Month: March 2020

Five Stages of Multi-Level Planning in India

 

The concept of multi-level regional planning may be defined as ‘planning for a variety of regions which together form a system and subordinate systems’. In multi-level planning, the various levels of planning provide bases for higher level planning. Similarly, the higher level regional plans provide the basic framework for the lower level plans. In such plans, there is direct participation of the people in the planning process. In multi-level planning, every region/unit constitutes a system and hence, the planning process becomes more effective. In India following five stages of multi-level planning have been recognized. These include.

National Level Planning

At national level, Planning Commission is the nodal agency responsible for the countries planning. The Prime Minister is the Chairman of this Commission. It not only prepares Plans for the country but also coordinates the sectored development works of different ministries of the central government, states and union territories. The functions of the planning commission are supervised through the National Development Council.

The Planning Commission has been granted constitutional status through 52nd Amendment of the Constitution. No big plan can be executed without its prior approval by the Planning Commission. The Commission formulates three types of plans. 

  •         Perspective plans for 15-25 years
  •         Five year plans
  •         Annual plans within the framework of five year plan.

The planning commission is headed by Prime Minister of India, it has full time members who assist the Prime Minister in planning and provide advice and guidance for formulation of five year plan. The full time members consists of Deputy Chairman and includes experts from various fields like economics, industry, science and general administration. It also includes ministers from relevant portfolios like Finance, Agriculture, Home Ministry, Health, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Information Technology, Law, HRD and Minister of State for Planning. 

Organization Structure & Functions

It has 11 main departments and 20 sub ordinate departments and that makes 31 divisions for which the planning commission concentrates on planning. It has two main divisions of function. They are General Planning Divisions and Programme Administration Divisions. The main function of the commission is planning. The other functions includes economic survey, human resources and capital assessment in the country. It also concerns with removing any factor impeding the growth of the country. 

Planning Commission 

The Planning Commission is the technical body for facilitating the planning process in our country. It was set up by the Government in March, 1950. Its functions are

  • To make an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country, including technical personnel and investigate the possibilities of augmenting such of these resources as are found to be deficient in relation to the nation’s requirements
  • To formulate a plan for the most effective and balanced utilization of the country’s resources 
  • To determine priorities, define the stages in which the plan should be carried out and propose the allocation of resources for the due completion of each stage
  • To indicate the factors which tend to retard economic development and determine the conditions which, in view of the current social and political situation, should be created for the successful execution of the plan
  • To determine the nature of the machinery, which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation of each stage of the plan in all its aspects
  • To appraise, from time to time, the progress achieved in the execution of each stage of the plan and recommend the adjustments of policy and measures that such appraisal may show to be necessary
  • To make such interim or ancillary recommendations as appear to be appropriate either for facilitating the discharge of the duties assigned to it or, on a consideration of prevailing economic conditions, current policies, measures and development programmes or on an examination of such specific problems as may be referred to it for advice by the central and state governments.

Planning Commission renamed as ‘NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog’ in 1st January,2015,which is a policy think of the Government of India, established with the aim to achieve sustainable development goals and to enhance cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of state governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach. Its initiatives include “15 year road map”, “7-year vision, strategy and action plan”, AMRUT, Digital India, Atal Innovation Mission, Medical Education Reform, Agriculture reforms (Model Land Leasing Law, Reforms of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act, Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index for ranking states), Indices Measuring State’s Performance in Health, Education and Water Management, Task Forces on Agriculture and Elimination of Poverty. Its functions are

  •  To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in the light of national objectives. 
  • To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong states make a strong nation. 
  • To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government. 
  • To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy. 
  • To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress. 
  • To design strategic and long term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections. 
  • To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded Think tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.
  • To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners. 
  • To offer a platform for resolution of inter sectoral and inter departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda. 
  • To maintain a state-of-the-art Resource Centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their dissemination to stake-holders. 
  • To actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery. 
  • To focus on technology up gradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes and initiatives. 
  • To undertake other activities as may be necessary in order to further the execution of the national development agenda, and the objectives mentioned above.

State Level Planning

At state level the mechanism of the planning is almost same of the national level. The state Planning Board acts like national planning com­mission and coordinates the development plans of different ministries and the districts. It also has the responsibility of the formulation, implementation and monitoring of state plan. It is in constant touch with Planning Commission regarding the formulation of plans and allocation of resources. 

