Tag: Education

DEAR REWORKER: SHOULD I RISK LOSING MY EMPLOYEE\’S TRUST BY REPORTING HARASSMENT TO HR?

Dear ReWorker,
If an employee reports harassment to their manager, is it the responsibility of the manager to report it to HR? What should if the employee doesn\’t want the complaint to go to HR, and the manager doesn\’t want to lose the employee\’s trust? And, what should a manager do if the employee describes the situation, but doesn\’t provides the name of the alleged harasser? Does a manager need to take any steps if an employee goes directly to HR and claims they don\’t want an investigation?
Sincerely,
Reluctant to Report
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Reluctant,
When an employee comes to you with a complaint, the subject of the complaint is critical.
If your employee says, \”I can\’t stand working with James because he\’s always talking about Minecraft and it drives me insane! Can you do something about it? And please, don\’t tell him I said anything,\” then you can decide how to best handle the situation. You can tell your complaining employee to suck it up. Alternatively, you can go to James and say, \”Hey buddy, can you knock off the Minecraft talk?\” without mentioning who brought it up. Or you can ignore the complainer entirely. Easy peasy.
It\’s not a big deal because a Minecraft discussion, while annoying to some, has no legal ramifications.
But, if your employee comes to you about racist jokes or sexual comments made by a colleague, then you\’ve got a problem that you can\’t ignore. As a manager, you are now acting on behalf of your organization and once the company is aware of a problem, it has to act. If you ignore this or tell the person to suck it up, you are opening up the company to legal liability. Here\’s what you need to do to handle the harassment, while protecting the employee that reported it:

Follow Your Company\’s Procedures

Your company should have a spelled-out protocol for reporting illegal harassment complaints—follow it! Most likely, you\’re required to report the incident to your manager and/or the HR department. That\’s right, it\’s your responsibility to turn it over to HR, no matter what your employee requests.
Why can\’t you just handle it yourself? Because procedures need to be followed. This isn\’t just because your HR manager loves paperwork—it\’s because consistency is important when it comes to legal matters and ramifications. If you simply tell the accused to knock off his racist jokes and assume that the problem is taken care of, it seems like a decent solution until you find out that Sonja in another department was suspended for making racist jokes. Suddenly, you\’ve made the company susceptible to a gender discrimination lawsuit from Sonja, since her punishment was more strict than James\’ for the same offense.

Tell the Reporting Employee Why You Must Involve HR

This is the hard part, but you\’ll have to be honest with the employee that brought the harassment to your attention. Try a dialogue like this: \”Jane, I really appreciate you coming and telling me about this. We take sexual/racial/religious harassment very seriously. I know you want to keep this quiet, and I respect that. However, the company has to investigate your claims and solve the problem. I promise you that you will face no retaliation for coming forward, and we will do our best to protect your privacy.\”
Your employee may not like hearing that, and that\’s unfortunate. But, this is a situation where you can\’t respect an employee\’s request to do nothing.
The law and your company policies require action. When you report the problem to HR, make clear that you promised your employee that this would be handled in the most professional and confidential manner possible. That should be standard, but it never hurts to remind people.
Sincerely,
Your ReWorker
Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

MANAGERS: ENSURE YOUR EMPLOYEES MEET THEIR ANNUAL GOALS WITH THESE FOUR STEPS

Remember December, when you were completely snowed in under a pile of work and you had to do all those employee reviews and outline goals for 2018? Phew! You got it done and you haven\’t thought about it since.
While that\’s quite normal, it\’s also bad management. There\’s no point in doing year-end evaluations and setting goals for the coming year if you don\’t plan to follow up on your team\’s progress throughout the year. Just think: If you do check in with your teams, come December 2018, writing those performance reviews will be a lot easier. And you\’ll likely see better performance if your employees are engaged and actively working toward their goals all year long.
As the second quarter comes to a close, it\’s the perfect time to check in with your employees on their progress towards their 2018 goals. Here\’s how to do it:

1. Make a Formal Appointment

Discussing an employee\’s progress when it comes to reaching annual goals isn\’t something you can bring up casually after a meeting. You need a formal, one-on-one meeting with each employee. That way, this serious matter won\’t get lost in the shuffle.

2. Prep Your Employee

Employees don\’t like year-end reviews, and they won\’t like mid-year check-ups either. It might feel like a punishment, which it\’s not. Tell them the following to set the stage effectively:
We\’re halfway through the year, so it\’s a good time to follow up on goals. Can you take a look at your goals for 2018 and come prepared to talk about how you\’re doing? We especially want to look at:
  • Goals you\’ve completed
  • Goals that don\’t make sense any more
  • New goals that we should add
  • Any concerns you have
  • Any specific support you need to achieve 2018\’s goals
By preparing your employees in this manner, they\’ll know what to expect and will also start to realize that it\’s okay if things aren\’t going perfectly. Pay special attention to the second point—lots of people feel like year-end goals are set in stone, but businesses change quickly and there really may be things that don\’t make sense any more. The key is to adjust goals to reflect any changes.

3. Hold the Meeting

Go over your employee\’s goals and take careful notes. If she comes to you with concerns, make sure you focus on how to help tackle those. Does she need additional support or training? Identify ways to empower her to be successful through different learning opportunities.
Make the meeting an open dialogue. It shouldn\’t be a situation in which you\’re lecturing your employee on how poorly she has performed. Rather, it\’s a check-in to make sure things are going well, and if they are not, it\’s an opportunity to fix them.

