Filed under: Executive, General, Legal, Professional, Recent Graduates, Uncategorized | Tags: crisis management HR, Ft. Hood, Katrina, workplace violence
The tragedy at Ft. Hood yesterday reminded me of a situation a psychologist friend worked on – it was a shooting in an office building in San Francisco and it was the first time I’d heard the term ‘workplace violence.’
How do we handle such situations?
There is care and compassion for those who have been injured, for their families, friends, neighbors and for our communities – because when this kind of violence occurs, it happens to all of us.
At some point, it will be time to think about a crisis HR plan for your organization.
A crisis plan, or critical incident management plan, is important so that the HR team is aware of the issue and works actively to prevent workplace violence. It’s also critical to have a plan for response – so that everyone in an organization knows what to do if the worst happens.
There is a huge difference between the Enron or Madoff economic crises, a natural catastrophe such as Hurricane Katrina and the mass shootings at Ft. Hood. Articles on crisis management and HR often focus on proactive planning and preventative preparation. The best HR crisis managment encourages the team to ‘think about the unthinkable’ and build alternatives based on worst-case scenarios.
We can do several things about workplace violence, even though it presents a unique set of challenges. A USDA handbook stipulates five ways to prevent workplace violence:
1. Pre-employment screening
2. Security
3. Alternative Dispute Resolution
4. A Threat Assessment Team
5. Employee Assistance Programs
Additional resources are listed at the end of this post.
Perhaps most important in prevention is keeping in touch and maintaining relationships with people.
Know when a group is under more than the usual amount of stress. Be aware of potential reactions to a merger, performance reviews or the closing of a business location. Initiate ad hoc discussions and ask how things are going – then listen carefully.
Establish training for supervisors and managers. Add it to their annual review. Make it measurable.
Don’t let employees ‘go solo.’ Try to find ways to connect people to their work community.
RESOURCES
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Videos and transcript on workplace violence
OSHA - Workplace Violence Awareness and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Occupational Violence
University of Iowa - Report on Workplace Violence
U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Dealing With Workplace Violence
Filed under: General, Uncategorized | Tags: Financial Times, Madoff, trust, verify
An article in the Financial Times caught my eye, not just because it was about Bernard Madoff. Turns out he was waiting to be caught – and several times thought his goose was cooked.
The auditors had a preconceived notion as to where a problem would be found. Because their concept blinded them, they didn’t take the simple steps needed to uncover the huge losses that now make up the largest-ever Ponzi scheme.
You can read the entire piece here.
Verification is not optional – it has to be part of an ongoing methodology. It is impersonal and never eliminated because you ‘trust’ an employee. A friend in banking did that and found her most trusted employee walked out of the branch in handcuffs by the FBI after years of careful embezzling from two elderly brothers.
Verification doesn’t mean we don’t trust. It means we trust the process, not the person.
Filed under: Executive, General, Legal, Professional, Recent Graduates | Tags: background, HR, reference
Sometimes we get confused about the difference between reference checks and background checks.
For employers and candidates alike, it’s important to be clear about each.
REFERENCE CHECKS
References given to a potential employer by a candidate are expected by both groups to provide positive feedback. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, though.
Candidates: don’t assume that your references will say nice things. Always ask what your reference will say about their experience with you. Unless you hear it, you won’t know what they’ll say. Also, be certain that your reference ‘hits the target’ for the potential employer by telling brief stories that relate to the job they need to fill. Help your former supervisor, VP or peer by bringing them into the process and sharing how you’ve related prior experience to the requirements the company needs.
If you’re a candidate and you worked at ACME, Inc., be aware the employer will often try to connect with people they know at ACME to get an unvarnished version of your contributions there. This cross-checking is solid HR practice and, if favorable, adds to a decision in your favor. It’s also another reason to stick to the truth.
Employers: during reference checks listen intently for red flags. If you hear one, note it and probe further or find a way to get clarification from one of the interviewers or from another reference. Review the constraints ahead of time and ask only what your legal department approves.