Under the federal set up of the country states enjoy autonomy in certain state subjects and play pivotal role in the implementation of planning programmes. It is at state level that all sorts of economic and social data are available and development plans could be formulated keeping regional interests and demands in mind. Hence, there is a need for more rigorous exercise of planning at state level. Those states which are conscious of their responsibility and are showing interest in plan formulation and implementation are displaying better performance in development programmes. 

The Executive head of a state is the Governor, who is appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Prime Minister of India. As in the case of the Centre, the Governor does not directly exercise the powers that are vested in him. They are exercised through the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister. The advice of the Council of Ministers is binding on the Governor. The Council of Ministers works through the secretariat that is headed by a secretary. The main functions of the secretariat relate to assisting the ministers in policy making and in discharging their legislative responsibilities, co-ordination of policies and programmes, supervision and control of expenditure, efficient running of administration, etc. The Council of Ministers has a number of departments functioning under it which can be broadly classified into three categories:

1.   Development departments (having the departments of agriculture and animal husbandry, rural development, public works and industries)

2.      Social welfare departments (having the departments of education, health and social welfare)

3.      Coordinating departments (having home, revenue, finance and planning departments)

The Central Government has the power to legislate on the subjects given in the Union List while the State governments have powers to legislate on the subjects given in the State List. As far as subjects contained in the Concurrent List are concerned, both central and state governments have powers to legislate on them, but in case of conflict, the central law prevails. Organised activities such as industries, minerals, railways and telecommunications come under the Centre’s responsibilities, while agriculture, collection of land revenue, irrigation, power, public health, education, local self-government, and several other important subjects come under the control of states.

District Level Planning

The concept of the district-level planning is based on the principle of local level planning. It also assumes that success of the planning needs greater mobilization and utilization of local resources. Below the state, district occupies a pivotal position in planning because of its location and administrative advantages.

Not only it has sufficient administrative and technical expertise and good source of data and information to carry out plan programmes but has well-knit system to involve people’s participation and make the gains of planning to reach to the grass root level. The district board consists of elected representatives who can play significant role in the process of planning. Hence, there is a sizeable group of scholars who consider district as an ideal and viable unit of micro level planning.

District Planning is the process of preparing an integrated plan for the local government sector in a district taking into account the resources  (natural, human and financial) available and covering the sectoral activities and schemes assigned to the district level and below and those implemented through local governments in a state. District is the most suitable administrative unit for decentralized planning below the state level as it possesses the required heterogeneity and is small enough to undertake people in planning and implementation and to improve productivity; district planning is an important tool. Its contents  will be as follows.

  •           Agriculture and allied sectors
  •           Availability and development of water sources
  •           Industries – especially traditional, small industries including food processing
  •           Infrastructure including power 
  •           Drinking water and sanitation
  •           Literacy, school education
  •           Health and medical facilities
  •           Poverty reduction and basic needs
  •          Gender and children
  •          Social justice – SC / ST, Persons with disability 

It is also argued that gram panchayat and development block are too small to act as the smallest unit of planning. Also there is complete lack of administrative framework and data collec­tion system at these two levels. Hence, there would be a number of difficulties in the formulation and execution of plans at village and block levels.

Although the importance of district level planning was realized during the times of community development plans but the real breakthrough came with the Third Five Year Plan (1961-1966) in which emphasis was laid on the district -level planning to remove inter district and intra district disparities and make optimum utilization of natural and human resources at district level.

Its formulation and implementation are looked after by the District Planning Officer (DPO) or the District Magistrate. Despite this elaborate system, the task of preparing a reasonably sound district plan has not made much headway in the states due to following constraints.

  • Some lurking reluctance on the part of Governments and their sartorial heads to devolve sufficient authority (administrative and financial) to the planning bodies at the district level.
  • Lack of effective co-ordination at the district level between various agencies involved in the planning exercises.
  • Institutionalized arrangements, for seeking consultation with various participants in the planning process, were either not well established or not sufficiently encouraged and developed.
  •  Lack of trained staff, both in terms of number as well as quality. The inadequacy of training was a serious constraint.
  • Lack of appropriate and reduced methodologies for planning, in tandem with the capabilities available at the local level. In this context, the non-availability of trained planning personnel posed a serious problem.
  • Planning without a clear and full understanding of the realities of resource constraints.
  • The database presented its own problems. Although a surfeit of data is available at the local level from numerous sources, appropriate methodologies for selecting the “critical minimum information” for local planning from this mass of data and using the same for some simple analysis for decision making, without going into highly sophisticated techniques, had not emerged, 
  • Lack of people’s participation in planning.

