River | Run | HR

The HR web weaves itself slow and steady until one day, you have no idea how your business got where it did or why, but you'll always the latest tidbits of information here. Mafalda Halligan (better known as HR Minion who runs River Run HR) also writes the the best stuff to keep you out of trouble, reminders and best practices. Remember to support your HR circles. Submit your best posts and read it regularly and you'll be a better business owner for it. Really.

[riverrunhr]

Want Your Employees To Be Happier? Let them Telecommute.

Telecommuting is either the best thing since sliced bread or the cause of all problems. After all, it was telecommuting that Melissa Mayer banned at Yahoo in order to combat waste and phantom employees. Many managers feel that they if they can't actually see their employees, the employees aren't working.

But employees? Overwhelmingly, they want to work from home. A 2013 survey conducted by Kona/SodaHead.com shows that 70 percent of workers want to work from home. That number jumps to an astronomical 81 percent for workers age 35 to 44.

What about those who work in the office while their coworkers work from their homes? They're jealous! 57 percent of employees in general are jealous, but that number jumps to 60 percent for parents and 75 percent for people making over $100,000 per year.

So, how can you implement a reasonable telecommuting policy in your office?

Consider if it's at all reasonable. If you're a widget manufacturer and everyone needs to be working on the widget assembly line, then, of course, telecommuting isn't reasonable. If, on the other hand, everyone works on separate projects on separate computers, telecommuting is more reasonable. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Many people think they want to telecommute full-time, but then find that they miss the office. Additionally, there is a very real benefit to building personal relationships and running into someone in the hallway. A telecommuting policy that allows people to work from home one to three days per week, with a rule that everyone has to be in on Wednesdays, may give all the benefits of telecommuting without the risks.

It's not a substitute for childcare. All children need to be taken care of by someone other than your worker. Period. Now, I'm not saying that if the baby is taking a nap, the other parent can't run to the grocery store alone. But, there are employees who see saving on daycare costs as one of the perks of telecommuting. Unless your company is extremely flexible (and it might be!), that's a no-go. This may seem obvious to you, but it is not to your employees. It needs to be discussed--with both male and female employees.

Answer the question, how will we all communicate? Email? Phone? IM? Skype?Will we have a daily report? Whatever you decide, it needs to be spelled out. If you expect to be able to reach everyone, just as you did when their cube was next to yours, say so. If you expect that people will have more flexible hours, say so.

Remember that employment laws still apply. If those employees are non-exempt, hours still have to be tracked and all work must be paid for. This can get complex in a work-at-home situation if your employee just "quickly checks email" before going to bed. That's work. It's paid, even if he's wearing pajamas when it's done.

Recognize that all positions are not created equal. The janitor actually has to come into the office to clean it. The attorney who spends most of his time reviewing documents and contracts from vendors probably does not need to be in the office all the time. Telecommuting works well for some positions and some people and not so well for others. Acknowledge that from the beginning.

Be careful not to discriminate along gender lines. Don't let the women work at home so they can meet the school bus, but turn down the men because their wives should be taking care of that. Blatantly sexist? You bet. Would you say that directly? Probably not, but it may be stuck in the back of your head. Push it out and make the decision based on what is right for the business. Don't be afraid to try it. If you try to implement a telecommuting policy and it fails, you can pull it back. But you may be pleasantly surprised.

Consider the savings. If people are telecommuting 50 percent of the time, they can share desk space. (Unless you require everyone to be in one day per week.) It's the easiest way to go green as well. And it's a big cost savings for employees--they don't have to pay for gas, wear and tear on their cars, or spiffy clothes for the days they work from home.

[riverrunhr]

Get Your House in Order, NLRB is encouraging employees to file OSHA, FLSA claims

Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board issued a memorandum in which it has instructed regional offices to encourage employees to file complaints with the United States Department of Labor if the the regional NLRB office "believes that an employer may have violated a substantive or anti-retaliation provision of [OSHA] or the FLSA."