4. Make Plans to Follow up Again

Ideally, you should continue to check in regularly with your team to make sure they remain on track. Your employees should feel comfortable coming to you and saying, \”I need help\” or \”I\’ve been focusing on X. Can we add it to my official performance goals?\”
This approach helps build a supportive environment where employees feel engaged. And engaged employees are better performing employees.
Photo: Creative Commons
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

5 LESSONS TO TEACH RECENT GRADS TO SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS

With college graduation season behind us, chances are you\’ve probably just hired a few recent graduates. Eager to enter the workforce and ready to learn, this new wave of workers may have the brains to do the job, but they\’ll still need some time to adjust to being in the working world.
Here are five lessons you\’ll want to teach them to set them up for success, starting on day one:

1) Deadlines Are Real

In school, the only real deadline was the end of the semester. Otherwise, the professor chose the deadline to accommodate her schedule and to maintain the pace of the class. The professor picked Tuesday at 5:00 pm as the due date for that pesky paper, but she wasn\’t going to get around to grading it until Thursday anyway, so often, students could get some flexibility.
You\’ll need to make it clear that, in the business world, other people are waiting for your work and it\’s important that you get it in on time. Projects can\’t go forward if parts are missing, and clients get angry when deadlines aren\’t met. Encourage your new hires to talk to their boss as soon as they think they might not hit a deadline and ask for help.

2) Flexibility Doesn\’t Mean What It Did in College

As college students, your new hires were probably able to schedule their classes around their social life, but now they need to schedule their social life around their jobs. To set expectations effectively, you need to clarify what your company wants when it promises flexibility.
Make it clear that employees still have to put in eight hours once they turn their computers on, even if they have flexible start and end times. Explain that working from home means working all the time—not ducking out for coffee with friends. Meetings, especially for entry level roles, are mandatory, and not something that can be skipped.

3) No One Is Assigned to Care

Colleges provide students with academic counselors, mental health counselors and advisors of all kind. But, in the workplace, there aren\’t people throughout the organization who are assigned to offer these services. Yes, most bosses, HR managers and coworkers are kind people who will care about new employees and help however they can, but there\’s no guidance counselor.
Tell your new hires that if they want a mentor, they\’ll need to take the lead on finding one. Direct them to any career growth or learning resources that your company has made available, and urge them to use these tools regularly. As for personal crises, most companies have employee assistance programs (EAPs). Make sure all hires know how to use this program when necessary.

4) At Work, Group Projects Are Awesome

No one likes group projects in school—there are always slackers who know that someone will do the whole thing for them because they don\’t want to get a failing grade. But, in the business world, there are project managers that prioritize the team\’s success, delegate work and support their colleagues. Plus, slackers get weeded out pretty quickly at the corporate level.
Show your new hires that teamwork can be a great way to contribute to the success of the organization in their early days of employment, get to know other workers and find their strengths. Put them on a team project as soon as they start to help them assimilate into the organization and its culture.

5) Managers Want Workers to Succeed—For the Company\’s Sake

While your new hires were in college, there were people who were paid to help them succeed. In the working world, their managers and colleagues also want them to thrive, but mostly because they want the business to thrive. This is perhaps the toughest lesson for recent grads to learn: their personal success will be irrelevant to most of their coworkers and bosses. In fact, they may even come across competitive colleagues who will try to sabotage them.
Unlike at school, everyone can\’t get an A—only a select few people get the promotion or the bonus. Remind them: success in business means helping the company succeed, and with that, personal success will follow. Urge them not to get bogged down by little victories or failures. Instead, they should get used to receiving all kinds of feedback, holding their heads high and working hard.
The daily grind can take a while to adjust to, so try to stay positive about your new hires. Remember, we all started somewhere, so do your best to guide them until they figure out how to make their mark.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

YOUR SEVEN-STEP GUIDE TO HAVING TOUGH CONVERSATIONS WITH EMPLOYEES

Many people want to move into a management role because of higher pay, prestige and the ability to finally do things their way. But managing people also means having difficult conversations with the people that report to you. Whether you need to discuss performance, explain how a role is evolving or enforce the dress code, you should be prepared for tough talks.
Employment attorney and HR consultant Kate Bischoff has put together a 7 point checklist for having these tough conversations. But how can you implement this checklist in a real-life scenario? Let\’s say you have an employee whose outfit is inappropriate for the office. Here\’s how Bischoff\’s guidelines would play out in the case of a dress code violation.

Step 1: Plan

You can\’t go into a conversation about a sensitive topic without planning it first—after all, how do you expect employees to take the conversation seriously, if you aren\’t adequately prepared for it. Consider what are you going to say and how will you say it. In this case, make sure you review the official company dress code so that you can refer to it. Having a printed copy on hand would be great.

Step 2: Consult

Dress code conversations can seem straight forward, but gut check your plan with your boss, peer or HR department. Sometimes managers use dress code issues as an easy excuse to reprimand an employee that\’s exhibiting other problematic behaviors, and that\’s not the best way to deal with the underlying issue. Make sure you\’re approaching employees for the correct reason and you have company support.

Step 3: Take a Beat

Never go to an employee in anger. Take time to contemplate and be calm before you have the discussion.

Step 4: Schedule

Grabbing someone on the floor for a quick discussion is fine, but for a tough conversation, it\’s best to set aside a time and secure a place to handle the discussion thoughtfully. This is especially important if you have an open floor plan or cubicles that don\’t allow privacy—sensitive conversations about something like a dress code should be conducted in a private setting.