Block Level Planning

Block is an important unit of micro level planning. These development blocks were created to supervise the implementation of development plans under the Community Development Programme initiated during the first five year plan. Each district was divided into a number of blocks and each block comprised about 100 villages, with a population of about 60,000.

The programme visualized mobilization of local resources, participation of the people in the decision making and implementation of the development schemes. Hence, a new unit of planning was created at block level under the leadership of a block development officer and a team of various specialists and village level workers (officers).The Fifth Five Year Plan) (1978-1983) opted for area planning with a preferment for block level planning for achieving employment objectives and emphasis on rural development.

The main objective of this planning was to absorb local labour surpluses and greater involvement of people in the formulation and implementation of development plans. Hence, by the end of 1983 adopt system of block level planning integrated into national system was available

It is an action oriented planning pertaining to the development of agriculture, irrigation (mainly minor irrigation), soil conservation, animal husbandry, pisciculture, forestry, minor processing of agricultural products, small and cottage industries, creation of local level infrastructure, and development of social services like water supply, health, education, shelter, sanitation, local transport, and welfare plans. The entire process of block level planning passes through seven stages. These include

  •         Identification phase
  •         Resource inventory phase
  •         Plan formulation phase
  •        Employment plan phase
  •         Areal or layout plan phase
  •         Credit plan phase
  •         Integration and implementation phase

The main objectives of such planning include, creation of skill to promote self-employment and self-reliance, improvement in pro­ductivity and optimum utilization of local resources. Thus the main focus of such planning is the identifi­cation of target group, introduction of development plans to generate employment, popularization of minimum need programmes and implementation of special programmes for weaker section of the society.

Objectives of Block Level Planning 

The objectives of block planning should, to the extent possible, be in harmony with national planning goals. The following are the key objectives of block level planning. 

  • Increase in employment and income, particularly of the poor, through optimal growth in the area and through public employment programmes
  • Distribution of gains from development in a manner that they reach the weaker sections, i.e. marginal farmers, agricultural labourers etc.
  •  Building social and economic infrastructure in the area
  •  Increasing the availability and accessibility of social services through minimum need and other programmes and extending the reach of the public distribution system
  •  Building institutions/organizations to protect the interests of the poor and the vulnerable in the area
  •   Upgrading technology, increasing productivity and contributing to skill formation
  •   Optimum utilization of the development potentials of the region
  •   Solution to the problems of unemployment
  •    Self-reliance
  •   Removal of socio economic disparities

The following activities are planned at the block level.

  •          Agriculture and allied activities
  •          Minor irrigation
  •          Soil conservation and water management
  •          Animal husbandry and poultry
  •          Fisheries
  •          Forestry
  •          Processing of agricultural produce
  •          Organizing input supply, credit, and marketing
  •          Cottage and small industries
  •          Local infrastructure
  •          Social services
  •          Drinking water supply
  •          Health and nutrition
  •          Education
  •          Housing
  •          Sanitation
  •          Local transport
  •          Welfare programme
  •          Training of local youth and updating of skills of local population

Panchayat Level Planning

The Panchayat Raj System involves a three tier structure: village level, block level and district level. The first tier at village level is commonly known as Gram Panchayat (village assembly), the second tier at block level as Panchayat Samiti and the third tier at district level as Zila Parishad. 

According to the provisions of the Panchayats Act 1996 the election to the village Panchyat is held at an interval of 5 years. Through the Constitution Amendment Act 1992 the Panchayat (also called Gram Sabha) has been authorized to look after the preparation and implementation of plans for economic development and social justice. The respective state has been given discretionary powers to prescribe powers and functions to the Gram Sabha to act as an institution of self-government.

It has also been advised to constitute a District Planning Committee to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchyats and Municipalities and prepare an integrated development plan for the district as a whole. It has also been directed to constitute a State Finance Commission (SFC) to review every five years, the financial position of Panchayats and to make recommendations about the principle governing the distribution of revenues between the state and the Panchyats, and determination of the grants in aid to the Panchayats from the consolidated funds of the state.

