Category: News Update

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WITH 27 MILLION WOMEN IMPACTED EVERY YEAR, IT\’S TIME TO TALK ABOUT MENOPAUSE AT WORK

It started with persistent fevers. Then there was night after night of insomnia. On top of that, I was completely unable to focus on my work. I went to see my doctor expecting to walk out of the office with some antibiotics, or at the least, a reassurance that I\’d feel better soon.
Instead, my doctor said matter-of-factly, “It\’s menopause.\”
I was confused, as it was the last thing I expected to hear. But I was also angry. Why? My symptoms made it extremely difficult to work—and, according to my doctor, I was experiencing light symptoms. I wondered, how are millions of women in the workforce dealing with symptoms worse than these on a daily basis? Why isn\’t this issue addressed in HR policy? Why aren\’t leaders talking about this regularly?

The Facts

First, let\’s take a quick look at the sheer magnitude of the workforce impacted by menopause. More than 27 million women between the ages of 45 and 64—which comprises 20 percent of the American workforce—experience menopause each year. By 2018, this number is predicted to rise to 31 million. Symptoms can last between two and ten years, and it\’s possible for symptoms to start as early as 35 years of age, before officially reaching menopause.
When going through menopause, women experience hot flashes, headaches, insomnia, loss of energy, anxiety attacks, brain fog, aches and pains, and dry skin and eyes. This translates to 20 percent of the workforce potentially coming to work with little sleep, intermittent headaches, and an achy body.
Yet, somehow, discussing policies around menopause—or even mentioning it—is taboo in the workplace. The British Occupational Health Research Foundation found that 20 percent of women believe menopause has had a negative impact on their managers\’ and colleagues\’ perceptions of their competence. The University of Nottingham found that many women don\’t even want to disclose the issue to their manager, particularly if the manager is younger (male or female).
It\’s time to bring menopause to the table, in order to benefit both those experiencing menopause and the organizations that employ them.

Five Menopause Policies Every Employer Should Have

1. Educate Management
This is a no-brainer that often goes overlooked. Managers should know the symptoms and challenges women face during menopause, so employees feel comfortable disclosing their experiences and managers can approach the situation knowledgeably.
2. Offer Support
Appoint a person (or a few) to act as advocates for women in the workplace going through menopause. This person should know about any special absence allowances, related wellness programs and flex policies. They should also speak to leadership or management on behalf of women if needed/requested.
Alternatively or in conjunction with an internal advocate, you can offer a wellness hotline which provides access to coaches, dietitians, and other advisors for women experiencing menopause.
3. Expand Benefit Programs
Many women are looking to alternative therapies for managing menopausal symptoms such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine and bio-identical hormone replacement. Though women often see significant improvements from these treatments, paying out of pocket for integrative health treatments can be cost prohibitive. Including these options as part of a benefits package would enable more women to seek treatments.
Organizations can also add sick day policies that cater to menopause-related sickness or absence. Women should experience no disadvantage if they need time off during this time.
4. Include Menopause Activities or Speakers in Wellness Weeks
When organization host a \”wellness week\”, they often bring in yoga instructors, massage therapists, nutritionists, chefs specializing in healthy meals and more. Why not add a component to the wellness week that addresses menopause? Some possibilities are a yoga instructor who can offer poses and breathing exercises particularly for women in this group, a dietician to recommend the best diet for symptoms or a funny speaker to \”break the ice\” on the topic while educating the team.
5. Allow Flexible Schedules When Needed
If a woman is struggling to sleep or feels nauseous at work, a flexible schedule or work from home policies can help tremendously by letting her work and manage her symptoms. As long as she is still being productive and delivering results, it shouldn\’t matter if she\’s not in the office at 8am or needs to take a work from home day once in a while.
I hope leaders will take a serious look at the reality women face in the workplace when experiencing menopausal symptoms, and truly consider how they can mitigate the inherent challenges. By implementing these tips, leaders have a real opportunity to make a positive impact on how we provide for women\’s health and productivity.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