Step 5: Anticipate

Just how do you expect your employee to react? It\’s likely that they won\’t be thrilled, so be prepared for that. For instance, having the printed dress code will be a great way to respond if they claim you\’re picking on them or being sexist.

Step 6: Prepare For a Surprise

You can never anticipate everything that will come out of an employees\’ mouth. A dress code conversation response can run anywhere from, \”You\’re right, this is inappropriate,\” to \”My mother died when I was 12 and she left this skirt to me, and it\’s how I feel close to her. I can\’t believe you\’d insult my dead mother!\”
To have a chance at an appropriate response, consider several possible scenarios in your mind, and prepare your follow-up to them.

Step 7: Document

After the conversation, write down a recap of the meeting and email it to the employee. She doesn\’t have to sign it, but she should have a record of it taking place, according to Bischoff. Keep your notes in the employee\’s file, so that if you ever need to have a follow up conversation, you can start where you left off.
Adopting these steps for every tough conversation can increase the likelihood of positive, effective correction. Walking in unprepared can cause high emotions, and leave you wondering if you were right to bring it up at all. Developing a solid plan, however, can prevent much of that.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: MY EMPLOYEE IS TATTLING ON HER COWORKERS

Dear ReWorker,
I have an employee that monitors everyone else\’s schedule. We are a retail organization, so schedules change from week to week. If someone is late, or two people swap shifts, I\’ll hear about it from her. Other than this annoying habit, she\’s good at her job. She just likes to hover and tattle. Of course, this drives her coworkers crazy. Can I keep the schedule away from her, citing privacy concerns?
Sincerely,
Tired of the Tattling
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Tired,
Of course you can keep the schedule away from her, but that would require you to keep it away from everyone, and just let people know their own schedules. When people want to trade a shift, it will all have to come through you, which will increase your workload. Plus, even if the schedule is kept private, your employee is smart enough to know that no one is scheduled to come in at 2:05, so when someone clocks in at that time, you\’ll hear about how so-and-so was late.
What you\’re trying to do is what many managers look to do—solve the problem without having to talk to the problem maker. This approach rarely works and often makes things worse. So, let\’s solve the problem instead of trying to find work-arounds.
First, let\’s examine her complaints. People must be coming in late for her to tattle, which is problematic. As for the shift swapping, it generally isn\’t a problem, but it could indicate that whoever does the scheduling isn\’t taking all employees\’ needs into consideration. In other words, your tattle-tale could be warning you of big problems.

Assess Underlying Problems

You need to address lateness with the latecomers, and rethink your scheduling if there is a lot of swapping going on. If either of these things are affecting the tattle-tale\’s life, that may be why she\’s whining; if she can\’t go home because Jane hasn\’t come in on time, that\’s an actual problem; if she\’s stuck working with people who need training all the time because of schedule swaps, that\’s a problem, too.
If these things are real problems, you can solve your tattle-tale problem by fixing the underlying issue. In a retail environment, people need to come in on time. Full stop.
However, if neither the lateness nor the swapping are real issues, and she\’s just being nit-picky and annoying, you can address the tattler directly. You don\’t have to have a big sit down discussion with her—just wait until the next time she comes up to tell you that Jane clocked in late or that Steve and Sarah swapped shifts. Say to her: \”This is not something you need to keep track of or tell me. I\’m on top of it. Thanks!\”
Now, she\’ll be back again with another report of her coworkers\’ failings, at which point you say, \”I told you this is not your concern. Please don\’t mention it again.\”
When she comes back a third time, then you have the sit down. \”Helen, I\’ve asked you twice not to talk to me about this. Do not monitor your co-workers. Do not worry about schedules. This is my job. If it happens again, I\’ll have to put a formal warning in your file. Is that clear?\”
After that, you\’ll have to follow your company\’s disciplinary procedures. She may be a good employee otherwise, but if she\’s alienating her co-workers, that\’s bad for the team.
Fix your tardiness problem, consider changing how you schedule and tell the tattle-tale to zip it. That way you can still post schedules publicly.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: HOW DO I ATTRACT GOOD CANDIDATES IN A HIGH EMPLOYMENT ECONOMY?

Dear ReWorker,
As this is my first job in HR, I find myself researching…a lot. In our industry, and our small town, skilled labor is becoming increasingly hard to find so we\’re constantly looking for ways to not only bring in better candidates, but also keep the skilled employees we already have. Do you have any resources that may help me?
Sincerely,
Rummaging for Resources
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Rummaging,
You\’re not alone. Unemployment is the lowest that we\’ve seen this century, and skilled labor is particularly hard to find. Schools push everyone toward a four year college degree, instead of encouraging some to pursue unskilled labor job training, so hiring today is a unique challenge.
But, let\’s start with how to keep your current employees. Are you conducting exit interviews? Are you trying to find out where people going and why they\’re leaving? How is your pay and benefits package? Do you offer enough vacation? Do you have a retirement plan? Health insurance? These benefits can be expensive, but they are less expensive than high turnover—make sure you\’re offering competitive plans and perks to your employees.
Also take a look at your managers. Are they doing a good job? You might want to send them to training to sharpen their leadership skills. Good management can make a world of difference in keeping employees happy and engaged.
Once that\’s taken care of, it\’s time to look for new hires in potentially unconventional places. Here are some tips for attracting candidates in a competitive hiring economy.