Remember that the National Labor Relations Act covers more than just unionized employers and workplace. For example, many of the social media cases involving the NLRB that you may have read about actually involve non-union workplaces.

So, if you haven't gotten the message already, this NLRB initiative is another wake-up call to get your house in order.

Otherwise, you may have multiple federal agencies up in your business.

[riverrunhr]

Career Coach? But I'm a CEO.

Career coaches are hired by the big boss to help his or her direct reports overcome their flaws, right? And since you are the boss, you don't need a coach.

It's this type of flawed thinking that limits the potential of many entrepreneurs and the businesses they run. Part of the problem of being the boss is that you don't have a ready- made mentor to help you improve. Everyone needs guidance, and sometimes that can come from a career coach.

At River Run HR, we coach clients to help them maximize their potential, which in turn can help maximize their profits. People don't call us when things are going swimmingly (although, it's not a bad idea to do so), so one of the first things we ask the leaders to do is to "take a look at their role in the chaos. Sometimes we see they are willing to look at themselves, but when push comes to shove they try to blame or focus on issues outside of themselves. If they are not willing to look at themselves, a career coach will be of little help."

We have found that the best organizations have cultures where people feel safe enough to say what's on their mind. When you have open and honest information you have all you need to make decisions. If people are shut down, then you are just guessing.

One of our clients felt a common problem with communication was purely on the heads of his people--they wouldn't tell him anything. Our firm started interviewing his direct reports. The result? They all reported that he "couldn't care less" about what they had to say.

Being told that he's blowing off his employees wasn't enough to stop this client's denial. He responded to this revelation with, "Well I'll tell you what, Mafalda, I'm a quick learner. And when I got it I got it and I don't need all that extraneous information and so when I got it, I got it and I tell them to move on." We worked with him for four weeks--which should have been enough time to figure out that he should start listening. After four weeks he said, "You know, the people at my last job said I didn't listen, and these people say I don't listen and my wife of 38 years said I don't listen." The denial runs deep in some, apparently.

And, like this client--who didn't listen to his wife or his employees-- many of our clients have family problems that spill into the work area, and work problems that can overload a family. As much as we talk about a work life and a home life, let's get real. You have a life. Very often people will be having problems at home and bring that attitude into the workplace, where people take their attitude personally. At River Run hR, we help them see how this affects their workplace.

Can this introspection and guidance from a career coach pay off in the long run? When you solve problems at the top, it pays off in real dollars. When people feel safe and respected and acknowledged, they jump through hoops for you. You don't have to agree with your employees, but you need to acknowledge them.

Remember, today's workforce isn't loyal. They had parents (and in some cases, grandparents) who were loyal and didn't end up getting that gold watch, but rather a pink slip and a long stint on unemployment. If you can't communicate with your employees, if you can't make work a place they want to be, then their loyalty for you will last merely until they can land something better. And where does that leave you?

It certainly doesn't hurt a business owner to have someone to turn to for advice and reflection on what he or she can do to improve the atmosphere and level of engagement at the office. A career coach can be one way to do that.

[riverrunhr]

Apparently, you can curse your boss out and still keep your job...

With recent headlines on firefighters afraid of fighting fires, butt grabs, and some Delaware lawyer starving himself over social media, I missed this National Labor Relations Board decision, in which the Board basically held that, as long as you don't go too far and pull a Latrell Sprewell, you can curse out your boss with impunity.

Literally, you can call your boss a "f*%king crook," an "a$$hole," and "stupid" on a Friday, and still have a job to come back to on Monday.

God bless America.

For more on this Board decision, check out these posts:

http://www.laborrelationstoday.com/2014/05/articles/nlrb-decisions/nlrb-finds-employees-profane-and-insubordinate-conduct-shielded-by-protected-activity/

http://www.hrmorning.com/does-new-nlrb-ruling-mean-you-cant-fire-someone-for-insubordination/

[riverrunhr]

Achieving successful work-life balance can very often seem like mission impossible. Busy work schedules often dictate lives of most people so much so that your personal time gets affected and can become limited. For many of us we don’t even realise that we are not finding the time for ourselves and this can have an impact on us, mentally and within your overall health.

