Who am I? The role of human capital in a global workplace

I recently was approached by a professor at one of the local universities with an invitation to come speak to her leadership classes. She asked me to demonstrate for mostly financial background MBA students what the soft side of human resources, i.e., management,

As I began to prepare my presentation for the classes I chose to follow the human capital resources through each of the ages we have traversed since the 1770's. When we were primarily on the farm, we learned how to work in cross functional collaborative teams. It was part of the fabric of our lives that we looked to help the individual be successful in owning and operating the farm. It was a period when we saw the rise of the "Quaker Business Model" which believed that the role of the organization was to do what ever was necessary to see that the best came out in every individual. Diane Cadbury in her book The Chocolate Wars talked about how her family helped out the employees by encouraging them to continue their education, provided the first health insurance plans and other similar efforts to enhance the life they lived.

When we moved to the industrial age, the individual changed their relationship with the organization reverting to a mere number. The key was that they could now support their family by working within a big city. This philosophy has now extended to the way many organizations look at employees today. The economy tanks and instead of trying to see how to reinvent the processes we utilize, the strategy is to see how many human capital resources we can cut to bring costs inline with a subjective target. Never mind that those human capital resources represent the knowledge base of the organization. Never mind that few organizations take into consideration that cutting staff does not reduce the workload, in fact it escalates the load on the remaining staff.

By the beginning of the 21st century we have changed our paths so that the benefit from the organization is what we dream not what we produce or make. This change in focus also changes the role that human capital resources play within our organizations. One of the problems we see is that every day there is another story about organizations that are trying to enforce non-competition clauses on departing human capital resources. The difficulty is that our human capital are not number any longer, They are corporate assets that are free to wander as they choose. we in essence lease their services with the understanding that if we do not meet their needs they are gone to somewhere that will respect their value to our organizations.

This new paradigm calls for new strategies to utilize the human capital resources. This means we have to gain a better understanding of the importance of the role they play in the future of your workplace. These strategies can be divided into categories of expectations:

• The human capital must be engaged in their work environment on the basis that they want.
• The workplace must be designed around a system that provides the routes for the employee to enhance their learning of skills that will improve they way they deliver what is in their minds.
• What ever processes we put in place must have as its goal the manifestation that the efforts put forth by the human capital resources are appreciated by the organization, not just taken for granted.
• The organization needs to ensure that any conditions that lead to a hostile workplace are eliminated. This means free from harassment on the part of management, fellow employees and outside vendors.
• The organization needs to ensure that an employee can come to work and feel that will not be exposed to actions by others that can be classified as violent in nature. It also includes the organizational efforts to ensure that no one brings illicit drugs into the workplace.
• The human capital assets expect that they will be respected for who they are and what they contribute to the organization not having their growth stymied because of biases on the part of the organization as to what they can achieve.
• Finally it is absolutely that the top management efforts represent total buy in to the new paradigm, not just giving it lip service.

As a human resource professional within your organization, it is your task to see that the organization moves toward this new direction. Human capital resources are vital to the successes of our businesses. You make the decision as to whether your organization maintains the status quo or heads in the direction of the new paradigm.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Enhancements to I-9 verifications

J.J. Keller in their HRClicks Newsletter reports that the I-9 program's capabilities expanded to include U.S. passport photo matching — enabling E-Verify to automatically check the validity and authenticity of all U.S. passports and passport cards presented for employment verification checks, as announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The identity of new employees who present a U.S. passport or passport card to E-Verify employers can now be verified by comparing the data to state department records. Approximately 10 percent of all E-Verify queries currently provide a U.S. passport to establish both identity and employment authorization in order to prove employment eligibility.

E-Verify has provided photo matching capabilities to employers throughout the nation to verify the identity of new employees when they presented employment authorization documents or permanent resident cards as proof of identity and work authorization for the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, since 2007.

DHS, in partnership with the Social Security Administration, operates the E-Verify web-based system which is now used by more than 230,000 employers at more than 800,000 worksites.

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Ford & Harrison issues Legal Alert regarding Health Care Grandfathered Plans

Legal Alert: Changes to Grandfathered Plan Rules Announced
 
11/16/2010
Daniel Sulton

 

 

The triple threat of federal agencies (Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, and Department of Health and Human Services) first published guidance in the form of interim final regulations on "grandfathered" health plans under the health care reform law (the "Affordable Care Act") on June 17, 2010. Since then the agencies have issued Frequently Asked Questions on September 20, 2010, October 8, 2010, October 12, 2010 and October 28, 2010, each containing responses to questions regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including clarifications on rules related to grandfathered plans. On November 15, 2010, the agencies released an amendment to the interim final regulations providing some relief to fully insured group health plans.

Amendment

In response to comments received on the interim final regulations, the agencies determined that an amendment is necessary to the grandfathered plan rules. Under the interim final regulations, a fully insured group health plan would lose its grandfathered status if it changed issuers or policies after March 23, 2010 regardless of whether or not the benefits or terms under the policy had actually changed in any significant way. The amendment to the interim final regulations removes this restriction and allows a group health plan or employer to enter into a new policy, certificate or contract of insurance without the plan losing its grandfathered status if certain conditions are met. This amendment, like the interim final regulations, applies separately to each benefit package under the health plan. However, it does not apply to individual policies.

In order for a fully insured group health plan to maintain its grandfathered status after a change in insurer or policy, the plan must not make any other changes that would result in a loss of grandfathered status under the interim final regulations (e.g. any increase in a percentage cost-sharing requirement such as coinsurance, etc. Please see our Legal Alert, Anticipated Health Care Reform Grandfathered Plan Regulations Released," dated June 23, 2010, available on our web site at http://www.fordharrison.com/shownews.aspx?Show=6300, for a complete list of changes that will result in a loss of grandfathered status.) Additionally, the group health plan must provide any new insurance company with documentation of the prior health plan coverage sufficient to determine if any change in the new policy, certificate or contract of insurance is being made that would result in a loss of grandfathered status.

Effective Date

The amendment applies to group health insurance changes which become effective on or after November 15, 2010. Therefore, any change of insurer or policy that became effective prior to November 15, 2010 will not be subject to the amendment and would result in a loss of grandfathered status.

Employers' Bottom Line

This amendment is a welcome change for employers with a fully insured group health plan or with any fully insured benefit options under its health plan. It allows flexibility to change insurance carriers or insurance policies without the loss of grandfathered status as long as such changes do not result in one of the six prohibited changes under the interim final regulations for grandfathered health plans. Employers with fully insured plans who avoided making certain insurance policy changes (other than the 6 prohibited changes for grandfathered plans) that would reduce cost but result in a new policy being issued, may want to revisit those decisions in light of this amendment. Unfortunately, this amendment may have come too late, as a practical matter, for calendar year plans to make any changes for the 2011 plan year.

If you have any questions regarding this Alert, please contact the author, Daniel Sulton, dsulton@fordharrison.com, any member of Ford & Harrison's Employee Benefits Practice Group, or the Ford & Harrison attorney with whom you usually work. You may also visit the health care reform section of the Ford & Harrison website, http://www.fordharrison.com/HealthcareReform.aspx, for more helpful resource§s and tools on health care reform.