WHY YOU MIGHT JUST NEED A GREAT \’TWESUME

At a time when our digital and social lives play out in all kinds of new forms and platforms (and at all hours) I suppose no one should be surprised that the Twesume — yes, a 140-character attempt compacting a CV into a tweet — has arrived on the scene. What\’s a hiring manager to do with a new \”stack\” — or stream? — of Twesumes? Some are are taking it pretty seriously while others chalk them up as just more social-networking ephemera.
Gerritt Hall — CEO of New Jersey-based RezScore, an online service for job seekers (and a contributor to the startup advice site Bootstrapper) — is unsurprisingly bullish on the concept, but offers some compelling data to back that up. With more than 500,000 users — 20 percent of whom are considered \”power users\” because they upload their resume constantly, RezScore has to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to Twesumes and other cutting-edge job hunting tactics.
\”The Twesume is a cool concept,\” he says. Why? Too many candidates, he says, oversell themselves with bloated resumes; Twitter\’s forced brevity can be a blessing for job seekers and hiring managers scanning for the basic, quick essentials. Want to get the attention of a recruiter who\’s got 200 unopened resumes in his or her inbox? \”If you can get your resume down to 140 characters, that’s all you really need,\” says Hall.
Not everyone agrees, of course. Skeptics argue that offloading job history to Twitter can actually create more work for HR and that Twitter isn\’t the right channel with which to be presenting yourself as a professional. Regardless, Hall suggests some simple best practices to at least avoid embarrassing yourself. A decent Twesume, he says, needs a few key ingredients:
  • The job title you’re seeking
  • A shorthand description of your current role and skills
  • A few hashtags that will help you show up in a recruiter’s search results
  • A link to your LinkedIn profile
“As you see,” says Hall, “it should be very short. Ideally, you would also actually tweet your Twesume at the company you want to get hired at. The goal is to really make it easy for the hiring manager or the recruiter to find you.”

Hot in Some Industries, Cold in Others

Currently, according the RezScore\’s statistics, the top industries tweeting their Twesumes are web engineering (accounting for 16.6 percent of all Twesumes submitted) and marketing and public relations (who follow in second place at 12.7 percent). At the opposite end of the spectrum, not surprisingly, are security (0.2 percent) and finance (0.8 percent). 
Hall\’s confidence comes from practicing a little of what he preaches: He has used Twesumes to successfully recruit and hire graphic designers. \”We found them to be very high quality. The graphic designers included a link to their portfolio in their tweet making it very easy to find their work and browse through it to see if there was a style match.”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: I\’M BEING FORCED TO CHANGE AN EMPLOYEE\’S PERFORMANCE RATING

Dear ReWorker,
Performance ratings are due soon, so I filled out the forms and rated my employees based on their performance throughout the year. I gave one employee an outstanding rating as I really think she has met those criteria.
I gave her the performance review and the rating, and she was thrilled. Now, my boss is coming back saying I need to adjust the review downward. Why are they asking me to do this, and what can I say to my employee?
Sincerely,
Blindsided
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Blindsided,
This is one of those situations that should have been avoided by you having your manager sign off on the appraisal before you gave it, so file that away for future reference. But, I\’m going to assume this is the first time you\’ve written performance appraisals at this company or that your boss is new.
The best thing to do, of course, is to ask your boss why. But I can give you some pretty good guesses.

1) Your Company Has a Forced Rating Distribution

Many companies require performance ratings to fit a distribution. It looks like this:
  • 5 percent outstanding
  • 40 percent above average
  • 40 percent average
  • 10 percent below average
  • 5 percent unacceptable
It makes for a nice curve, and it makes it easy to figure out budgets when raises and bonuses are tied to performance ratings. The problem with this is that people don\’t always fall directly into that curve. If you rated your employee as outstanding, it could be that she is really awesome, but that your manager was exceeding her \”outstanding\” budget and needed to knock someone down. She could have taken a look at all the people labeled \”outstanding\” and ranked them, and if your employee was at the bottom of that group, then she would need a different rating.
What to say to your employee: \”Jane, I\’m sorry, but I have to move you from an \’outstanding\’ to \’above average\’ rating. Only 5 percent of employees can be rated outstanding, and while you are awesome, you\’re not in the top 5 percent yet. We truly value you at the company and want you to continue to improve. Here are a few things you can do to get to the next level.\”

2) You Misunderstood What Makes an Outstanding Employee

What makes an outstanding employee? The answer is different at every company. You may say, \”My direct report met or exceeded all her goals. She\’s kind and helpful and has high potential. That\’s outstanding.\” But your boss may consider that simply \”above average\” or maybe even \”average.\” To be truly outstanding, your boss may think an employee needs to exceed at all her goals, take on new projects, and be eligible for a promotion.
That doesn\’t mean your employee isn\’t outstanding in your eyes—it just means that for this company, the bar is much higher.
What to say to your employee: \”I\’m new here, and I didn\’t realize what the requirements were before speaking with you. You met or exceeded all your goals, but the company requirement for an \’outstanding rating\’ is higher. In order to receive an outstanding rating, you\’ll need to do A, B, and C. I\’m really sorry for this. It was 100 percent my fault.\”