You are probably thinking that it is easier said than done, which is correct. We all have different lives, schedules and responsibilities – from the young professional working extra hours to secure the promotion, to becoming a senior manager who has mouths to feed and deals to secure. Nevertheless we can all try and dedicate some valuable ‘me’ time for ourselves in order to see some great improvements when it comes to our work-life balance.

Incorporating any one of these seven tips listed below will bring you a step closer to achieving a healthy work life balance you so desire:

Introduce Skype meetings

Important business meetings can require a lot of travel, which could equate to multiple days away from home and the office. Today’s technology has made it possible for you to reach clients that are states and even countries away, all from the comfort of your home or office. Skype and conference calls are both ideal ways to communicating with clients, whilst saving you and your business time and hassle of travelling.

If a business trip is a must then using Skype would allow you keeping in touch with your colleagues back in the office and maintaining office relationships. Even more you will also find Skype reducing your business’s travel costs, meaning the money could then be invested elsewhere.

Treat yourself regularly

Treating yourself regularly is really important for your sanity and health. Choosing to do something you enjoy will make you feel more grounded and relaxed. Allow yourself a 30 minute window each day where you do something for yourself. Things you truly enjoy, such as read a book, have a bath or cook a nice meal.

If you are a busy city worker, go into the local salon and treat yourself to an express facial. Alternatively you could always have a girl’s night in a nice restaurant or have a date night with your partner. These easy things will definitely make you feel happier and more relaxed.

Work from home If you have a lunchtime client meeting you must attend, consider traveling to the venue from your home, as commuting directly will be help you cut down on travel costs. Another benefit of the many innovative technologies we have today is the ability to share documents and other information online. This allows you the great opportunity of working from home, yet still be connected to your office. Therefore, by utilizing this tool, you can cut down on the days you have to go into the office.

This will also help you out on days when you are not able to make it into the office due to weather or child care, and will become a perfect solution to being able to access all your documents.

Set realistic expectations It is a good idea to set your expectations for your life reasonably. For example, it is a realistic goal to aim to climb the ladder at work, become a good cook and keep your home running efficiently. However, it is not realistic to be working 70 + hours a week, whilst becoming a gourmet chef and keeping your home spotless – it just won’t happen. Therefore, to avoid becoming discouraged, it is smart to set manageable goals and not expecting yourself accomplishing superhuman tasks. Remember you are just a human and it is not a crime to ask for help!

Be willing to alter your definition of success Different stages of life call for different definitions of success. For example, if you have young children, you can feel successful if you get your kids off to day-care, get yourself to work on time and get at least a portion of your duties accomplished on any given day. However, if you don’t have children, of course you can expect more from yourself in regards to your job and your personal goals. In other words, your definition of success will likely change throughout various stages of your life, and that is okay.

Exercise on lunch break According to John Ratey, Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, exercise is the best thing you could do for you brain in regards to learning, memory and mood. Since exercising also leads to a fit body, incorporating it into your working day just makes sense. If you are not lucky enough to have a gym in your office building then fear not. Most fitness suites offer express classes during lunch times that are high intensity workouts lasting 30 minutes. If you would rather prefer a low impact workout, then try going for a swim.

Getting up and moving, somewhere away from your computer, will give you some fresh air during a hectic day, allowing you to concentrate, which will lead to a more productive workday.

Make sure your career choice fits your strengths For whatever reason, many people end up in a career that is completely wrong for them. A person who hates numbers ends up working at a bank, or a person who doesn’t care for children has a career as a teacher. This career choice just doesn’t make sense. Therefore, if you have ever felt like your career choice just doesn’t match your strengths or personality, do something about it and find a career that fits you better.

If it is impossible due to financial reasons, consider utilizing your personality and skills taking part in volunteering activities outside of work. Helping others will allow you utilizing your gifts and give you a sense of greater purpose as you will be giving back to others.