Consider Professional Networks

Look for candidates that are part of professional networks such as the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, which focuses on training and developing passionate people for skilled positions. Organizations like mikeroweWORKS prepare individuals in specific ways to help them stand out among other candidates, so take time to get to know applicants that belong to these groups and identify how they can contribute to your company.

Don\’t Overlook Recent Grads or Students

You said you\’re in a small town, so that leaves you with a small labor market even when unemployment is high, so start with your local high school and help build up a workforce. Offer apprenticeships and internships. There are rules regarding paying interns and apprentices, but it\’s worth the investment.
An internship can be a time to train and vet your next generation of employees. Not only will they actually get some meaningful work done for you while they intern, but you\’ll also gain clear insight into whether or not you\’ll want to hire them as full employees down the line.

Give Older Applicants a Chance

Older people (those over 40, according to the federal definition of \”old\”) are often looking for a chance to shake up their careers and try something new. While this group traditionally sees lower unemployment than teenagers and young people, there are plenty of people out there who would like a different job, or need a new job.
Don\’t limit your training and development to 18 year olds. Offer a program for everyone—including people who have already had a career in a different area.

Hire New Moms

It\’s not unusual for new moms to use this momentous milestone in their lives—the birth of a child—to pivot when it comes to career choices. They may be looking for more flexible work, for example. Give them an opportunity to get back to work, but on a lighter schedule.
Consider stay at home moms in your community as well. Would some of them like to get back to the workforce? Perhaps.

Look to Prisons

People with records find it hard to find work. For many, it\’s almost impossible. Give them a chance—you may find some great employees with a unique perspective on life and an inspiring appreciation for a second chance.
You\’ll notice a common thread among all of these candidate segments—and that is that you\’ll have to start from scratch with many of them, and invest heavily in training. This is true in every field—you cannot expect perfect people to walk in off the street. You have to invest in your employees. Yes, it\’s a financial risk. But, it\’s the best way to get the employees you need.
Sincerely,
Your ReWorker
Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: MY EMPLOYEE SAYS SHE WAS THREATENED BY A COLLEAGUE

Dear ReWorker,
A long term employee (Jane) said that a new hire (Karen) threatened her, and that Jane now feels unsafe at work. She wants Karen fired.
Here\’s the problem. No one has seen any bad behavior out of Karen, and Karen denies saying anything. Jane has been a good employee and I have no reason to doubt her, but I can\’t just fire Karen, right?
Sincerely,
Serious About Safety
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Serious,
This is a tough situation, with a lot of forces at play.
First, did Karen really threaten Jane? Right now, the only evidence you have is Jane\’s word.
Second, what if Jane said something that you wouldn\’t think of as a threat, but still made Karen feel uncomfortable? It\’s entirely possible that both Jane and Karen are telling the truth—Karen didn\’t threaten Jane, but Jane felt threatened anyway. This could be a simple misunderstanding, or it could have deeper roots.
Third, it\’s critical that everyone feels safe at work, and now you\’re in a situation where at least one, possibly two, people no longer feel safe at work. This is unacceptable. Period.
So what should you do? To start, follow up with Jane. Explain that you trust and value her as an employee, but there just isn\’t enough evidence to support disciplining Karen—yet. I presume you\’ve already asked for details about exactly what happened but if not, make sure you\’re clear on that. Here are two things to look for:
  • Is there animosity between Karen and Jane that began before Karen started working here? Do they know each other from a previous relationship?
  • Could there be a racial/ethnic/other group conflict?
  • Does either Karen or Jane have reason to feel threatened by the other\’s presence? For instance, was Jane up for a promotion, but you decided to hire Karen instead? Was Karen hired with the understanding that she\’d be Jane\’s boss but now she\’s her peer?
If you\’ve figured out where the problem originates, you can try to solve it. If not, you need to focus on safety. Jane gets the benefit of the doubt because she has been there a long time and is the victim, so you\’ll want to keep an eye on Karen and be transparent about it.
If possible, see if you can adjust their schedules so that Karen and Jane don\’t work alone together. If this is not entirely possible, have someone check in on them regularly. What you want to ensure is that neither has the opportunity to say or do anything stupid or mean. If something happens, you\’ll want to correct it immediately.
The last thing you want is for a problem to fester, or for Jane to feel like she hasn\’t been heard and that you don\’t take safety seriously. If Karen truly is a problem employee, careful monitoring will catch it.
Sincerely,
Your ReWorker
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HOW TO EMPOWER YOUR EMPLOYEES TO MAKE BETTER BUSINESS DECISIONS

Steve Jobs was notorious for his autocratic leadership style. Instead of empowering his employees to make their own decisions, he would set the strategy, goals and method—and expect them to follow suit. While Apple was incredibly successful under his leadership, some of the downsides of this style are apparent since his passing in 2011 .
The most recent example involves the removal of movies from people\’s iTunes accounts. Jobs believed that content (like movies) could be treated like software—instead of buying it, you license it. Now, some media providers are pulling their movies from iTunes, making them unavailable to people who purchased them. If someone had been empowered while Jobs was in leadership to say, \”Content isn\’t like software. When people buy a movie, they want to keep it forever,\” Apple\’s customers might be a little happier.
As a company leader, it can be tempting to make all the decisions yourself, but if you want to set your organization up for success (even after you leave) then you need employees who are able to make good decisions on their own—and who feel empowered to do so.