3) Your Evaluation Was Just Wrong

Your employee may flat out not be outstanding. You gave her a 10 on customer satisfaction when she is an objective 8. Are you sure your grading matched up with the metrics given? Sometimes we like an employee and so we push up their appraisals when we shouldn\’t. Objectives should be measurable and it\’s possible that you measured things incorrectly.
What to say to your employee: \”Jane, I screwed up. I didn\’t look closely at the grid I was supposed to use to rate you, and as a result, I did the evaluation incorrectly. I truly value you as an employee and I think you\’re awesome, but I originally gave you a 10 on customer satisfaction, when according to the grid, you\’re currently at an 8. Here\’s why and you can do A, B, and C to improve this rating.\”
In the future, make sure you match things to the company guidelines. Ask your manager for help when you\’re writing the review, and make sure your manager has signed off on the rating before you tell your employee. You may strongly disagree with your manager\’s opinion on how to rate your employees, but she\’s your boss.
File this away in a been-there-done-that file, and you won\’t ever make this mistake again.
Your ReWorker,
Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady
Photo: Creative Commons

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

LEARNING CORNER WITH JEFF PFEFFER: IT\’S TIME WE TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK

Mental health is finally getting more attention in the working world. In fact in January, the World Economic Forum held meetings in Davos that featured a dedicated mental health track. The goal? Raise awareness of mental health as a global challenge—outside and inside of the workplace.
According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 18% of adults in the U.S. (some 42 million people) have a mental, behavioral or emotional disorder. And a report from Mental Health America found that almost 20 million Americans have a substance abuse problem, while nearly 9 million people (3.8 percent of the population) reported having serious thoughts of suicide.
The workplace isn\’t immune to the challenges of mental health. And as the working world strives to master new, unfamiliar technologies, mental health issues could even be exacerbated by work. What\’s more, a systematic review of studies of work-related stress estimates costs to be as high as $187 billion, with 70% of the sum coming from lost productivity. I believe that learning and talking about mental health issues at work is a necessary first step to improving mental health in the workplace, and by extension, curbing the enormous costs they create.

How Employers Can Do More to Mitigate the Costs of Mental Illness

According to The Center for Workplace Mental Health, nearly 7% of full-time workers experienced major depression during the year, with the total economic burden estimated to be about $210 billion per year. Major depression increases absenteeism, presenteeism (reduced productivity) and has direct medical costs.
Employers bear a lot of these costs and, therefore, have a role to play in addressing mental health issues—both through the medical benefits they provide and by building cultures of physical and mental health in their workplaces through management practices that promote well-being.
In order to get to a place where managers and employees understand the implications of mental health at work, companies should stop treating it as something distinct (and less important) than other forms of illness. They should provide comprehensive mental health coverage as part of their medical benefits, all while working to reduce the stigma.

Understanding (and Treating) the Pervasion of Mental Illness at Work

In 2008, the U.S. passed a mental health parity law mandating equal medical coverage for mental and physical illness, but big differences in coverage and access remain. One study found that in 2015, behavioral care was between “four to six times more likely to be out-of-network than medical or surgical care,\” and insurers paid primary care providers 20% more for the same types of care than they paid addiction or mental health specialists.
Some of this difference is the result of the stigma associated with mental health problems. A Financial Times reporter recently told me that when doing interviews for a story about mental illness in the C-suite, a board member told her that if the CEO admitted to mental illness, the board would fire that individual. An article about depression in the technology industry noted that admitting to depression could harm company perception and would put obtaining funding at risk.
Another contributing factor in the difference in cost and access is the sense that mental illness is not a “real\” illness like cancer or heart disease. But that is completely incorrect: As my Stanford colleague Leanne Williams has demonstrated, neuroimaging studies show real changes in the physiology of the brain diagnosed with depression.
Making access to care more costly and difficult for insured employees and stigmatizing mental health issues just drives people to try and hide issues and not get care—perpetuating the problems and their associated costs.

A Path Forward for Employers and Employees

Ultimately, the best way companies can eliminate the stigma around mental health at work is to just start talking about it. EY (formerly Ernst and Young), for example, launched a program called We Care with the goal of educating employees about mental health issues and encouraging them to seek help. The program is also centered around support for colleagues who may be struggling with illness or addiction.
More employers should take a similarly proactive approach to get mental health out of the shadows. And once the lines of communication are open, HR departments can (and should) consider offering benefits that provide more accessible mental health care.
Mental illness is enormously costly, both to society and employers, yet research advances make the effective treatment of disorders such as anxiety and depression much more possible. For reasons both economic and humane, employers should work to destigmatize mental disorders, increase insurance coverage of treatments and ensure that care uses the best, most recent available evidence.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

4 STEPS TO BUILDING AN IRRESISTIBLE \’EMPLOYER BRAND\’

We always hear about the importance of building a brand to attract customers. But what we don\’t hear a lot about is the value of brand-building when it comes to recruiting. At a time when competition for top talent is fierce even in a sputtering economy, employers need to do a lot more than just dangle higher salaries, more flexible hours and referral bonuses to differentiate themselves from the competition.
Kim Cassady, director of global talent at Cornerstone OnDemand, says companies should put as much emphasis on their \”employer brand\” as they do on the public face they present to customers and the world. But building that brand means more than just throwing money and perks at potential recruits, she says. Cassady suggests four core strategies for developing a reputation as a great company to work for.