By following the seven tips listed above, you will be on your way to a healthier work-life balance. Be careful not to set your goals too high, just half an hour to an hour a day can really make a difference.

[riverrunhr]

We like to talk about being green, sustainable development, and heaven knows I had to argue with my 4 year old that even if he ate the fruit I packed in his snack box because would not be personally accountable for the extinction of the majestic apple.

So, why do your employees apparently not care much about the environment when it comes to your office? TeamViewer has a new survey out that shows that your employees don't think about the environment once they step over your doorstep.

74 percent don't turn lights off when they leave the room 60 percent don't make their own lunch 53 percent don't make an effort to minimize printer usage 50 percent don't power down their computer 39 percent don't recycle 34 percent don't avoid bottled water

The interesting thing is that these are people who do all that stuff at home. They just don't think about it when it's on someone else's dime.

So, what is TeamViewer's solution if you really want to make your company go green? Let your employees telecommute. Nearly all employees (97 percent) say they use fewer resources when working from home, including gas (86 percent), printer paper (31 percent), electricity, markers and pencils (15 percent), shower water (13 percent) and even pain pills (12 percent).

Is the environmental impact worth having your employees work from home? As the woman who bought the tuna in the first place, I'm not the best person to answer that question. But, if it's a value that you want your company to hold (and going green may not be optional in the future, according to my Inc.com colleague, Jeff Haden), it may be worth looking into.

Even if you're paying for the paper and the printer and the ink, when it's magically filled by an office manager or admin, people don't think about it--not as much as they do when they have to fill it and buy the ink themselves.

I'm a bit frightened by the less shower water usage, as it gives into the stereotype of the work from home employee sitting in his bathrobe with three days of beard growth. But, as long as they aren't client facing, does it matter?

Are you celebrating Earth Day?

[riverrunhr]

Dear River Run,

I have been in a new role for four months and have gone above and beyond my written job description. I complete all my weekly tasks on schedule, take on new projects, and often stay late or work on weekends to get the job done. When I first started, I was trained on a new function (let’s call it Project Bob). My boss then asked me to work on a special project (let’s call it Project Jane), which took up a lot of time. We both agreed two months in that I should focus 100 percent of my time to work on Jane.

When the time came for my performance evaluation, my boss gave me a 2 regarding my work on Bob. For everything else she gave me a 3 — and gave me one 4 on a piece related to Jane. Thus, my score averaged out to a 3. I have a comfortable relationship with her, so I explained why I disagreed with her assessment about Bob. I then asked her to reconsider the 2. She did not agree or disagree.

Overall, I am very disappointed with my score. My boss claims that a 3 is a good score, particularly for someone who is new. I am wondering if I should dispute this further — particularly the 2 — or should I just let it go?

Take a deep breath and let it go.

Performance ratings reflect so much more than actual performance. They have politics, tradition and budgets all wrapped together in one number that will haunt you the rest of your life.

Often, companies have quotas that define the percentage of people who can receive each performance rating. So not only do you have to be performing "above" the job description, you have to be in the top 10, 15 or 20 percent of employees overall. So it doesn't matter if you're fabulous -- it matters if you are more fabulous than everyone else.

With those restrictions come the politics. Every manager wants to reward her own employees because rewarded employees are happy employees. But how high up your manager stands in the company can determine your chances of being awarded a top rating. Her boss may bestow more 4s on another department and your boss my just have to deal with it.

Likewise, the reason your boss neither agreed nor disagreed with your complaint may well be because she didn't choose your final rating. I've had numerous phone calls with managers where I've said, "You need to move one more person from a 4 to a 3 before I can approve this." Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Well, that's how the ball bounces. If there's a limit of 15 percent of employees who can be rated a 4, and your 4 would push it to 20 percent, you're going to miss out.

And why you, and why not someone else? Well, knowing nothing about your coworkers' performance, I can state that since you are new to the job, you are the likely choice for a lower rating.

You've only been in the role for four months. Why should you get a 4 when someone who has been in her role for four years and performs at an equal level get stuck with the 3?

