Training New Managers

Most managers get that role because they're the hardest worker; the best salesperson; or the smartest person in the office.

But those traits don't translate into being an effective manager.  That's where screening, development, and - most importantly - training - comes into play.

A new article in HR Executive Online discusses how and why to get managers properly trained as well as establishing metrics for success.

And yes, I'm quoted in the article.

Thanks to Scott Westcott and HR Exec Online

Nevada Wage & Hour Lawsuits

We've been warning employers for several months that wage & hour compliance issues will result in numerous lawsuits this year - especially in Nevada.

It's starting to happen.

Wells Fargo & AutoZone have been sued (class-action status is currently pending) for mis-classifying employees.

With Wells Fargo, business banking specialists were allegedly mis-classified as exempt (from overtime, meal and rest breaks) when they were required to be 'on-call' on certain evenings.

In AutoZone's case, Assistant Managers were not compensated for working overtime (this is a case very reminiscent of the Long's Drugstore case in 2004).

The federal government is taking Wage & Hour violations seriously: Labor Secretary Hilda Solis recently announced plans to add 250 field investigators, increasing staff by 33%. The DOL believes 7 out of 10 businesses are not in compliance with Wage & Hour laws.

Garry Mathiason of Littler recently wrote:

No employment-law trend is more certain, universal or important than the total wage-and-hour compliance initiative and stopping the epidemic of wage-and-hour class-action (lawsuits)...

More ominous and prescient are these words from Mathiason (and, I believe, completely true):

With thousands of plaintiffs' attorneys examining every aspect of the payroll process, employers must expect maximum scrutiny..."Every employee who is terminated or demoted, or who experiences an unpleasant workplace event, is encouraged by Internet and television advertising to seek the advice of counsel. In almost every intake interview, the attorney's questioning turns to wage-and-hour issues in an attempt to find additional claims. Inspired by the prospect of turning a small individual claim into a multimillion-dollar class-action, the organization's wage-and-hour compliance goes under the microscope."

Thanks to Las Vegas Sun.

Businesses Taking Action Against E-mails, Linkedin, Facebook

In its 6th annual survey, the security firm Proofpoint reveals some new information regarding social media and e-mails by employees - and it's almost always resulting in bad news for the employees:

• 43 percent of US companies surveyed have investigated an email-based leak of confidential or proprietary information in the past 12 months. Nearly a third of them, 31 percent, terminated an employee for violating email policies in the same period (up from 26percent in 2008).
• US companies are also experiencing more exposure incidents involving sites like Facebook and LinkedIn as compared to 2008 (17 percent versus 12 percent). US companies are taking a much more forceful approach with offending employees -- eight percent reported terminating an employee for such a violation as compared to only four percent in 2008.
• Even short message services like SMS texts and Twitter pose a risk. 13 percent of US companies investigated an exposure event involving mobile or Web-based short message services in the past 12 months.

Read the entire survey here.

Krispy Kreme Fined for hiring illegal workers

If Krispy Kreme didn't have enough problems already - here comes news they've been fined by the EEOC for hiring illegal (undocumented) workers in their Cincinnati factory. The fine amounts to $40,000.

What is remarkable about this fine is how easily it could have been prevented. The paperwork is easy - you just download an I-9 form off the internet. If there is any doubt about the documentation a candidate provides, just login to e-verify that's provided by the Department of Homeland Security. That would have been much cheaper than $40,000 and the embarassment caused by the resulting publicity.

And in case you think it might not happen to you - ICE has announced audits of 652 other businesses in the coming months (and we're sure there are more to follow!). The Obama administration has changed the focus from illegal employees to the employers that employ them.

References, Linkedin, and Common Sense

Just after posting my opinion on job references comes more comments. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, a job applicant was frustrated because potential employers wanted a minimum of three job references, but her prior employers had a policy of not providing such references.

Elizabeth Garone provided good advice, suggesting that supervisors no longer with the same company might be willing to be references (and because they're no longer with the company, may be more willing to talk to a prospective employer).

Again, if I'm leaning towards hiring a candidate, I'm not going to spend time calling references - more often than not, the reference can't give me any good information and the candidate is only going to list references that show that person in the best possible light! It's not worth my time! I can do criminal investigations, skills testing and personality/instinct testing that will more properly predict success than a reference check.

