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, 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.
Because Pink’s no-BS career guide gets it.
Here’s how I know Diana’s advice (actually Pink’s advice) is spot on – I got into PR, and have been successful in it for more than a decade, as the result of a total accident.
So explode your mind, embrace your chopsticks. Here’s a quick review:
1. There is no plan
2. Think strengths not weaknesses
3. It’s not about you
4. Persistence trumps talent
5. Make excellent mistakes (I say “Fail forward.” Penelope Trunk says, “Fail fast.”)
6. Leave an imprint
I recommend Johnny Bunko – you’ll use it for a long time and it will be great to refer to when you get into a rough spot. I also recommend Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success by Penelope Trunk.
And no, I’m not getting money, chachkes or influence for these recommendations – I really believe Dan and Penelope are smart and know what they’re talking about.
Filed under: Recent Graduates | Tags: action, collge grads, organization, resumes, story
Anticipating that family Thanksgiving with some anxiety? Thinking of Aunt Susan’s questions about what you’re going to do after graduation? Here’s what to do now so you can kick-start your transition into the job market.
Thanksgiving doesn’t have to devolve into a half-eaten turkey carcass, gravy spots on the tablecloth and sweating under the spotlight as family members turn away from the bird and take turns grilling you on your post-graduation plans. Instead, you’ve got time to put together a plan that will fend off the traditional Turkey Day Torture that afflicts hundreds of thousands of graduates-to-be across the U.S.
First, congratulate yourself. You just helped elect the next President. Take a deep breath.
Now start thinking about your resume.
What??!!
You heard me – your resume.
Before you put together your job search, you’ve got to put together a resume. Old school? Yes, but it’s the one item that is still required by just about every employer.
OK, even if you’ve decided that you’ll let go of your plans to become a choreographer and will instead join Uncle Pete’s plumbing company, you’ve got to organize yourself.
That’s where a resume comes in.
Put together your grade sheets over the past three and a half years. Look at your achievements. Think about where you want to be two years out. What do you really like doing? Maybe you’ve put together a list of companies you’re interested in after a visit to the Career Center. Maybe you’ve even gotten a great internship.
All of it is grist for the mill. Write it down. Doesn’t matter what order – just capture it. Do it on paper, do it online. Grab all the stuff you’ve done during school. Do a timed writing. Check your watch and just list everything for about 15 minutes. Now stop.
Take a short walk, drink a glass of water. Sit down and pound on the experience for another 15 minutes.
Walk away from it. When you go back, take a quick look at what you’ve written. What natural categories can everything fit in? Research? Lab work? Projects? Writing?
How will an employer view your experience? What have you done that will help her business or organization? If you managed a team of people working on an election, describe what you did and the results.
What firsts, bests and mosts can you claim?
A great resume doesn’t just state the facts – it helps you organize your thinking so that you can clearly tell someone what you’ve done. When they understand your story, they’ll see what you can do for them and their organization and be more likely to hire you.