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New Twist in Social Media

Many of the pundits of Social Media in the workplace have had differing views on what has to be in a social media policy. They have also questioned the ownership of the relationships developed on the social media venue. In a case out of Connecticut, an employee placed disparing comments about her boss and the company on Facebook, The organization in turn fired her. The National Labor Relations Board has entered into the fray and stated that she was dismissed illegally because what she said was covered by the right to free speech.

What does your social media policy say in this regard? Are you ensuring that both sides of the equation's rights are being protected? NLRB says that what she said was no different than talking around the water cooler. Is that not what social media is all about?

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Do we really know what the answer is?

I was driving around doing errands over the weekend, when suddenly in front of me was a car with a bumper sticker that resonanted with the current economic environment and workplace environment we live in. The bumper sticker was in this case black and white but the statement was short and to the point.

It stated " Don't Believe What You Think."

Reading the bumper sticker made me take a moment and consider question as to how often do we in human resources (or the business environment for that matter) find ourselves facing a problem and because we think we know the answer, we jump to a solution. Do we provide a correct solution in these cases?

The six sigma methodology teaches us to ask the "5 Whys" when confronted with a problem. The premise is that the first answer we receive when we question what we think is usually not the real answer we are looking for. To get to the root cause of the problem takes questioning it five times. So if this is true, when we belive what we think is the solution to a problem are we solving the problem correctly?

If you like we would be open to examples on both sides of the question.

 

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Relocation Announcement

Alvarion is moving its north American headquarters from the Silicon Valley to Montgomery County, MD by 2013.

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Cut Hours or Reduce Staff - Is that all there is?

In his daily post for TLNT, Larry Haun suggested that the question before many organizations in time of economic hardship is whether you cut hours or reduce staff? Larry Haun, who is the community director for ERE.net makes some very good points. The difficulty here is that the response is based on an employee being just another number on the expense sheet.

We would suggest that if you take an alternative view of the role of the employee to be that of a non-owned capital asset that is one of the reasons you are still functioning as an organization then there is a third alternative. If we take a page from GE and change the view of the HR process to be one of continuous process improvement we can offer a third alternative. By removing the process steps that are non-value added (they are not requested by our customers) and ensuring that our processes are repeatable every time we conduct them, then the alternative is we can raise revenues by removing the non-value added steps.

James Womack in his book Lean Thinking suggests that unless the organization is close to bankruptcy, then lean or lean six sigma efforts should not call for layoffs. They should actually enhance the worklevels of the employees due to the opening of opportunity in other departments and through the introduction of new products and services.

Are you stuck in the silo of employees as an expense or have you realized they are a valuable asset and maximizing your human capital?

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

HRCI approves Ultimate Improvement Cycle: A Six Sigma Approach to Human Capital Management CE Credits

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In conjunction with Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc.. the Corporate Training Centers at Hillsborough Community College will be offering the first of its kind in the United States a 14-hour training program for HR professionals on how to apply the six-sigma methodology to your hr processes. The course will contain both technical and real life experiences with the various tools and how they apply to HR.

HRCI has approved this course for 13 strategic business recertification hours.

The course is scheduled to be presented November 18 and 23 and again March 21 and 23. The instructor will be Daniel Bloom SPHR, SSBB the CEO of Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc and one of the few individuals in the country to be certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and a Six Sigma Black Belt.

For more information contact Bill Melendez at HCC at 813-259-6508

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Is the glass half empty or half full?

Every generation has been confronted with this question and with the question which came first the chicken or the egg. If we listen to the political pundits going into tomorrow's elections we can see the same picture developing. 

The tea party candidates are telling us how really bad things are. How all the strategies created to combat one of the worse recessions in this country were all bad. But is that really true? Consider the headlines out of the paper recently.

• The TARP funds were the sign that our priorities were out of place. And yet a local CPA appeared on the local FOX news station and pointed out that many of the banks that have already paid back their loans have done so with a premium coming back. AIG announced today that it already has 37 billion dollars ready to come back to the US Treasury.
• Manufacturing output exceeded the projections of most economists for the last reporting month.
• Many of the corporations that have laid off employees are beginning to recall them back including GM and Delta Airlines.
• Corporations are in the process of returning some customer service positions back to the US because economically it made more sense.This includes Radio Shack, AT&T and others. I was in attendance at a conference recently where the  speaker indicated that he was working with an India based Information Systems firm which was opening a call center in Wisconsin because it was cheaper to run it here.

How does this apply to human capital? I hear the same kind of rhetoric coming from the business community. Have you ever practiced the philosophy that there is no sense in training our employees because they would just leave? Have you ever told your hiring resources not to provide you with the names of candidates because they are in transition due to circumstances that are beyond their control? Have your ever expressed the belief that if a candidate was let go and did not find employment quickly they are worthless?

We as human capital managers have the ability to look at the glass as being half full or half empty. Look at the available talent for who they are not what you envision them to be. You maybe surprised based on the changed attitude. Many of the in transition executives have taken this time to increase their levels of education but you are excluding this because you believe the glass is half empty.

So as you enter the voting booth tomorrow (we hope you all will one way or another) and as you go forward in your managerial efforts consider whether the glass is really as empty as you think it is. Pundits have been wrong in the past. Be sure you are not a victim to the wrong attitude.

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USERRA Rights might start earlier then you expected

From Wolters Kluwer Employment Blog

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Army reserve member’s USERRA claims against Wyeth partially reinstated

Finding an army reserve member raised sufficient evidence that his performance improvement plan was improperly extended due to his military leave, the First Circuit reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of his USERRA claims against his employer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Vega-Colon v Wyeth Pharm, 1stCir, October 28, 2010, Thompson, OR). The direct court properly granted summary judgment to the pharmaceutical company on the reserve member’s numerous other USERRA discrimination and retaliation claims, however, the appeals court ruled.

Background. The reserve member, a package equipment supervisor who worked for Wyeth in Puerto Rico, alternated between active and inactive status during his employment with the company. The first assertedly actionable incident was a poor performance evaluation, allegedly his first. Shortly thereafter, he was denied a reliability engineer position that he applied for, and he filed a discrimination complaint with the DOL’s Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS). VETS initially found no merit to his claim and denied the complaint, but it was later reinstated when the employee presented additional evidence. At any rate, the employee eventually voluntarily withdrew his VETS complaint.

After his negative performance evaluation, the employee had requested that Wyeth conduct a formal investigation. At a meeting to discuss the investigation, the employer alleged that the employee made a threatening comment, suggesting to the facility’s site director that he “made it easy for one to understand why massacres like the one at Virginia Tech take place.” After this comment — which the employee denied — his access to the plant was restricted, although he continued to receive his salary and benefits. At some point, he returned from military leave with his access to the plant restored. Next, he was placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP) pursuant to a Wyeth policy in which all employees who receive low performance evaluations are placed on a PIP. He timely completed the objectives established under the PIP within the required 90 days, yet he was informed nonetheless that the PIP would be extended for other reasons until he returned from military service. His reserve unit was mobilized that month.

The employee filed suit, alleging several claims of discrimination and retaliation based on his military service under USERRA and Puerto Rico law. He claimed the discriminatory and retaliatory actions taken by Wyeth were the result of his decision to return to active duty. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Wyeth on all claims, and the employee appealed.