Now, many attornies are warning employers about the hidden dangers of LinkedIn. Specifically, attorneys are advising employers to be wary of giving glowing remarks about employees on the site because the employers risk having the recommendations used against them in a discrimination or harassment suit.

Do References Matter?

You're about to make a job offer to a candidate. Should you call his or her references?

Some people say yes, others say no. I'm in the latter category.

First, unless the candidate is a complete moron, they're not going to give you names of people who provide a negative reference. And most previous employers are understandably nervous about providing any information on a former employee.

Some of our clients like to verify the candidates dates of employment or compensation. Fine - ask the candidate for a copy of their most recent W-2 form or paycheck stub. Other than that, calling references is a lot of time for a very little reward.

Following standard procedures, you can require a background check, drug testing or even skills testing to verify information and make sure the candidate is you he/she says they are.

Here's an article in the South Jersey Courier Post that talks about the reference controversy. However, I seriously disagree with parts of the article that suggest visiting a candidates social networking sites as a pre-hire investigation. As I wrote back in May, using google and social networking sites to evaluate potential candidates is a really bad idea.

What does calling references accomplish?

American Apparel and a Big Immigration Problem

American Apparel has been accused by ICE of employing 1,800 people in Los Angeles who are not authorized to work in the United States.

It begs the question - is your I-9 house in order?

One of the biggest mistakes we see when conducting HR Audits is when businesses screw up their I-9 process.

We've seen I-9's unsigned, misfiled, lost - and - in many cases - business owners who never used I-9's in the first place!

Get an audit completed today - you may be next...

Why Health Care Reform Is Necessary

It's a deliberately provocative title. And this is not an article about which reform is best for our country.

But...

The Department of Labor just came out with their statistics regarding benefits paid by employers.

The cost of medical benefits to private employers has doubled in the past 10 years.

In March 1999, employers paid an average of $1.03 per employee per hour for medical benefits (about 5.4% of total compensation)

In March 2009, employers paid an average of $2.00 per employee per hour for medical (about 7.3% of total comp).

And based on my work with small and medium-sized businesses, the quality of those benefits has declined dramatically in the past 10 years (along with huge increases in deductibles, co-pays, etc.).

Twice the cost with half the benefits. All underwritten by private businesses.

Something must be done.

Nevada Expands Parental Leave Requirements

Effective August 15, Nevada has expanded its parental leave entitlements for employees who wish to attend or participate in school activities of their children.

AB 243 allows parents, guardians and custodians of children in private or public schools up to 4 hours of unpaid leave per school year for each child.

The law requires employers who have 50 or more employees to grant that unpaid leave.

More detailed information from Rick Roskelley of Littler Mendelson.

Management & Leadership Trends 2nd Half 2009

Last week, I gave a presentation in Las Vegas on what I perceive to be the significant trends for managers and leaders during the last half of this year - check it out!

Management Leadership Trends 2nd Half 2009

View more OpenOffice presentations from Eric Swenson.

Can You Prevent Employees From Leaving?

We live in a free society, and all businesses (except Montana and limited other exceptions) must abide by the 'at-will' employment concept - employees can leave at any time for any reason.

Many employers ask us what they can do from preventing valued or critical employees from leaving (and taking their clients or proprietary information with them). The answer is - not much, unless you have a really good employment attorney.

Let's review the basic components (adapted from a terrific article by Joseph Shelton of Fisher & Phillips LLP)

Non-Compete Agreements

A non-compete provision prohibits a departing employee from competing with the former employer after termination. Most states highly restrict their use.

Non-solicitation

Non-solicitation provisions allow an employee to work for a competitive business, but prohibit the solicitation of specific customers. The employee is free to compete and is free to work in whatever territory he or she desires, so long as the employee does not solicit business from a specific group of customers.

Non-recruitment

A non-recruitment (or no-raid) clause is designed to protect your employees from being hired away by former employees. Non-recruitment covenants restrict departing employees from trying to take others with them.

Non-disclosure

A confidentiality (or non-disclosure) provision usually limits the employee's ability to disclose information learned about customers, suppliers, or the employer's operations. While non-disclosure agreements often include the term "trade secrets," most states have a trade-secrets statute that prohibits misappropriation of such information even without a contract.