It's often an unwritten rule that no one gets anything other than average their first year. You should consider yourself lucky that you didn't get stuck with a 2. Some managers will try to fill their low-rating quota with new employees. That shouldn't happen, but it does.

There's also money at stake. Ratings often contribute to your annual salary increase and any performance bonus. There is only so much money, but the percentages are often spelled out in policy. If you get a rating of 4, you get a 10 percent bonus. If your rating is a 3, you get a 5 percent bonus. And if you're a 2, you get nothing. Even without a forced ratings distribution, the company can't give everyone a 10 percent budget, so, again, someone has to get the 3.

Your boss heard you out. Your rating isn't bad. It's probably not even unfair. If you fight something like this, it won't be helpful to you in the long run. Yes, it may be unpleasant, but let it go.

[riverrunhr]

Do Yourself a Favor, Avoid a Lawsuit

The last thing your small business or startup needs is a law suit.

Beyond the time and expense of going through a potentially lengthy legal battle, it’ll assuredly divert your attention away from other important priorities like running your business.

And while having an attorney on speed dial is helpful, patent trouble and liability issues aren’t the only legal curve balls that can come your way. Your employees–and even the government, regardless of whether your employees complained–can sue you.

Do yourself a favor, avoid a legal scuffle with workers. Here are six tips that’ll help you stay out of court and in compliance with the law:

To keep reading, click here for 6 ways to stay out of court: http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/6-ways-to-keep-your-small-business-out-of-court.html

[riverrunhr]

New Year, New Resume

For those of you who have resisted customizing your resume because it’s too much work, I've often told me there are some simple way to customize your resume.

I picked up these tips from a CBS Money Watch post months ago and have kept it in mind as I've given folks advice on how to tackle this much needed but not fun project.

Generic resumes don't work. Virtually any career coach or HR professional will tell you that to stand out from the piles of applications, you need to customize your resume to the job you want. Most job hunters will protest that they don't have an unlimited amount of time to spend crafting their resume. True, but customizing your resume doesn't have to be an arduous, time-suck. Therefore, what follows are eight simple steps to creating a resume that will stand out. Here we go!

Identify the key phrases. Print out that job posting, or save it to your desktop. Then highlight the key phrases: "High energy environment," "Work with key leadership and clients," "Frequent travel,'' "HTML Experience."

Make your language match. Now go through your resume and replace what you've written with these key phrases where it makes sense. Note! This is not lying. This is about careful word choice. Your resume says, "Met regularly with key leadership teams," but the job posting says, "Interfaces with senior management," so use their language instead. Both mean the same thing. Studying the job post's key phrases may also remind you of important skills or experience you may have left out. "Oh--they want someone with Six Sigma Experience? I have that!"

Make every word count. Items that aren't directly relevant to this job should be deleted, or moved to the bottom of each section. That temp job in another industry? Gone. Likewise, look to condense and reduce the clutter. You don't want the recruiter or hiring manager to spend so much time reading about things that don't matter that they gloss over the things that do matter.Those three jobs at Brand X should be lumped together or highlight only the most impressive job. Remember: What you edit out for one application may prove useful for another.

Give the right skills top billing. If you're applying for a project manager position, make sure your mad project management skills are prominent, but if the next application is for an analyst role, highlight your analytical skills in that resume. Is this a job that requires doing complex computer work? Itemize the software you know and what you have done with it right at the top of the resume. You want the human who sees this to immediately say, "Hey, she knows [blah blah blah] program!"

Think outside the resume. As a general rule, your resume should only be about your career and your education. However, what if you're applying for an accounting position for an interior design firm? Then that flower decorating class you took for fun should find its way onto your resume. An interior design firm may find it appealing that you're not only great with numbers but interested in design. That's an advantage over your competitors.

Don't get carried away. You should be tweaking your resume so that it accurately reflects the experience you have that matches the job requirements. Don't lie and don't exaggerate because you may not like the consequences. As long as you are honest, you won't have to worry about an employer seeing two different versions of your resume . Any reasonably savvy recruiter or hiring manager will understand exactly what you're doing.