Step 1: Help Employees Predict the Results

Lots of things that sound good on paper fall apart when put into practice. It\’s important for your employees to stop and think about what will happen in the real world before they make a business decision. Will people act the way they expect? Will the decision actually solve a problem?
Let\’s say you have a manager who feels that punctuality is important in her department. She decides that if anyone is late, they will get written up. How can you, as a leader, help her think through the consequences of this decision? Ask her a few follow-up questions to get her thinking about the outcome of her decision: What happens if someone is 5 minutes late instead of 20? What happens if someone is late because of a delayed train versus someone who is late three times a week? Thinking through the different scenarios is key to helping employees make measured choices.
In the above scenario, for example, asking follow up questions allows the manager to see that having identical punishments for different situations isn\’t a great idea. With a blanket late policy, if an employee is stuck in traffic and is going to be late anyway, they might be encouraged to stop off at Starbucks to get their favorite drink. Is that behavior a manager wants to encourage? No. Does a manager really want to write up a conscientious employee whose train was late because of an accident? No. If you help the manager think through these possibilities, she\’ll predict the results and come up with a better decision.

Step 2: Share the Whys

Another aspect of good decision making is ensuring everyone knows why decisions are being made in the first place.
Let\’s say you wanted your customer service employees to handle higher level complaints—instead of calling a manager each time. Instead of saying, \”deal with it yourself,\” you might give them guidelines on how to handle different situations that might come up. Then you can tell them, \”we want to give our customers the best service possible, and so from now on, I\’d like you to try to handle complaints you\’d normally send straight to me. I follow and I trust your judgment and will back you up.\”
The first statement might make people feel like you are pushing your job onto them. But, the second statement lets them know that they have all of the information they need and you trust them to make good decisions.

Step 3: Provide Feedback (and More Feedback)

When you let employees make their own decisions, some will be better than others. Your job, as a leader, is to provide feedback on why something went well or why it went poorly. Of course, opinions can differ, so you need to make clear what works for your business. For example, if a customer comes in complaining about service she received and your employee offers a 10 percent discount. Was that a good decision or a bad decision?
The answer isn\’t straightforward across all businesses which is why it\’s important to let employees know why it worked or it didn\’t. For example, \”This was a great decision because it will help retain a valued long term customer\” or \”This was a bad decision because we ended up losing money on this transaction.\”
By helping employees to think things through, explaining why, and providing feedback, you can build an environment where employees are empowered to make responsible decisions and enable them to seamlessly transition into leadership positions when the company needs them to step up.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HALF OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THINK THEY\’RE UNDERPAID—HERE\’S WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Do you pay your employees fairly? Of course! You did your research when making salary offers, you award regular cost of living raises and you pay for their overtime work. Still, according to a recent study by Robert Half, 46 percent of employees feel that they are underpaid.
This, of course, doesn\’t necessarily indicate the truth about salary, since these particular findings are based on feelings. I\’m a fan of dealing in facts, so I\’d want to double check everyone\’s salaries, and, depending on my findings, come back and say, \”Yep, even though you feel like you\’re underpaid, you\’re not. Now get back to work.\”
But, that\’s bad management advice. People\’s perceptions are their realities. If you simply dismiss their concerns with \”I\’ve double checked, and you\’re not underpaid,\” it\’s not likely to fix how they\’re feeling, which could lead to disengagement over time. Instead, if an employee approaches you to discuss their salary, I\’d recommend taking the following steps.

1) Find Out What They Really Do

The job someone does and the job you think they do are often two different things. Good employees, especially, tend to take on additional responsibilities just to make sure the work gets done. You may not know that Jane does an audit by herself because Heidi never gets her half done on time. Steve may be writing code to automate routine tasks.
There may be many things they are doing that you are not aware of, which is not to say that you are a bad manager. On the contrary, it\’s likely that you are a good manager who allows your employees to work independently and they\’ve risen to the occasion. Just ask, and determine whether they\’re doing enough additional work to constitute a pay raise.

2) Ask What They Consider Fair Pay

If someone says she\’s underpaid, it makes sense to ask what she thinks fair pay is and why. After all, she must have some idea of what she wants if she\’s asking. If she says she\’d like a raise \”Because I do a good job,\” that\’s a less substantial claim than\”I know that our competitor pays $5,000 more for this same job.\”
If there\’s actual data to support an employee\’s request for a larger salary—be it intel on competitor salaries, or a documented improvement in output and performance—you should absolutely consider it. If an employee is earning less than she could make elsewhere, there\’s a good possibility that she\’ll quit, and you\’ll have to hire someone new—making the market rate. You\’re not saving any money not paying someone correctly.
On the other hand, it\’s also possible that your employee has wildly unrealistic ideas about salary. She may be new to the workforce and not understand that you don\’t get a 10 percent raise every six months. Or she may be under the mistaken impression that everyone else earns substantially more. Regardless, if this is the case, you can sit down and show her data to support how you arrived at her current salary. If she still insists she\’s underpaid, you have to say, \”I disagree. If something changes, we can re-evaluate, but until that time, this is your salary and it\’s fair.\”

3) Don\’t Be Defensive and Dismissive

Employees\’ concerns that they\’re underpaid often stem from finding out what their co-workers earn. The law allows employees to discuss their salaries, so never punish someone for raising this issue, and don\’t dismiss their question. In fact, it\’s worth taking a regular look at what similarly situated employees at your company earn. Are you willing to stand up in court and justify why a woman at your firm is making less than a man in a similar role? Are their jobs really that different?
An employee that comes to you with a salary complaint is much better for you than an employee who goes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, hires a lawyer or leaves to get new job. Take their question as a gift, and an opportunity to re-evaluate what everyone earns.
As for those people who feel they earn too much? Yeah, well, we should all be so lucky.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: OUR HR MANAGER APPEASES BULLIES—WHAT CAN I DO?

