Archive for the ‘Human Resources’ Category
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Consumer Spending Behavior Changes Closer to Payday
How close or far away someone is from payday (money hitting the pocket) influences their buying/spending behavior. Research conducted at the University of Utah and the University of Iowa revealed “it is not the size of the paycheck received, but the time that has gone by since the last paycheck, that can sway consumer conduct. The proximity to payday makes consumers more aware of how much they have in the bank and how much products or services cost. ‘Our findings are surprising, because previous research has always considered preferences to be relatively stable, not changing much over time,’ said Himanshu Mishra, one of the two Utah researchers. ‘We find that not only do preferences change during such a short duration — paycheck to paycheck — but also that they fluctuate between a promotion- and a prevention-focus.’ Read more here.
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Hire Writers
An interesting post from hrcapitalist.com on why writers might make for great hires.
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When In Doubt: Hire the Best Writing Skills…
Why does hiring the best writer make sense? Let me count the ways:
1. People talk like they write and vice versa. If someone has trouble putting a good, topical sentence together, you can bet that they’re going to have trouble talking to folks verbally at times.Home school
2. Have you heard of this thing called email? Apparently it’s a somewhat important business tool based almost entirely on the ability to write.
3. Apparently when used incorrectly or without context provided by effective writing skills, email can piss people off faster than Rush Limbaugh at the Democratic National Convention. Advantage: Writing skills with a sprinkle of judgment.
4. The ability to use the written word to share ideas, motivate and gain acceptance makes any employee more valuable to your organization. Writing skills can influence almost anyone – customers, fellow employees, media outlets and competitors to name a few – and we don’t pay enough attention to the value it provides in the hiring process.
When I say hire someone with writing skills, I’m not talking about someone who can write term papers, because let’s face it, no one reads those. I’m talking about the ability to write down some thoughts in an engaging, personable, influencing manner. You know it when you see it. The problem is you probably don’t see it in the interview process. So you need to create a way to engage the candidate in a writing exercise that doesn’t even feel like an exercise.
My favorite way – pick something you didn’t talk about in person on the candidate’s resume. Drop them a note and ask a detailed question about the school or company you’re referring to. Make sure the question is detailed enough to warrant a 3-4 paragraph response, and make sure you ask for some opinion as well to get the level of detail you need.
Example Email to generate writing sample: “Rick, have an interview coming up with a kid who was in the Forestry program like you at (you guessed it readers) Wake Forest. Based on this guy’s limited experience and the fact he’s applying for an entry level role, can you drop me some notes today to help me understand the top three things a kid coming out of that program should have competency in and maybe your thoughts on the transferability of that degree to an entry-level customer service role? You’d help me a bunch with the notes you provide. Thanks in advance, KD”
I’m not asking you to lie. I really did have a Forestry grad that interviewed for a support role. As far as you know. Keep it truthful, but find a reason to ask for the detail related to something. And make sure you make it clear that you want it in a response to the email. Then take what comes in and judge accordingly. Add it to the overall profile of your candidate (save the email, you folks who say I’ll get sued, blah, blah, blah…) and make your hiring decision accordingly.
And hire the best writer when all other things are relatively the same.
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Blackberry Use and FLSA / OT Risks
An interesting legal case (well, probably a downright scary one for many employers) coming out of Chicago … where a police sergeant is suing the city, as part of a class-action lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Jeffrey Allen claims that he (and by extension any other workers in similar situations) is owed thousands of dollars in back pay (overtime) as a result of continuing to work by logging onto his Blackberry even though his official shift had ended. Read more here. Download the legal filing here.
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Are Sales People Paid too Much?
Read, and then join the discussion.
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Health Care Pay Practices Under Fire
News out that the Obama administration is taking a hard line when it comes to employee wage protection and enforcement – in particular, targeting companies in the health care sector. Hospitals and nursing homes are coming under added scrutiny. Due to the very nature of the work, employees in these fields are prone to spend more time actually working when on break or eating meals and not being appropriately compensated. Read more here.