The implementation of the plan at the Panchayat level is the responsibility of the Village Development Officer (VDO) and the secretary and is supervised by the Gram Sabha. Under the existing provisions, funds for the Gram Sabha (Village Panchayat) are directly being allocated from the centre to execute rural development programmes like Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and Jawahar Rozgar Yojna (JRY) etc.

The Panchayat has also been entrusted with the responsibility for the promotion of agriculture, rural industries, provision of medical relief, maternity, women and child welfare, maintaining common grazing grounds, village roads, tanks, wells, sanita­tion and execution of other socio-economic programmes. In some places, they are also authorized to supervise primary education and collect land revenue. Presently, Gram Panchayats are involved in the identification of beneficiaries in antipoverty programmes. There are about 2.20 lakh Gram Panchayats, 5,300 Panchayat Samitis and 400 Zila Parishads in the country.

It has been found that elected representatives of Panchayat Raj Institutions are largely unaware of the political and economic dimensions of development issues and lack planning and managerial skills. 

Multi-level Planning opposed to centralized planning is an exercise where local institutions are actively involved not only at the implementation level but MLP is a more integrative effort that seeks to involve all hierarchies of administrative, geographical, political and regional levels in planning process. It seeks to involve active participation of the lower hierarchical levels in information generation, data collection, policy suggestion, plan implementation & monitoring of all developmental activities.

A planning process can be either single level or multi-level. In the single level planning, the formulation of plans and decision making are done at the national level; the process is centralized and the lower territorial levels come into the picture only at the implementation stage. On the other hand, in the multi-level planning process, the national territory is divided into small territorial units, their number depending upon the size of the country, the administrative, the geographical and cultural settings. The Panchayat has also been entrusted with the responsibility for the following.

·         Promotion of agriculture

·         Rural industries

·         Provision of medical facilities

·         Maternity, women and child welfare

·         Maintaining common grazing grounds, village roads, tanks, wells

·         Sanitation

·         Execution of other socio-economic development programmes

  • Anti-poverty programmes

Promoting Dedication

Time flies when you’re having fun. It also flies when you’re balancing work, school and promotions as Brian Germann found out during his time at Bryant & Stratton College Online.
Germann has been working at DuPont’s Tonawanda, NY plant for over 20 years and took his first step towards advancing his career by pursuing an associate’s degree in IT-Networking. He completed that degree at Bryant & Stratton’s Southtowns campus in 2006 and almost immediately began to see the fruits of his labor.
It took less than two years for Germann to be promoted and even after seeing his first degree pay off his supervisors were recommending that he earn another degree. They recommended he consider a path in the business field, this time. Taking the time to carefully research the school he would choose for his bachelor’s degree, Germann considered a number of private schools in the Buffalo area before deciding that online education was the path he wished to follow.
“I liked the flexibility of being able to do my schoolwork on my own time,” Germann said.
After choosing to return to his alma mater as an online student, Germann received yet another promotion as he was working through his bachelor’s degree in General Management with a specialization in Project Management. He received his third promotion just last year and he officially graduated with his bachelor’s degree in April of 2014.
“I knew going back to school and getting a degree would open doors for me. And it did,” Germann said. “I was promoted immediately.”
With over 20 years of work experience already under his belt along with the strength of one Bryant & Stratton College degree on his resume, Germann was the elder statesman, of sorts, in his classes. In addition to receiving a great deal of feedback from his peers in many classes, Germann was also asked to write letters of recommendation for a few classmates. Noting his appreciation to his classmates, Germann also pointed out that the online setting allowed for so many connections that may have otherwise been overlooked in other settings.
“You don’t know [the other students] personally,” he said. “But if you’re a shy person it may actually be better for you.”
Coupled with the schedule that appealed to his work schedule, Germann remains quick to recommend Bryant & Stratton College to friends and acquaintances alike. He referred a co-worker to an online program recently as he is vocal about the success he experienced as a student here.
“I had gotten as far as I could without a degree,” Germann said. “I wasn’t looking to go to another company. I would highly recommend online education.”
Germann credits perseverance and time management for making him such a successful student in an online setting. He added that staying disciplined and managing your time is the best way to succeed. Due to his track record and strong educational background, Germann has made himself an invaluable part of the organizational structure at DuPont. He has the skills and education to continue growing and it’s likely just a matter of time until he is sharing news of another impressive promotion.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

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
________________________________________________________________________________________
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
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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
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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.