Create a Culture by Design

Recruiting today needs to be proactive, and that includes creating a mission statement and culture that\’s vibrant and attractive to job seekers. After all, in today\’s uber-connected society, corporate cultures get defined by default unless companies take an active role upfront, says Cornerstone OnDemand CEO Adam Miller. Key to this take-charge process is employee input: put workers — not managers — at the center and allow them to identify and describe a company\’s personality, purpose and rewards.

Tap the Company\’s Best Asset

A company\’s most effective brand advocates are its current employees. Just as they help define a company\’s culture, they should be intricately involved in the recruiting process, says Cassady. Employees can blog on the company\’s site or for other industry sites. They can talk up the company at networking events. They can even apply on the company\’s behalf for recognition as a \”great place to work.\” And when there are openings to fill, remember that current staff members are the best resource: companies are 10 times more likely to hire a referred candidate than other applicants.

Keep up Appearances

A company\’s \”employer brand\” matters a lot, but not to the exclusion of its overall brand, Cassady notes. To that end, leadership throughout the company is critical. From marketing to human resources to finance to sales, department heads throughout a company should live up to the company\’s culture and values — and communicate them effectively to key stakeholders, prospective recruits, customers, and current employees. A good way, explains Cassady, to maintain a strong brand is to set up a LinkedIn company profile, keep the company website up-to-date and make the most of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as a way to engage and inform the outside world. Statistics show that 98 percent of recruiters and hiring managers use social media so when it comes to building a public-facing brand, social media is a big avenue for success.

Differentiate Yourself, and Keep Doing It

Companies that look too much like their competitors have a harder time recruiting top talent based on factors other than compensation, says Cassady. It\’s critical, she says, that companies strive to set themselves apart from their rivals — and to think constantly about new ways to do that. Zappos — which has nap rooms for employees — Google — which offers employees free rental cars to run errands, free gyms and, in some cases, free on-site daycare — and Airbnb — where workers get $2,000 a year to spend as they wish on travel — are all good examples of companies who have set themselves apart from the competition.
The perks don\’t have to be as costly as Google\’s or as wacky as Zappos\’, but companies would do well to remember that even small gestures can add up in the eyes of current — and future — employees.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

THE KEY TO MANAGING PEOPLE YOU DON\’T LIKE

When you get promoted to a managerial position, you don\’t automatically gain managerial skills that allow you to easily treat people fairly. You\’re still the same person you were the day before, and let\’s face that—that probably means you don\’t like everyone equally.
In fact, you may have direct reports that you really can\’t stand. How are you supposed to treat those people fairly when everything they do makes you cringe? How can you ensure you aren\’t playing favorites because you really do like other people better? It\’s not easy, but there is one key thing to do: Take a step back.
Personalities can often get in the way of evaluating someone purely based on talent. It\’s in our nature to think someone with whom you have a great rapport is doing a better job than someone who grates on you. But stepping back will help you to avoid this problem.

Make Evaluations Based on Results

When you step back, you make evaluations based on results instead of face-to-face interactions. Look at the numbers. Did Bob really handle clients better than Steve? Who has gotten more sales? Who has resolved more issues? It may mean asking someone else to look at work products to help you evaluate your employees\’ abilities more objectively.
Doing these things can help you take the personality out of your assessments, and assign work fairly. If someone complains that you are treating some people better than others, take it seriously. You may be. This person may be a whiner and a slacker but they might not be, and you need to evaluate that. Stepping back from the situation can help you determine that.

Get to the Root of Your Feelings

One thing that can help you clear your head is figuring out why you dislike this person. It could be strictly a personality thing, and it could be that your subconscious is picking up on habits that will negatively affect their career. So, take the time to sit down and figure out what bothers you.
If it\’s that you don\’t care for their sense of humor, but they aren\’t necessarily rude or inappropriate, then you need just to let it go. But if you don\’t care for their humor because the jokes actually are inappropriate, that\’s something you should address. \”Bob, your jokes push the limit of appropriateness for the office. I need you to stop telling race or gender-based jokes. Can you do that for me?\”
If it\’s that the person seems bossy, what makes the person seem that way? Is it that Sally cuts people off in meetings? Takes credit for things she didn\’t do? Again, if you figure out that\’s what causing your unkind feelings, you can address that with her.