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Nursing Mothers at Work
As part of the new federal health care legislation, most employers – companies with less than 50 workers are exempted if they can show that doing so would equate to “undue hardship – will be required to provide nursing mothers a private place to express milk. Already, 24 states have similar laws in place.
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Dress Code – It’s Getting Hot In Here
It’s that time of year – the dog days of summer have set in… a blazing sun, higher humidity, the outdoors turning into a veritable oven, getting hot, hotter.
But warm temps shouldn’t necessarily translate into the workplace, that is when it comes to appropriate dress guidelines. A company can get burned if it allows too much leeway to employees wanting to shed more clothes and show more skin.
Below is sample introductory / closing language tied to developing a responsible dress code policy, which might help mitigate any related (harassment) liabilities. Companies will want to flesh-out (ahem) their own specific details in the main body of the policy.
INTRO
“Employees of the company should remember that their appearance is a direct reflection on the company. For this reason, employees should follow the following general guidelines in regard to dress and personal appearance. Note that the intent of these guidelines is to be reasonable, but also conducive to creating a professional work environment.”
MAIN
[Add company-specific details... what is / isn't acceptable, etc.]
CLOSE
“Employees who refuse to comply with the company’s reasonable standards of dress can be sent home to change into more appropriate attire. Repeated violation of this policy can lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination. An employee who is in doubt about the appropriateness of a particular mode of dress should consult their supervisor or manager in advance. Supervisors and managers are charged with the responsibility of enforcing this policy, and may impose additional appropriate standards at any time.”
GOOD LUCK!
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USERRA Case Goes to Employer
In an important and widely-watched legal case (Dees v Hyundai Motor Mfg), pitting employer vs employee as to protected leave tied to military service tied to the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the company – that the claimant lacked standing to bring a USERRA harassment claim since he did not suffer lost wages or loss of other employee benefits.
More about the case can be found here.
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Want a Job? Well Then, Answer the Meaning of Life Q
That’s what you’d be doing if you were sitting across the table from Michael Mathiue, CEO of YuMe, an online video ad agency. Part of a larger interview published in the New York Times, excerpts follow below.
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“…And I love asking people what the meaning of life is. It’s a fun question because no one’s expecting it.
Q. What kind of answers have you heard through the years?
A. Some people automatically say happiness. For a lot of people it’s family, the people in their life, the quality of their relationships. I also say, “On your death bed, what do you want to be remembered for?” I love asking those questions because the folks who are completely prepared are not prepared for those questions.
Q. Have you heard some odd answers?
A. I have. My favorite is, “Are you talking about my business life or my personal life?”
Q. What does that tell you?
A. It tells me somebody is really disconnected from being passionate about what they do. They’re going to come in and say, “How can I position myself to be really successful?” versus just be who they are. Those are the people that will always be angling for something. The minute they say that, I’m like, “O.K., next.” We don’t need anglers in the company who are just trying to position themselves and managing up. We try to stay away from those kinds of folks.
Q. What other questions do you ask?
A. I try to ask: “When things don’t work your way, how do you deal with it? What’s life about? What’s the most important thing that’s happened to you over the last three years, something that’s really changed your life?” I try to ask questions that give me a sense of the person’s character and how they process information.
Q. So, what’s the meaning of life for you?
A. Two things: happiness and the quality of the relationships you’ve had in life. The impact you can have on people is why you’re here. Hopefully, you do that with enough people, and you have fun doing it.
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US DOJ Challenges Arizona Immigration Law
The US Department of Justice (DOJ), as expected, formally challenged Arizona’s recently enacted Immigration bill – S.B. 1070 – declaring it unconstitutional, as it “interferes with the federal government’s authority to set and enforce immigration policy — “the Constitution and federal law do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.”
Click here to read the DOJ’s full press release, as well as download supporting materials and documents.
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