Day: March 11, 2020

DEAR REWORKER: HOW DO I MANAGE A 100-PERSON COMPANY AS AN HR TEAM OF ONE?

Dear ReWorker,
I landed my first job in HR a year out of college at a company that grew quickly. During this exponential growth, the team never had time to develop an HR department. They hired me along with a part-time consultant to create an HR department from scratch. At the time, the company had just under 65 employees. After three months, they decided not to renew the consultant’s contract, and I’ve been heading HR as a department of one ever since.
I hit my one year work anniversary last month, and we now have 92 full-time employees! At this point, I’m doing full-cycle recruiting, managing benefits, on-boarding and off-boarding, payroll, timekeeping, annual performance evaluations, big-picture projects like updating our handbook, etc. I am constantly stressed out and overwhelmed! I’ve been begging my manager, who does not have a background in HR, to hire an HR Manager or Director, but he doesn’t think it’s necessary.
Am I just being a baby? Or is this job really asking too much of me? What do you think?
Sincerely,
Too Many Hats
Dear Too Many Hats,
You’re doing great. I think your company’s CEO doesn’t have a clue about HR. No offense towards you, but I would never hire someone straight out of college to head up an HR department. Not that you’re not brilliant, but you’re inexperienced, and your workload is over the top. This is bad for the business.
Why is it bad for the business? Because when you have an overworked and inexperienced head of HR, you’re going to miss something important that is either going to land you in court or cost the company money in high turnover rates, inaccurate salaries or any number of problems. This is not to say that you aren’t doing a good job. It’s just that no one in your situation could do an adequate job.
As a general rule, I advise companies to have a full-time, dedicated and experienced human resources person on board before they hit 50 people. Why 50? Because that’s when laws like FMLA kick in. By the time you’re at 100, you should probably have two.
Now, a stable company with 100 employees probably doesn’t need two full-time HR people, but one in rapid growth does. Companies experiencing rapid growth like to think they are hip and cool start-ups with a welcoming and trendy culture, except no one has time to mentor the new people and bring them into the culture. As a result, the thing that makes your company special starts to fade away and people become numbers.
So, what should you do, Too Many Hats? Well, you could find a new job and leave. Your resume would look awesome at this point! But as you’ve only been there a year, and it’s your first job out of college, I would stick it out. Here are some ideas on soliciting help from the rest of the company and the senior team, and convincing them you need another member.

1) Join the executive committee

If you’re not on it already, ask to be included. You can’t plan for company growth if you’re not privy to company info. You can’t act as a business partner if you aren’t involved in the company strategy. It works vice versa too: Executives should have a strong understand of their current talent pool, top performers and people strategy.

2) Prioritize your tasks, and assign the rest

There are things that should never leave your hands—like recruiting. However, other responsibilities can be shared: For example, managers can review resumes and select their own candidates for you to screen. Finance can take over healthcare benefits. Talk with the executive team about dividing some of your workload among the other teams.

3) List things that can be outsourced

Even with an experienced HR team, I would outsource things like the company handbook. Why? Because handbooks are actually legal documents that, if written wrong, can create havoc for a company. For instance, if your handbook language isn’t precise, you can accidentally create a contract with your employees that destroys employment-at-will. You’re not qualified to write a complete handbook, mainly because you’re not an employment lawyer. Payroll is another technical area that should be kicked to someone else with more expertise.
If you can start with these things, you can lessen your workload and provide better services to the company. That’s what you want to focus on when you pitch these ideas—how breaking up this workload will benefit the company overall, not just you. Ideally, they’ll hire a more experienced person to be the HR director to help and mentor you, but until then, outsourcing and dividing workloads is the way to go.

DO LINKEDIN ENDORSEMENTS MATTER?

I accept LinkedIn invitations from anyone. Some people agree with this strategy, others disagree. My logic is that I’m happy to connect with as many people as possible. And if I can help any of them out, even better. As a result, I have many LinkedIn connections whom I have never met, let alone worked with.
In addition to connecting with me—a total stranger to some—many of these people have endorsed me for skills. Sounds great, right? Some of these endorsements make sense, like “blogging” or “human resources management,” because the way they found me was through articles like this one and they know I’m good at these things. But what about the others? Do LinkedIn endorsements actually hold water?

A Quick Look at LinkedIn Endorsements

Let’s begin with “HRIS.” That stands for HR information systems. I did a ton of work in this area, and I am really good at it. So while it makes sense for some of my former co-workers to have endorsed me, other people who have never worked with me have endorsed me for that skill as well. While I’ve written a few technical articles about turnover and the like, there’s not a valid way for my network to know that I can work magic with Excel and a little bit of pixie dust.
But the endorsement that really stumps me is “deferred compensation.” Not once in my life have I worked on deferred compensations. The closest I’ve come is when I handled the layoff for a guy with a deferred compensation and offered him a severance package worth more than $100,000. He never signed the general release or asked for any changes. When I followed up with him, I found out that his wife made so much money that the tax implications on an extra $100,000+ were just too much of a burden to even bother with the money. (Not joking here.) And yet, people have endorsed me for this skill.

The Problem with LinkedIn Endorsements

LinkedIn endorsements have the best of intentions, but the lack of effort involved—one “click” and the person is endorsed—often means they’re unreliable. In fact, it takes the same amount of work to endorse the person that pops up on your screen as it does to make the screen go away. People click them without thinking because it’s a nice thing to do. Well, it might be nice, but it’s not very helpful.
Recruiters, instead of focusing on endorsements during talent acquisition, concentrate on the key words in your candidates’ profiles. Seek out connections with people who have demonstrated experience in each of their endorsement areas. Most importantly, always ask for references. LinkedIn endorsements may be a good starting point, but a little blue button isn’t enough to help you weed the great talent from the bad.

