Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Costco, and Notre Dame Football

What do those three things have in common? They're all a part of our blog today (and on Paper Clip Day, no less)!

 

-Starting us off is Firstful of Talent which tells us why Enterprise Rent-A-Car is smarter than all our companies in talent, mostly because of their career opportunities.

 

-Next is The HR Capitalist which tells the tale of Costco locking employees in the store and refusing to pay them (and asking "what could go wrong?)

 

-Punk Rock Human Resources talks about Lou Holtz, Notre Dame and inspiration...and bad motivational speakers.

 

-Need some tools for navigating the government? WorldAtWork has some for you.

 

-Compensation Force takes an updated look at severance polices and says that "despite the fact that two thirds of organizations have had to reduce their workforces over the past year and a half, one in four has no severance policy and 70% of those with a policy have no plan to make changes."

 

-Lastly, HR World examines a model for hiring ex-cons.

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Make Sure Your Employees Watch What They Say

Monitoring the communication of your employees may not be your job, but making sure they know the communication that occurs why they are employed by your company may be used against them and the company in the future. And you certainly do not want communication like this to be reread during a Congressional hearing as this Dealbreaker article discusses:

Some Congressman, not sure who 'cause I missed his name, just brought up the following IM conversation between two S&P employees, to former residential mortgage ratings managing director, Frank Raiter, from several months back (no name check on the deal but surely the DB brain trust can hazard a guess):

S&P employee #1: By the way that deal is ridiculous
S&P employee #2: I know, right. That model definitely does not capture half the risk
S&P employee #1: We should not be rating it.
S&P employee #2: We rate every deal. It could be structured by cows and we would rate it.

Congressman: What do you think this means, Mr. Raiter?
Raiter: Um...I don't know...I guess a casual acceptance of these things.
Sean Egan (of Egan-Jones) chimes in: Perhaps that cow was particularly talented?

Wow...that is not the type of public relations you want for your company.

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day from everyone at Astron Solutions. Hope you're enjoying your BBQ and honoring those who serve our country at home and abroad.

Want To Punch Your Boss? Try This

Since most of us don't have the luxury of punching our boss when we get mad at them, there's this from AngstCorner which allows you to virtually punch them.

Strangely enough, this was sent by my boss, Wendy. She also sent me this article from Harvard Business School on how to get fired with dignity.

So I'm not sure what to think about my job security at this point... (just kidding...I hope!)

Astronology - FLSA Pitfalls and Innocent Errors

 

 

Astronology Volume X Issue 6   May 19, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. The Astron Road Show May 20 and 21, National Director Jennifer Loftus will be on the road again, this time in Houston, TX. She will be presenting a Wednesday Power Session on Total Rewards at the 18th annual Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues. She'll also be exhibiting in booth 122. Please be sure to stop by and say hello! Headed to upstate New York? Don't forget to visit Astron's National Director, Michael Maciekowich, at the New York Bankers Association 2009 Senior Management Conference in Cooperstown, NY on June 10-12. Michael will be part of a panel discussion on compensation. Please contact us for information on any of these presentations. Fact or Fiction? Does the Dilbert Theory really exist? Fact! Even though academia is still challenging the veracity of the theory, in 1996 Dilbert creator & cartoonist Scott Adams published a book exploring a theory that management promotes those that are least competent in order to limit the damage they may cause. While this theory does conflict against human resource traditional techniques, some management and business programs require the book for their courses. Using Analytics for Leaders to Drive HR Strategies and People Investments by Scott Mondore, PhD & Shane Douthitt, PhD, Strategic Management Decisions Whether the economy is strong or weak, leaders must constantly look for competitive advantages to ensure success for their organizations. Maximizing the performance of people has typically been an elusive factor in organizational success. It is not easy to show the ROI of people investments and to demonstrate a cause-and-effect connection between people data and organizational outcomes. Leaders of all stripes often use the phrase "our people are our most important asset" but rarely, if ever, back up that statement with any data or analysis....more FLSA Pitfalls and Innocent Errors Inspired by the presentation given by Astron's own Michael F. Maciekowich, in partnership with Bond, Schoenick, & King, entitled: "Can Your Compensation System Weather the (Hurricane) Winds of Change from the Obama Administration?" this edition of Astronology will tackle some of the pitfalls and innocent errors organization sometimes find themselves in when handling serious issues with the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA....more   Have a Question? If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us!  Simply reply to this e-mail.  See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an upcoming issue of Astronology. Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting?  Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues.  For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com. The Fine Print We hold your e-mail address in trust.  Astron Solutions promises never to share or rent your personal information.  We also promise never to send you frivolous e-mails and will allow you to leave our list, at your option, at any time. To remove yourself from this list, please follow your personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert e-mail. Copyright 2009, Astron Solutions, LLC ISSN Number 1549-0467 Quick Links Client List Meet the Astron Team Contact Us World of HR Blog Bringing you Human Resource news from around the globe...compliments of Astron Solutions. More

