July 2012

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Abusing the Privilege

July 30, 2012 in Business, HR Advice, hr fundamentals, HR principles, Leadership, SHRM, Talent Management by newresource | No comments

I’ve heard someone say; to work is a privilege not a right. Hmpf, not sure If I totally buy that but I do think that it’s necessary to work to have the things you want and need in life. There are millions of people out of work, and I’m talking about the folks that want to work but don’t have the benefit of nepotism or favoritism, believe me folks, there are some talented people out here who have no network and therefore are being overlooked and denied the “privilege.”

Then there are those that abuse the privilege. It bothers me when I see lazy employees who take their jobs for granted, and when I see lazy managers and HR reps that really bothers me. What am I talking about? Well maybe these real life situations will help you understand where I’m coming from.

I often tell some of my HR colleagues that the type of stuff I deal with here in Memphis is unlike anything I’ve ever dealt with while in Iowa, or Ohio. Take this article <<here>>. An employee at one of the offices of the Tennessee Department of Transportation got so frustrated with the lack of response from the HR department and management that they took pictures of several employees boldly sleeping at their desk while on duty. They mailed the pics to the local news outlets. Now TDOT has launched an investigation.

Or how about this one, talk about some sensitivity training! A couple got married here in Memphis and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express. Their sleep was interrupted as they noticed someone leaving their room in the middle of the night. Yep, you guessed it, they were robbed. When they reported the incident to the employees at the front desk they were told “…this is Memphis, things are ghetto.” I wonder how the Visitor’s Bureau and Mayor feels about that? Especially since the Mayor is actively trying to get people to come to the Bluff City and vacation.

Don’t believe me, read it for yourself <<here>>.

“I’m a robbery victim because I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night” does not sound like a great marketing campaign to me.

We could use that “Direct TV” approach; you know the commercials about making bad decisions that could cause you to end up in a roadside ditch or something just as crazy.  Well try this, “When you are a lazy manager or HR professional, your employees and customers rebel. When your employees and customers rebel, they take pictures and call the local news. When they call the local news, you and your company look like lazy jack-asses. Don’t let you or your company look like lazy jack-asses.”

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When Tragedy Strikes

July 25, 2012 in Business, randomness, SHRM by newresource | No comments

We’ve had some real tragic events take place. I am riveted by the depths of human behavior. When I see these tragedies I undoubtedly think of the victims and the families and then my HR mind kicks in and I wonder about some of the other victims and costs. I wonder as a corporation, how do you react to tragedy?

Colorado

This is a horrific event. After reading countless articles and watching a ton of media coverage my mind began to wonder to business side of things. And since I am a HR nerd I immediately thought about the grief counselors and EAP’s needed for the workers of the theater.  I also thought about the people in the theater that night; people who lost their lives, their families and friends, you had people who were wounded, and you had people who witnessed the events but escaped harm’s way. One of the survivors has no health insurance and he was hit in the eye by a bullet, now his hospital bills are estimated at $2 million.

Think of the thousands, of people affected by the actions of this deeply disturb man. If you were in that theater and if you survived do you think you’d be at work the next day? Probably not, and those employers need to be sensitive to that.

Think about the owners and operators of the movie theater. They are going to need new safety training, security and probably new operating procedures. And certainly someone is going to sue. Blame has to be assigned.

Consider all the movie theaters around the country, some have cancelled midnight showings and others have beefed up security.  I saw an interview on the news and this man said he watched the same movie but he was not as engulfed in the movie as he normally would have been. He was more aware of his surroundings. Others have said they will never go to the movies again.

Think about the movie studio, Warner Bros. Pictures, they canceled some of the international premieres, but more importantly they are working with the Colorado District Attorney to offer some financial assistance the victims. Nice move.

Thousands of lives changed forever.

Think about the 1st responders.

Thank goodness for them.

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Your 1st Time

July 23, 2012 in Business, SHRM, Social Media by newresource | No comments

Do you remember yours? Well, I don’t. That’s because it hasn’t happened yet. I know, I know you’d think a grown man would have experienced it once already but no. I’m still green. I’ve heard about it. I’ve read about it. I’ve heard other people talk about it. I’ve even looked at it online, but I’ve never experienced the pleasure myself.

Listening to the accounts of others, I want all the details; was it good, was it fun, would you do it again? How many times would you do it? Who did you do it with? How did you do it?

I have to admit, I’ve daydreamed about it. I’ve wondered what my first time would be like. Who’d be watching? Will I do it right? What do I need to know?

I get to find out soon…August 5-7th and I’m doing it in Chicago. I’m talking about my 1st HR professional conference of course. What did you think I was talking about? (get your minds out of the gutter)

I am very excited and proud to be on the social media team for Society of Human Resources Management Illinois State Conference.

Thanks to John Jorgerson (@jkjhr) for the invitation.

Over the past 18 months I’ve really come to appreciate and understand the immediate impact and value of being a member of SHRM. It’s extremely important for an HR professional to stay involved with SHRM throughout their career. Even if you’re unemployed, self-employed or aspiring to be in HR. It’s paramount that we take advantage of the information and relationships that SHRM provides.

