employees to Human Resources or legal counsel for an ADA assessment. The decision to terminate, extend leave, or bring back to work with or without reasonable accommodations should be made by HR/Legal in consultation with the appropriate operations management.

4. Ya gotta talk to the employee. The reasons for this rule are too numerous to mention. From a pure morale standpoint, it's always good to stay in touch with an employee on medical leave because it makes the employee feel that she's still "part of the family" and makes return to work that much easier. But just in case these warm and fuzzy reasons aren't enough to satisfy you, allow me to use more persuasive methods. (Imagine Dr. Evil laugh here. Mwahahaha.)

Many jurisdictions require that the employer and employee conduct an "interactive process" when discussing possible ADA accommodations, and the EEOC takes this position as well. The "interactive process" is fancy-lawyer-talk for having a discussion with the employee (ideally, face-to-face, but phone or email will suffice if the employee can't come in) about possible reasonable accommodations. In these jurisdictions, the failure to engage in the interactive process is an ADA violation in itself.

Even in jurisdictions like mine, which do not require an interactive process, failing to engage in the process means that the employer "assumes the risk" if there is an accommodation that might have worked but was missed because the employer didn't talk to the employee.

For these reasons, I strongly recommend that all employers, no matter where they are located, discuss directly with employees their reasonable accommodation options and get the employee's suggestions. (Employers with unions will, of course, have to include the union representatives in these discussions.)

5. Better get used to being sued by the EEOC. The agency believes that private plaintiffs' attorneys will not usually have the resources to be able to pursue these "systemic" discrimination cases involving automatic terminations at the end of medical leaves. 

So, to paraphrase all those spam email jokes that we love so much, you may be a defendant in an EEOC lawsuit if

*You have a "100%-recovered/no restrictions" requirement for return from a medical leave of absence;

*You automatically terminate employees who reach their maximum leaves without making "individualized assessments";

*You delegate all of your medical leave terminations to your third-party administrator, or your benefits administrators; or

*You don't engage in "the interactive process" before automatically terminating employees who reach their maximum leaves.

(Sorry that wasn't the least bit funny. Hey - just like the spam email jokes!)

Generally speaking, the EEOC is a formidable plaintiff. Unlike private plaintiffs' attorneys, the agency does not have a strong economic motivation to settle cases early and inexpensively. They'll serve you with aggressive written discovery and requests for documents, and they'll want to take everybody's deposition. They'll file motions and fight every motion that your side wants to file. They dig "systemic" cases, where they can get large verdicts or settlements that they can post on their "Newsroom" web page. This is not to say you can't beat them, but most employers will prefer being in compliance to being a test case.

Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.

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Did You Set Out to be a Legacy?

Was your goal in entering the business world to leave a lasting impression on the world you entered and the world's to follow you? I would suspect that most of us dream of that state but do not realistically expect to reach it.

Yesterday while looking at my daily assortment of e-mails I found the following e-mail in my inbox:

Sixty-four years ago a giant was born.

Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt spent his entire adult life fighting to show that it is possible to make this world a better place. We must have the honesty to see reality as it is, we must have the courage to challenge assumptions, and above all, we must use the gift of thinking. Having applied these principles to various management fields, he created the Theory of Constraints. His concepts and teachings have expanded beyond management and are being used in healthcare, education, counseling, government, agriculture and personal growth - to name a few fields using TOC. His legacy is invaluable.

On June 11th, 2011 at noon, Eli Goldratt passed away at his home in Israel in company of his family and close friends.

The strength and passion of Eli allowed him to spend his last days sharing and delivering his latest insights and breakthroughs to a group of people who have committed to transfer this knowledge to the TOC Community during the upcoming Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization Conference in New York.

It was Eli's last wish to take TOC to the next level - truly standing on the shoulders of the Giant he is.

"I smile and start to count on my fingers: One, people are good. Two, every conflict can be removed. Three, every situation, no matter how complex it initially looks, is exceedingly simple. Four, every situation can be substantially improved; even the sky is not the limit. Five, every person can reach a full life. Six, there is always a win-win solution. Shall I continue to count?"

Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt 1947- 2011

I expect that Dr. Goldratt did not envision that by writing a thin business novel which is used by a large majority of the MBA programs in the country that we would reach that legacy level. Having read all five titles within the Goal series he convinced us that there was a new way to envision the problems that arise out of the way we conduct business in today's global workplace.

We facilitate a two day seminar for HR professionals and Goldratt's Theory of Constraints is the kick off to the study of the material presented. So while we may all strive to be a legacy take stock of someone who had an idea, conceptualized the idea for the masses and in return left a legacy for the ages following him.