Consider That You May Be the Problem

But, here\’s a caution: The problem may be you. You may not like Sally because she\’s smarter than you are. Don\’t punish her for that. You may not like Bob because he\’s a conservative and you\’re a liberal. As long as you\’re not an office manager for a senator, that doesn\’t matter. Just focus on the work.
Remember, your goal at work isn\’t to make friends, but to accomplish things. Step back from your own emotions, and you\’ll find that to be easier than you once thought.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HUMAN CAPITALIST: WHEN PERFORMANCE IS THE PROBLEM, TRAINING ISN\’T THE ANSWER

Just about any time an issue arises in the workplace, the first thing managers ask HR for is more training. Sales teams not reaching their goals? Let\’s add some training modules. Call center employees not efficiently embracing the new software platform? Perhaps they need some extra training. But as learning and development author and consultant Bill Cushard explains this week on Cornerstone OnDemand\’s Human Capitalist blog, job performance is often at the root of the problem. Says Cushard: \”Training is often — and mistakenly — assumed to be the silver bullet that can solve performance issues, and training managers are usually the ones charged with delivering the solution.\”
But, Cushard points out, training sometimes isn\’t the answer, and training managers can do their employers a valuable service by taking a step back and assessing whether it\’s training, or some other approach, that will solve the problem at hand. 

What Factors Most Into Job Performance?

According to Thomas Gilbert\’s Behavioral Engineer Model, Cushard adds, five key factors in addition to training (or knowledge) weigh into overall job performance: 
  1. Data
  2. Instruments
  3. Incentives
  4. Capacity
  5. Motives
So it\’s not always necessarily the case that employees don\’t know how to do the task at hand, sometimes they just don\’t know what\’s expected of them, or they\’re not motivated to do it, or they aren\’t given the tools to properly execute the job.
Rather than training, sometimes it\’s a matter of providing resources more readily or adjusting IT to meet the practical needs of employees that will do the trick. By assessing the true nature of the problem, and the elements that will fix it, training managers can provide their companies with a whole new level of service.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: I DON\’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR EMPLOYEE RAISES

Dear ReWorker,
I\’m a small business owner, and like most small business owners, I\’m not rich. I put every penny into my business and only draw a reasonable salary myself. I don\’t have any extra money for employee raises, but when a valuable employee has another job offer, I\’ll make a counter offer to keep them. I realize this probably isn\’t the best practice, but I really don\’t have the extra cash to provide raises. If I do give a raise to keep someone, it comes out of my pocket—I literally have to cut my pay to give someone a raise. Is there a way out of this cycle?
Sincerely,
Vicious Cycle
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Vicious Cycle,
Yes, there is a way out of this cycle, but it\’s going to involve two painful things. So, take a breath and keep reading.
Step One: Give Everyone Who Deserves a Raise a Raise
Yes, this takes money out of your pocket, the very thing you\’re trying to avoid, so why am I advising this? Because you can\’t keep your best employees if you are paying them below market rates. You need to take a really hard look at everyone\’s salaries and make sure you\’re paying them the market rate.
That can be a bit difficult in a small business—after all, almost every employee wears many hats. Salary.com doesn\’t have an average pay for someone who takes care of IT, Marketing and ordering office supplies, but you may well have someone who has that exact job description.
So, if you can\’t turn to traditional sources for salary information, where do you turn? This is where networking comes into play. Networking is helpful for more than hiring talent and finding customers. The people you want to talk to are people in your geographic area who have similarly sized businesses. It\’s not critical that they are your direct competitor—in fact, your non-competitors are more likely to speak up.
Figure out who you are underpaying and bring them up to an appropriate wage. Of course, a superstar should make more than similarly situated people at other businesses and a slacker should make less.
Step Two: When Someone Quits, Say, \”We\’ll Miss You\”
Yes, that lump you feel in your throat and the sense of panic are normal. Just how are you going to meet your deadlines if Jane leaves? Well, I don\’t know, but you have to say this—because you\’ve made a counter offer more than once, your employees know getting another job is the way to get a raise. You can\’t do it anymore. So, the next time someone says they are resigning, say, \”We\’ll miss you and I wish you well in your new career. Let\’s make a transition plan for your last two weeks.\”
These two things will stop your problem. You\’ll keep your employees as long as they are happy. This doesn\’t mean that everyone will stay for ever—small businesses can\’t offer the growth and opportunities big companies can so people have to leave for new opportunities—but it will stop people from jumping ship just for more money.
If you can change this dynamic, you\’ll likely see an uptick in your business as your employees recognize that they are treated well, which might end up fixing your cash flow problem and fattening your own paycheck.
Your ReWorker,
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HUMAN CAPITALIST: 3 STEPS TO AN "OWNER-THINKING" CULTURE