Understand the kinds of responses that eliminate a candidate, abide by those boundaries and move on to the next candidate or go fish to build the pool. It’s a waste of time and money to perform background checks on candidates that don’t even pass the internal vetting process or whose references are lukewarm.
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Candidates: if you tell people who are interviewing you that you’re detail oriented and their background check reveals that you forgot to pay your taxes for the past five years, you’re wasting your time and theirs. Make it easy on yourself and on them. Not many will agree with me, but I say self-disclose up front anything that could become an issue. Did you make a youthful indiscretion? Many of us have – some got caught, others didn’t.
If you know that you’ve got outstanding issues, begin to clean them up today. In this kind of market there are too many people job hunting that don’t carry baggage. Clear away the wreckage of the past so you don’t trip yourself.
Employers: do the background check, do the background check, do the background check. Let me say it once more: Do the background check!
Follow your protocol. If you don’t have a process, create one. Check diplomas. Yes, I know it’s irritating when the registrar’s office at UCLA puts you on hold. Get over it. Check all diplomas. Do a criminal background check. Do a DMV check if it’s appropriate. Do a credit check if needed. If you need to get a private investigator involved, do it. If you’re a governmental or military agency, you’ll already have specific procedures depending on the position classification. The higher up the ladder the position, the more important the background check can be.
Am I being too strict? Recently at a nationally-known brand coffee shop, I ran into someone who has been working for the probation department. He commented to me, “Employers have no idea how many people leave the fact that they’ve done time and are on parole off of their job application – in fact, there’s one behind the counter right over there.”
Beyond making sure that your organization is protected, HR people who make sure that background checks are complete and accurate are protecting the company’s most valuable asset – people.
Filed under: Executive, General, Legal, Professional | Tags: HR, hiring, year end
When I worked writing resumes for Don Asher in San Francisco, I once asked him about the best months for snagging a job. Of course he laughed. What I found at Resume Righters was that November and December are great months for job seekers. Sound counterintuitive? Keep reading…
Once again, I have to hand it to Laurie R. over at Punk Rock HR, who knows what she’s talking about when she says, “It’s a myth that no one hires in November & December.” Her take is worth a look.
So here’s why I know there are jobs to be had in the next two months…
When I worked in retail, needless to say November and December were our biggest – and most profitable – months. But a lot – and I mean A LOT – of companies that I bought merchandise from used the last two months of the year to aggressively close deals, prep new biz for the coming year and set themselves up for a quick start.
Thinking about the New Year doesn’t just start when the champagne and noisemakers are hauled out at 11:59 p.m. on December 31st. Smart hiring managers don’t have to be squeezed to solve their problems and get staff in place – they’re doing it NOW!
Let everyone else think that the year end is slow – pick up the pace and make more contacts. This is the time to get yourself prepped for 2010 – and find the hiring managers and recruiters that are doing the same.
Filed under: Executive, General, Legal, Professional, Recent Graduates | Tags: Asperger's, autism, diversity, Laurie Ruettimann, Nilofer Merchant, No More Corporate Dodgeball, Penelope Trunk
Do our workplaces really welcome people who are different?
Laurie Ruettimann recently commented on this over at Punk Rock HR. Her post on autism, Asperger’s and neurodiversity made me think.
People with Asperger’s can be very high-functioning in terms of actual work produced, yet may have difficulty with social interactions. So team environments can present a challenge.
Penelope Trunk writes about this on her blog Brazen Careerist. She said, “People with Asperger Syndrome don’t want to stand out or be the center of attention. They just want to get along with people and have things run smoothly.” Trunk knows – she has Asperger’s.
Ruettimann’s post brings up a number of questions, but I’m particularly interested in how we’ll solve the social aspect because collaboration is so important.
In her recent manifesto, No More Corporate Dodgeball, Nilofer Merchant, author of The New How, envisions co-creation, cooperation and collaboration as critical requirements for a company to become a real force in business. Which, Merchant says, means we’ll have to discuss problems openly – especially ones that are difficult, political or unpleasant. No more avoidance.
