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: 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.
With the Super Bowl coming up soon, you might wonder if there’s value in a pre-interview snack of tail gate leftovers before that interview.
The NYT published a recipe I can only call ‘bacolicious’ – and definitely just for those who are struggling to keep their fat intake flying off the charts.
Call your cardiologist before attempting this….click here for the entire story.
I’ve never imagined weaving bacon into a meat mat that wraps around sausage before – thanks to Jason Day and Aaron Chronister for their genius. Please guys – don’t share the recipe with President Obama, we need to keep him on the job.
The 411 on pre-interview snacks?
No sugary foods, no fatty foods. Sorry, eating the Bacon Explosion before you interview is likely to have paramedics carting you out of the VP’s office on a gurney or nodding off into dreamland as all the fat hits your system.
Stick with protein and keep it light. A snack of almonds and some water about 30 minutes before your appointment will probably be optimal.
Filed under: Professional | Tags: Kubler-Ross, layoff, Professional, take stock
It’s irritating and can be demoralizing…let’s shorten the amount of time you feel those emotions by taking stock.
Layoffs happen. Whether in a great or not-so-great economy, change is a constant in the job market.
If you’ve heard of Kubler-Ross, you probably know about the various stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Once you’ve gotten your separation packet and the good-bye luncheon is over, you face the first morning without your old job. You’re not without work – your new job is finding a job. Move forward by taking stock.
Use a piece of paper or your computer – we’re going to make a list. An experience inventory.
Separate your life by decade. Some wll have more experience, some less. We’re not judging it, we’re making it visible so we can work with it.
Why is this important? All of us have valuable experience and skills – more than we know. Soon after leaving a job, the back pats and ‘how will we do it without you?’ disappear. Gather your experience and skills together and make them visible.
Writing or printing on a piece of paper sticks around and reminds you exactly what you have to offer. This is important because you’ll be telling people your story. I’m not just talking about a discussion over golf with that EVP or the lunch with the VP of HR – I’m talking about people like your dry cleaner, your grocery clerk and your shoe repair guy. Your team on Twitter, Plurk and the other social media you frequent. Also, your peeps on LinkedIn.
Back to the inventory. What did you achieve from 1-9? No extra points for toilet training or using a napkin – stick with things that you did related to learning, team-building, getting along with others, listening to directions and carrying them out to a logical conclusion.
10-19 was a big educational leap. You went through middle school and high school. Social learning took place in the classroom, during sports and other extracurricular activities. Your family life changed, too. Maybe you experienced family difficulty. Perhaps you logged your first personal triumph. Maybe you got your first job – what was it like and what did you learn? Write it down.
20-29 you went to college, you graduated or didn’t, you took a job. Many of you married. Some had kids. You might have entered the service. Whatever you did, there was a lot of learning. You became an adult and took on responsibilities. Perhaps you gained a mentor. Wordprocess it or write it on the page.
30-39 you were in the middle of a series of jobs or career moves. If you took on a great deal of professional training, this may have been when you got out of school and began to practice using those skills you spent years honing. What happened? Who was influential in your life? Think about the subsequent mentors you had. What mistakes did you make? What abilities did you pick up that you still use? Print it out.
40-49 you became an expert at what you were doing. Some people published books or authored articles during this phase of their work life. Frequently, professionals are called on by their organization and others to become speakers. Your leadership was further developed. You might start mentoring others. The toughest problems always find their way to your desk. Your expertise continues to grow.
50-59 there is a definite switch into responsibilities that are big – often global – and that effect others. Planning that you’ve done for years begins to come to fruition. Change is still a constant. You’ve learned a lot and pass it on to others. You share freely and are considered a top-ranked expert in your field. Capture all of it.
60-69 you realize that you don’t want to stop contributing. Your natural curiosity has served you well and you’ve become a life-long learner. Your attitude is positive, you’re fresh and bright. Challenges are what you live for. You might have developed several companies and taken them public. Or you may have stayed with one particular thing and now become a master at it. People seek you out, whether you are a public or private figure. Write it down.
Let it marinate for a day, then go over the various sheets. Underline every instance of knowledge you see. What experience did you capture that you’d forgotten you have? What’s relevant? What’s dated and can be dumped?
Once you’ve done this exercise, you’ve got a good basis for a resume. Be sure to add in awards and achievements. Not everything will be used, but everything is important.