Dear ReWorker,
Recently, my colleague and I carefully documented and reported acts of long-term bullying by two of our coworkers. Soon afterward, HR summoned the entire department for a mandatory meeting where our boss\’s manager and the top HR manager yelled and reprimanded us. We were told our complaints were petty and stupid, and that their time was wasted.
A few weeks later, another meeting was called where we received similar, abusive treatment after my colleague stood up to one of our bullies, and she reported it. It was made clear to us that no one was going to be fired, and if we didn\’t feel the culture was a good fit, we were welcome to leave.
My question is: do we have any recourse for this treatment by HR and upper management?
Sincerely,
Jousting For Justice
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Jousting,
Your company has made it very clear that they do not care about bullying behavior, and, in fact, support bullying. No matter how minor complaints might be, the proper course of action for HR is to sit down with the complainer and address the issue. It is never proper to rudely reprimand and embarrass people.
The first thing you need to do in your situation is decide: do the benefits of working at this organization outweigh the horrible culture? They might. If the pay is good, the commute is short and the work is interesting, you can ignore the bullying co-workers. If those things don\’t outweigh the culture, however, freshen up your resume and look for a new job. Find one, and leave.
If you do decided to stay, know this: the top HR manager is not the ultimate decision maker at your company and you can bring this problem to the CEO or escalate it in other ways. It\’s particularly challenging when people with the most power behave poorly, but here\’s what companies should teach their workers about reporting complaints against upper management.

Any HR Person Should Take a Complaint

When your problem is with the head of HR, going to her direct report can seem like a waste of time, but any HR person should be prepared to listen, document and launch an investigation if warranted. Even hiring an outside firm to investigate is a possibility, when internal conflicts of interest arise.

Line Management Can Step in to Help

Most organizations are set up with a system of checks and balances, and everyone has a boss or manager. Even CEOs sometimes report to a Board of Directors. Any managers throughout the organization should be equipped to handle complaints, so employees should be encouraged to find sympathetic managers and work with them on addressing any problems.

Hiring a Lawyer Can Be a Last Resort

It\’s not illegal to bully or be a jerk, but it is illegal if that bullying is due to race, gender or other protected characteristics. When employees feel like HR and management aren\’t listening, they should be urged to hire an employment lawyer. Legal counsel can be quite effective at getting a company to pay attention. While companies shouldn\’t allow bullying of any kind, if the senior management behaves badly, sometimes fixing it is beyond an employee\’s pay grade.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HALF OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THINK THEY\’RE UNDERPAID—HERE\’S WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Do you pay your employees fairly? Of course! You did your research when making salary offers, you award regular cost of living raises and you pay for their overtime work. Still, according to a recent study by Robert Half, 46 percent of employees feel that they are underpaid.
This, of course, doesn\’t necessarily indicate the truth about salary, since these particular findings are based on feelings. I\’m a fan of dealing in facts, so I\’d want to double check everyone\’s salaries, and, depending on my findings, come back and say, \”Yep, even though you feel like you\’re underpaid, you\’re not. Now get back to work.\”
But, that\’s bad management advice. People\’s perceptions are their realities. If you simply dismiss their concerns with \”I\’ve double checked, and you\’re not underpaid,\” it\’s not likely to fix how they\’re feeling, which could lead to disengagement over time. Instead, if an employee approaches you to discuss their salary, I\’d recommend taking the following steps.

1) Find Out What They Really Do

The job someone does and the job you think they do are often two different things. Good employees, especially, tend to take on additional responsibilities just to make sure the work gets done. You may not know that Jane does an audit by herself because Heidi never gets her half done on time. Steve may be writing code to automate routine tasks.
There may be many things they are doing that you are not aware of, which is not to say that you are a bad manager. On the contrary, it\’s likely that you are a good manager who allows your employees to work independently and they\’ve risen to the occasion. Just ask, and determine whether they\’re doing enough additional work to constitute a pay raise.

2) Ask What They Consider Fair Pay

If someone says she\’s underpaid, it makes sense to ask what she thinks fair pay is and why. After all, she must have some idea of what she wants if she\’s asking. If she says she\’d like a raise \”Because I do a good job,\” that\’s a less substantial claim than\”I know that our competitor pays $5,000 more for this same job.\”
If there\’s actual data to support an employee\’s request for a larger salary—be it intel on competitor salaries, or a documented improvement in output and performance—you should absolutely consider it. If an employee is earning less than she could make elsewhere, there\’s a good possibility that she\’ll quit, and you\’ll have to hire someone new—making the market rate. You\’re not saving any money not paying someone correctly.
On the other hand, it\’s also possible that your employee has wildly unrealistic ideas about salary. She may be new to the workforce and not understand that you don\’t get a 10 percent raise every six months. Or she may be under the mistaken impression that everyone else earns substantially more. Regardless, if this is the case, you can sit down and show her data to support how you arrived at her current salary. If she still insists she\’s underpaid, you have to say, \”I disagree. If something changes, we can re-evaluate, but until that time, this is your salary and it\’s fair.\”