Return of property

A return of property agreement typically states that the employee must return all company property and all documents related to the company upon termination of employment. While all employers expect their employees to return company property upon termination of employment, there is oftentimes a dispute as to what is company property and what is the employee's property.

For example, many employees may claim that their rolodex or list of business prospects is their "property," despite the fact that such information was assembled on company time and with company resources. A return of property agreement may help an employer avoid such disputes by defining via contract what the company considers to be its property rather than the employee's.

Bottom Line: These agreements are highly legal in nature and should only be implemented with the input and agreement from a qualified employment attorney.

California Labor Complaints - 2008

The California Department of Fair Employment & Housing released its statistics for 2008 last month, and there are some ominous signs that all employers should know:

1. Complaints to the DFEH increased by more than 15% in 2008 (3,000 more complaints);
2. Disability claims were most frequently filed, followed by retaliation, sexual harassment and age discrimination;
3. In fact, disability claims comprised more than 36% of all claims;
4. Prosecutions of employers increased by 28 percent.

California also has a disproportionate ratio of total employee complaints - one out of every 5 complaints in the country is from California.

Time to get your house in order!

And a good analysis of these statistics is found from Christopher Olmstead of Barker Olmsted & Barnier.

Even More Questions To Ask Your Boss

The most important component of management is the ability to communicate.

But communication goes both ways. A manager can't inherently know what an employee wants. Good managers ask - and good employees proactively manage up by asking what their boss wants.

In April 2008, we wrote about great questions to ask your boss, and it remains the most visited article in the history of this blog.

Here are some more questions, courtesy of Caroline Ceniza-Levine via CareerBuilder.com:

1. How will we gauge my success in three, six or 12 months?
2. How do you prefer to communicate and how often?
3. What does my career path look like at this company?
4. What areas do I need to develop to advance my career?
5. What's our top priority?
6. Let me see if I understand this correctly ... am I missing anything?
7. What are my strengths?
8. What can I do to help you?
9. I'm working on X, Y and Z -- do you think I can handle this task?

Workplace Investigations - Who's Telling The Truth?

One of the most difficult things we must determine in conducting a workplace investigation is, 'who's lying and who's telling the truth?'

In interviews, I always have an associate taking notes and acting as another observer.

In one investigation last year, I was interviewing an employee who accused another of sexual harassment. Significant harassment. After the interview, I told my associate that the accuser was in my opinion, completely empathetic and totally believable. My associate looked at me and said, "Are you crazy? She's lying through her teeth!"

As it turned out, my associate was right. (It's always good to have a female associate present when conducting an interview of a female - they can always tell!)

He said/she said scenarios are very difficult. The most an investigator can do is assess both sides and write up a report without a recommendation but with a slant on what we believe.

Louis DiLorenzo of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC has written an article in Business Management Daily with which I completely agree - regardless of the obstacle of he said/she said, the investigation must go on.

English Only In The Workplace? Bad Idea

It's very tempting for employers to mandate their employees speak only English during working hours.

It's also - in most cases - very wrong.

The EEOC provides some examples where English-only would be justified by business necessity:

• For communications with customers, co-workers, or supervisors who only speak English.
  
  
  
• In emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety.
  
  
  
• For cooperative work assignments in which the English-only rule is needed to promote efficiency.
  
  
  
• To enable a supervisor who only speaks English to monitor the performance of an employee whose job duties require communication with co-workers or customers.

If you wish to mandate an English-only workplace, we strongly suggest you review the policy with an employment attorney prior to implementation.

It's not worth it!

Wage & Hour Enforcement On The Rise

We've written previously on the increase in wage & hour claims by employees. Now, the federal Department of Labor is joining the fray.

The DOL has proposed hiring 200 new investigators in their wage & hour division for the 2010 budget. This will bring investigation staffing up to the levels last seen in 2001.

Audit. Prepare. Be proactive. It's better than having to react to an investigation or claim.

More information from Ford & Harrison.

Concentration, Poker, Effectiveness and Liz Lieu

Last Friday night, I spent an hour watching (sweating, in poker parlance) a professional poker player in a tournament at the World Series of Poker. It ended up being a lesson in how concentration works in different ways.

Liz Lieu has been a professional poker player for several years; she's won tournaments and had top finishes at other prestigious events. (As a side note, I love watching poker - it's one of the ultimate ways to study people).