USERRA coverage. Wyeth argued that because he did not return to active duty until February 2007, the employee was not protected under USERRA until this date. However, the appeals court held the employee “applied to perform” active duty service, for purposes of USERRA, once he informed his supervisors. “While informing a supervisor of one's intent to return to service is not strictly speaking an application for service; it is only logical that USERRA coverage would be triggered at the point in time in which an employer has information about an employee on which it could base discriminatory treatment,” the appeals court wrote. “To deny an employee who has expressed such a definite intention the protection of USERRA until his literal application for service is signed and delivered would be contrary to the stated purposes of USERRA. This conclusion is further supported by the principle that USERRA should be broadly construed in favor of military service members as its purpose is to protect such members.”

Because his April 2006 application for the reliability engineer position was the earliest action related to his claims, any alleged improper conduct by Wyeth necessarily took place after USERRA was triggered, the court reasoned.

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Relocation Announcement

Scripps moving headquarters from Cincinnati to Knoville, TN

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What are we leaving to our business organizations?

Recent Posts

• Is perception reality?
• What are we leaving to our business organizations?
• What Kind of Message are We Sending?
• Who Am I? The role of human capital in a global workplace
• Implications for the workplace
• Reflections on Society, Business organizations and the Global Workplace
• A Week of Contrast
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Growing up I had the opportunity to graduate from one of the top high schools in the country at the time (Mamaroneck HS class of 65) and I have to say that the education gained there went along way in providing a pathway fro the rest of my career. I went on to earn a degree in Education and before entering the business world taught for six years. This is not a bio on Daniel Bloom but rather laying the ground work for a real concern that hit home in the past week.

To keep my teaching skills up to date and to give back to the community I periodically serve as a substitute teacher in the local school districts. Recently I covered for a 6th grade social studies class and was taken aback by the interaction in the classroom. There were students who did not even try to do the worksheet assignment the teacher had left, there were other students who complained that they could not understand what the teacher wanted done and still others who complained that it was too difficult. I talked with one of the school administrators about my concerns and was told that this is the name of the game these days. He further stated that if he taught today's students the way he taught students 20 years ago, he would have to fail every student in the class.

So here is my concern on this nice fall day in the sunny tropics (temperatures are actually not supposed to get over 80 today and low's in the 50's tonight). I read on a fairly regular basis that the rank of this country in regards to competitiveness is slipping compared to other countries. Have we brought this on ourselves? Did the parents of this generation who insisted that they get a gold star for showing up or the trophy for playing on a saturday morning sports team because every else did do a disservice to our business organizations?

Granted that day in the class room I saw sign of teamwork and collaboration. ON the other hand what I envisioned was a group of employees in a workplace who when confronted with a project with a specific deadline, would not know where to begin.

There is also another aspect to this scenario. We in the business world know or should know that the key to our being successful in the global marketplace is both innovation and collaboration. Part of that comes from individuals being able to share ideas and concepts. With the ever increasing push for "purity" in ideals and philosophies in our political arenas, are we going to come to the day where those keys to innovation disappear from our jobs. Does that push for sameness mean that the respect for our collaboration is demeaned? Does it mean that we have forgotten the lessons from history in which those who have tried this purity route before have eventually failed in their goals?

I will agree with come commentators that the push for success on standardized tests has diminished the education level of our students. The believe that everyone has to be at the same level to succeed means that we have lost the ability to present real hands on challenges to the next generation because our teachers are too busy teaching to the test rather than the material. I can tell you that if I was coming out of college today with a degree in education I would have second thoughts about going into the classroom.

So what is our recourse? We need to move to a program that actually prepares our students for the real world not some contrived test that supposedly teaches skills, even if they turn out new employees who can't read, can't write and more important can't think. My mother used to tell the story of one of her teachers who challenged her students by asking them "How do you know you think?" Is the answer we are giving them, that you don't need to know how to think.

Our businesses are confronted with major problems toady. Many of them stem from the altered society views on the world we live in. Some of this we brought on ourselves. Others have come about because we have changed the nature of the education we deliver to them as they prepare to enter the workforce. We need to do something now not later to return to those days when we went to school for a reason not because the law says we have to until we turn 16. I just came across a website yesterday that is trying to make those changes. Take a look at http://www.donewaiting.org

It is not too late, we can make a difference for the business organizations we work for to ensure their survival. But we also can't sit back on our sofas and say it is not our problem. Everyone has to get involved.

This post originally appeared on my blog on Bestthinking.com

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Important relocation issue response to Wall Street Journal

 
Arlington, VA — The workforce mobility industry reacted Tuesday to an October 25 Wall Street Journal article by Joann Lublin, “Shareholders Hit the Roof Over Relocation Subsidies,” which noted that new federal laws have made relocation costs for senior executives public information, and robust home-loss provisions for senior corporate executives are drawing concerned investor criticism.

Peggy Smith, CEO for Worldwide ERC®, the workforce mobility association said, "Worldwide ERC® members understand that these cost figures become relevant only when measured against common business metrics such as return on investment, productivity, and company focus, which are legitimate shareholder concerns. Our industry absolutely supports the effective and consistent governance of resources and accountability to all stakeholders as companies make an investment in top talent. We also firmly believe that global and economic growth is rooted in the continued worldwide mobility of talent, and would be troubled to see newly re-emerging mobility activity fettered by this news.”

Smith said, “We need to look at all of the issues in the mobility industry to get a clear picture of what’s happening. First, organizations continue to report growing U.S. employee reluctance to relocate, with difficult housing markets directly implicated as the reason. Second, we can see that companies have made shifts in their policies to address additional assistance to respond to the housing market. Seventy percent of companies reported having made at least one change to their relocation policies in the past two years, and they continue to revolve around solutions to address homesale challenges. Some of those policy changes cited ‘other’ types of changes, such as the addition of a repayment agreement. At this juncture, 90% of our members have a new-hire payback agreement in place.”

Shareholder concerns over executive compensation are only one part of the picture, as high-level executive talent represents a very small amount of all the transfers that are occurring in the workforce mobility space. “It is crucial not to paint all relocations with the same brush, because a company’s talent management strategy is ever more closely linked with its mobility program,” said Smith. “Applying terms like ‘ill-gotten gains’ with regard to housing loss policies, and using executive compensation to represent the many middle-management transfers that are in process can bring some unfavorable, unintended and longer-term implications. Worldwide ERC® members are committed to efficient, cost-effective workforce mobility, and to the concept that dynamic talent management is essential to economic recovery. Companies are working toward this imperative: to strike the right balance of transparency, governance, and strategy to meet their talent mobility and business goals.”

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Is perception reality?

At the recent HR Florida conference as I have previously discussed, a peer asked a panel of social media guru's when his employees were collaborating if they were constantly on Facebook and Twitter? Now I open the paper this morning and find an article about a social studies teacher at Clearwater HS. At the beginning of the school year Clearwater HS became the first high school in the country to issue all of their students Kindles and have eventually all their textbooks on the tablet. Well it seems that this social sciences teacher was in the middle of a lecture when she noticed that a majority of the students were seemingly paying more attention to their kindle then her. Thinking that they were spending more time surfing the web then paying attention in class, she stopped the class. Reality set in. Turns out the students were using the kindle unit to keep their class notes on rather then pulling out a piece of paper or a notebook. In fact the artice said they were keeping better notes then before the kindles were issued.

So my question to you is what is your perspective on the use of technology by your employees? Are they using social media as a way to back away from their required responsibilities or they actually collaborating more with colleagues to get the job done? Are you ready to accept the new paradigm?