DEAR REWORKER: MY BOSS IS AN HR NIGHTMARE

Dear ReWorker,
I am the lead HR person in my organization. I report to the CFO, but I have a great relationship with my CEO. When I took this job it was my dream job. The company has a wonderful mission and I had a real chance to make a difference in employee engagement and all things people related.
However, my boss—the CFO—is a complete nightmare. The CFO leads by fear, bullies other employees, uses terms that can be considered racially and sexually insensitive and tells others about our CEO’s personal life and situations. If this person weren’t my boss, I would have terminated him yesterday.
The problem is, I cannot function and do my job—ethically and morally—any longer under this person. What recourse do I have? If I go above my boss’ head to the CEO, I know what repercussions I may face. Yet, I cannot function as the head of HR for this organization while reporting to this person. I feel as though I need to report to the CEO, so I can report what is happening without fear. What would you do in this situation?
Sincerely,
Moral Dilemma
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Dear Moral Dilemma,
First, you should eat a lot of ice cream. It won’t solve anything, but it will make you feel better—at least temporarily. Second, you need to go back and re-read what you wrote: “If this person weren’t my boss, I would have terminated him, yesterday.”
You’re the head of HR. Your job is to help the business grow through policies and practices that make the employees perform at a higher level. Right now, as much as I hate to say it, you are failing at your job.
You have to go to the CEO. While leading by fear and bullying aren’t illegal (dumb, but not illegal), sexual and racial harassment are illegal. The fact that you know about the behavior opens the company up to more legal liability than if you didn’t. Why? Because you’re the head of HR. You’re legally required to act when you know about sexual harassment or racial discrimination.
So, essentially, your fear of the CFO being upset with you is putting the CEO’s company at risk. If someone decides to sue, they can, and because you’d be honest in the deposition, they’d win. Here’s how it would go.
Attorney: Ms. HR Manager, were you aware that the CFO was sexually harassing employees?
You: Yes.
Attorney: Did you conduct an investigation?
You: No.
Attorney: Did you report this to the CEO?
You: No.
Judge: Get out your checkbook. Your business loses.
Okay, that’s the short (and not so sweet) version, but it’s based on truth. It’s your job to tell the CEO when there is something going on that will hurt the company. What’s going on with your CFO, regardless of whether or not he is your boss, will hurt the company.
You need to go to the CEO today and say, “We need to talk about the CFO.” Then lay out what you know and the legal consequences of not acting immediately. Suggest contacting an employment lawyer right away to go over your legal options, which include firing the CFO.
Sorry to be so depressing, but it’s critical that this gets taken care of! That’s why the CEO hired you: to keep the company safe. Sometimes that means turning in your boss. If you have a good relationship with the CEO, you shouldn’t face any problems. He or she should trust that you have the company’s best interest at heart.
If the CEO protests, remind him or her that everybody can be replaced. There is no single person at the company that is so important that everyone else needs to be sacrificed. This CFO is causing damage. While legal liability is part of it, you probably have higher turnover than you should because of him, and turnover is expensive.
And one last word of caution: If the CEO is like, “That’s just how Steve is. Deal with it,” then you need to look for a new job and leave. That’s not a dream job, that’s a nightmare.
Your ReWorker,

6 WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR WORKFORCE THROUGH TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY

6 WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR WORKFBe it a natural disaster or global health concerns, your organization is bound to encounter some unexpected external circumstances. It’s not always easy to keep your business running smoothly during these trying times—especially when crises are dominating headlines—but it’s up to HR to ensure employees remain motivated and reassured. 

So what can you do to help reassure your people, when so often they look to you for knowledge, advice and expertise on such topics? Here are a few ways to support your workforce during times of uncertainty. 

1. Plan for Specific Scenarios Before They Happen

HR professionals can’t predict the future but they can have a plan ready to go when employees and managers look to them for answers on how to navigate these difficult situations. 
Contingency planning is especially important in the world of work. The economy, the political climate and several other factors impact how your business operates. Take an economic downturn, for instance. If the Dow were to drop significantly, it would likely require your organization to make staffing changes. Meanwhile, policy changes like new legislation around the gig economy and data privacy can impact employees’ day-to-day routines, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on what’s going on outside the office so that you can better prepare your workforce. 
Contingency planning also means preparing for unlikely and potentially frightening events, like natural disasters and widespread illnesses. In the case of the former, it may be worth conducting training that helps workers know what to do if, say, an earthquake hits or tornado strikes (e.g., how to evacuate, where to seek shelter, etc.). You might also take proactive measures to purchase office rental insurance or move all paper files onto the cloud. Meanwhile, for health-specific cases, contingency plans might include rethinking how your business operates if employees need to work remotely for an extended period of time to limit risks. Conducting a “trial run” of sorts can ensure employees have the tools they need to work from home effectively. That way, if and when the time comes when they must avoid going into the office, they are prepared to continue working effectively from home. It will also be important to develop a plan for these employees who need to quarantine themselves. Brainstorm ways to keep them feeling engaged in their work and included on the team. 