As Woody Allen famously quipped, \”80 percent of life is showing up.” But as corporate educator and workplace coach Jay Forte explains on Human Capitalist, the Allen rule doesn\’t work in the workplace. Successful managers, he argues, need to find ways to create and encourage entrepreneurial thinking up and down an organization — and instill what he calls \”owner thinking\” into a company\’s culture and ethos.
Why? Because without that scrappy, startup-like attitude, employees can easily become disengaged from higher level strategic goals and shy away from taking ownership for tasks that fall outside of job descriptions. Encouraging employees to shift from \”job-description thinking\” to \”owner thinking,\” says Forte, will enhance company culture, boost creativity, and promote productivity. Here are three ways Forte says owners can help create a shift:

1. Clarify Expectations

\”…Clarity, particularly about the required outcome, ensures employees and management are working towards the same expectation. This is also the place to raise the expectation from standard job description performance to owner-thinking performance…\”

2. Break Down Hierarchies

\”…Owners know the facts. Most employees don’t. How can an employee perform at owner level without all the information? Hire the right employees then give them more and better information…\”

3. Demand Big Thinking

\”…We define what we expect and need in our workplace. Raise the expectations, share important information and require big ideas. Set the tone for what must happen in the workplace and employees will see the opportunity to do more than just show up…\”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Staff Spotlight: Bernadette O\’Connor, Admissions Representative

A former elementary school teacher, Bernadette has been guiding students through the admissions process for the past 18 months.
Her time teaching fourth grade at an all-boys school instilled a positive attitude that she has carried into her position at Bryant & Stratton as she notes the excitement she often shares with each new student she enrolls. Bernadette’s background in education (she has an English degree from Hilbert College) extends beyond her time in the classroom and the numerous Bryant & Stratton students and alumni she’s worked with. While none have been published, Bernadette has written several children’s books with her son as the main character.
“[The books] chronicle each stage of my son’s life as he was growing up and all the adventures he had,” she explained. “Now that he is grown and starts having children of his own, he can share his own stories with them.”
Among her many other talents, Bernadette also boasts a strong skillset in Kan Jam and horseshoes. Although perhaps her greatest gift is connecting and helping the many students she works with each semester.
What is your favorite thing about working at Bryant & Stratton? I love the people I work with! Equally as much, I enjoy working with the students.  It makes me happy to help someone start their college career.
Is there one student success story that stands out above the rest? I spoke to a woman in November who only wanted information.  She had no intention of enrolling.  I spoke with her for an hour and a half, found out she was scared about starting college as a 42 year old.  I listened and I encouraged her and within two days she was enrolled.  She is now on the Dean’s list!
Give one piece of advice to students as they\’re preparing to start classes. College is not easy; rise to the challenges and don’t get discouraged.  Having a degree is a huge accomplishment and the best investment you can make in yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Alpha! Bravo! Charlie! Ed Dennis Joins IAVA\’s Storm the Hill teams fight to end veteran unemployment.

Ed participated in the 2011 Storm the Hill as an individual veteran, not as a representative of the College. He was part of a select group chosen from hundreds of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans across the country that applied to participate in Storm the Hill 2011. The group was made up of individuals with a diverse array of military service and personal experience who offered lawmakers a unique understanding of the issues facing the veterans’ community. Bryant & Stratton College Online is proud of his dedication to the veterans’ community as well as active-duty and military students. Read more about his Storm the Hill 2011 experience below.
I just returned from actively participating in Storm the Hill 2011: (www.stormthehill.org) which is sponsored by IAVA, a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the lives of today’s veterans, as part of an advocacy team focused on veterans’ employment issues. In 2010, the unemployment rate for veterans was 11.6 percent, compared to the national average of 9.7 percent.
 The event discussed IAVA’s 2011 Policy Agenda, which addressed the most urgent challenges facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families. IAVA annually surveys 90,000 Member Veterans and drafted the priorities from the survey results as well as in coordination with partner Veterans Service Organizations and community-based nonprofits nationwide. As an Iraq war veteran, I feel fortunate to have participated in this great event to increase awareness with our nation’s leaders about the unemployment challenges facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. 
Times are tough for everyone, but veterans are more likely to be unemployed than Americans as a whole. Education and employment opportunities are essential for today’s veterans to be the next ‘Greatest Generation.’ Unfortunately veteran unemployment has been above the national average for a couple of years. If this trending in the unemployment rate continues, we will fall behind our peers and the leadership and management abilities gained by those who served our country won’t be maximized in order to take America out of our current financial crisis. – Ed Dennis , Military Relations Manager
Storm the Hill 2011 on YouTube: The Thunder Rolls
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

6 BEST PRACTICES FOR MONITORING EMPLOYEES\’ PERSONAL SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

The use of social media at the office is a tricky one. Some employers draw clear lines around postings to corporate accounts on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. But what about the Likes, photos and miscellaneous commentary employees regularly post on their personal accounts? It\’s a tricky issue.