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Relocation Announcement

Swebo taps Maryland for new U.S. headquarters

Swebo Bioenergy, a Swedish bioenergy firm said it is planning to open a new Annapolis, Maryland, office, as its base of U.S. operations, after the state lobbied it to bring its business there. Swebo Bioenergy, which produces and sells bioenergy systems that include everything from pellets to chips, wood and solar energy, said yesterday that manufacturing operations would most likely follow. The company said it plans to initially hire a handful of employees, followed by another 20 upon starting U.S. manufacturing.

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The Corporate Training Centers of Hillsborough Community College to Offer Unique Instructional Opportunity

In conjunction with Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc.. the Corporate Training Centers at Hillsborough Community College will be offering the first of its kind int he United States a 14-hour training program for HR professionals on how to apply the six-sigma methodology to your hr processes. The course will contain both technical and real life experiences with the various tools and how they apply to HR.

The course is scheduled to be presented November 18 and 23 and again March 21 and 23. The isntructor will be Daniel Bloom SPHR, SSBB the CEO of Daniel Bloom & Associates, Inc and one of the few individuals in the country to be certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and a Six Sigma Black Belt.

For more informatiopn contact Bill Melendez at HCC at 813-259-6508

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

What are we leaving for the next generation workplace?

Growing up I had the opportunity to graduate from one of the top high schools in the country at the time (Mamaroneck HS class of 65) and I have to say that the education gained there went along way in providing a pathway fro the rest of my career. I went on to earn a degree in Education and before entering the business world taught for six years. This is not a bio on Daniel Bloom but rather laying the ground work for a real concern that hit home in the past week.

To keep my teaching skills up to date and to give back to the community I periodically serve as a substitute teacher in the local school districts. Recently I covered for a 6th grade social studies class and was taken aback by the interaction in the classroom. There were students who did not even try to do the worksheet assignment the teacher had left, there were other students who complained that they could not understand what the teacher wanted done and still others who complained that it was too difficult. I talked with one of the school administrators about my concerns and was told that this is the name of the game these days. He further stated that if he taught today's students the way he taught students 20 years ago, he would have to fail every student in the class.

So here is my concern on this nice fall day in the sunny tropics (temperatures are actually not supposed to get over 80 today and low's in the 50's tonight).  I read on a fairly regular basis that the rank of this country in regards to competitiveness is slipping compared to other countries. Have we brought this on ourselves? Did the parents of this generation who insisted that they get a gold star for showing up or the trophy for playing on a saturday morning sports team because every else did do a disservice to our business organizations?

Granted that day in the class room I saw sign of team work and collaboration. ON the other hand what I envisioned was a group of employees in a workplace who when confronted with a project with a specific deadline, would not know where to begin.

There is also another aspect to this scenario. We in the business world know or should know that the key to our being successful in the global marketplace is both innovation and collaboration. Part of that comes from individuals being able to share ideas and concepts. With the ever increasing push for "purity" in ideals and philosophies in our political arenas, are we going to come to the day where those keys to innovation disappear from our jobs. Does that push for sameness mean that the respect for our collaboration is demeaned? Does it mean that we have forgotten the lessons from history in which those who have tried this purity route before have eventually failed in their goals?

I will agree with come commentators that the push for success on standardized tests has diminished the education level of our students. The believe that everyone has to be at the same level to succeed means that we have lost the ability to present real hands on challenges to the next generation because our teachers are too busy teaching to the test rather than the material. I can tell you that if I was coming out of college today with a degree in education I would have second thoughts about going into the classroom.

So what is our recourse? We need to move to a program that actually prepares our students for the real world not some contrived test that supposedly teaches skills, even if they turn out new employees who can't read, can't write and more important can't think. My mother used to tell the story of one of her teachers who challenged her students by asking them "How do you know you think?" Is the answer we are giving them, that you don't need to know how to think.

Our businesses are confronted with major problems toady. Many of them stem from the altered society views on the world we live in. Some of this we brought on ourselves. Others have come about because we have changed the nature of the education we deliver to them as they prepare to enter the workforce. We need to do something now not later to return to those days when we went to school for a reason not because the law says we have to until we turn 16. I just came across a website yesterday that is trying to make those changes. Take a look at http://www.donewaiting.org

It is not too late, we can make a difference for the business organizations we work for to ensure their survival. But we also can't sit back on our sofas and say it is not our problem. Everyone has to get involved.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed

Becareful what you think sounds filled with common sense

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Steel Corporation for violating the law when it began requiring probationary employees to take random alcohol tests. The company fired an employee as a result of one of the tests.  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides that once a person has been hired and started work, an employer generally can only require a medical exam such as an alcohol test if the employer has reason to believe the employee would not be able to perform a job successfully or safely because of a medical condition. Medical tests or exams are allowed if the employer needs medical documentation to support a request for an accommodation.

“Although an employer may, of course, prohibit the usage of illegal drugs and alcohol in the workplace and hold all employees to the same conduct and performance standards, the ADA strictly restricts workplace medical examinations, including breath alcohol tests,” said Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence of the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office.  “An employer can only require an employee to submit to a medical examination such as an alcohol test if the examination is job-related and consistent with business necessity..."

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From Ogletree Deakins Attorneys: IRS releases W-2 Guidance on Healthcare Reform

IRS Delays Form W-2 Reporting Requirement Under PPACA 10/13/2010

by C. John Wentzell, Jr., Ogletree Deakins (Greenville Office) On October 12, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that employers will not be required to report the cost of employer-sponsored group health coverage on Forms W-2 issued for 2011. The IRS guidance provides welcome relief to employers facing the administrative burden of determining the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored health coverage and establishing procedures to track the coverage by the end of 2010.   Background The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) amended the Internal Revenue Code to require, beginning January 1, 2011, that employers report the aggregate cost of “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” on Forms W-2 issued to employees.    Interim Relief In Notice 2010-69, the IRS explained that the Form W-2 reporting requirement is not mandatory for Forms W-2 issued for 2011, and an employer will not be subject to penalties for failure to report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored coverage on Forms W-2 issued for 2011.  The IRS explained that “[T]he Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that this relief is appropriate to provide employers with additional time to make any necessary changes to their payroll systems or procedures in preparation for compliance with the reporting requirement.” Also, the IRS continues to stress that the Form W-2 reporting requirement is intended for informational purposes only to provide employees with greater transparency into overall health care costs, and that the amounts reportable are not taxable. Form W-2 Reporting Requirement in General The Code, as modified by PPACA, requires an employer to report on an employee’s Form W-2 the aggregate cost of “applicable employer-sponsored coverage,” excluding: (1) the amount contributed to an Archer MSA of the employee or the employee’s spouse, (2) the amount contributed to a health savings account of the employee or the employee’s spouse, and (3) the amount of any salary reduction contributions to a flexible spending arrangement. Prior to the IRS’ issuance of interim relief, this requirement was scheduled to become effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010.   “Applicable employer-sponsored coverage” is generally defined as coverage under any group health plan made available to an employee by an employer that is excludable from the employee’s gross income under the Code. Applicable employer-sponsored coverage includes the entire cost of the coverage, without regard to whether the employer or the employee pays for the coverage. The aggregate cost of coverage is determined under rules similar to those for determining premiums under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) – excluding the 2% administrative charge that may be applied to COBRA coverage. Applicable employer-sponsored coverage excludes: coverage for long-term care; coverage only for accident, or disability income insurance, or any combination thereof; coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance; liability insurance, including general liability insurance and automobile liability insurance; workers’ compensation insurance or similar insurance; automobile medical payment insurance; credit-only insurance; other similar insurance coverage, specified in regulations, under which benefits for medical care are secondary or incidental to other insurance benefits; coverage for a specified disease or illness, hospital indemnity, or other fixed indemnity insurance, if the coverage is offered as an independent, noncoordinated benefit the payment of which is not excludable from income, and no deduction is allowed; and coverage under a separate policy, certificate, or contract of insurance that provides dental or vision benefits. Additional IRS Guidance Expected Soon Notice 2010-69 also explains that the Treasury Department and the IRS anticipate issuing guidance further explaining the Form W-2 reporting requirement before the end of 2010. Should you have any questions about this interim relief, contact the Ogletree Deakins attorney with whom you normally work or the Client Services Department by phone at (866) 287-2576 or via e-mail at clientservices@ogletreedeakins.com.  Note: This article was published in the October 13, 2010 issue of the Benefits eAuthority.