2. Communicate with Workers Early and Often 

As employee expectations continue to change, organizations are placing increased emphasis on transparency. Many companies are sharing information that was once considered confidential with their employees, from business financials to data around diversity and inclusion. Communicating with transparency shows employees you value them and want to keep them updated on what’s happening across the organization. 
Transparent communication is especially important when dealing with unforeseen circumstances because it empowers organizations to build trust and gain respect from employees. Telling your staff how and why you’re making certain decisions or taking specific actions will give them peace of mind that HR is there to protect them—whatever the circumstances may be. Prepare ahead of time so you are not scrambling when everyone is looking to you for answers.  Most of what you would need to communicate can be preplanned so that you are only making minor adjustments when you need to act.   
Take the current global health scare: The probability that you will have not just one, but multiple employees contract the coronavirus seems inevitable based on current information available.  Have you thought about what you plan to say to them, their colleague, an entire office or even your customers? Conversely, have you trained your employees on what to communicate or how to act when they are faced with a customer who may be coughing and sneezing or showing other signs of flu symptoms in your stores? Protecting your employees and your brand require thoughtful consideration, planning, and training. 
But it’s not just HR that must communicate with employees—it’s also imperative that managers and leads are comfortable speaking with their teams about these issues. Train managers on how they can effectively communicate these various scenarios to employees. 
In the event that a member of your company is diagnosed with the virus, be prepared to communicate this information truthfully and sensitively to your staff without shaming these individuals. When they return to work, pay attention to how they are reacclimating and make sure their colleagues treat them with respect. 

3. Lead by Example 

HR leaders and C-level executives set the tone for the company from the top down. For organizations to succeed, senior leaders need to practice what they preach. Executives who fail to lead by example will leave workers confused about how they should act. 
For example, if you advise staff to put their health first by avoiding unnecessary business travel, but then ignore your own advice by boarding a plane across the country for a conference a few days later, you will likely send a mixed message. 
When leaders model appropriate behaviors, their employees know exactly what’s expected of them. This allows them to focus on their work rather than spending time and energy second-guessing company policies. 

4. Allow for More Flexibility

There has been a growing trend towards flexible work schedules over the last decade. This benefit not only helps employees successfully manage their work-life balance, from cutting down commute times to ensuring working parents can pick their kids up from school, it also provides employees with the support they need during times of uncertainty.
For example, allowing employees to work from home or encouraging them to take time off if they aren’t feeling well gives them an opportunity to recover and come back feeling refreshed and well-rested. Offering paid sick leave enhances productivity and reduces turnover. It’s also proven to slow the spread of disease. And during times of crisis, employers shouldn’t shy away from strictly enforcing rules around coming into the office. If someone is exhibiting signs of a cold, encourage them to work from home or even take time off to get better. If your sick policy is not robust enough to account for current health scare, or lead employees feel they have to come to work because of lack of pay or fear of disciplinary action, it’s time to revisit your practice—even if only on a temporary basis.
Consider scenarios where employees may be uncomfortable working in close proximity to their colleagues who have traveled, even domestically, or attended conferences, concerts or other large gatherings of people. Allowing fearful employees to work from home will help them to be more productive and focus on their surroundings.  
But beyond offering location flexibility and paid sick time, organizations must actually foster a culture that empowers employees to work from anywhere in the event that the office closes for an extended period of time. Make sure every employee is reachable via multiple modes of communication, including phone, email and chat. Some organizations might even invest in portable technology or  implement remote working policies that provide clarity and empower employees to act. Most importantly, employees must understand that they won’t be penalized for working from home. 

5. Offer Learning Courses on Relevant Topics

Of course, uncertain circumstances often require employees to make some adjustments to their day-to-day schedules, and it’s up to HR to provide them with the tools they need to carry on with their regular tasks. Learning and development programs that are accessible from anywhere can give employees the guidance they need to continue to thrive on the job. 
For example, if your organization has adopted a more flexible work from home policy, a learning course on how to stay productive when working remotely can help employees manage their tasks and stay engaged. Meanwhile, online courses about stress management and mindfulness can help employees navigate worrisome situations—while simultaneously equipping them with important soft skills for the future of work. 

6. Readjust Your Goals

In times like these, it’s important to understand that change is inevitable. Instead of attempting to minimize issues that are beyond your control, embrace these challenges by adjusting your organizational goals accordingly. Encourage employees and managers to be adaptable and be there to support and guide them along the way. Be sure to also apply these adjustments to other stakeholders, such as customers or suppliers. For example, be open to rescheduling client meetings where travel is required. Consider hosting purposeful and engaging virtual meetings instead. And if your organization is planning to attend a large conference, or is hosting its own, be realistic about your sales, marketing and client expectations given that some people—including your own employees— may not want to travel.  

Making these adjustments isn’t always easy—and it might take some time. But by providing the necessary resources and support across your organization, employees will be able to navigate whatever changes may come their way. ORCE THROUGH TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY

LITTLE MANAGEMENT MISTAKES THAT MAKE GOOD EMPLOYEES QUIT

Everybody knows that the most common reason for quitting is that an employee doesn’t like the boss. Lots of people take this to mean that bosses whose employees quit are horrible people who yell and scream and micro-manage everything from font size to the type of fingernail polish allowed in the office. Those bosses absolutely exist, but there are other types of bosses that are generally good bosses—even generally great bosses—that still do little things that drive good employees insane.
These little things grate on the nerves of the best employees, while mediocre employees don’t even necessarily notice. If you have a superstar employee, take note, and avoid the following:

1) Expect Greatness and Reward Mediocrity

One thing about great employees—they consistently produce great work. So much so that the boss comes to expect it. So, when Jane does another fantastic presentation, everyone yawns, but when Shelly—who is generally a slacker—pulls together a half decent presentation, everyone cheers. It’s okay to encourage Shelly, but don’t forget to reward Jane for her fabulous performance.

2) Salary Caps

Most companies have these for each job. They make sense—you don’t want to pay someone above market rate. The problem is, fantastic employees often max out pretty early. And then what? They work hard, they bring in great business, and the clients love them, and their reward at the end of the year? “Uhhh, good job, Jane. You’re already at a company-ratio of 105 percent and we just can’t go any higher.” If you had to replace Jane, you wouldn’t get near the productivity Jane has from the new person, so it may be worth it to break your rules, or give her a growth promotion with a higher salary.