3) Don\’t Be Defensive and Dismissive

Employees\’ concerns that they\’re underpaid often stem from finding out what their co-workers earn. The law allows employees to discuss their salaries, so never punish someone for raising this issue, and don\’t dismiss their question. In fact, it\’s worth taking a regular look at what similarly situated employees at your company earn. Are you willing to stand up in court and justify why a woman at your firm is making less than a man in a similar role? Are their jobs really that different?
An employee that comes to you with a salary complaint is much better for you than an employee who goes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, hires a lawyer or leaves to get new job. Take their question as a gift, and an opportunity to re-evaluate what everyone earns.
As for those people who feel they earn too much? Yeah, well, we should all be so lucky.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

HALF OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THINK THEY\’RE UNDERPAID—HERE\’S WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Do you pay your employees fairly? Of course! You did your research when making salary offers, you award regular cost of living raises and you pay for their overtime work. Still, according to a recent study by Robert Half, 46 percent of employees feel that they are underpaid.
This, of course, doesn\’t necessarily indicate the truth about salary, since these particular findings are based on feelings. I\’m a fan of dealing in facts, so I\’d want to double check everyone\’s salaries, and, depending on my findings, come back and say, \”Yep, even though you feel like you\’re underpaid, you\’re not. Now get back to work.\”
But, that\’s bad management advice. People\’s perceptions are their realities. If you simply dismiss their concerns with \”I\’ve double checked, and you\’re not underpaid,\” it\’s not likely to fix how they\’re feeling, which could lead to disengagement over time. Instead, if an employee approaches you to discuss their salary, I\’d recommend taking the following steps.

1) Find Out What They Really Do

The job someone does and the job you think they do are often two different things. Good employees, especially, tend to take on additional responsibilities just to make sure the work gets done. You may not know that Jane does an audit by herself because Heidi never gets her half done on time. Steve may be writing code to automate routine tasks.
There may be many things they are doing that you are not aware of, which is not to say that you are a bad manager. On the contrary, it\’s likely that you are a good manager who allows your employees to work independently and they\’ve risen to the occasion. Just ask, and determine whether they\’re doing enough additional work to constitute a pay raise.

2) Ask What They Consider Fair Pay

If someone says she\’s underpaid, it makes sense to ask what she thinks fair pay is and why. After all, she must have some idea of what she wants if she\’s asking. If she says she\’d like a raise \”Because I do a good job,\” that\’s a less substantial claim than\”I know that our competitor pays $5,000 more for this same job.\”
If there\’s actual data to support an employee\’s request for a larger salary—be it intel on competitor salaries, or a documented improvement in output and performance—you should absolutely consider it. If an employee is earning less than she could make elsewhere, there\’s a good possibility that she\’ll quit, and you\’ll have to hire someone new—making the market rate. You\’re not saving any money not paying someone correctly.
On the other hand, it\’s also possible that your employee has wildly unrealistic ideas about salary. She may be new to the workforce and not understand that you don\’t get a 10 percent raise every six months. Or she may be under the mistaken impression that everyone else earns substantially more. Regardless, if this is the case, you can sit down and show her data to support how you arrived at her current salary. If she still insists she\’s underpaid, you have to say, \”I disagree. If something changes, we can re-evaluate, but until that time, this is your salary and it\’s fair.\”

3) Don\’t Be Defensive and Dismissive

Employees\’ concerns that they\’re underpaid often stem from finding out what their co-workers earn. The law allows employees to discuss their salaries, so never punish someone for raising this issue, and don\’t dismiss their question. In fact, it\’s worth taking a regular look at what similarly situated employees at your company earn. Are you willing to stand up in court and justify why a woman at your firm is making less than a man in a similar role? Are their jobs really that different?
An employee that comes to you with a salary complaint is much better for you than an employee who goes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, hires a lawyer or leaves to get new job. Take their question as a gift, and an opportunity to re-evaluate what everyone earns.
As for those people who feel they earn too much? Yeah, well, we should all be so lucky.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

MAKING THE CASE FOR—AND AGAINST—HIRING OVERQUALIFIED CANDIDATES

We\’ve all seen it before—you get an application from a candidate that is simply overqualified for the position that she\’s seeking. After all, why would an applicant with over twenty years of experience be vying for a mid-level role? But here\’s the problem with calling someone \”overqualified.\” At some companies, the term has become an easy way to reject someone without saying \”you\’re too old.\”
Not only is that potentially discriminatory against applicants that are being overlooked simply for their age, but you\’re also likely missing out on employees with unique professional backgrounds and life experiences that have a lot to offer your company, regardless of their position.
It turns out, there are actually plenty of reasons why people may want to step down—and it\’s up to you to determine whether or not they\’re valid. Here are three occasions when you should give overqualified applicants a chance, and three situations in which to avoid them.

When to Hire

They\’re Ready to Slow Down: I love my job—it\’s exciting and interesting and every day is different, but it doesn\’t end at 5:00 pm. There are times I wish I could slow down, and I\’m not the only person to feel that way. When an employee is tired of a previously-held high pressure job, they may want to stay in the same industry and take a position with less responsibility and stress.
A major life change—a baby, a suddenly empty nest, a spouse retiring, or a health problem that calls for a less demanding role—is another common reason for wanting to take a lower-level job. That person\’s experience could prove tremendously valuable to your company, and in return you\’ll be giving someone a more manageable work schedule. It\’s a win-win.
You\’re Expanding the Role: We tell people not to dress for the role they have, but for the role they want. Maybe you should consider hiring for an expanded role as well. If you\’re a startup and you only have the budget for one marketing person, hiring someone with not only marketing experience but also tons of management prowess may help you in the long run.
If growth is on your horizon, that person may be well-positioned to take over as a manager as your company grows. Note: if this is your plan, please be clear with the candidate. They may be looking to step down to avoid a managerial role, so if you spring management responsibilities on them six months down the line, they\’ll be unhappy.
It\’s a New Role and the Manager Needs Support: Sometimes the best candidate for a totally new function is an expert. She might have to do the job without support because the manager might not know exactly what to do yet, so you\’ll be glad you have someone on the team with valuable experience.