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Benchmaring: Clear Channel New Executive Relocation Policy

CLEAR CHANNEL has revised its corporate management relocation policy, notifying the SEC of the changes in a Form 8-K filing TUESDAY (10/12).  The changes, approved by the CC MEDIA HOLDINGS, INC. board Compensation Committee on OCTOBER 5th, involve a tiered policy providing different levels of benefits based on the employee’s organizational level.

The policy offers reimbursement for most expenses associated with relocating, including moving expenses, temporary housing expenses, closing costs for the sale of the old home and purchase of a new home, and other miscellaneous amounts, plus purchase of the old home by a third-party relocation company for the new CEO and those in a tier of "direct reports" to the CEO.  

The plan, a possible precursor to the hiring of a new CEO to fill the slot to be left vacant by MARK MAYS stepping down, would guarantee that the new hires can opt to take appraised value for the old homes from the relocation company and can also receive loss-on-sale protection for any losses on the sale of the old home after the first 10% of such losses.

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Relocation Announcement

IMSI, the microchip consortium , is moving its operarions from Austin, TX to Albany, NY beginning in January 2011. This will shift the research and development centr of excellence from Texas to New York

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New law ensures that American's with disabilities can enjoy technology

Today President Obama signed into law the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. This law will ensure that Americans with disabilities can more fully participate in society and enjoy all that new technologies have to offer--especially Internet-based and mobile services.

The new law will make it easier for people who are deaf, blind or have low vision to access the Internet, smart phones, television programming and other communications and video technologies. The law will also make sure that emergency information is accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision. In addition, $10 million per year will be allocated from the Interstate Relay Service Fund for equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind. For more information read What S.3304 Does For Us from the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology.

Today President Obama signed into law the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. This law will ensure that Americans with disabilities can more fully participate in society and enjoy all that new technologies have to offer--especially Internet-based and mobile services.

Title I – Communications Access

Section 101:  Definitions.

• Provides definitions for “advanced communications” (including interconnected and non-interconnected voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), electronic messaging, and interoperable video conferencing services); “consumer-generated media”; and “disability.”

Section 102:  Hearing aid compatibility.

• Requires telephones used with the Internet to be hearing aid compatible.

Section 103:  Relay services.

• Permits use of relay services to enable communication with anyone, not just between people with and without disabilities.  So, for example, a TTY user can use relay services to call a person who communicates in American Sign Language using a videophone.
• Requires Internet-based voice communication service providers to contribute to the Interstate Relay Service Fund.

Section 104:  Access to advanced communications services and equipment.

• Requires accessible advanced communications equipment and services, if achievable; and, if not achievable, then to make equipment and services compatible with devices commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve access, if achievable.
• Requires access to Internet services built-in to mobile telephone devices, like smart phones, if achievable.
• Defines “achievable” as reasonable effort or expense, as determined by the FCC.
• Improves enforcement; requires regular reports by the FCC to Congress; and requires an enforcement study by the Comptroller General.
• Adds recordkeeping obligations for equipment manufacturers and service providers.
• Requires a clearinghouse of information on accessible products and services, and public education and outreach.

Section 105:  Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals.

• Allocates up to $10 million per year from the Interstate Relay Service Fund for equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind.

Section 106:  Emergency Access Advisory Committee

• Establishes an Emergency Access Advisory Committee to recommend and for the FCC to adopt rules to achieve reliable and interoperable communications with future Internet-enabled emergency call centers.  

Title II – Video Programming

Section 201:  Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee.

• Establishes a Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee to make recommendations about closed captioning, video description, accessible emergency information, user interfaces, and video programming guides and menus.

Section 202:  Video description and closed captioning.

Video Description

• After 1 year, restores FCC rules requiring 4 hours per week of video description on 9 television channels (top 4 broadcast networks and top 5 cable channels) in the top 25 most populated markets.
• After 2 years, requires FCC to report to Congress on video description.
• After 4 years, permits the FCC to increase video description to 7 hours per week on 9 television channels.
• After 6 years, requires the FCC to apply the video description requirements to the top 60 most populated markets (not just the top 25 most populated markets).
• After 9 years, requires the FCC to report to Congress on the need for additional markets to carry video description.
• After 10 years, permits the FCC to expand video description to 10 new markets annually to achieve 100 percent nationwide coverage.

Emergency Information

• Requires video programming owners, providers, and distributors to make emergency information accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.

Closed Captioning

• Requires captioned television programs to be captioned when delivered over the Internet.
• Requires the FCC to grant or deny requests for exemption from the closed captioning rules within 12 months.

Section 203:  Closed captioning decoder and video description capability.

• Requires devices designed to receive or play back video programming, using a picture screen of any size, to be capable of displaying closed captioning, delivering available video description, and making emergency information accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision, except, devices with picture screens less than 13” must meet these requirements if achievable with reasonable effort or expense.
• Requires devices designed to record video programming (such as DVRs) to enable the rendering or pass through of closed captions, video description, and emergency information, so viewers can turn the closed captions and video description on/off when played back on a screen of any size.

Section 204:  User interfaces on digital apparatus.

• Requires devices designed to receive or play back video programming:

1. to make controls of built-in functions accessible to and usable by individuals who are blind or have low vision, if achievable; 
2. to make controls of built-in functions accessible to and usable by individuals who are blind or have low vision through audio output;
3. to provide access to built-in closed captioning and video description features through a mechanism that is reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon designated for activating the closed captioning or accessibility features.

Section 205:  Access to video programming guides and menus provided on navigation devices.

• Requires cable/satellite set-top box on-screen text menus and guides to be audibly accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision, if achievable.
• To provide access to built-in closed captioning and video description features through a mechanism that is reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon designated for activating the closed captioning or accessibility features.

Section 206:  Definitions.

• Provides definitions for Advisory Committee, Chairman, Commission, emergency information, Internet protocol, navigation device, video description, and video programming.

HR Strategy: Review these new standards and ensure that your social media and technology venues do comply with the intent of the legislation.

 

 

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Are you safe in your HR practices?