3) Treating All Employees the Same

At first glance, that seems like a great management practice. After all, you don’t want to play favorites. The problem is, not all employees need the same guidance and direction. If you have an outstanding employee who wants to work from home one day a week, move heaven and earth to make that happen. Otherwise, she’ll find somewhere that will let her work from home three days a week, and you’ll be stuck recruiting.

4) Preventing Promotions

You can’t get along without Jane—she does a great job at everything. So, when she says she wants to move into a vacancy in the neighboring department because it’s a promotion, you refuse to sign off (if your company requires a current manager to sign off), or you tell your peer, “You can’t have Jane!” Either one means that Jane is now looking externally. Remember, your obligation is not just to your own department, but the company as a whole. While you have to replace Jane, either way, all her knowledge and skill stays in the company, and you’ll still benefit from her fabulous work.

5) Ignoring Ideas

Your employees see a different side of the business than you do. It’s just how it works. So, when you ignore suggestions from them you may be accidentally ignoring something that would really make a positive difference.
Star employees get frustrated when they can see solutions but managers don’t allow them to present those solutions. Take the time to listen and implement when you can. If Jane has always produced great work, why wouldn’t you think this would be a great suggestion? And if it turns out that it falls flat, that doesn’t mean you’re always right; it simply means Jane made a mistake this time around. It’s called learning and it’s essential for growth.

DEAR REWORKER: WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT A LACK OF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES?

Dear ReWorker,
During the interview for my current job, I emphasized that I wanted a job with professional development opportunities. The hiring manager said that professional development was important and definitely a priority. After six months, I approached my supervisor about a recognized professional certification that I wanted. It was an 18 month online course, so I wouldn’t miss work, but it was expensive. He said no.
The company announced this week that the same training program would be available at no cost to the department, but I’d have to be out of the office for 20 days. My boss said 20 days away was a no-go. I told this to a co-worker, and she said the management team said I’d be perfect for this. However, my boss said, “She’s so good, they’d probably try to steal her way from us.”
I want to go back to my boss and ask her to reconsider my application. But, I can’t bring up anything I know about what my coworker said, for fear of getting her in trouble. How can I do this?
Sincerely,
Bait and Switch
________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Bait and Switch,
Sometimes knowledge is power and sometimes it’s paralyzing. You now know that your obstacle to learning opportunities is your boss’ fear of losing you — this kind of knowledge is likely to spur some negative feelings towards your boss. There are different ways to approach this situation. But first — how long will you stick around this company?
If you are planning to stay there no matter what (and have communicated that), then your boss probably doesn’t feel pressure to concede, and you need to be more communicative. This is one of the reasons companies throw all sorts of perks at new hires and barely give raises to long-term employees—they think you’ll stick around forever.
The next thing to consider is why mentioning what your co-worker said to you could get her in trouble. You don’t want to have a co-worker punished for trying to help you out, but it’s worth asking her if she minds. She may say, “Please leave me out of it,” or she may say, “Yes, please tell your boss that I told you this.” For now, we’ll assume that she wants to stay out of it.
So, what do you say to your boss? If you’re planning to stay no matter what, you can still ask something like this: “Bill, I’d like to talk about this development class. When you hired me, we discussed how important things like this were to me, and you agreed that was the direction you wanted to take the department. What can we do to make this work?”
If he says no, then follow up with, “I understand that this particular class won’t work, but let’s get something on the schedule for 2017 so that we can plan ahead.”
If you feel ready to leave unless you receive the development opportunities you were promised, then begin the same way, but when your boss refuses you need to push back: “Bill, I made it very clear from the beginning that these training classes were important to me. I would not have taken this job if I had known that I would not have development opportunities. We need to make a plan or I need to move on.”
Now, this last statement is super-duper scary. But remember, you have knowledge that is powerful—your boss is terrified of losing you and the other management team members love you. Use the knowledge you have to empower you, not paralyze you. You can start looking to move on to other departments or a new company. He can’t stop that. Once he realizes that, he’s more likely to give you the opportunities you negotiated.
Your ReWorker,

DEAR REWORKER: MY BOSS AND I DISAGREE ON AN EMPLOYEES RAISE, WHAT CAN I DO?

Dear ReWorker,
I’m an HR manager of a small company. My boss lives on the East Coast. His assistant, who works in the West Coast office with me, is up for her first annual review. I think she seems good and should get a traditional merit increase, but my boss is telling me she’s terrible and doesn’t deserve a raise.
He hasn’t ever given me anything to write her up for, and the only solid criticism I can get out of him is that she, “doesn’t anticipate [his] needs.” I think he is out of line. What do I tell my employee when she asks why she didn’t get a raise? That my boss is unhappy that she is not psychic? I am embarrassed to be in this position.
Sincerely,
Stuck in the Middle
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Dear Stuck in the Middle,
First of all, you need to clarify the reporting chain. Are you the assistant’s boss or is he? Granted he’s your boss, so at the very least, he’s her boss’s boss, but who is her direct manager? As a general rule, you wouldn’t be her actual supervisor as HR manager. It’s complicated by the fact that you are physically in the same office as the employee and he is not.
Even if he’s her manager on paper, you are likely taking on this role in person frequently. This clarification is important because the answer will help you determine the amount of push-back. If you are her supervisor, by all means, you should go to him and say, “Jane reports to me and she’s met her goals, and I want her to receive a raise.” If you’re simply the HR manager, then you can push back, but in an advisory way, ” Jane has met her goals and should receive a raise, as all employees who meet their goals do.”
Regardless of who her boss is, it’s critical that you have this conversation with your boss before presenting her the information. It would be a disaster to say, “You stink and you’re not getting a raise. No idea why!” He needs to articulate something other than she doesn’t anticipate his needs.
You’ll have to coax this out of him. Ask him questions like, “Can you give me an example of how Jane didn’t anticipate your needs?” and then listen. It may be something perfectly logical—like for every project when he does A, she should do B, and that enables him to do C, and for whatever reason, she doesn’t do B until prompted. It may also be something completely illogical. He does A, doesn’t tell her he’s finished with A, only talks about Q, and then gets mad that she didn’t do B. If his reasoning is illogical, push back. But, even if you are her direct supervisor, as your boss, he can have the final say (presuming there isn’t someone above him).
If he refuses to authorize a raise for her, you can’t imagine one out of thin air, or hide payroll from him for eternity. So here’s what you say: “Jane, John feels that you aren’t anticipating his needs as you should. So, unfortunately, you won’t be receiving an increase this year.” She’ll freak, and you’ll have to direct her back to John.
Ultimately, the most important thing to do is ensure this doesn’t happen again. She, and everyone in the company, needs clear goals and expectations. These need to be written out and checked off throughout the year. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in this position again and again—if not with this assistant, then with another employee.
Your ReWorker,

