Category: HR Laws & Admin

Human Resource professionals are often given the task to create performance management systems. One would expect these systems should focus on the individual and organizational performance needed to achieve the organization’s targets and goals. However, it seems that often times these systems are counter-productive and result in anything but higher levels of achievement consistently and across all areas of the organization.

In my experience, the more systems we try to create, the more controls we tend to impose on the people in the organization. And despite the research that indicates these systems don’t produce improved engagement and long term productivity, we still tend to focus on systems that inflict control and encourage managers to monitor employees closely imposing strict rules and compliance.

A few years ago, I attended a SHRM conference where the keynote lunch speakers were Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, the creators of R.O.W.E. (Results Only Work Environment). As the speakers explained R.O.W.E. and the supported research and positive impact it had when launched at their organization, my table mates were shaking their heads and commenting on how it would never work in their organization.

In his book, Drive, Daniel Pink discusses further research and examples of organizations whose systems are getting more consistent results. These organizations are doing things differently than the traditional HR systems. Examples include Netflix no vacation policy and the customer service policy at Zappos which includes no scripts and no call time limits. These organizations have been able to achieve leading customer service and employee loyalty. They have become models for achieving the results that many HR folks are striving for when creating their systems. However, what do you think those HR folks say when they go to Vegas to tour Zappos? Oh, this would never work in our organization.

In our organization we manage to the 15% of people who need those rules, those scripts, and all that monitoring. And we can’t figure out why the other 85% keeps leaving.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz

During this holiday season, one can see images of Santa Claus everywhere. In fact, there is most likely a version of this jolly character in every room of my house. With all the decorating, the kids are starting to connect the dots and ask questions about whether or not there is a Santa Claus. The questions are logical and at this point still innocent and non accusatory. They still believe (I think), but they are starting to really analyze how this is all possible. Many of the answers I have provided at this point have been related to “the magic of Santa”; so now, the kids are asking if magic is real. And because it isn’t immediately predicated by a Santa question, I tell them no. And that’s where they are going to get it before I even realize that I have confirmed it for them.

How often does this very notion go on in your organizations? When was the last time you tried to sell your employees on some magic? Surely you can think of time when you spun the message to sound more positive or left out some details in a communication. Eventually like the kids, they will figure it out. However, unlike the kids, they can leave. Or they can stay and offer just a little less effort and put in a little less time.

Regardless of what they choose, you may lose. Communication is tough and sometimes HR is sales and marketing. Just make sure you aren’t selling Santa Claus.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Over at the HRCapitalist blog, Kris Dunn asked the question, “Why Don’t We Coach Employees More Than We Do?” This is a great question and to quote Dunn, “confrontation sucks.”
Another great question in the HR blog roll today, “What are you holding on to??” This one offered by Steve Brown in his blog, Everyday People. Browne shares a story about a company’s eight page dress code policy filled with all the things that employees can’t wear. Instead of providing guidance, employees are given pages of hard to follow rules.
So what would be your response to a few employees coming to work dressed inappropriately? Or how to you handle other policy or performance concerns? In most cases, drafting and posting an eight page policy isn’t easier than having a conversation with the employees in question. So, why does it still seem to be a common HR and management response?

Dunn is right; confrontation sucks. In my opinion, coaching should never be about confrontation. And when it is, it doesn’t happen. Instead you get an eight page policy about dress codes. The eight page policy makes you feel good about addressing the problem.

But did you change the behavior? Have you complained recently about no one reading policies anyway? If so, why would throw out another policy as the solution?

Address the issue. Be the change the you want to see. Start to remodel your culture where feedback isn’t confrontation.

Because confrontation does suck.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

If you ask a number of people what is HR’s number one priority or responsibility, you’ll most likely get a number of different responses based on who is answering the question even if two of those asked are in the same position. People are egocentric by nature. They tend to view things from their own experiences and needs. Below are a few examples of what one might hear, although there are many more.

CEO- “The primary responsibility of HR is risk management. They are here to keep us in compliance.”

CFO- “HR is here to keep our human capital operating at a maximum level of efficiency so that we can manage our labor costs.”

Managers-“I need HR to find me better talent.”

