Management Craft

Face to Face Interviews - Apparently we don't pick the best people and meeting them in person does not help our odds of selection. Fast Company article.

I was reading the latest issue of Fast Company on the plane on Saturday and found this article very interesting. It is called, It May be Wiser to Hire People Without Meeting Them. Hmmm. The gist of this piece is that, while we think that meeting a person in person will help us collect more information from which we can be MORE objective and make a better selection, this may not be the case. The article offers some fascinating research that showed that meeting someone in person did not improve selection in terms of job fit and success. Here is a snippet:

Here's the reality: Interviews are less predictive of job performance than work samples, job-knowledge tests, and peer ratings of past job performance. Even a simple intelligence test is dramatically more useful.

What do you think. Check out the article and then come back here and make your argument. How ought this thinking change how we hire (if it should at all)?

Is that prized in-person chemistry important? Or more important than other notions of job fit?

I would like to see better culture fit assessments, too.

Your thoughts?

What's your social media policy at work?

Here's a nice post from the HR Bartender called, 10- Must Haves for Your Social Media Policy. Check it out. I think the policy should be clear, but not so prescribed that it prevents employees from using social media for good reasons - like development. We want to encourage people to engage in informal learning that will help them do their jobs. And I agree with Sharlyn that to write a good policy, you need to understand the nature of social media - someone who has never/rarely participated in using social media should not be the one driving the creation and use of the policy. In other words, HR and training people ought to be practitioners of social media. Totally.

Fireside Chat With Steve Kerr - Reward Systems

Do your employees know what success looks like in measurable and behavioral terms? Check out this podcast!

During this 34 minute podcast, I chat with Steve Kerr, author of Reward Systems: Does Yours Measure Up? I think all managers - and certainly all HR pros should check out this book. Steve was the CLO (Chief Learning Officer) for GE and co-authored the popular books The GE Work-Out and The Boundaryless Organization. During this chat, we talk about the important of operationally defining what we mean by excellence and how this conversion is at the core of management.

You can listen to my podcast with the Steve Kerr by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here.

And just a reminder.....

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

HR Headlines - Funny Tragic Useful

I was reading one of those HR newsletters that we all get but never remember signing up for. Here are a few of the article headlines that I found amusing:

Overtime Suits Due to Blackberry Usage May Become Problem

This is a curse and a blessing if you are an HR professional or a senior leader. A curse if you end up defending yourself in a suit - I can see this getting very messy and will likely skew in the employee's favor (remember, all time spent on behalf of the company, even if you did not ask the employee to do it, is compensable). This trend could be a blessing, though, because it might shock us into creating better balance.

Firms that Downsize See Surge in Turnover

Isn't this ironic? You make tough cuts, only to see more cuts happen on their own. Perhaps we should just threaten a downsizing and see if the cuts happen naturally. Only kidding - we both know that the people who leave on their own accord won't be the ones we want to leave.

This one is actually useful....

New Retirement Benefits Estimator is Available

You can log onto the Social Security Administration at www.socialsecurity.gov.estimator and get personalized benefit amount estimates.

A call to action for managers and HR pros.

Times are tough. Even if you are doing OK, you know and notice that many workers are struggling to keep up. Companies are scaling back right when their workers need bigger raises to make up for huge price increases in gas, food, travel and housing.

So what are you doing to help? Well, if you are a manager or an HR professional, I recommend you get busy thinking of ways to make the lives of your valued employees better.

• Consider adjusting wages up if you can
• Offer alternative schedules to cut down on commuting expenses and improve work life balance
• Offer telecommuting if you can
• Adjust start times to allow people to come to work when there is less gas gobbling traffic
• Offer financial management classes to help people make better financial decisions
• Offer a bus pass program or other incentives for using public transportation
• Reduce business travel and use the money for pay and benefits - webinars are the way to go
• Ask your employees for their input on ways you can help

Now is NOT the time to be too rigid when it comes to schedules and workspaces. HR professionals and department managers have an opportunity - and obligation - to make a positive contribution during these times of economic uncertainty.