OFCCP FY 2010 COMPLAINTS AND COMPLIANCE EVALUATIONS – THAT’S A WRAP

 

by David Cohen, President, DCI Consulting Group

OFCCP’s fiscal year ended on Thursday, September 30th, marking the close of the second year under the Obama administration. During the 2010 fiscal year, the OFCCP proposed many regulatory and policy changes, and some of those new initiatives are currently under review, while others have been implemented. In the meantime, the OFCCP continued to conduct routine and complaint driven compliance evaluations. The following snapshot of 2010 enforcement data was summarized from the Department of Labor’s enforcement database as of October 2, 2010.

Note: Some of the information in the database and summary data do not correspond with publicly made statements by officials at OFCCP and other reports based on actual conciliation agreements. In addition, other information appears to be incorrect due to database input errors. For example, an individual claim of discrimination under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (disabilities) had a finding of gender discrimination. Another example is a technical violation that resulted in a conciliation agreement for hiring discrimination.

FY 2010 Complaints
There were 107 complaints of discrimination made to OFCCP during the 2010 fiscal year. Based on the data, the OFCCP conducted an investigation on 105 out of the 107 (98%). Interestingly, 20 of the individual claims were classified under the ‘class action’ category. According to the data, only 14 (13%) findings of discrimination were identified based on these complaints.

Total Number of Complaints - 107
• Executive Order 11246 - 26 (24.3%)
• Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act – 33 (30.84%)
• VEVRAA - 42 (39.25%)
• Other – 6 (5.61%)

Violations Identified based on these complaints
• Seniority – 3
• Job Benefits – 1
• Pregnancy – 3
• Religious Discrimination – 3
• Violation Other – 4

FY 2010 Compliance Evaluations
The OFCCP closed 3,896 compliance evaluations during the FY 2010 year. This number does not include the number of compliance evaluations that were initiated during the fiscal year nor does it include those compliance evaluations that were scheduled prior to FY2010 and remain open.

Total Reviews Closed – 3,896
• Notice of Compliance – 3.363 (86.32%)
• Conciliation Agreement (Technical Violation) – 466 (11.96%)
• Consent Decrees – 3 (0.08%)
• Financial Settlements – 64 (1.64%)

Violations from Conciliation Agreements (with only Technical Violations) - 466
• No Written AAP - 44
• Past Performance – 136
• Record Keeping – 191
• Outreach and Recruitment – 240
• Denial of Records – 1
• Hiring – 3
• Selection or Testing – 3
• Salary – 2

Violations from Consent Decrees – 3
• No Written AAP – 1
• Record Keeping – 2
• Denial of Records – 1
• Hiring – 3
• Systemic Discrimination – 3

Violations from Financial Agreements - 64
• No Written AAP – 3
• Past Performance – 12
• Record Keeping – 38
• Outreach and Recruitment – 3
• Hiring – 49
• Promotion – 1
• Termination – 1
• Salary - 7

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What lesson are we sending home?

I turned on the news last night ( I know everyone says we should expunge that practice from our habits--sorry just addicted) and they were runing a story about the benefits of same sex classrooms. They were reporting that the standardized test scores were higher in the same sex classrooms then in co-ed ones. As I listened to the story I asked my self whether we were sending the wrong message. We have a probelm in many organizations with instances of harrassment as demonstrated by the fines being levied by the regulators. So if we tell our leaders of tomorrow that it is to their best interest to learn in segregated classrooms, does this mean that they are not responsible for learnin ghow to work in the real world.

If we have hostile work environments do we resolve that by telling the human capital assets in our organizations that they can avoid working with those who might place us in that environment. Do we tell them that because studies have proven that same sex classrooms work better, do we also tell them the only collaboration that needs to take place in the workplace is between the same sex members of the workforce?

When I was going to school we had same sex physical education but other than that we were all in the same courses. I don't think that had any dramatic result in my education. It has not hindered my creativity. ( the news article stated that boys in same sex classrooms are more likely to show their creative sides compared to when they have co-eds in the clasroom), What do you think? Are we going down the wrong path?

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From Fischer & Phillips: Social Media and Non-Competes

LinkedIn: A Violation of Your Employee’s Non-Compete?

October 3, 2010 03:13
by Michael R. Greco

A sales manager has signed a contract with his employer agreeing that client lists are confidential and agreeing not to solicit clients for a period of six months after the end of his employment.  Shortly after resigning to join a competitor, the sales manager updates his LinkedIn profile to reflect that he has changed jobs and is now working for the competitor.  The profile update is broadcasted by LinkedIn to the sales manager’s contacts, which includes dozens of the clients he serviced at his previous employer.  Has the sales manager breached his contract?  Arguments can be made on both sides.

The former employer will argue that its customer list is confidential and that the sales manager obtained his knowledge of the clients’ identities by virtue of his employment.  The employer will note that even novices on LinkedIn understand that the service will notify contacts of a user’s profile updates.  After all, why bother updating your profile if you don't intend to share this information with others? And many, though admittedly not all, courts have held that contacting former clients regarding a change in employment constitutes a solicitation.  See e.g., Merrill Lynch v. Schultz, 2001 WL 1681973, *3 (D.D.C. 2001) (noting that “such initiated, targeted contact is tantamount to solicitation because there is no reason to believe that a customer on the receiving end of such a [communication] does not assume that the [employee] wishes for him to transfer his account.”).

The sales manager will undoubtedly take a different view.  He will argue that he didn’t take any records or other information with him when he left, and that the identity of his former employer’s clients has always been publicly available to anyone who wanted to look at the sales manager’s LinkedIn contacts.  He will also note that he did not initiate contact with clients.  Rather, all he did was update his profile to reflect a change in employment and sat back providing clients – or anyone else for that matter – with the option to contact him.

So who is right?  As with any non-compete case, the answer may vary on a case by case basis and require a close examination of the contract language and the surrounding facts and circumstances.  A court is likely to ask the following questions (among others):  Does the contract specify that client information (such as client identities, names, addresses, and other contact information) is confidential?  Did the former employer actually treat such information as confidential?  What is the wording of the non-solicitation agreement? 

Because the enforceability of a restrictive covenant is highly discretionary in many states, employers who seek to preclude employees from contacting clients via LinkedIn should take steps ahead of time to eliminate any confusion.  Such steps may include any or all of the following:

1. Draft non-solicitation agreements that:

• expressly preclude employees from contacting clients to notify them of the employee’s change in employment;
• specify that communications made through an online social networking website such as LinkeIn, Facebook, etc. constitute a violation of the contract.

2.  Draft confidentiality agreements that:

• expressly define confidential information to include client identities and contact information;
• unambiguously state that confidential information may not be used or disclosed for any purpose other than on behalf of the employer, including through social media.