Supervisors-“HR’s primary responsibility is to handle my performance problems.”

Employees-“HR is here to make sure I am treated fair. Or at least they are supposed to be.”

HR- “It depends.”

With these varying viewpoints and opinions of what HR should be doing, it can be hard to define and measure success. Defining a terrible HR person may be in the eye of the beholder, but Suzanne Lucas, a.k.a. The Evil HR Lady offers you nine signs to figure it out. Follow the link and check out her list. It is top notch and covers the gamut of HR responsibilities from compliance to recruiting. Let me know what you add.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

In a previous post, I discussed some common misconceptions with illegal workplace behavior. With all the misconceptions that some behavior is illegal and with all the sexual harassment training that is provided, it should be easy to figure out that the following behavior is illegal:

• Exposing your genitals to female employees and forcing one to touch your private parts.
• Requiring women to participate in a “kissing” or “smooching” club to receive the sales leads and accounts necessary to earn commissions
• Firing women who reject managers’ sexual advances and complain about them

In a recent EEOC case against a Memphis company with a verdict of $1.5 million, a jury found that two male managers had subjected female employees to severe sexual harassment. Two of the three women involved in the case where then fired after making complaints.

Where was HR in this case? Or more importantly, if this was going on in your organization would you know? What would you do?

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

“Hey, I got an HR question for you.” This is a statement I hear often. In most cases it usually involves a scenario description followed by, “Is that legal?” In my experience, most of the scenarios I hear come from bad workplace conduct, behavior or policy and are not illegal. A recent blog post by Donna Bellman breaks down the top ten employment laws that you think exist that don’t. The post is straightforward and to the point. Follow the link for the entire list, but here are a few from my frequently asked questions:

Wrongful termination

If you live in Arizona or Montana, your employer can only fire you for just cause. Otherwise, they can fire you for any reason or no reason at all. They don’t have to have a good reason. They don’t even have to give a reason.

Hostile environment/harassment

Hostile work environment is not illegal. Harassment is not illegal. Bullying is not illegal. Hostile work environment or harassment due to race, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, color, taking Family and Medical Leave, whistleblowing, or some other legally-protected status is illegal.

Discrimination

Discriminating against you for being you is never illegal. Favoritism, nepotism, being a jerk, are not illegal. Discrimination based on age, race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, color and genetic information are illegal.

And despite the fact that many aren’t illegal, I am often surprised by how HR has responded to the scenarios I hear which range the gamut from full “blowing off’ to complete overreaction. If you an HR professional you need to know the difference. And if it is just bad workplace behavior take a stand against it even if it isn’t illegal.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count and everything that counts can not necessarily be counted. Albert Einstein

With all the business change that has occurred over the past few years, there is no question that the HR Department would need to keep up. It is likely that in nearly every organization there has been an emphasis on analysis of what is working and not working in all areas of the business. The trouble for HR is that sometimes, it’s hard to measure in true financial and business terms especially when the HR programs are working and things are going well in the organization. It seems that when the HR programs are working, someone else can always take the credit. But when HR is bad, it seems that it is easier for the organization to tie their failures to financial measures.
So what can HR pros do about it? Here’s a list to get you started:

1. Remove the HR Silos and ensure your talent departments (recruiting, compensation, learning and development, etc.) are working together.
2. Integrate the HR strategy to the business strategy.
3. Run your HR business as a business.
4. Know and understand the metrics. If the finance guys have them, know them and understand them. If they don’t, build a relationship (should be a strength in HR) and get them developed. If you don’t know how, find a few partners to help out.
5. Be prepared to adjust your strategy at any time necessary. This is business; it changes. Know how changes in budget and other business changes will affect the HR Strategy in financial terms. If you can’t do this, you don’t have a voice at the table even if you have a seat.
6. Enjoy the ride. Celebrate the good, fix the bad and know the difference.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

“This research clearly shows that the days of bloated HR organizations focused on administrative tasks are over,” said Josh Bersin, chief executive officer and president, Bersin & Associates. “Lean, technology-enabled, well-trained HR teams are able to take advantage of modern talent practices and partner with business leaders to drive impact.”