LEADER VS. MANAGER: 5 IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES

When aliens land on earth in the movies they never say, “take me to your manager.” But why not manager? Aren’t leader and manager synonyms? Is it important to understand what defines a leader vs. a manager? I mean, my boss leads my department, so she must be my leader. What is the difference between leadership and management?
In an ideal situation managers are leaders. But when that’s not the case, here are five differences between a leader and a manager.

1) Managers Manage the Tasks at Hand. Leaders Lead Towards the Future.

Managers are focused on getting the current job done. That’s fine—it needs to get done. But a leader is looking at the big picture. He or she asks the tough questions, such as: How does this task lead towards the quarter’s goals? How does this fit into the company’s overall plan? How does this help prepare the employees for their future career goals?

2) Managers Supervise People or Tasks. Leaders can be Individual Contributors.

There are people managers and project managers. Each has a defined set of responsibilities. Sometimes a leader doesn’t have a big title, and it’s just the person that everyone looks up to for guidance and direction to be an individual contributor. This person embodies leadership and people naturally follow. This is the type of person to watch out for and promote to management.

3) Leader’s Guide People Towards Success. Managers Tell People What to Do.

If you’re a checklist type of a manager, you’re probably not a leader. Check boxes aren’t bad—they aren’t. But, if all you can do is tell people to check off boxes, it’s not leadership. A leader inspires and supports other people to succeed, and sometimes that involves individual tasks and sometimes it involves letting things evolve on their own.

4) Leaders Are Willing to Give up control. Managers Set Directions for Everything.

When a direct report becomes too proficient, it can send ill-equipped managers into a frenzy. Leaders rejoice and recognize that this person is ready for more responsibility and a possible promotion. Managers may be tempted to keep their tasks and their projects close at hand. Leaders recognize when someone is ready to take on new responsibilities and rejoices in that.

5) Leaders Care About the People. Managers Care About the Numbers.

Numbers are important—anyone who tells you otherwise is off his rocker. However, they aren’t the only thing that matters. A manager might bark at a slow moving worker to pick up the pace, but an empathetic leader will ask if there is a problem and offer a solution. Both leaders and managers may end up firing an employee who can’t pull it together, but a leader will try to resolve the issue first.
Resolving a problem is often a more difficult task than firing an employee. Ignoring a it doesn’t make it go away and will likely encourage your best employees to quit. Managers focus on hitting targets, while leaders see if their team is solid and if there are problems brewing.
If you’re a manager—whether it’s of a project or people—stop and take a look at how you conduct yourself. Are you acting as a true leader, or simply as a manager? It is important to understand the differences that define leaders vs. managers and to make sure you focus on developing the former.

DEAR REWORKER: MY EMPLOYEE’S HUSBAND WAS ARRESTED, SHOULD I TELL THE EXECUTIVE TEAM?

Dear ReWorker,
We have an employee that has been an above-average employee. Yesterday, I learned that her husband was arrested by the FBI as a member of a large drug trafficking ring and money laundering. Our employee (“Jane”) works in a position that allows her access to medical patient’s financial records (credit cards, bank accounts, etc.). I am struggling with my obligation as it relates to Jane and her privacy and my responsibility to our clients.
Jane has not been charged with any wrongdoing. However, the info to which she accesses every day is highly sensitive. If I tell the executive leadership team about what has recently transpired in Jane’s life, experience has shown me that they will suspend/terminate her employment as a ‘knee jerk reaction’ to her personal situation.
I am torn.
Do I tell the executive team and risk Jane’s employment? Do I monitor the situation until something occurs that causes me to be suspicious of Jane’s activities? Is it too late then?
Sincerely,
Guilty by Association
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Dear Guilty by Association,
Let me ask a question: When you do background checks on new employees, do you run background checks on their spouses?
I didn’t think so.
So, if Jane was a job candidate, not an employee, and she didn’t happen to mention that her husband had been arrested, you would never know about it, and you’d give her the job. Why would you not treat her, an established employee with a great track record, the same way?
I know why not. It’s scary. If he was doing this (and remember, it’s alleged right now anyway), how could she not know about it? Well, people who are dishonest are also dishonest with their spouses.
So, what to do here? Talk with Jane. Offer her sympathy. Can you imagine what a nightmare this is for her? One day, everything is fine. The next, her husband is being hauled off in handcuffs, and the whole town is looking at her like she’s a criminal. Jane needs support right now. She may need some extra time off to handle things. You’re certainly not required, by law, to give someone time off to deal with her husband’s arrest, but it would be the nice thing to do. Remember, Jane is a top performer, and you’d like to keep her.
That said, you shouldn’t be completely naive. There’s a good chance Jane is 100 percent innocent—after all the FBI investigated and didn’t arrest Jane, even though she’s married to their target. But, there’s a tiny chance she, herself, has some issues. And, add to that, she’s now got huge money problems. Defending yourself from criminal charges is expensive, and since this is Jane’s husband, the cost will hit Jane.
That does put Jane at a higher risk of giving into temptation. (And why many companies like to run credit checks on people who have access to financial information.) So, run an audit, and have Jane’s boss keep an extra eye on things, but otherwise, be supportive.
What do you tell senior management? Precisely what I’ve said here: We don’t run background checks on spouses, so her husband’s arrest is irrelevant. We have audits in place, and we ran an extra one on Jane’s accounts to make sure everything is going well. And, most importantly, Jane needs our support. Let’s ask her what we can do to make her life easier.
Don’t give into the temptation to blame her for her husband’s mistakes. She’s already suffering. If you give her a supportive environment, you lessen the chances of anything bad happening at your company. You want good employees to stick around, so make it a place that supports good employees, regardless of their personal lives.
Your ReWorker,