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Are Your Employees Meeting Your Expectations?aybe there is a reason if they are not

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Relocation Announcement

Following reports about the planned U.S. headquarters for IQT Solutions, Gov. Bill Haslam, Mayor Karl Dean and state ECD head Bill Hagerty made an official announcement this morning welcoming the company and the 900 jobs it plans to bring to Music City over the next five years. From the Nashville Post

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Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management comes to Ohio

The Human Resource Association of Central Florida has scheduled a presentation of our two day course regarding including six sigma within the HR processes. It is scheduled for July 28-29, 2011 in Columbus. For more information or to register contact the chapter at programs@hraco.com

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Reality vs. Reality

For those of you reading this and who are finite thinkers, you are sitting there going how can reality be in a battle against reality? I would suggest that the workplace today is faced with exactly that scenario. Let me explain.

Reality 1

A vast percentage of the populous has become addicted to Reality TV. We enjoy the picture that these shows create, we enjoy the sense of adventure that we can almost picture ourselves becoming involved in.

With the passage of legislation in several states we now have created this surreal world where we vision ourselves in one of these reality TV shows. It is now illegal in 23 states to forbid an employee to bring a loaded weapon to work as long as it is legally registered and locked in their personal vehicle. In Florida it is now illegal for a physician to even ask their patients if they own guns. Certain organizations are saying that it is their right under the U.S. Constitution and we do not dispute they have the right to own reasonable fire arms. I am not trying to start a political argument but rather to point out that our view of the world is horribly distorted. With the passage of these laws we have in fact created a de facto protected class of employees.

Reality 2

Most government contracts and state laws require our workplaces to be violence free. This is whether it is due to drugs physical violence. We are fully cognizant of the fact that due to the tough economic times many of our employees are under stress. We pick up the newspaper or turn on the evening news are hear of situations where someone has walked into a workplace and opened fire for some reason or another.

With this in mind why do we permit the battle of reality vs, reality to exist in our work environments. I have a semi-adopted daughter who every fall goes out hunting wild game which she in turns uses to feed her family. I have in the past done the same thing. But she would no more consider bringing her hunting rifle to work then I would. Reality 1 suggests that we live in such a horrible world that we need to protect ourselves with high caliber weapons such as 16 bullet clips. That we need to protect ourselves in the event that the other person decides to open fire.

Reality 2 suggests that we are making the promise and the commitment to the workforce that they can come to work with the expectation of a violence free work space. The in the same breath we create a protected class where we can not inquiry if a potential worker carries a weapon. We can not stop the creation of a potential cause for an unsafe workplace. With weapons 500 yards out the front door where is the impediment to violence in the workplace?

So here is my thought for the business enterprises in the marketplace. It is time that we as the business community respond by saying enough is enough. We are not trying to stop you from purchasing weapons, just keep them at home. There is no viable reason why our workplaces need to become reality 1. We provide an environment where we become a competitive part of the economic landscape due to our products, services and innovation. We do not provide an environment which is grounded in the expectation that something bad might happen in the workplace so we must put everyone in jeopardy by allowing weapons in the work environment - inside or directly outside the buildings. It is time for Reality 2 to come to the forefront and to pressure the creation of a work space that is based on common sense and the consideration of the type of work environment we want to be involved in.

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Its My Way or No Way, End of Question

I live in Central Florida and one of the local municipalities has passed a new law which goes into affect July1, which states that if you are homeless you either have to go into a shelter or go to jail. Those are your only choices in life.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not totally sympathetic to people sleeping and living on the streets. Having said that I want to use this an example of thinking out the ramifications of our decisions in human capital management.

Every organization has its own peculiar culture which dictates how the organization treats its human capital assets. The question here is whether that organization is as controlling as the local municipality or are they open enough to recognize the value of diversity of thought and lifestyles. The rapidly changing world we live in heavily depends on our organizations to be innovative in their services and products and to change with the business environment.

Innovation means that we take into consideration a wide variety of thoughts, work processes, work styles. If we operate from a sense of iron clad rules and regulations we are in the long run hindering the growth of our organizations. So my question to you is whether the next time an employee comes to work for your organization is the message you are delivering " this how we do it here and it is the only way we do it here" or are you ready to recognize that the employee ho comes off a little strange to you and your management the road to the next great mousetrap in your organization.  Just because they have a different view of the world around them does not mean that they are in some way bad and need to be stored away somewhere out of view from the public or our customers.

The next time you consider chastising someone because of the way they dress or behave becareful that you are doing so for proper reasons, not because they do not fit your picture of reality.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed