The Fallen Willow-November 2012

The wrath of Hurricane Sandy thankfully spared my family. Unlike many others who were without power for several days, experienced severe flooding and property damage and even loss of life, we escaped relatively unscathed. When the weather cleared, my wife and I wandered outside to survey the damage. Sadly, a forty foot weeping willow tree we planted many years ago had been uprooted by the strong winds and lay there in the yard with its severed root ball attached. We had planted several of these trees as saplings but this was the only one that survived. It had been on our property the better part of 20 years and we had seen it flourish and grow. The tree's demise reminded me of how, without continued support and a strong base to rely upon, even people and things that appear indestructible can topple like our willow tree. The fallen willow was also reminiscent of people I have seen hired who were believed to be the answer to a company's prayers. They were vigorously recruited for their perceived strength and expertise in the hope that they would somehow impart those qualities upon the existing employee base that was deemed lacking in skills and abilities. "We need to bring in outside talent" was, and continues to be, a common phrase bandied about during succession planning sessions. To me, that overused phrase is nothing more than a cop out that enables an executive team to abdicate their responsibility to develop and nurture the talent within. They labor under the misconception that it's easier to pin our hopes on the new person than exert the time and effort to cultivate what we already have. Unfortunately, more often than not the superstar candidates turn out to be much less than expected. Unless they are able to become rooted in the company culture and can build support among their co-workers, they simply won't last. They may still project the superficial image of the perfect candidate but ultimately they will leave the organization. Ironically, that same facade will help them secure a new position in another company that believes outside talent is the answer. If we can help you strengthen your employee" willow trees" or find a few new "saplings" to grow your company, give us a call at 610-287-1162 or email me at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com. From my family to yours, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and please keep those still suffering from the effects of the storm in your thoughts and prayers.

False Friends-September 2012

I am truly blessed to have a group of great friends. These are the friends with whom you have gone on vacation, celebrated good times and milestone events together with your children and families, and been there for consolation during difficult times. You have so many memories together that even though you may not see them for long periods of time, when you finally get together the conversation and laughter begin immediately. Unless you are eating or sleeping, there is rarely a time when you have nothing to talk about. These are the people who truly care aboutyou and like you for who you are, faults and all. Over the course of my career I have developed many close relationships with co-workers that have become lasting friends. There are others, however, that I refer to as false friends; those who feign friendship for the personal gain it may bring them through their relationship with you. Such was the case I recently encountered with an employee I'll refer to as Dan who found out the false friends he cultivated over the years weren't there when he needed them most. Dan had a history of verbally disrespecting employees, but he had convinced the owners of the company that what some affected employees called disrespect was really his passion to provide clients the best customer service and, in turn, create revenue for the company. It's true that Dan received high marks from the clients he served, and he felt that their satisfaction ultimately outweighed any mistreatment he doled out to employees to get the job done. The owners knew that Dan had difficulty managing people, and rather than confront the issue they periodically reduced his management responsibility when affected employees he supervised either resigned or threatened to leave. Despite his behavior, they were reluctant to formally discipline him for fear of impacting revenue and client relationships. Over the course of the last year, Dan befriended two new executives who joined the company, and, in the true fashion of a false friend, touted their relationship as "The Three Amigos" in an effort to gain their support. The new leaders, eager to be successful in their new roles, eagerly accepted Dan's praise and camaraderie. The false friendship worked for a while, even allowing Dan to collect a bonus for completing a project that required collaboration with the two executives. But Dan couldn't hide who he really was and on several occasions deflected blame and denied any knowledge or responsibility for issues that were solely his fault. The other two amigos quickly realized they were being used and that Dan's motives were clearly self- serving and disingenuous. Dan had another one of his outbursts that led to the resignation of a key employee, and the owners finally realized he was more of a problem than an asset. When asked by the owners, his executive co-workers told the owner they could no longer work with him and that if he was allowed to remain in his role many more of their staff would eventually leave. The owners had little choice but to release Dan for the overall good of the organization. Dan's plan to advance his career and fool senior management by cultivating false friends quickly unraveled and ultimately led to his separation from the company. The organization is a healthier place since his departure, and many are now asking why it took so long for Dan to be asked to leave. It's never a pleasant task to terminate an employee, but it becomes a bit more justifiable when the person has demonstrated a lack of integrity and credibility. It's clear that false friendships simply can't help those who only care about themselves.

Arriving at the Crossroad-August 2012

This time of year my wife and I are always looking for new routes to and from the Jersey shore that have the least traffic. Over the years we have experimented with our departure time but have yet to find the right window that works on a regular basis. I have a low threshold for sitting in traffic; and when it occurs, the drive can be agonizing for both of us. Recently, I took a friends suggestion to try a "back roads" route home on a Sunday night. We were progressing nicely through the woods and eventually came to a crossroad. I wasn't quite sure where I was, and my male pride wouldn't let me use the GPS on my phone so I made a decision to turn right. After traveling 20 miles out of our way it became evident I took the wrong route. We eventually made it home 30 minutes later than we would have had I taken the road to the left. Had I demonstrated some patience and humility and objectively considered the information at my disposal, I likely would have made a different decision. My experience reminded me of a former co-worker who was eager to climb the corporate ladder at any cost. He was, by nature, a decent guy who was a people oriented manager and wanted to do the right thing for the organization. But his desire for more status, more money, and more power caused him to change into someone very different. He believed that in order to reflect the appropriatepersona of an executive he had to bully others, deflect blame, and always posture things as his idea. He wanted authority with no accountability, which never works for very long. Ultimately, he was deemed unfit to continue in his role after alienating his staff and his peers and was asked to leave the organization. He has struggled reclaim a management role in another company that allows him to return to the financial level and status he grew accustomed to. Like my trip back from the shore, he made a decision at the crossroad that proved to be one driven by all the wrong reasons. Despite being told he was headed down the wrong road, hecontinued in that direction until he became truly lost. I am fortunate to interact with many highly skilled and intelligent workers at the client companies I serve. Some of those workershave discussed their leadership aspirations with me and asked for my suggestions on their respective career paths. Many are at the crossroad of deciding whether to change roles, ask for more responsibility, or stay in their current job and gain more experience. It's a difficult decision for many of these future leaders as they struggle to balance their career aspirations with the reality of a lack of readiness for the next level of responsibility. The majority of these individuals are Generation Y'ers who have been raised by baby boomer parents like me and told they can do or be anything they choose. They are confident and ambitious, yet many have been in the workplace a very short time. My advice to them is pretty simple; make the effort to learn from those around you and treat your direct reports and co-workers as you want to be treated. Most important, stay true to who you really are. Follow the rules and understand the culture of the company but don't let your core values becompromised for the sake of advancement. My co-worker's experience is proof that changing yourself to fit someone else's image is not a long term strategy for success. My hope for these future leaders is that there is a one-way sign at their crossroad that keeps them on the right path.

The Many Faces of Sacrifice-May 2012

My family recently took a trip to Nashville to cheer my daughter on in running her second marathon. My wife and elected to drive rather than fly to visit some of the towns along the way. Sadly, the economic downturn of the last few years clearly took its toll on many of the places we visited. Towns that had spent several years in a revitalization effort were now littered with vacant stores and boarded up buildings. It was evident that many folks had sacrificed their hopes and dreams and were now faced with the task of rebuilding their lives. During the 13 hour drive to the race, while my wife was playing "Words with Friends" on her Droid, I had plenty of time to reflect on the issue of sacrifice as it relates to both career and life activities. On the personal side, my daughter had sacrificed a tremendous amount of time in training, pushed her body to the breaking point, and ultimately accomplished a great feat by running 26.2 miles. My older daughter sacrificed time away from work and lesson planning to accompany us and cheer on her sister. Even my wife and I even made considerable sacrifice by forfeiting the king sized bed in our room to our daughters and sleeping on a sleeper sofa that I wanted to set afire by the end of our stay. From a business perspective, I know that many of my clients make personal sacrifices to keep their employees working and their companies afloat. I have often heard them speak of times when they delayed a home mortgage payment to make payroll or took a loan on their personal credit card because they didn't want to adversely impact their employees. These types of self-less acts go unpublicized and unnoticed, but they occur frequently. The owners feel a moral obligation to protect their employees and I believe this is a primary reason why so many folks I know would rather work for a small company than a large one. So the next time your find yourself angry or upset about a company decision or change in policy, look at it as your individual sacrifice in the face of all of the past sacrifices your employer has made to keep you there. You may not be aware of their past sacrifices but you can be assured that many have taken place for your benefit. So despite your frustration keep in mind that as is the case with so many things in life, your career isn't a sprint but a marathon.

Customer Service-The New Oxymoron

A friend and I were recently commiserating over lunch about the demise of customer service in the work place. Clearly, "customer service" has become an oxymoron like, "jumbo shrimp" and "vegetarian meatballs". Having worked with retail industry clients for many years, I empathize with the HR folks who must find people that have the ability to effectively interact with a customer and create a positive experience. Finding workers with an outgoing personality and who enjoy helping people is a daunting task particularly when paying a minimum wage salary. In most cases the business owner is more concerned with having the necessary staff coverage and minimizing payroll than providing superior customer service. It is even more challenging for those businesses that are seasonal in nature and rely on a few months of revenue to carry them through the year. But those friendly people are out there and when an employer is successful in finding that individual with personality and a service orientation, customer satisfaction and ultimately revenue can increase substantially. Here's what I mean. I stopped to get gas the other morning and approached the cashier to pre-pay. I said "Good morning" and her response was "What do you need?" My first inclination was to say, I need you to drop the attitude but I responded by asking for $50 on pump number 8. She took my money and gave me my change, at which time I said "Thank you". Her response was "Yup." Silly me, I was unaware that the rules of etiquette had changed and "Yup" is now the recommended response to "thank you." Later that day I stopped to buy a birthday card. This time, I received no verbal response at all to my "hello" or my "thank you". To satisfy myself that this person could actually speak, I lingered a bit longer in the store until I witnessed her talking on her cell phone, confirming my belief that her lack of service was intentional and not due to some form of mutism. Here's what I mean. I stopped to get gas the other morning and approached the cashier to pre-pay. I said "Good morning" and her response was "What do you need?" My first inclination was to say, I need you to drop the attitude but I responded by asking for $50 on pump number 8. She took my money and gave me my change, at which time I said "Thank you". Her response was "Yup." Silly me, I was unaware that the rules of etiquette had changed and "Yup" is now the recommended response to "thank you." Later that day I stopped to buy a birthday card. This time, I received no verbal response at all to my "hello" or my "thank you". To satisfy myself that this person could actually speak, I lingered a bit longer in the store until I witnessed her talking on her cell phone, confirming my belief that her lack of service was intentional and not due to some form of mutism. I was convinced that customer service was indeed dead, until my faith in the workforce of the future was partially restored. That weekend, a group of us were in Ocean City, NJ and we went to dinner at one of the restaurants on the Boardwalk. We were a party of eight, and based on the fact that it was a tourist destination, I was anticipating the worst in customer service. Surprisingly, the college student who waited on our table was pleasant, helpful and engaging. She exceeded our expectations just by being friendly and service oriented. Mind you, we're not talking about over the top, Disney experience service but rather, someone who welcomes you, says thank you and tells you to have a nice day. The bar has been set so low that just by doing her job, our waitress received a generous gratuity and our sincere thanks. So why the distinct difference in these levels of service? One could make the argument that there may be some socio-economic difference or personal issues that separate the pleasant from the miserable. It could also be argued that training may have been provided in one environment and not in the other. While both arguments have some merit, I believe that the hiring and selection process is the key component. I have seen many examples of "hiring in haste" to simply fill a schedule slot or add staff. The interviewer tends to focus his or her questions on availability, previous experience and pay rate without ever asking the situational or behavioral questions that provide valuable insight into the candidate's proficiency in dealing with customers. What they get is a candidate willing to accept $8 per hour to work weekends with no customer service skills. In the end, things can get "pretty ugly." Here's hoping you get super service at your next outing and not just a "Yup." If we can help your business in hiring and selecting the best and the brightest please give us a call at 610-287-1162. Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Spring 2012

In Search of Candidate Courtesy

Somewhere, in the midst of the economic decline and massive job eliminations, many companies have adopted a cavalier approach to dealing with both outside vendors and employment candidates. The attitude seems to be such that no response is required, even to those who the company themselves contacted to request a proposal or to attend an interview. As a consultant primarily responsible for my own company's business development, I have become somewhat hardened to this practice; but it is nonetheless frustrating to be pursued for an immediate meeting, asked for a 24 hour turnaround on a service proposal and then receive no response whatsoever, despite numerous attempts to follow up with the person who asked for the information. It's as if there is no perceived expectation to return the same level of courtesy as that which was extended to them in the exchange.

Sadly, today's job seeker experiences this frustration everyday. Many of these folks already have fragile egos and diminished self confidence from losing a position and dealing with unemployment perhaps, for the first time in their career. Each day, they work the internet job boards, network with peers, and reach out to friends and family in an effort to get a lead on a new opportunity. Many of these individuals I meet throughout the course of my work are tireless in this effort and, despite the emotional roller coaster of the job search process, they are upbeat and optimistic about their future. But I see these incidents of lost candidate courtesy slowly eroding their optimism as they continue to experience this mistreatment by company representatives responsible for recruitment and hiring.

I recently heard from my friend Larry who was wooed by a recruiter for a senior level position and asked if he would be willing to fly to Arizona for an interview with the hiring manager. Two weeks passed and Larry heard nothing more from the recruiter until 48 hours before he was to fly out. He was emailed the airline ticket, given the address of the office, and left to arrange his own transportation from the airport. Nonetheless, he arrived on time for the interview and after a 40 minute wait, was escorted to the interviewer's office. The discussion went well and Larry returned home feeling positive about the day. He sent his thank you notes to all involved and waited to hear from the recruiter who promised to contact him later that week. After 2 weeks, Larry has not been contacted nor have his follow up emails been acknowledged. Larry told me he has accepted the fact that he probably is no longer under consideration for the position, but it's the way he was treated that bothers him more than being rejected for the job. Unfortunately, Larry's experience is not unique and has become the new normal for many companies.

What many of these companies and HR practitioners who lead the recruitment process fail to realize is that as the job market continues to improve, the war for talent will be won by those organizations that recognize the importance of candidate courtesy and take the necessary steps to create a culture that values this attribute. It's not a difficult concept and is based on the age old "golden rule" theory of treating others as you would want to be treated. Clearly, those companies that embrace this philosophy will be the employers of choice for Larry and other talented candidates who know that good or bad, the treatment they receive as a candidate, is likely indicative of the same treatment they will receive as an employee.

If we can help to provide your hiring managers a "refresher" on candidate courtesy give us a call at 610-287-1162 or email me at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com.

Have a safe and happy spring!

Phil


Social Media and The NLRB

As the use of Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter becomes commonplace, companies have recognized the need to develop some policy guidelines around the use of social media by their employees. Most social media policies are designed to promote employee awareness of how the company has chosen to use social media to market its brand, recruit employees and generally reach a broader audience. Included in many of these policies are statements that guide employees on the use of social media so as not to have the company's image tarnished by a disgruntled worker or to create a forum where employees can publicly complain about the company or its management.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently posted a report from last year, that outlined their opinion on various social media cases they recently reviewed, They included a case where an employee was released for identifying and calling a supervisor a "scumbag" on a social media site. The Board reinstated the employee under the premise that his action was within the context of protected concerted activity because it involved a protest of unlawful supervisory actions, occurred outside the workplace and during non-working time, and was not overly egregious or accompanied by threats.

Another case involved a policy prohibiting employees from using the company name, address, or information on their profile page. The NLRB considered this policy as written, to be unlawful.

This area is one currently being shaped by case law but if the NLRB's decisions are any indication of how social media cases will be viewed by the court, employers must take into account these issues when reviewing or investigating issues involving social media.