YOUR EMPLOYEES’ INABILITY TO SPEAK UP IS COSTING YOUR BUSINESS BIG MONEY

Open door policies are pretty ubiquitous, but simply having the policy doesn’t mean people will actually speak their minds. Your employees aren’t telling you everything they should and it’s costing you—$7,500 per conversation failure and seven work days—according to a new study led by best-selling authors Joseph Grenny and David Maxfield.
That’s what the lack of open communication costs you, and here’s why:
  • One in three employee say their culture does not promote or support holding crucial conversations.
  • Only 1 percent report feeling extremely confident voicing their concerns in crucial moments.
  • 40 percent estimate they waste 2 weeks or more ruminating about the problem
Stop and think about these numbers. If only 1 percent feel “confident in voicing their concerns in crucial moments” that means 99 percent of your employees do not feel confident.

The Power of Communication

Sometimes, that can literally be the difference between life and death. Malcom Gladwell found that a lack of confidence in challenging your superiors led to Korean Air having numerous crashes. He writes:

Korean Air had more plane crashes than almost any other airline in the world for a period at the end of the 1990s. When we think of airline crashes, we think, Oh, they must have had old planes. They must have had badly trained pilots. No. What they were struggling with was a cultural legacy, that Korean culture is hierarchical. You are obliged to be deferential toward your elders and superiors in a way that would be unimaginable in the U.S.

Because the co-pilots were culturally mandated to defer to their captains, they didn’t speak up and the results were literally deadly. Once Korean Air found out, they were able to address it and solve the problem.
Do you have this same problem in your business? What happens when someone challenges senior management? Are the immediately shut down and pushed to the side? Is questioning the VP a career death sentence?
You may think that it’s not a problem, but the next time you’re in a meeting with several layers of staff pay attention. Who is doing all the talking? Is it the senior people? Are the junior people just nodding along and taking notes?
If so, you’ve got a problem. If a junior person dares speak up, are his or her ideas dismissed? If so, you’ve got an even bigger problem.
Yes, it’s true that the newbie straight out of grad school will think she knows what she’s talking about and doesn’t, but if you get in the habit of just shutting everyone down, you’ll miss out on ideas and train everyone to keep quiet.

Welcome Ideas from Everyone

The last thing any business needs is to dismiss ideas that could help a company grow and develop. You want ideas. You can look at them and dismiss them later if they don’t pan out.
Additionally, communication is stifled when people don’t treat each other respectfully. We sometimes call this lack of respect “bullying,” although it doesn’t have to reach that level to cause havoc in your company. Just having a peer not doing his or her work can cause problems within a department. While you don’t want to encourage your team to become a bunch of tattle-tales, if someone comes to you and says, “Jane is not doing her work and it’s impacting my ability to do my work,” you need to listen.
Treat people with respect. Listen to what they have to say. Address problems when they come up and you’ll save your company time, money and perhaps come up with some great new ideas.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS EVERY HR DEPARTMENT SHOULD MAKE

Just because most people fail at their New Year’s Resolutions doesn’t mean your HR department shouldn’t make a few in the form of policy changes and new practices. HR policies and practices can have a huge impact on the success of the business. Sure, HR doesn’t design products or develop marketing plans, but what we do impacts the morale of the organization, and that affects everything else. Here are five resolutions every HR department should make.

1) Make Sure Pay Is Equitable and Market Rate

It’s time for a pay audit. Are there any differences in pay across gender, racial or age lines that can’t be explained by a logical, legal and fair reason? Don’t neglect this one. If you find discrepancies, give pay bumps today. Don’t wait until the next raise cycle. Get this taken care of immediately.
It’s not just equity for protected classes that you should look into; it’s market rates as well. Do you want to lose your best people because you’re paying below market rate?

2) Eliminate a Policy

I don’t know which one, but I guarantee you have a bad one on your books. Maybe it’s no raises above 10 percent. Perhaps it’s requiring in-depth reference checks on job candidates, but only confirm titles and dates of service for your former staff. There’s even a chance it’s docking PTO for exempt employees ever time they step out of the office? Whatever it is, figure out your worst policy and eliminate it.

3) Remind All Employees About ADA and FMLA

If you have more than 15 employees, the Americans with Disabilities Act applies and if you have 50, the Family Medical Leave Act is in play. People don’t understand what these mean, and it can open up the company to liability. If an employee tells a manager she needs an accommodation and the manager has no clue he or she has to provide that (assuming it’s a true disability and the requested accommodation is within reason), the company can suffer, and it’s unfair to the employee. Whenever possible, educate your teams on these laws.