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas says The Onion. Hilarious (H/T Sarah) 


More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas

Walking Resume, Job Openings, and Illegal Workers

-We'll start off on an interesting note from HR Blunders about a job seeker with a walking resume on a sandwich board (read it to understand)

 

-Next, from the AP via Google News, word that job openings are still scarce even as the layoffs have slowed

 

-Lastly for your Monday, from The Salt Lake Tribune, a question about who is illegal and the crackdown targeting the employers of undocumented workers

 

IT and HR

This is a UK study but interesting findings nonetheless. (H/T Sarah for forwarding the press release) 

 75 Percent of Recruiters Believe Candidates With IT Certifications are More Employable, Finds The IT Job Board

LONDON, May 15/PRNewswire/ --

- Online Recruitment Specialist Carries out Industry Survey

75 percent of recruiters believe that IT candidates with additional qualifications stand a better chance of securing a job, according to a recent survey[1] undertaken by The IT Job Board -http://www.theitjobboard.co.uk.

This finding was also supported by the candidate response, where 84 percent of IT professionals consider that holding industry certifications will improve their employment opportunities. And, a massive 87 percent of techies believe that recruiters and hiring managers would look for additional qualifications when recruiting for jobs in IT.

When it came to the certifications most valued by IT professionals in the current market, 43 percent of techies cited Microsoft (MCSE, MCSA and MCT) on the hardware side, followed by 29 percent for Cisco CCNA and CCNP. With software applications, 25 percent believed that the Prince2 Certification was most important, followed by the ITIL Certification.

Alex Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board, commented: "It is clear to see that both recruiters and candidates value certifications, and the fact that these can have a huge impact on peoples' IT job opportunities.

She added: "During difficult times, when employment is harder to come by and the competition is fierce, holding additional IT certifications could be vital."

[1] 139 IT professionals responded to a survey entitled 'IT Certifications', April 2009

He Got A Bonus For What Exactly?

That's what I'm asking after hearing that the chief HR professional at Freddie Mac will receive a $1.3 million bonus according to Workplace HR & Safety (H/T Jennifer). Where is the outrage over this? I'm not saying that he didn't have a challenging task of "managing and retaining a workforce of a company that had been seized by the federal government", but because they had been seized by the federal government, shouldn't he have not received that large of a bonus? Shouldn't this agency be held to the same standards as, well, the banks whose executives all (deservedly) took huge pay and bonus cuts? Seems a little incongruous to me.

Company Outings Don't Have To Cost A Lot

In this tough economic time, it can be hard to get company outings approved. But what about free ones? If your company resides in New York City, one such outing could be to the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival (I highly recommend the first movie, The Sting). Here you could let everyone out at 5 PM, set up blankets on the lawn and keep everyone occupied by just ordering pizza (or having a potluck picnic). People could stay for the movie or leave beforehand, but the fun atmosphere of Bryant Park and getting out of the office on a nice Monday evening during the summer may be a nice treat for your company. Likewise, there are other events in Central Park (concerts and movies), Madison Square Park (concerts), and many other parts of the city that you can bring employees for free. Maybe even declare it a "casual Monday" so that employees can be more comfortable going to the park in jeans. The key in these tough times is not necessarily cutting every luxury expense but finding ways to do fun things for your employees for less.

Job Losses Slow Slightly

The Page puts it best:

 

Employers cut 539,000 jobs in April, the fewest in six months.

And/But: Unemployment rate still rises to 8.9%.

Grad School, Recruiting, And Other Topics...

Almost Friday!

 

Here are some links for you:

 

-27% of 2009 grads plan to go to graduate school, according to College Recruiter. With the state of the economy, this makes a ton of sense. Most of the time, companies will hire recent college grads for cheap labor, but right now, with so many people unemployed, cheap, skilled labor is fairly abundant so college students need to get a graduate degree to ride out this economic storm and position themselves higher than their peers.