And if you are not in a decision making position, I suggest you print this post out and leave it in the mailboxes of several managers and the HR team on the morning before their next staff meeting. Be a catalyst!

Fireside Chat with Michael Volpe

Is there a "War of Talent?" Maybe not. Check out this podcast!

During this 20 minute podcast, I chat with Michael Volpe, HR Knowledge Manager and Editor of iWorkwell, about the supposed War of Talent. Michael makes the argument that there is no war for talent based on how we make hiring decisions. The podcast ends with some sage advice about how we approach attending to our business challenges.

You can listen to my podcast with the Michael Volpe by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here.

And just a reminder.....

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

Pay more for being overweight or smoking?

Should we pay higher health care premiums at work if we are obese or smoke? This is a thought that upsets many, but the facts are clear - people who are overweight or who smoke cost more to care for.

What about another twist - should people who do not smoke or who maintain a healthy weight get "healthy living" discounts on health care premiums?

It's the same thing, really, but the second "spin" is likely more palatable.

I think it is only a matter of time until this happens at many workplaces and it already is the policy at some. I support this approach because I think we need to give people compelling reasons to encourage healthy lifestyles. And I think that people who cost more should pay more - that's fair. And depending on the amount of extra weight and number of packs they smoke, perhaps MUCH more, like double the cost for weight that is considered mobidbly obese.

What do you think?

Note: Before you send me nasty notes saying I am insensitive or do not understand the plight of overweight people, those of you who have met me know I have a few pounds to lose myself (but I am working on this). I do understand....

What can you offer employees?

Unless you are a highly respected and sought after large company with deep financial pockets, you need to compete for talent. 95% of companies are not in a position to demand more than they can give. As HR professionals and leaders, many of us like to run a tight ship and have consistent conservative policies.

That make people feel like one of Pavlov's dogs.

And if this is the situation, the only thing you can do to get them to temporarily work harder is to throw a bunch of money at them. Alas, that will not work forever and they will go work for someone else.

I like this article from Management Issues about flexibility called, Attraction of Flexible Working Ignored by HR. I think this is sad but true.

Here's the bottom line for most companies - You have limited funds and there are some irritations that you cannot reduce (like restrictive laws or the regulatory environment at hospitals, government, shipping, finance). Your stance ought to be to be flexible wherever you can be flexible.

This is particularly true for small companies. You don't have fancy training programs or a lot of upward mobility to offer. your salaries are likely lower than what people could get working for a bigger company. You won't have a long list of benefits and likely have just the the basic health care package. Small companies, in particular, ought to be as flexible as possible.

With today's competition for top talent we need to give people reasons to want to work for us - and many companies (influenced by many HR professionals) are just not getting it.

Things to consider:

• Telecommuting. We fear that we will not get everyone's full attention if we let them work from home. This assumption only holds water if we believe that we DO have their full attention at the office. Of course we don't. People zone out and they will - in the office and at their home office.
• Flexible hours. Do you have exempt (salary, don't earn overtime pay) employees? If so, you have the opportunity to embrace the nature of what it means to be exempt. when someone is exempt, I don't count hours worked, I pay for a particular result. I know a lot of companies who treat their exempt employees like they are on the clock with rigid expectations about when they should get to work and on which days they work. sure we all have to be present for a few pesky meetings, but otherwise you should not overmanage schedules. The same goes for hourly folks except that you do need to accurately count the hours - but try to be flexible with the schedule where possible.
• Benefits. I think we need to offer more choices. Companies spend a lot of money on benefits and I would rather do a bit more work and offer a menu of benefits from which and employee can pick versus offering only one or two options. Health care is a great example - there are lots of innovative products like high deductible plans with health savings accounts that might be a win/win for certain types of employees. Instead of paying $500 per month for each employee's health care, the high deductible plan might only cost $250 per month. For employees that choose this plan, put a deposit into their health saving account of $2,000 (money that will earn interest and can be used for any health related cost and is theirs to use for life).
• Work/Life Balance. Each company has different barrier to promoting a good balance between work and life. Sometimes it is the culture, sometimes the company is too cheap to hire the number of employees needed to get the work done. Often it is both. The saying, "I run a lean company," or "We believe in running lean," are euphemisms for, "we are too cheap to hire the right number of people," and "you will be doing the work of two people." Periodic work peaks is fine, but people deserve balance and they do better work when they have a life.
• Position changes. Small organizations may not have a lot of promotion opportunities. If you have a rock star employee, be creative in letting him or her stretch his or her wings. I would rather roll the dice on a rock star than hire the mediocre person with the precise background that you seek. And if you need to modify a job to fit the person, so be it.
• Time off. Allow people to be creative with how they bundle their time off. Encourage people take their vacations (not by refusing to roll it over, that's a parental response, not an adult-adult response).