That being said, I’m looking forward to meeting a number of people in real life, but in addition I want to soak up the information. I am going to slow it down and really enjoy my first time.

Chasing the Seat

July 19, 2012 in HR Advice, hr fundamentals, HR principles, SHRM by newresource | 3 comments

I had been thinking about this notion of HR getting a seat at the executive table. This “Seat at the Table” conversation has been highly discussed, debated and analyzed for years. You can Google it and find a ton of information. On Twitter in the HR space, the topic comes up annually especially around conference season. Conference season kicks off in March and it’s just what it sounds like, the HR professional association, SHRM, has its individual state conferences and it’s big daddy of them all, the national conference. At least one of the speakers is bound to utter the phrase, “Seat at the table.”

Ironically, as I was writing this very article I got an email from the “HR Advisor” titled “Seat at the table? You are the table.”  Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

It’s no revelation that HR’s biggest problem is that we do not produce revenue. We are not like the marketing department or the sales team. We don’t land large accounts but maybe we should. Wouldn’t it be great if high powered work organizations were able to attract other business and partnerships based exclusively on the performance of the HR team? I don’t have any official stats on this but I doubt if a multi-million dollar merger, buy-out or acquisition teetered on the functionalty of HR team.

Since we save money and do not earn money for corporations, we are predominately designated to the supportive/administrative roles within the organization.  We are not valued as strategic partners when times are tough, like now. We are viewed as expandable.  We can be outsourced with no real effect on the financial aspects of business.

How did this happen to us? Who’s to blame? Well…we are.

We have contributed to our own demise simple because we are interchangeable, replaceable and cheap.  Most companies want the type of HR department that will manage the employees, pacify their gripes, keep the company out of court and do what they say; when they say. Any HR professional will tell you that at some point in their career they were asked to “get around” or “bend” a law or rule. Rarely do we step up and say “no.” We do their bidding, without batting an eye or raising a flag. We are so accustomed to doing the wrong thing that we even offer up ways to circumvent the rules voluntarily. We know that if we don’t do it the company will find another HR professional, or my personal favorite the HR wonna-be, to come in and do the job with no questions asked.

Maybe we should speak out. We know where the organization buries its bodies and hides its dirt. Maybe we should stop protecting these organizations and start exposing them, instead of suffering in silence like victims of domestic abuse. But we can’t do that because we are the group hired to protect the company, and we take that very seriously. We’ll just have to keep plugging away while chasing that seat at the table.

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Wells Fargo: A Personal Look

July 16, 2012 in Business, discrimination, Diversity, hr fundamentals, HR principles, Leadership, Performance, SHRM by newresource | No comments

We keep it real here on CostofWork. Like it or not. If that makes you uncomfortable…good!

Recently I wrote an article about unethical treatment and workplace integrity. You can read it <<here>>. Of course unethical treatment continues to be a problem within the workplace. It grabs our attention because we all relate to it; it resonates. For instance, the never ending Penn State child abuse saga, surely, you are aware of that epic ethical failure. But let’s talk about Wells Fargo.

Well Fargo lost a discrimination case levied against them by the Department of Justice for $175 million. It was determined that Wells Fargo financed minority borrowers for higher interest rates and longer terms on their home loans than majority borrowers. That means Wells Fargo effed over blacks and Hispanics. Even if those minorities had good credit and had earned the right and privilege of better terms and financing rates. I hate discrimination, in all its forms.

I wonder if Wells Fargo actually performed an economic analysis and weighed the risk of screwing these folk versus not screwing them and how much they would probably have to pay if they ever got caught. Or if they just decided that predatory lending practices were cool and fit into their organizational integrity. Silly rabbits.

We see the headlines about corporate greed, unethical practices and instances of leadership failure and it becomes entertainment, blog fodder or cautionary tales at best. That’s okay I suppose but sometimes these things really hit home. I have a dear personal friend that works for Wells Fargo or should I say worked for Wells Fargo because as soon as the verdict came down from the DOJ, Wells Fargo announced downsizing. My friend was not a banker or loan officer, she handled administrative duties, but now she’s about to be unemployed by no fault of her own.

When a company gets caught practicing and facilitating unethical behavior, discrimination and unfair business practices, innocent people end up paying the price.

The Crime: Wells Fargo made it a practice (in a recession) to treat minorities unfairly. That cancer spread through-out the organization. They made a lot of money. They probably foreclosed on some of those high interest loans and resold them to other minorities, thus making even more money.

The Punishment: They have to pay $175M to the victims, along with fines and penalties.

The OTHER Victims: In addition to the blacks and Hispanics that got hosed, to cover their loses (cost containment) Wells Fargo has decided to lay off hundreds of employees. I’m guessing that many of them are on the low end of the totem pole.

I was going to add “no one wins” but that’s not true, someone made a fortune and they are in a nice big house chillin’.

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