For starters, the law on whether employers have the right to monitor activity on personal social media accounts is unclear. Can employers discipline an employee for a late-night Facebook rant against a boss? Or is the employee protected by free speech? Some 12 states have enacted laws that expressly bar employers from gaining access to the social media accounts of either workers or prospective employees. Courts, too, are grappling with the issue.

For now, there are six basic steps that companies can safely take to regulate their employees\’ social media use — and avoid a full-blown PR crisis:

1. Encourage employees to maintain separate accounts for personal and professional use. Mixing accounts is risky. Warns Tom Petrocelli, a senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group: “It’s even okay if you maintain an account for business messaging that is under your control to further your personal brand and include some corporate messages with it, especially as they relate to you. Just keep business in one place and personal in another and don’t blend them together.”

2. Remind employees that disclosing insider information is a no-no — under any circumstance. Companies should make clear that divulging company secrets is against company policy and they should routinely refer to the diktat as a reminder.

3. Create an open — and safe — environment for employees to admit online mishaps. Encouraging employees to confess when they\’ve posted an inappropriate comment on social media can help minimize any fallout. Acknowledging a mistake is better for both the employee and employer because it creates a culture of honesty and trust, writes Heather Huhman, founder and president of consulting firm Come Recommended, on BBC.

4. Don’t ask employees to promote the company on their personal accounts. Some companies are asking employees to change their cover photos on their personal Facebook profiles to promote the company. Yet, employers don’t have to look much farther than the Facebook terms of service to find out that using personal timelines for commercial gain is prohibited. If employees want to promote the company by posting pictures of them at the annual summer picnic, more power to them, notes lawyer Ruth Carter of Carter Law Firm. The key takeaway: let them make the choice.

5. Clearly set out when personal social media accounts are accessible by employers. There\’s only one scenario in which employers have a fairly clear right to access employees\’ social media accounts: workplace investigations. Although an employee claiming discrimination or sexual harassment is likely to volunteer supporting evidence, employers in most states are allowed to request account credentials in cases of alleged wrongdoing, says employment lawyer Eric Meyer.

6. Establish guidelines for those who own the company\’s social media accounts from the beginning of employment. \”The line between a personal and professional social media account can be blurry,\” writes employment lawyer Renee Jackson on Forbes, \”so if this ownership issue is not hashed out at the beginning of employment, the employer and the employee may both believe the account is theirs.\” Management should create the accounts under the company’s name, manage the logins, and oversee the content posted, recommends Jackson. Specify account ownership and acceptable content in formal job descriptions or offer letters.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

NEW ONLINE HIRING TOOLS FOR RECRUITERS (HINT: LINKEDIN ISN\’T ONE OF THEM)

The unemployment rate has been steadily falling (not always a good sign), but many recruiters will tell you that finding the right employees for job openings is as hard as ever. Josh Bersin, founder of Bersin by Deloitte, identifies on Forbes the hot new trends in online recruiting. Here are five of them:

1. Track a Candidate\’s Social Footprint

Forget LinkedIn. \”A whole barrage of exciting tools have been created to help companies better find and source key candidates,\” writes Bersin. \”These companies mine your personal code postings and other social information to create a profile and actual \’competency ratings\’ based on your social data.\”

2. Use \’Pre-hire\’ Evaluations

\”Today, driven largely by the power of the cloud, there seems to be an explosion of new assessment tools.\”

3. Limit Recruiters to Sourcing

\”The highest-performing companies are now pushing more and more responsibility onto the shoulders of hiring managers (training them how to interview) and letting recruiters focus on high-powered sourcing and initial screening.\”

4. Build & Communicate Your \’Talent\’ Brand

\”Today’s high-powered recruiters work directly with the SVP of Marketing to create a research-based, authentic employment brand and promote it on the front page of the company website (not only in the \’careers section\’).\”

5. Make the Most of Big Data

\”Our research shows that the most advanced thinkers in HR analytics start by measuring recruiting.  Do you know where your most effective candidates come from?  What backgrounds and experiences make the best sales people? Which sourcing or advertising channels are most effective and efficient?\”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR \’PERMALANCER\’ TALENT