When to Consider Other Candidates

The \’Step Down\’ Isn\’t Justified: If a candidate is hemming and hawing about her reasons for taking a position for which she is overqualified, that could be a red flag. If she\’s unemployed, that may explain why—and it may be a smart move for her. But it may also mean that as soon as she\’s hired, she\’ll start looking for a higher level position.
It\’s possible that she simply wants a foot in the door of your company and plans to post out of the job as soon as possible. If she really seems like the best candidate, make your expectations clear before offering a job, and be honest about the fact that her role might not change much regardless of her qualifications. You don\’t want to be interviewing candidates again in six months.
Critical Skills Are Missing: Someone who has been a Director of Quality Assurance may not remember how to perform simple lab tests any more. Sure, she can be trained, but will that training be more difficult than hiring someone who is currently up to date? Will she be frustrated when the current director who does things differently than she did?
If you have reason to believe that she might be missing skills that will be crucial for the job, ask her about them directly. If they are indeed missing, you\’ll need to move on.
You Know He\’ll Be Miserable: You don\’t want an employee who will be unhappy in his role. If he has been a manager for a long time, and the position is for an independent contributor role, ask specifically how he\’ll feel about not having any authority over others in the department. Listen carefully, and consider his responses with care.
If the candidate seems unsure about how he\’ll feel taking a true step down, you may be better off considering someone else.
There isn\’t always a straight forward path when you\’re considering an overqualified candidate, but rejecting one doesn\’t necessarily mean you are discriminating against the candidate\’s age. Focus on asking yourself if this person will be a good person for the job, be happy there and stick around for at least a couple of years.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Webinar Recap: Citation: Using APA & the Bluebook Together

In today’s internet-age information is so readily available, causing an increase in instances of plagiarism – especially accidental or ‘responsible’ plagiarism.
The webinar Citation: Using APA & the Bluebook Together helped attendees identify instances where citation is necessary and what reference materials to use and how to properly cite information.
Presented by Brandy Kreisler , Online Instructor at Bryant & Stratton College Online, the webinar specifically covered different field-appropriate citation styles as well as the importance of citation.
Additionally, the webinar highlighted:
  • How to avoid plagiarism through proper citation
  • How to cite basic materials using APA
  • How to cite basic legal materials using the Bluebook, a citation guide for legal materials
  • How APA and the Bluebook work seamlessly together in academic papers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Those that fail to plan…

If you live your life by the old saying, “those that fail to plan, plan to fail,” there’s an emerging career you may want to check out – Project Management.
What exactly is project management? The Project Management Institute, a globally recognized professional organization, defines it as “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.” That’s a good start, but let’s use an example to bring this definition to life.
Let’s say you are looking to make some home improvements. Whether you want to renovate the kitchen, put on a new roof, or re-carpet the living space, you have to weigh all the alternatives against the timeframe, available budget, and other limiting factors. Once you’ve decided on what you want to improve, you’ll need to plan. Your plan will need to include all the steps to complete the project, a schedule of the work to be completed, evaluating and hiring contractors, getting building permits, and determining a final budget. The next stage is executing the plans. Plan execution can be an exciting time as you are coordinating all the activities and resources as well as monitoring the progress and making adjustments for the changes that are bound to happen. When the project is complete you can enjoy your improved home and revisit your plan to see what went right and what you might change for next time.
From this simple example, you can see that project management involves initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure of an effort with a defined set of goals. To do this successfully, you have to use your knowledge of the problem, skills in planning, tools for estimation, and techniques for supervision.
Is a project management degree right for you? There are several personality tests available to you today that may help you evaluate whether you want to go into project management. The most famous is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI) test, developed during World War II by Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers to help women entering the workforce identify jobs where they would be most comfortable and effective.
You can find more information on the MBTI here, or use one of these free alternatives:
However, don’t rely solely on personality tests to determine if project management is for you.  These types of tests can provide some general direction, but a variety of personality types have found success in project management. A true assessment should include both a personality test as well as talking to people who are already in project management to find out if it would be a good fit.
What does it take to be a project management professional? If you are still interested in project management certification, you may be wondering how you can acquire the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques you need to be successful. Earning a degree with a specialization in project management is the best place to start and this is where Bryant & Stratton College can help.
The curriculum for the General Management BBA Program includes a Specialization in Project Management. Students enrolled in the General Management BBA program have the option to specialize in Project Management. The curriculum combines the majority of the courses from the General Management BBA program coupled with the following Project Management courses:
  • BUSS230 Introduction to Project Management
  • BUSS360 Project Procurement Management
  • BUSS370 Project Risk Management
  • BUSS380 Project Scheduling and Cost Management
  • BUSS420 Project Management
If you’re interested in learning more, check out this link to request information, get a brochure, or apply today!
About the Author
Ron Torres, PMP is an adjunct professor for the on-line campus teaching the capstone course in project management. Ron has also worked professionally for an international electronics manufacturer, a leading employment website, and a not-for-profit research and development center.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1