 

-HR World has help with recruiting on Twitter (seems like an ad, but it is something to keep in mind when thinking of where to post jobs)

 

-Fistful of Talent requests no more "Dear Recruiter" e-mails

 

-The HR Capitalist requests no more negotiating

 

-Compensation Force looks at "agility", the new reward watchword (the diagram is worth checking out)

 

-Some boss basics on the futility of gagging employees from Workforce Management's "The Business Of Management"

 

-Some boss basics on the best practices for caregivers in the workplace from HR Web Café

 

-Lastly, some managerial moments of truth from Management Craft

Astronology - Recession Slump..Helping Employees During the Crunch

 

Astronology Volume X Issue 5   May 5, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. The Astron Road Show From May 10-12, the Astron team will be visiting upstate New York. National Director Michael Maciekowich will be exhibiting at the New York Bankers Association Human Resources Conference at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York. Additionally, he will present the keynote speech on Tuesday, May 12th! On May 12th, National Director Jennifer Loftus will present on the topic of incentives to the AEBO chapter in Rochester, NY. The session will be part of the association's luncheon meeting. On May 20 and 21, Jennifer will be on the road again, this time in Houston, TX. She will be presenting a Wednesday Power Session at the 18th annual Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues. She'll also be exhibiting in booth 122. Please be sure to stop by and say hello! Please contact us for information on any of these presentations. Fact or Fiction? There could be a garden on the moon by 2012? Fact! The Paragon Space Development Corporation teamed up with Odyssey Moon to develop a miniaturized greenhouse to be put onto the moon. The greenhouse would obviously grow plants from seeds. Paragon has put together a greenhouse that has all the safety features needed to give the plant the ability to survive. This is basically like a space suit for the plant. Paragon picked a plant from the Brassica family. They did this because these plants need only 14 days of light to grow. Considering that a lunar day is only 14 earth days long the selection makes perfect sense. If Paragon can complete this task, along with a few others, they will win $30 Million for the Google Lunar X Prize. Recession Slump...Helping Employees During the Crunch There's no denying it. There are hiring freezes everywhere, and unemployment statistics increase daily. This recession slump is hitting America hard, and organizations everywhere are trying to stay afloat. In previous recessions, layoffs have been the number one solution to combat rising expenses in the face of lower revenues. Today, however, both employers and HR leaders recognize that employees are more than people who work 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Employees are individuals with families and other responsibilities. As a result, many organizations are initiating alternative solutions to protect their organization and their employees. This edition of Astronology will take a look at four such techniques...more Have a Question? If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us!  Simply reply to this e-mail.  See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an upcoming issue of Astronology. Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting?  Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues.  For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com. The Fine Print We hold your e-mail address in trust.  Astron Solutions promises never to share or rent your personal information.  We also promise never to send you frivolous e-mails and will allow you to leave our list, at your option, at any time. To remove yourself from this list, please follow your personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert e-mail. Copyright 2009, Astron Solutions, LLC ISSN Number 1549-0467 Quick Links Client List Meet the Astron Team Contact Us World of HR Blog Bringing you Human Resource news from around the globe...compliments of Astron Solutions. More

Worst Bonehead HR Mistakes

When Air Force One went buzzing through Manhattan last week, many wondered "are you kidding me?" What was supposed to be a public relations move turned into a PR disaster. HR Capitalist looks at the "worst possible bonehead HR Plays that would rival the decision to send Air Force One buzzing Manhattan in a post 9/11 world. You know the kind of bonehead play - the kind that makes you say 'are you kidding me?'":

 

5. Bad math/Excel skills lead to a budget number that under-represents medical costs by 30%.  Budget already approved by board.  HR pro still doesn't get what went wrong...

4.  Diversity materials featuring employee photo shoots with a 70% representation of white guys under 40.  They're well-dressed, though. Kind of looks like a JCrew photo shoot...

3. Company salary data sent to the proverbial "all employees" email distribution list.  Weak attempt to recall message follows one day later, with no global acknowledgment of the snafu.

2. HR Team wants to do flu shots, but gets cute and orders a vaccine that knocks everyone out of work for 2 days due to the strain ordered...Turns out they ordered a vaccine used for those traveling to Kenya, rather than to Nashville...

1. Swimsuit models on the cover of the employee handbook (in their work attire).

Those are all pretty boneheaded. I would add to the list Twitter's HR snafu where they accidently published the e-mail addresses of 186 job rejects. Or Radio Shack, which in August of 2006 fired staffers via e-mail with a message that read: “The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.” But the company that takes the cake may have been Microsoft which gave some employees too much severance and sent a letter out asking for it back.  Even Michael Scott from The Office never made these bonehead mistakes.

On Wellness Programs and Swine Flu

Some good articles for your Monday:

 

-HR World decodes successful wellness programs for your company

 

-Workforce Management's The Business of Management has "the only swine flu strategy your workforce will ever need"

 

-Cheezhead discusses why metrics are so important for recruiting and human resources

 

-The Laconic Law Blog on the EEOC issuing best practice guidance for workers with caregiver responsibilities

 

-If you hate the new guy at work, it could actually be making you better at your job according to Fistful of Talent

 

-Benefits Buzz asks how benefits managers are responding to the tough economic times

 

-And, lastly, WorldatWork has a weekend wrap-up of news stories from the Supreme Court to the Republican Listening Tour

Another Cartoon For Friday

A LAYOFF BY ANY OTHER NAME.

(H/T The 405 Club)