3. Include a social media paragraph in non-competes that specifically addresses the use of computers and social media.  The paragraph should state that:

• It is not intended to limit the scope of the confidentiality and non-solicitation covenants;
• Employees may only use the employer’s computer systems (e.g., computers, internet, servers, internal e-mail, external e-mail, World Wide Web access, etc.) for business purposes only.  Recognizing the rigid – perhaps impractical nature of this restriction – the agreement may provide that incidental personal use of computer systems is permitted, but state that such usage shall not violate the terms contained the confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions; 
• All e-mail and internet usage is subject to monitoring and that access to any website on the Internet must be for legitimate business only;
• The Employer may choose to block access to certain sites on the Internet at its discretion, and that available access to a site does not constitute approval to use or access that site by the employer.
• The employee is not permitted to have a webpage or website on the Internet for business purposes through a provider without prior written approval from the employer.  This includes social networking sites like Linked-In for business purposes.  The employee should agree that mentioning his or her affiliation or employment with the employer on these types of sites without prior written approval of the content by the employer is not permitted.  If the employee is permitted to connect with clients via LinkedIn, they should be required to set their settings so that other users cannot see their contacts. 
• The employee agrees that the use of text messages, e-mails, IM’s, and/or other communications via Blackberry or other wireless service/devices not routed through the employer’s systems is not permitted for business communications with Clients;
• The employee agrees that participation in chat rooms or other online forums for business purposes is not permitted, and that the employee will not direct Clients to chat rooms, blog sites, or other social networking sites which contain information prohibited by the employer or applicable regulatory authorities;
• The employee agrees that he or she will not discuss the employer, its business relationships, its managers and employees, its customers or its products/services in any chat room or other online forum without prior express written permission from the employer’s management;
• The employee agrees that the restrictions outlined above apply to his or her use of any computer (within or outside of the employer) for any business purpose.

In short, businesses that do not address social networking through their contracts and written policies may find that they have a critical security gap in the protection of their trade secrets and customer relationships. 

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Social Media questions move from what is it? to ownership

In a follow up to yesterday's Fistful of Talnet post, the site has posted reference to the changed question:

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Who Owns Your Social Media Relationships? What To Do When Your “Social” Employees Move On.

We're at the point now where we no longer are teaching HR folks what a "tweet" is and how to sign up for a Twitter account. But as more folks integrate social media into their recruiting practices, we're beginning to see "advanced" considerations arise. The other week for example, I delivered a webcast on behalf of Jobvite to talk about metrics and measurements to gauge social recruiting successes. (Slides here: http://ow.ly/2M2xj and audio here: http://bit.ly/bwsMFx) Not necessarily an easy feat right now but everyone is (hopefully!) looking to provide value with their efforts - yet tracking metrics is a bit of a disjointed process without having to pay a boatload of money for a system or service to do it for you. And even if you do pay, there are few systems that do it well. (Although there may be hope with a new release Jobvite is making that specifically addresses recruiting intelligence and has a fancy dashboard that simply aggregates the data for you. Yes, hello, I am a possible future Jobvite customer. Full disclosure!)

Another interesting "advanced" consideration? Ownership of usernames and relationships in the social space and how to/if you have to transfer those relationships once an employment relationships ends. 

I had a recruiting friend who changed jobs recently and is highly involved in social media - meaning having thousands of followers and connections and a highly engaged following. Now the relationships she has built over the past few years have been twofold - 1) to build up her professional network in order to make a stamp with her personal brand, and 2) build relationships and hopefully cultivate business on behalf of her employer. Call it a mutually beneficial situation of sorts, the work she was doing in social media. But then she made a change in jobs...

The challenge? Well, many of the early adopters just dove in, started tinkering and then built. Considerations weren't necessarily made for username selection and whether they should be attached to/include the company name. Maybe the email address used to sign up for the account was a personal account too... but the tool was used professionally still. So then the picture becomes a little muddier. And what's an employer to do? Or what are you to do if you're the one with the followers (aka potential candidates who are part of your social media community) who are leaving to go work elsewhere? I'm not sure there's a definitive answer - yet. But here's a starting point and some things to think about:

• Step One - Make determinations on who "owns" the username, account, and therefore the relationships based on the email address used to sign up and the username selected. Also make a determination of whether usage of the account was solely for the purpose of the business or instead, multi-use (personal and professional). If it's the latter, what you are looking at is likely the following…
• Step Two - It's reasonable to ask the departing employee to leave a list behind of followers and connections on Twitter and LinkedIn. If you manage a Facebook page, make sure additional administrators are in place (and fingers crossed you started up the page/account using a nonpersonal email address) and remove yourself as an administrator. Same protocol for LinkedIn groups. Promote someone else to "manager" status. It’s probably not reasonable to ask a person to hand over the account/username unless they’ve signed up with their work email address, or the username is tied to the company name (i.e. APCOjessica).
• Step Three - Make it clear that the employee has moved on and provide people with a re-direct option. (Stop following me and now follow so-and-so instead.)

At the end of the day, how to handle this is not too different from how a headhunter might handle ownership of candidate relationships when moving from one agency to another. A company can and should have some kind of dibs on the relationships... but the reality likely will be that many of those relationships were cemented because of a person or personality. People are, of course, naturally drawn to brands where there's a personal connection and therefore foster a sense of loyalty from there. Relationships will follow the person/personality - but as an employer, you could get lucky and retain some if you put forth the effort to sustain a relationship.

And to possibly prevent getting into this somewhat tricky/confusing situation? If you’re getting ready to launch into social media for recruiting or other marketing/branding purposes… make a decision from the get go of how people brand and market themselves. Do I sign up as @jessica_lee on Twitter? Or am I @APCOJessica? Or do I just stick to @APCOjobs? That may drive and dictate ownership of relationships at the end of the day… so look before you leap, friends!

Editor's Note- Jessica Lee is a Senior Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global integrated communications consultancy in D.C. (Okay, you could call it a PR firm too.) Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD. When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR and wondering how she can avoid using the job boards to fill the next spot in her organization...

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Excellent piece from Fistful of Talent regarding social media impact

You know how you thought, "I am going to regret this in the morning," just before eating your 20th chicken wing covered in Super Atomic Hot Sauce?

Remember how you wondered, "Will I ever date another girl?" just before getting your girlfriend's name permanently tattooed on your chest?

And then there was that time you pondered, "Will I ever run for Senate?" before telling the world that you dabbled in witchcraft and once had a date that involved an altar covered in blood?

Oh...not that one?  Sorry, that must be someone else.

Ladies and gentleman, there is indeed an HR/Recruiting lesson in the campaign of Delaware Senatorial candidate, Christine O'Donnell.  Through all the talk of satanic rituals, mice with human brains, and masturbation (can I say that on FOT?), we walk away with this: whatever you put out there can,it likely will come back to haunt you. 

In the age of social media and blogging, it's important to remember this.  There is constant debate about what companies and their recruiters can and should look at prior to hiring a candidate.  Is it appropriate to Google a candidate (or, even better, Bing them)?  Should you look them up on Facebook or MySpace?  At the recent #SocialRecruiting Summit, Richard Cho, Staffing Manager at Facebook said that everything on Facebook is personal and should be thought of as so.  In other words, if I am a speech writer for the future President of the United States, I shouldn't need to think twice about a little picture someone took of me and a carboard cutout of Hilary Clinton .   

I frequently run a search on candidates I am talking to.  If I can view their Facebook or MySpace pages, I do.  Is this so I can spy on them and find some way to knock them out of the running?  Of course not... my job is to hire people, not sabotage them.  It's so that I can learn about them and potential things that I can use to sell them on a job.  But... if I see a status update of, "I'm interviewing with those stupid doo-doo heads at *insert company of stupid doo-doo heads here*," I may bring it up in our next conversation.  But... I'm a nice, and fairly non-judgmental guy.  Others may not like the picture of you and your roommate lighting up at the Grateful Dead concert.  Some may take issue with highlights from your bachelor party.   

Back in the 90's (or was it 80s? Can't tell by that hair), maybe Christine O'Donnell didn't realize she would be running for Senate and having all of her stupid comments analyzed and thrown back in her face.  But... she should have thought about the fact that everything she was saying, in public, was being recorded for posterity.  Everything she was saying was going to be permanently saved in somebody's archives for people to look at and criticize later.