4) Get Development Plans In Place

Managers are concerned about the here and now. You need to be concerned about the company’s future. Most people aren’t interested in staying in the same job for eternity, so you better make plans for developing people, or you’ll lose them to your competitors.
This doesn’t have to be a labor intensive endeavor in HR. You can ask employees to consider where they want to go and then help them figure out how the company can help them achieve their goals. Just make sure you don’t put a huge burden on management and staff in getting this together.

5) Put Some People on Performance Improvement Plans

This sounds harsh—getting people placed on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs). The thing is, it’s not mean. It’s nice. Why? Because you have low performers and their managers are ignoring them, hoping that they’ll just go away. Unfortunately, what is more likely to happen is the good employees will get fed up with their slacker co-workers and leave first.
You want to identify the low performers and help their managers develop plans for improvement. A good person who is struggling will benefit from direct instruction on what he needs to do to improve. An inveterate slacker will continue to slack, but you’ll have the documentation needed to terminate, and replace him or her with someone who cares about performance. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
So, before you reject the hype around New Year’s Resolutions, look around your department and company and think about what changes you’d like to see. No reason you can’t start today.

DEAR REWORKER: I HAVEN’T HAD A RAISE IN FIVE YEARS

Dear ReWorker,
My husband has been working for the same company for over 25 years. None of the employees, including my husband, have received a raise in the last five years. The owner of the company keeps telling the workers the company isn’t making any money; however, the employees have watched this same owner drive up in a brand new pickup truck, towing a brand new boat that he boasted about paying for with cash. This is the same owner who continually questions the morale of the company.
What can my husband do in this situation? And, what type of advice would you have for this employer?
Sincerely,
Getting Impatient
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Getting Impatient,
Your husband should brush up his resume, find a new job and quit. In that order. An owner that hasn’t offered a raise in five years, complains about a lack of money while showing off his expensive purchases and can’t see that his actions are causing low morale isn’t likely to change.
Now, of course, I should ask if your husband has asked for a raise in the past five years. If he hasn’t, he should ask. The exception to this is if your husband is at the top of the pay scale for his profession and wouldn’t be able to make more money anywhere else. Salaries should be based on market rates, and if you’re already at the top of the market, you aren’t going anywhere.
The owner of this business sees himself as doing a favor to the employees—isn’t it great that I gave you a job out of the goodness of my heart? Now, I’m all for small business owners, and I understand that they take risks, but they aren’t doing it out of “goodness.” They do it because it’s the best way to be profitable. Your husband’s boss wouldn’t have his new truck and new boat without his employees. Yes, he provides them with jobs, but they help his company prosper.
It might be scary to go out and look for a new job—after all, he’s been there 25 years, and the devil you know is often better than the devil you don’t. But, most companies are happy to have good workers and want to reward them. Looking won’t cost him anything and if he doesn’t find anything better, he should stay.
As for advice for the owner—he’s not writing me, but I’m always happy to give advice. I’d tell the owner to make sure to give his employees raises—there’s little doubt that salaries should have been bumped up at least for cost of living over the past five years. The second thing I’d tell him to do is have his finances evaluated by a professional. Now, maybe he has a wife who paid for the new truck and boat and the business is struggling, but if he is paying for that with money the business earns, he needs an expert to take a look at his books.
Why? By not investing in his employees, he’s not investing in his business. Your husband probably isn’t the only person considering leaving after being treated like that. Turnover is incredibly expensive—probably more expensive than his fancy new boat. It’s not going to be so cheap to replace someone with 25 years of experience.
Overall, he’s making bad decisions based on short-term pleasure, and that’s going to come back to bite him.
Your ReWorker,
Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady

Bobcats Shine at USCAA National Invitational

The Bryant & Stratton College track & field team finished the 2016 season with an impressive performance at the USCAA National Invitational.
The Bobcats had 17 runners place in the top-10 of their respective events while four other Bobcats placed in the top-three. Tevin Coleman placed fourth and second in the 1500m and 800m, respectively, while Lavar Sealey, Fatemah El-Hindi and Nicole Pearson also picked up top-five finishes. Freshman Cole Clemons and Njamile Charles each grabbed respective top-three finishes in the shotput and javelin.However, all of those impressive performances were eclipsed by Levar Sealey’s victory in the men’s 400m dash, crowning him as the USCAA National Invitational Champion in the 400.
“The meet marked the end of a very successful season for the Bobcats. I am exceptionally proud of our athletes,” head coach Ryan Johnson said. “As our program continues to grow, I am confident that we will continue to build and see a great deal of success.”
The team and individual success enjoyed by the Bobcats at the USCAA National Invitational rounded out an impressive year that saw a number of promising athletes rise to the level set early on by Bobcats standout Tevin Coleman. Bryant & Stratton College enters the offseason with a tremendous foundation built for the future and their sights set on becoming an even greater driving force in the USCAA.