The kind of openness demonstrated by Laurie, Penelope and Nilofer helps me add new smarts to my ‘relating to others’ toolkit.
The more honesty we can encourage in the workplace, the more diversity we can really have in our workforce. In addition to great work, we’ll also gain understanding, compassion and fairness.
Filed under: Executive, Professional | Tags: background check, HR, nonprofit
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been watching a drama unfold at a highly visible nonprofit in my county. I’d like to share what’s happened with you because there’s a lot to be learned from the situation.
Here’s the scene: the ED of the nonprofit had a court case pending in Southern California. It appears that he was caught in an FBI sting for molesting a young lady who was underage, with a felony charge the result. Further complicating the situation, the Board of Directors didn’t make sure a background check was done on the ED.
Bottom line?
If you’re a candidate, please don’t think that you can move from one county to another – heck, even from one state to another – and leave your legal problems behind. Particularly if you’re interviewing for a position that requires you to be in the public spotlight, know that your name will be visible everywhere. Most organizations will do a thorough background check – including a check on your degrees and possibly even your driving record.
Don’t kid yourself – if you’ve got something in your background, it’s only a matter of time – you can be sure it won’t remain hidden. At that point, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been employed for 25 days or 25 years. The end of the story is termination.
If you’re a member of the Board or make the hiring decision, remember that it never matters how nice the appearance is. Even feedback from references isn’t the same as a full background check. Trust, but verify. Always verify. If the individual you’re hiring comes in contact with children and you haven’t properly vetted them, you’ve just left your organization open for a lawsuit.
The organization in question is possibly in for further damage. We’re nearly a third of the way into the last quarter of the year. Why is that important? Because nonprofits campaign for donations at this time of year and there’s potential for donors to give elsewhere.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Regardless of what’s happening during your job search, keep in mind that the only person who can really stop you is yourself.
Are you rolling your eyes? Stick with me here…
Of course the various people interviewing you during the process have input. And when you speak with the supervisor, you know their vote will be huge. Even the receptionist and security people may weigh in on you – no kidding. I’ve known clients who’ve told me the wrong word to the admin got them torpedoed. But then, you knew that.
So how can I say it’s up to you?
Because what someone else does has no bearing whatever on how you conduct yourself.
It’s impossible to know what will happen in advance, so you’ll always do the preparation. You’ll treat everyone you meet with respect. You’ll be attentive and understand that filling a job is much harder now, and the stakes are higher for people involved in making the decision.
Be real and present your best self. HR people and managers can spot a fake a mile away. Think of HR as the first line of protection for a company. They’re paid to keep the organization productive. What they’re really hoping for with each interview is finding that rarest of candidates – a person who has integrity, social skills, technical chops and dedicated work ethic.
Give it to everyone you meet by being consistent, considerate and demonstrating yourself and your skill with every encounter.
Filed under: General
Barbara Kiviat gets it – a year ago many of us viewed jobs as something we worked at while we waited for that killer idea we’d sell to venture capitalists. No longer.
Your 401K has cratered, the house is ‘under water,’ your diamonds and gold don’t appear to be holding their value and it’s been a long while since you’ve fed your insatiable appetite for a trip to Hawaii. Welcome to the recession.
Oh, by the way – you just might want to get serious about your job. Whaaaaaaat? You heard me – your job. That’s j-o-b.
With all the typical asset classes dropping in value, look to your employer as your most valuable asset.
Stop that screaming – I can hear it all the way over here on the Left Coast. Get serious and snuggle up to your job. The day of double digit returns on investments has disappeared like the buggy whip. Who knows when it may return.
Meanwhile, your surest source of riches? Let me repeat: it’s your job.
Now you can be smug about paying attention to Mrs. Chapin in 6th grade English class. In Kiviat’s article in the 3/23/2009 issue of Time, she quotes experts who compare the income stream from a job to the interest income you might receive from a bond. And education, flexibility, problem-solving ability and smarts coupled with social skills will pay you big dividends starting now. In short, it’s nice to be nice. And smart. A prior post on CEOs Mulcahy and Merchant makes the point.