Perhaps now, you are jumping over to your blog to remove any disparaging things you may have said.  Maybe you said that Dinosaur bones are actually a prank God is playing on us to test our faith.  Or, maybe you once Tweeted that Josh Letourneau should pose topless in a calendar (HA! Wouldn't that be great?!).  Well... unfortunately, thanks to tools like the Wayback Machine, it's too late.  It's already etched into internet history.  The smartest thing to do is simply know when to shut up. And fellow recruiters, continue Binging (okay, fine, continue Googling) to learn more about your candidates.

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Small Business Jobs Act Provisions Affect Employment Benefits

The Jackson Lewis Law Firm releases memo regarding employment benefits

Date:

9.27.2010

President Barack Obama has signed the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297) into law on September 27, 2010.  The bill contains the following benefits-related provisions of interest to employers:

• The bill removes the requirement that cell phones meet certain heightened substantiation requirements and depreciation rules.  This change clears the way for the Internal Revenue Service to issue rules of administrative convenience with respect to the taxation of the personal use of employer-provided cell phones.  Note that this change does not affect the authority of the Internal Revenue Service to determine the appropriateness of cell phones as a tax-free working condition fringe benefit or that the personal use of such devices, provided primarily for business purposes, may constitute a tax-free de minimis fringe benefit.
• The bill allows participants in Section 457 governmental deferred compensation plans to treat elective deferrals as Roth contributions, effective for taxable years beginning after 2010.
• The bill allows rollovers from elective deferral plans to Roth designated accounts, effective for distributions made after the date of enactment. 
  • Specifically, it provides that if a section 401(k) plan, section 403(b) plan, or section 457(b) governmental deferred compensation plan has a qualified designated Roth contribution program, when there is a distributable event, a distribution to an employee (or a surviving spouse) from an account under the plan that is not a designated Roth account is permitted to be rolled over into a designated Roth account under the plan for the individual. 
  • A plan that includes a designated Roth program is permitted but not required to allow employees (and surviving spouses) to make the rollover contribution described above to a designated Roth account. If a plan allows these rollover contributions to a designated Roth account, the plan must be amended to reflect this plan feature. It is intended that the IRS will provide employers with a remedial amendment period to allow the employers to offer this option to employees (and surviving spouses) for distributions during 2010 and then have sufficient time to amend the plan to reflect this feature.

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New Manpower Research Reveals Nearly a Quarter of Companies Worldwide Concede Talent Strategy Does Not Support Business Strategy

Manpower’s Workforce Strategy Survey, released today, reveals that many organizations are not thinking strategically about the workforce they’ll need for long-term growth—most are thinking only about the here and now and are not positioned to build the workforce they’ll need to achieve the company’s business strategy in the future.
 
The data reveals that almost a quarter of employers across 36 countries and territories concede that their organizations' workforce strategy does not support their business strategy, or don't know if it does. Among those two subsets of respondents, 53 percent admit they are not taking steps to address this issue. With the talent mismatch—the inability to find the right skills in the right place at the right time—becoming more acute as the global economy thaws, companies risk being without the skills they need to execute their business strategy.
 
In addition, among employees surveyed in this study, large sections are still in the dark about how their contributions support the business—one in five employees say either that they don’t understand their company’s business strategy or they don’t know how their role supports it.

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Ernst & Young Leverages Social Media To Attract Generation Y, To Hire 6,000 Internshere to set a title.

By Kenneth Guillame, Big4.com Staff Reporter

September 26th, 2010

Kenneth Guillame, Big4.com Staff Reporter
26 September 2010

60% of Ernst & Young’s (E&Y) workforce will be Generation Y by the end of 2011. This means that the firm has to modify its people management strategies to remain attractive to new hires and current professionals.

Social media is an excellent channel to reach and educate its potential hires, and Ernst & Young is using all social media channels effectively to spread its message to the internet generation.

And there’s good news on the hiring front too. The firm plans to hire approximately 6,000 students for internships or entry level positions in the Americas in 2010, an increase over 2010’s hiring numbers.

This shift in generational demographics has necessitated the firm to adapt rapidly to the changing needs and desires of its people and recruits. And this year, there will be new and creative strategies to connect with potential recruits.

According to Ernst & Young’s Americas Director of Campus Recruiting Dan Black, “The top talent always has options, regardless of the economic conditions. When it comes to job prospects for top students, it’s still a buyer’s market for the best buyers. We are constantly raising our game and thinking about new and innovative ways to connect with these top students.”

Here are some of the firm’s achievements on social media:

Facebook
Ernst & Young LLP in the US was the first professional services firm to launch a careers page in 2006. Ernst & Young still maintains a strong focus on Facebook with more than 50,000 fans on its careers page.

Text polling

Used at the firm’s four-day International Intern Leadership Conference in Orlando this year. Text polling allowed more than 1,600 Ernst & Young LLP employees and interns to participate actively in presentations throughout the event, and it will be an important part of Ernst & Young LLP’s presentations on campus this year.

Pandora

Pandora, the internet radio site, features three Ernst & Young radio playlists that were chosen by the 2010 summer interns as part of an intern competition.

Mobile devices
Based on market research and analysis, Ernst & Young has determined that more than fifty percent of its target recruitment audience said that they would be interested in receiving more information about potential employers on their mobile devices. A mobile version of Ernst & Young’s Careers site also launched this fall at http://www.ey.mobi/US/en/Careers/Mobile-Careers---Home. This year, Ernst & Young LLP will be hosting a quiz challenge through its mobile site

Twitter
A new campus hire is tweeting daily through Twitter about her job at the firm at http://twitter.com/EYStaff.>

Your World, Your Vision
Awards $10,000 to three winning teams who submit proposals on how to positively impact their community. Ernst & Young has also added a program to its recruitment strategy this year called the Global Student Exchange Program. Recognizing the desire among today’s students for international career opportunities and mobility, Ernst & Young is now offering overseas assignments for select interns during their summer internship program.

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Who am I? The role of human capital in a global workplace

As i do every morning I opened my email inbox to read the latest post from Trish MacLane (http://www.hrringleader.com) in which Trish talks about how the contestants on Dancing with the Stars represent the different types of charcter roles can be found in our organizations. Her thoughts got be relooking at the content of a presentation I am making to a local MBA leadership class on this topic.

As the nature of the global workforce has changed over time, the role of the human capital resources has also changed. Far too many organizations ( and CEO's I might add) still believe that their organizations employees are nothing more than a number on the balance sheet. We dont rely anymore strictly on what we produce as we did in the industrial age. Instead your employees are the critical knowledge asset of your organization. Without their sharing what is in their head, you would lose a great majority of the innovative and competitive status cherihed by the marketplace.  So I would suggest a couple of steps to strategically move your organization forward in this new paradigm:

1. Go read Trish's posting from this morning. Read it and consider what she suggests

2. Rethink how you view your employees. They are the lifeline of your organization

3. Move the employees from a liability to an asset on your balance sheet. I realize it is hard to put a true value on their benefit to you. But think of what the cost would be if they all left.

Enjoy your weekend what is left of it, and go into work on Monday embracing the new status of human capital in the global workplace. If you have some basis for looking at the human cpaital asset of your organization in another perspective , drop me yoiur comments.

Posted via email from hrstrategist@Net-Speed