What\’s the hottest job of the future? It might very well be the \”permalancer\” — part-time contractors who can often appear to be regular members of an organization but aren\’t full-time employees.
The population of part-timers in the United States is growing fast, according to recruiters and government statistics: there are 27.4 million part-time jobs in the country, up 10 percent from 2007. By comparison, the number of full-time jobs during the same period has dropped by 4 million, to about 118 million. According to Adecco, a staffing firm, one full-time job will be created for every three or four permalancer positions in the coming year.
But the permalancer trend isn\’t driven just by companies looking to keep costs down and maintain a flexible workforce as business demands change. Many permalancers like the setup, for a multitude of reasons: most like having the freedom to choose when, where and for how long they work. \”Contract work gives [permalancers] exposure to many different companies, work environments and projects,\” Matt Rivera, the director of customer solutions at staffing group Yoh, told The Chicago Tribune. \”While it would seem like there\’s less stability because they\’re not working as a direct employee, for many workers with in-demand skills, it allows them to dictate the types of projects they work on and how much they work.\”
The growing trend poses some challenges for employers. The first one is legal: to prevent employers from exploiting workers, regulations protect independent contractors from being unfairly denied healthcare or other benefits. The second challenge is cultural: the size of the permalancer workforce means they make up a bigger share of a company\’s workforce. With that comes the need to ensure that they fit within the company. Here\’s how a handful of workplace experts recommend striking the right balance:
  • Make them feel included. According to creative consulting firm Cella, it\’s important to make your permalancers feel like they are a part of the team in order to keep and to give them the support they need to succeed. Include them in companywide meetings, celebrations or happy hour — whatever it is. Because of the legal concerns \”many companies take an extreme approach [with respect to how and when part-time workers are included], which can cause the talent to feel like an outsider unnecessarily,\” Cella\’s Laura Berry writes. \”The trick is to understand YOUR company’s specific regulations and communicate them openly.\”
  • Make contractor recruitment part of your hiring strategy. According to freelance network Elance, nearly 70 percent of freelancers claim they are happier and 79 percent are more productive working as a freelancer than as a full-time employee. The study also found that the average freelancer expected to earn 43 percent more in 2013 than they did in 2012. Companies should acknowledge this growing trend in the workforce and make room for it when hiring.
  • Expect they\’ll leave. Sometimes the need for the permalancer is no longer there: maybe the project ends or the budget changes. It is important to give your permalancer proper notice and also establish an understanding that they will do the same with you if and when they decide to move on.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: I WAS DITCHED BY AN EMPLOYEE FOR A "DOCTORS APPOINTMENT"

Dear ReWorker,
I manage field sales reps. I flew in for a scheduled \”field ride\” with an employee and upon arrival she let me know that she had a \”doctor\’s appointment\” and wouldn\’t be available for the field ride.
I sat around the city all day long until meeting the employee for dinner at 6:00 that night, then I caught a flight that next morning. I never questioned the whereabouts or the all-day doctor appointment (maybe it is something serious, who knows?). Instincts tell me that the employee didn\’t have a \”doctor\’s appointment\” and is either working an additional job or has an interview with another company. Does that employee have to take an official day off?
Sincerely,
Stood Up
+++++
Dear Stood Up,
You are the nicest manager on the planet. You have a scheduled all day appointment for which you must fly in, and your employee waits until you arrive to tell you that–oops!–she has a doctor\’s appointment and won\’t be able to make it? And you\’re wondering whether to count this day towards PTO? The employee\’s behavior was 100 percent unacceptable. If it was a sudden emergency, she should have made that clear. Since she met you for dinner, we can pretty much rest assured that it wasn\’t a sudden burst appendix.
So, even if it were for a medical reason, a full day off counts as a sick day. She still gets paid but she has to use her paid time off bank.
But, the bigger question here is what to do about her total lack of respect for you. Youflew in to go on a ride along and she blew you off. It really doesn\’t matter what it was for (given that it wasn\’t an emergency). She should have told you before you purchased the plane ticket.
And this is the problem. You need to talk to your employee about her behavior, because it was unacceptable. I wouldn\’t get hung up on why she was gone, just that she was gone.
If she has medical appointments, that\’s fine, but she needs to notify you in advance. If she wants to take a vacation day to find a job, learn to dance or pretend she\’s a pirate, that\’s also fine. What is not fine is ditching a co-worker, which is what she did. The only exceptions would be for something that falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As her manager, you would know if she qualified for either.
So, your job: Tell her the behavior was not appropriate, she will be docked a PTO day, and if she ever cancels out for a non-emergency again, she\’ll be fired. Harsh? You bet. Realistic? That\’s why they call it work.
Your ReWorker,
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1