The above quote by Bersin is in response to a two year global study released by Bersin & Associates that examined HR effectiveness in organizations. The study further found that the effectiveness of HR has a significant impact on the performance of the organization. The old model of the HR as administrator is not effective and according to the study, HR departments are not prepared for the new role. This new role requires that HR is skilled in areas such as technology, social media, sourcing top talent, identifying and developing leaders, compensation, and driving performance through effective coaching and feedback.

If you are in the role of HR and still see your job as administrative and compliance driven, this study should scare you. Companies will not be able to afford to have these missing skill sets in the future. The role is too critical and failure will not be an option.

Do you think this why we are currently seeing a trend that those in top HR roles in companies come from different business units? If you are in HR and you don’t get the business, learn it or step aside. And while it was stated in the press release of the study that these are the future skills of HR, I say they are the here and the now.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

If you are an HR professional, you have most likely had a few tough conversations with employees. Early in my career, my supervisor would always call on the days when I had to have a particularly difficult conversation with an employee. He would always start the conversation with “tough day.” I knew that this was his way of asking me how it went. Now the “tough day” designation did not occur with every conversation that one might put in the difficult column. Personally, I don’t find matter of fact discussions about performance or the company’s decision to terminate difficult. Usually by the time one of those conversations takes place, every effort has been made to help the employee succeed and the conversation is simply an expression of a consequence that has been previously communicated.

The “tough day” conversations for me are the ones that happen because we are in business and while it can be argued that HR folks are in the business of people, we are still in business. This means that sometimes changes in the landscape of the business or the industry or just a natural disaster can totally change the business requiring swift actions and tough decisions. I recently had a “tough day.” I had to have one of those conversations with someone whose life will likely be altered due to no fault of their own. A necessary business decision was made and even though it was the absolute right decision, I still hated having to bear the news. Quite honestly, it’s the part of the job that sucks.

But on that day, I didn’t have much time to dwell on how much it sucks. Immediately after the conversation (which required three or four different hats), I put on my recruiter hat and got busy selling. That was directly followed up by more hat changing as I put on the coaching hat, the benefits hat, the payroll hat, the unemployment hat, the legal hat, and then ended the day with the training and development hat. In was in that last few hours of the day, that I remembered what it is about HR that I love. It’s the hundred conversations I had that day. And while they ran the gamut in subject matter and emotion, they were business, people business. In the people business, you can’t avoid “tough days.”

Next time you have a “tough day”, remember that it is part of the business and your role is to handle it with respect, honesty and candor.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

So what do you say when an employee asks, “What’s the policy regarding [insert any random employee concern here]? If the answer starts with, “Well, the handbook says […], but we usually we just do it this way. Then you may be in trouble. Or, have you ever given the answer that you believed to be correct just to have the employee state, “well, the handbook says I am entitled to […].” And as soon as it is out of their mouth, you say, “well, that is not how we do things.” Or, instead of saying a word, you pull out the handbook and frantically search to find the source of their comment certain that you are going to prove them wrong. If any of the above scenarios sound familiar to you, your handbook or your handbook compliance may need a tune-up.

Having an accurate, up to date handbook has many advantages in the workplace. It provides employees and supervisors with guidance on how to handle situations as they arise. However, compliance with the policies contained within consistently across the organization can be even more important to mitigate risk to the organization. And while mitigation of risk shouldn’t be the only priority of HR professionals, it is a necessary part of the job. And even if you are not concerned with risk mitigation, just having the consistent compliance with policies provides a better workplace for employees. They like knowing what is expected and what consequences will occur for not meeting those expectations.

Below is a list of things to consider when creating, updating and communicating your employee handbook or Standard Operating Procedures. What can you add to the list?

1. Have it reviewed by an attorney.
2. Review it at regular intervals to ensure policies are current and up to date.
3. Have a plan in place to address updates to policies. How will the updates be communicated to the organization?
4. Ensure the communication of all policies to everyone in the organization.
5. Provide training to supervisors and company leaders on the importance of consistently following all policies.
6. Keep a log of all updates and changes to all policies.
7. Don’t lock yourself into consequences you don’t want to enforce. Doing so, will encourage non-compliance and get you into trouble.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.