5 Tips to Help Women in Business with Career Management

Though there has been significant progress concerning gender equality in the workforce, women are still lagging behind men when it comes to executive positions in business. According to career information at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Center for Women in Business, women are particularly underrepresented in the C-suite and on corporate boards. The center’s data finds that women currently hold just 4.2% of CEO positions in Fortune 1000 companies.
Sheryl Sandburg, chief operating officer at Facebook and a high profile woman in business, recently asked women to “lean in” to their careers. Her book of the same title has sparked conversations across the country on how to empower women to reach their full potential.
Follow these five career management tips to help you stand out and assert yourself as woman in business.
  1. Know your stuff
Before your next meeting, take some time to get up to speed about what will be discussed. Review the meeting agenda, if one is provided, or ask the individual who scheduled the meeting about what might be covered. Do background research on the topic so that you go into the meeting understanding the issue at hand and ready to discuss your thoughts.
  1. Share your ideas
Coming to the meeting prepared is a great step towards taking charge of your career, but it is most effective if you share those thoughts and ideas with the group. It can be overwhelming to speak up in front of so many people, however if you’ve done your research beforehand you can be confident that what you have to share is well informed. Not every idea will be a success but sharing shows initiative and, with the group’s collaboration, might even spark something bigger and better.
  1. Toot your own horn
Women often underplay their achievements at work for fear of sounding egotistical or self-centered.  Men, on the other hand, see the value in sharing their successes because it presents them as capable and accomplished. Women should follow this lead and toot their own horn to share their wins with others. Try to also cheer others on and wish them well when they share successes with you to foster a supportive environment for all.
  1. Admit when you need help
It isn’t always easy to admit when you’re stumped or need help. Remember, asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather a sign that you are open to different ideas or perspectives. It also shows that you have realistic expectations for yourself. If you know you won’t be able to finish something by the deadline, asking for assistance can help progress the project so that it can be completed on time, which may benefit the whole team or company. 
  1. Seek mentorship
Many successful women often offer anecdotes about how their mentors helped them in their professional career. Seek out someone in your field whom you admire, whose career you would like to emulate and ask if they would serve as a mentor to you. A mentor can offer advice, guidance and assistance from their experience in the field, which can be helpful as you learn the ropes.
If you are interested in a career in business, consider enrolling in the Bryant & Stratton College Online business administration degree. You can learn more by calling 1.888.447.3528 and speaking with an admissions representative.

Redefining Progress in the Genuine Economy

A genuine economy creates more benefits than costs. Benefits are relatively easy to count. Just add up all the stuff that people buy and sell every day. But what do economists miss when they only count goods and services bought and sold in the marketplace? What’s missed when the only value of our time is what we get paid to work? What about the myriad of costs that never get charged, such as the costs from depleting and polluting the environment? And how are both costs and benefits from an economy distributed among its citizens? Enter: the Genuine Progress Indicator.

All growth is not created equal

Before the 1940s, there were no economy-wide indicators to help guide economic policy. Policy makers in the U.S. and around the world were flying blind during the Great Depression. The economic advisers to President Franklin Roosevelt literally counted freight cars to answer the question: Is the economy growing or shrinking? With nations gearing up for the second world war, they also needed an economic gauge to transition in and out of military production. The Gross Domestic Product was created to answer these basic questions about the size, transitions, ups and downs of an economy.
World leaders today are almost singularly obsessed with GDP as a gauge of standard of living. Is it growing? How fast? How much GDP is there per person? But more and more people are asking: What kind of growth, and for whom? Even one of the chief architects of the GDP, Nobel Prize–winning economist Simon Kuznets, warned in 1962: “Distinctions must be kept in mind between quantity and quality of growth, between its costs and return, and between the short and the long term. Goals for more growth should specify more growth of what and for what.”
In 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy popularized the critique and laid out a road map for new indicators. In a speech at the University of Kansas, he lamented that the GDP “does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”

Towards a more genuine indicator of progress

Soon thereafter, in 1972, Yale economists William Nordhaus and James Tobin introduced the Measure of Economic Welfare to ask: If an economy grows by depleting assets, is that true growth? In the 1980s, World Bank–economist Herman Daly and theologian John Cobb developed the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, a composite index that further expanded the scope of social and environmental factors, and broadened the question to: If the benefits of growth don’t outweigh the costs, is the economy delivering sustainable well-being? And through an interdisciplinary effort led by the think tank Redefining Progress in the 1990s, the Genuine Progress Indicator was born.
The GPI of today takes into account income inequality and non-market benefits such as spending time volunteering or parenting one’s kids. It also deducts negative effects, including depletion of natural assets such as forests and wetlands, and pollution of our air, land and water. While the GDP per person in the U.S. has grown many times over since Kuznet’s warning and Kennedy’s critique, the U.S. GPI peaked in the late 1970s and has been flat ever since.
redefining-progress
US GPI Graph (from Redefining Progress)

States Lead the Way on GPI

The aftermath of the Great Recession has brought a renewed interest in alternative indicators of economic and broader well-being. While the U.S. and other nations have seen steady GDP growth since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, more and more people have been left behind. U.S. income inequality has hit levels not seen since the 1920s, and the growing costs of climate change, water pollution and fossil-fuel dependence have renewed Kennedy’s prophetic call for new metrics of progress.
While one can hope for congressional leadership on new metrics of progress, a growing number of states have decided not to wait. Maryland was the first state to adopt the GPI in 2010, when Governor Martin O’Malley launched an initiative to present the state’s GPI through an online tool. And in 2012, the State of Vermont passed GPI into law. In 2013 O’Malley hosted a GPI summit, which was attended by representatives from 20 states, and now Oregon and Washington are moving in this direction. In 2014, the University of Vermont held a practitioners’ summit, where analysts from across the country came to learn the best practices for measuring GPI.
And why stop with just dollars and cents? While the GPI was designed to put all values into economic terms and compare with the GDP, there are even broader indicators that address quality of life. The World Values Survey, for example, asks people more generally about their life satisfaction, and more specifically about their needs, wants and aspirations. What these metrics strive for in the broadest sense is to understand how the economy contributes to quality of life, and what trade-offs exist between material well-being and the interconnected health of our communities, societies and environment. These broader indicators of “happiness” also show a leveling off in recent decades, again, in spite of a growing economy.
American homes are bigger than ever, we have more luxuries and conveniences than any generation in history, we have witnessed the fullness of a consumer society. But who has been left behind? Has consumption translated to well-being? What would the future hold in a post-consumer society