How flexible is your company?

Dress Code - Part 2

I like this amusing article from Wayne Turmel (of Cranky MM Fame) post on Management Issues called, Wearing my Big Boy Clothes. Here's a snippet:

This change of heart is somewhat disturbing for a couple of reasons. First, I've always thought of myself as something of a rebel, and the coat and tie are perceived as a universal symbol of corporate enthrallment- who needs a reminder that I'm working for someone else?

Secondly, I've always maintained I'm the same person whether I'm dressed up or not. It turns out neither are necessarily true.

I did a post that said basically the opposite - sort of - a few days ago. The posts come from different perspectives - Wayne's is from the viewpoint of a person wanting to be perceived well. My post discussed the HR implications of dress codes. Wayne's is speaking for himself here - as a consultant and leader in a services firm. I agree that when I wear my charcoal gray suit I get a different reaction then when I wear biz casual.

It's also a very east coast and European perspective.

For all you managers out there, I would still encourage a dressing down of the workplace. Let people be comfortable. Create a culture where thoughts, not labels, impress.

I may be sounding like an idealist here (ala world peace and we are all one people) but I think that things will never change unless we change them.

Instead of casual Friday, let's dress casual all the time and have the option to dress up on Friday. Ties then Mai Tais. What do you think?

This post has not been brought to you by the Men's Warehouse. :-)

Dress Code Woes

I like this post from the HR Capitalist called, Why Enforcing Dress Codes Will Drive All Men Out of HR. Here is a snippet:

Could the manager have had the conversation without getting you involved?  Sure.  Without saying something to get you sued?   Hmmm.   So you walk down to Cube 317 to take care of business.  You pull out speech 17b on what's appropriate or not and BAAAM!!!!  Alice tells you she has a medical condition where the spandex in the pants helps her circulation, and the slippers are the only thing her feet will fit into because of the swelling.  You look up and - I'm not joking but you guessed it - there are 20 Call Center Reps, all dressed the right way, watching what you are going to say next.

Well, female HR pros don't like spending there time on such issues either. I understand it might be more uncomfortable for men to say (in their special HR way), "hey, honey, zip up the shirt, you're making the men and some women salivate into their keyboards.

How much ought we care about dress code and why do people act dumb when they know the dress code?

1. How much ought we care? As little as possible. For workplaces that don't interact with clients - No private parts hanging out, no undergarments showing, basically (this is different in a factory where safety issues might also be a factor). If clients come into the office, then perhaps dress needs to rise to the level of "business casual." But then you get into skirt length and the materials that pants are made of. Denim, spandex, no holes or patches. Is cleavage OK if the blouse is silk but not if it's a cotton tank?

2. Why do people act dumb and wear sleazy or slimy or sloppy clothing? Adults will not make the best judgments when they don't feel connected to the workplace. If you have a workplace that is more like a impersonal factory - with extrinsic rewards being the only impetus for answering the phones with a nice tone of voice, you are going to create a workplace where people act like children. If you have to spend a lot of time enforcing dress code issues, I would say you have bigger problems than the dress code. The spandex is just the canary in the coal mine that indicates a control oriented workplace that does not foster connection, engagement, and ownership.

The more work feels like high school, the more likely you will be asked to become a hall monitor.

One more thing - you want to solve the problem of girls dressing in miniskirts and skimpy tops? Turn down the thermostat. Freeze them into some decent clothing. I'm kidding, of course.