With people now saving 5% of their paychecks, you don’t have to be a genius to figure out that there’s more than just the lure of a paycheck to a job. Not even considering the benefit side, a steady income also allows the recipient to provide their own private version of stimulus checks within their community in the form of buying groceries, clothing, gas, paying for dry cleaning and signing the monthly child care check.
If you need food for thought, consider this from brilliant career coach Jane Genova’s Career Transitions blog – of the 300 applicants for a cook’s job paying $25K recently, 9 applicants had a Ph.D. Jobs are a very valuable commodity.
Read Kiviat’s entire piece here and change your view of employment. You just gained an important asset – one that’s well worth protecting.
Filed under: Executive
Have a broad background and adaptability? You win, says Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy.
The NYT has a great interview done by Adam Bryant with legendary Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy. She and her management team have worked hard for many years to revitalize the company, succeeding in many areas against steep odds.
What stands out for me in this piece are two things.
First, she outs herself as a ‘pen tapper’ when irritated. When you’re working with executives, it’s important to pay attention to the signs of irritation. If they’re trying to get you to speed to the point, if they appear not to be listening, if, in Anne’s case, they start tapping their pen – pay attention. Compress your pitch. Get the key sentence out.
Do not drag them through the rest of the presentation just because you want to be heard. If that’s the case, go see a therapist or talk to your dog during your evening walk.
Far too few of us spend time ‘reading’ the reactions of others in business. One person I’ve worked with who is brilliant at this is Rubicon Consulting CEO Nilofer Merchant. An astute judge of character, she has a finely-honed ability to take an emotional intelligence reading at the same time she is untangling a complex multi-national business scenario. And, as Mulcahy notes in the interview, “We also learned a lot about identifying failure quickly.” CEOs like Merchant and Mulcahy are successful in part because they treat problem-solving like defusing a ticking time bomb.
Second, the man in the gray suit won’t work well in business today. Structure? It’s different than it was, and the rules keep changing. Roles? They morph to keep up with alterations provided by technology, culture, public sentiment (are you listening, AIG, Citi, and B of A?), and the economy.
Mulcahy’s take on the most important attributes she’s looking for in people? “Adaptability and flexibility. One of the things that is mind-boggling right now is how much we have to change all the time. For anybody who’s into comfort and structure, it gets harder and harder to feel satisfied in the company.”
The individual who’s willing to roll up their sleeves and get dirty, try something new and risk failure, or innovate knowing it may change everything – they’re the new winners. If you’re fluid with an ER-like penchant for using parallel inference to develop the right new answers to problems that might not have existed 10 minutes ago, you’re probably going to win.
For those who liked the old world of rigid, stratified, high-boundary hierarchy – sorry, game over.
Read the entire NYT interview with Mulcahy here. I’m a fan. Like Merchant, she’s a leader I’d follow anywhere.
The folks at your state unemployment office could be your new best friends.
OK, they’re not like that. Or at least they’re not wearing togas.
Make sure applying for unemployment is one of the first things you do after being laid-off. Pay attention to the rules – this is one part of the government that has very definite requirements. Read the web site, read the documents you’re required to fill out. Then take the time to read them through one more time before you complete your application.
Don’t press the button before you’re sure that you’ve done everything they’ve required. Know how often you have to report. Keep records. And make sure you track where and when you’ve sent your resume or applied for jobs. This is more important than ever since many applications will be done online.
My prior post about a New York Times video about Boomers at a job fair in New York makes that point – most of them were told to go to the company’s web site even though they’d gone to the fair to speak with recruiters in person. Frustrating, I’m sure.
When you start getting your checks, make sure the amount is correct (based on the salary you received at your last job) and deposit or cash the check immediately. Read any forms you receive. Do what they ask.
Keep it simple. Remember: every time you speak with the unemployment office, there’s a chance your benefits may be delayed or denied. Just follow the rules. Submit the forms on time, exactly as specified.
Want more on this? See Eve’s great post on unemployment over at Career Diva – she gets it!