You would expect a professional to have incredibly focused concentration; to talk little and always watch other players at the table and how the hands unfold. Not Liz. She had her I-Pod on (several people tell me that an I-Pod improves concentration; that's never been my experience). At every chance (mostly when she was out of a hand), she was on her PDA - twittering and texting. People, mostly other pros, came over to chat and she was gracious and funny with them.

And, by the way, she was winning!

What I also noticed was when she was involved with a hand (or before she even saw her down cards) - she was intense. Behind those sunglasses (the photo, courtesy of Poker News, was taken the day I was sweating her), she wasn't missing a thing. She saw the reactions of her competitors as they looked at their cards - what they were betting, etc. Her face gave away nothing, but she was seeing and processing everything.

What does this have to do with management?

Just as some people work better with a messy desk than a clean one, people have differences in they way they concentrate best. It's a temptation for a manager to insist on a clean desk, or tell an employee to take out their I-pod earpiece. But it's the wrong temptation as long as an employee is performing well.

It's the role of a manager to foster an atmosphere where employees can flourish and perform at their best level.

Although there's no way I could play in a poker tournament while doing all the things Liz does, what she does works best for her. Remember that when the temptation strikes with your employees.

Employers & Body Art

We've previously discussed the growing number of employees (mostly under the age of 30) who have body art. What can you as an employer do about it?

Recently, a Texas hospital wanted to develop dress code and grooming policy for all employees. The proposed policy required all tattoos to be covered, and piercings to be limited to earlobes and a nose stud only.

The proposed changes sparked vigorous debates among employees and even press coverage. It's a sensitive subject!

Even employers that permit piercings or tattoos should set limits. A detailed dress code and grooming policy should clearly spell out what is permitted.

If you permit tattoos, for example, you should prohibit the display of sexually graphic, violent, or otherwise offensive tattoos, or require employees limit the number of visible tattoos.

Traditional dress code and appearance standards are being challenged today more than ever. Employers still retain wide latitude, but the increase in body art is mandating more careful consideration of requests.

Seek employee input before making major changes to employee appearance standards.

Employers and Social Media

Most employers can't get enough 'inside' information on their employees. The temptation to spy on employee's social media sites (Twitter, Myspace, Facebook) is great.

Don't do it!

There's a case coming before a New Jersey court later this month. Employees at a local restaurant created a password-protected myspace chat room, where they could (on their own time) comment and vent on the issues of the day.

The owner apparently got an employee to spill the password, and found out the 'inside information'.

Whether this case has legal merit is another argument for another day.

But ethically and realistically, don't spy. If worktime is wasted on social media, have your IT person prevent employees from using them. But spying can only get you into trouble.

Avoiding EFCA and Leading Better

The EFCA is designed to make it easier for employees to organize into a union. Although the bill has lost some momentum recently, the possibility of your business turning into a union shop is stronger now than at any time since the NRLB was enacted in 1935.

If you don't want your workforce subject to the demands of a union, what do you do?

In 2008, Kenexa Research Institute published a report of a study made of 10,000 U.S. workers. Each participant was asked to agree or disagree with a list of statements about their employers. A significant percentage of those favoring unions responded negatively. Although there were also negative responses from the employees who were not in favor of unions, the number of negative responses was substantially lower. The following are statements for which the “pro-union” employees had a significantly more negative view as compared with employees who did not favor unions:

1. My organization shows a commitment to ethical business decisions and conduct.
2. I have confidence in my company's senior leaders.
3. When my company's senior management says something, you can believe it is true.
4. Where I work, ethical issues and concerns can be discussed without negative consequences.
5. My manager treats me fairly.
6. Senior management is committed to providing high quality products and services to external customers.
7. My company enables people from diverse backgrounds to excel.
8. My manager treats me with respect and dignity.
9. Management shows concern for the well-being and morale of team members.
10. Senior management demonstrates that employees are important to the success of the company.
11. I feel free to try new things on my job, even though my efforts may not succeed.
12. My company supports employees' efforts to balance work and family/personal responsibilities.

How do you know if your employees agree or disagree with those statements? Many employers believe wrongly that their employees are satisfied, but with little evidence to back that up. Remember, employees will tell you what they think you want to hear.

Get an employee assessment/360 degree survey done right away. At a minimum, it will provide a road map to show you how to improve your business.

And at most, it may help you avoid unionization of your workers.