Proofread it--over and over and over and over again. One set of eyes (especially yours--it's very difficult to spot your own mistakes) is not enough. Ask at least 3 other people to look it over. Check for they're/there/their, your/you're and rogue apostrophes. Spell check will not discover those kinds of mistakes, and grammar checks are almost worthless when it comes to a resume since you're not using complete sentences. If your resume is in a language other than your native language, get a native speaker to proofread it.

Celebrate! You've got a first-rate custom resume, and there's a bonus: The time you spent writing it was great preparation for an interview as now. After all, you've studied the job posting, figured out how your experience applies to the job, and thought about extra experiences that enhance you as a candidate. If you have to create another one, you'll do it in half the time.

Good luck!! And seriously, I get this post is super long but I promise, it'll be worth the reading!!

[riverrunhr]

Hiring an Employment Lawyer

I frequently tell people it’s time to hire an attorney. For instance, I met someone in the Carribean on vacation a few months back who feels she was illegally terminated from her school district position in California after returning from maternity leave. She received a hefty severance but she's unsure if that's the type of thing you need a lawyer for. Me saying, “Gee, that sounds unfair!” won’t cut it. (And, given the level of employee friendly legislation in California, finding a trustworthy lawyer might be a bit difficult.)

Anyway, sometimes you need a lawyer, whether it’s something simple like help with severance negotiation (which can sometimes be complex, but often is simple), or something complex like a sexual harassment case. But, contacting a lawyer can be a little scary. You don’t know what to expect. You may never have needed the services of an attorney before. If you need an employment lawyer now or might need one in the future, read this.

1. How to Hire An Employment Lawyer. This tells you what to look for, that you’ll have to pay, and all about the questionnaire you’ll have to fill out.

2. Preparing for Your Initial Consultation With An Employment Lawyer. He or she will tell you what to bring and what to leave home and even how to dress. (Yes, it matters).

Seriously, do your research and embrace it. Our company has our own firm that we use when our clients need assistance and an employment lawyer. It will save you time and money if you know what you need to do going in. Also, you can find an employment attorney at NELA.org. If there are other employee side employment attorney organizations, I’m happy to add them to this post.

Contact River Run HR for feedback on whether you think you may need an employment attorney.

[riverrunhr]

How great are they? How great are you?

I’ve worked in Human Resources all my adult life. This means I’ve had the opportunity to talk with more people about their job qualifications, skills, abilities and interests than most. One thing is clear, a majority of people I talk to are people who do not want to tell you how great they are. It’s usually the opposite.

I hear about peoples’ anxieties, feelings of inadequacy, desire to improve, etc. The people who really are the “rockstars” are often the least likely to toot their own horn. The people that constantly tell everyone how great they are or how many things they accomplish are often the ones who are doing so in order to cover the fact that they are living a lie. Their performance can be sub-par and they overcompensate to hide that they are insecure or less productive.

I am starting to see the same thing on social platforms. Do you have that one friend who posts non-stop about how great their marriage is? Well, it probably isn’t. How about the “friend” who has the “best job in the world” or who self promotes constantly in order to sell something? Safe to say we probably all know people like these.

So what’s the point?

When are we going to be able to convince people that it’s ok to not be perfect at everything? I’m going to challenge everyone to use 2014 as a year when you do two things:

If you’re someone who doesn’t like to take credit or accolades for all the good things you do…. try to do it more in the coming year. YOU are the type of people we want to hear from because you’re the one doing your best to keep companies running, to treat employees and customers with respect, to volunteer in charitable organizations, to participate in your religious community, and more.

If you’re someone who ONLY shares a hyped-up version of reality or over-inflates your performance, take it down a notch in 2014. Just be yourself. Be real. It will make others accept you more and you’ll find that whether it’s being more honest at work about areas you can improve or online by promoting yourself less…. you’ll be happier and more supported.

What do you think? Which bucket do you fall into?