Don't go it alone. Take advantage of our free consultation and HR audit to see if your company is at risk. Call us today at 610-287-1162 or email me at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com.

February Newsletter-2012

The Self Destruction of a High Potential Leader

I'm always saddened to see bright, dedicated leaders fail due to their own emotional immaturity; yet the longer I work in the HR field the more frequently I witness these events occur. There has been much written about the need for effective and successful leaders to have both a combination of emotional intelligence and technical expertise. Despite being a subject matter expert, a leader without emotional maturity will ultimately fail. Never was such an issue more evident than in my recent involvement with a leader, who, I'll call Charlie, self-destructed over a period of a few short weeks.

Years ago I read a policy statement on Company Communication that stated, "Information is power; shared information is awesome power." While most leaders would embrace that statement as true, the leader who lacks self- confidence and emotional maturity believes in the guiding principal that holding on to information secures his or her role in the organization. Charlie believed that as the leader of his department, all information needed to filter through him including valuable knowledge about the products and services offered by his staff. Charlie had an abundance of legacy knowledge that he would selectively share with his direct reports thereby denying them the opportunity to learn and grow. His staff was conditioned to go to him with any and all problems rather than attempt to personally resolve the issue. Charlie became so enamored with his power that he came to believe he was more important than the Company itself and that the inherent obligations of being a senior leader did not pertain to him. Ultimately, Charlie decided that he was so gifted that he would start his own competing company and he began to openly discuss his intentions among his staff. Needless to say the staff became very anxious and upset and ultimately shared their concerns about Charlie's actions with the President. Charlie's ego must have clouded his memory in that he forgot he had signed an employment agreement that prohibited such actions and in doing so, subjected him to termination of employment. As a result, Charlie found himself on the outside without a team to lead.

As in most cases, employee terminations are more about the impact on those that remain versus those that are let go. Unfortunately, Charlie's departure has left his team struggling to keep the department operating at a high level of service since the knowledge they needed was never shared. His failure to help his staff learn and grow has forced them to scramble to find answers to problems and issues that Charlie always handled himself. Ultimately, they are all committed to providing great service to their clients and are driven to see things through but not without incurring some short term pain.

It's vitally important to the health of an organization to avoid elevating the best technical employee to a leadership position that they are ill equipped to hold. It's a common practice to take the best forklift operator and designate him as the manager of the other forklift operators assuming his technical proficiency is all that's needed for him to be an effective leader. Sure, sometimes it works out but many times that person doesn't want to lead. He or she simply wants to be the best forklift operator and doesn't want to seem ungrateful by telling you just that. That's why it's imperative that leaders be carefully selected using a variety of criteria versus" putting a body in the seat." Business owners and executives that take the time to select the best candidates for leadership positions will be rewarded with never having to deal with a Charlie of their own.

If we can help to keep you "Charlie free" give us a call at 610-287-1162. We'd love the opportunity to help.


The 2012 Employment Landscape

HR Issues That Will Affect Business Owners This Year

In an election year there is typically some reluctance to effect large scale changes in employment related laws and practices until the future political party and administration is better defined. Nonetheless, we believe there are a few HR issues that business owners should be mindful of in 2012

Wage and Hour Compliance Issues- There continues to be an increased focus on monitoring employer compliance with wage and hour requirements from recordkeeping to employee classification. The size of the employer does not matter in that the government has put "more feet on the street" in an effort to audit a broader group of employers.

Union Avoidance- The National Labor Relations Board has been extremely active in proposing changes to the union election process, development of mandatory postings and challenges to policy statements that could be considered in violation of the concerted protected activity provisions of the National Labor Relations Act.

Recruitment and Retention- Hiring statistics are reflecting a gradual increase in the creation of new positions along with a growing concern about retaining high performers now that the job market is improving. For the first time in over 2 years business owners will see a renewed war for talent and increasing employee turnover. Managing this changing employment dynamic along with a workforce comprised of as many as four different generations of workers will be a daunting task.

The good news is you don't have to go it alone. Give us a call at 610-287-1162 or email me at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com

for a free consultation and some friendly advice. I look forward to hearing from you.