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Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Astronology - Win At Selling Your Value
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
$25 an Hour Jobs
Yahoo! recently ran a story entitled “Surprising Jobs that Pay $25 an Hour.” The author writes,
But you don’t necessarily need a post-graduate degree to qualify for a job that pays several hundred dollars a day. While it may be true that helicopter pilots, high-tech administrators, and civil engineers earn $25 an hour or more, so do many other professionals in careers that require only an associate or bachelor’s degree to leap onto the playing field.
The jobs listed are electrical and electronic engineering technician, human resources recruiter, paralegal, respiratory therapist, police officer, advertising sales agent, and interior designer.
One profession that certainly qualifies, but was wrongfully omitted from the list: street prostitute.
Other great Freakonomics posts for HR to read:
- Italian workers who were able to trade overtime
- A look at what has happened to wages in the past 3,000 years.
- Levitt tries to determine the economic value of popularity
- If you give your employees a raise, will they start watching TV in the bathroom?
- Levitt reviews Michael Lewis' NFL book Blind Side and salaries in the NFL
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Stating the Obvious
- Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork did a survey that Workforce Management quotes which says that cost cutting has damaged worker morale (duh!).
Yes, if you have been managing and awake at all during this Big, Bad Recession, you know that A) organizations have been slashing budgets and cutting costs in order to survive; and, B) that such large-scale cost cutting tends to have a highly negative impact on the most critical part of your organization—your workforce.
So, this new survey by Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork isn’t so much newsworthy or surprising as much as it as reconfirmation of what you already know and have probably experienced firsthand. Pay cuts, furloughs, layoffs, buyouts and other budget reductions might help organizations cope with the big economic downturn, but the flip-side to that is these very cuts are doing a number on the morale and engagement of the very employees you need to get beyond these bad times.According to the 2009/2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Survey, “employee engagement levels for all workers at the companies surveyed have dropped 9 percent since last year and close to 25 percent for top performers. Additionally, 36 percent of top performers say their employer’s situation has worsened in the past 12 months and the number who would recommend others take jobs at their company has declined by nearly 20 percent. Compared with last year, top-performing employees are 26 percent less likely to be satisfied with advancement opportunities at their company. They are also 14 percent less likely to want to remain with their company versus take a job elsewhere.”
- One of the hardest hit sectors, the insurance industry, has job losses for a 10th consecutive month according to Insurance Headlines (H/T Wendy). The unemployment for that sector is now at 9.7% and getting close to the 10% expected number. Not surprising for the industry that contained groups such as AIG.
- Lastly, a British graduate scored a job by using a sandwich-board according to Yahoo! Finance (H/T Wendy). Job seekers are always told to think differently from others, and this man certainly did. So it's not surprise he got an offer...of some sort. This may not be the best way about getting every offer you desire, however. From the recruitment firm that decided to interview him:
"I liked the fact he had thought out of the box. I was impressed by that. I was even more impressed after the interview. He's very employable, so much so I offered him a job to work with me."
Sunday, September 27, 2009
A Wish for an Easy Fast
We are told to remember our last year and to ask forgiveness for those we've wronged the past year.
Even for those who are not Jewish, this is a good time to look around your life and work to rebuild relationships that may have been harmed in the past year.
This includes in the workplace where we may have wronged our fellow co-workers, especially in the tough last year we all just went through. Regardless of the time of the year, we can all work to help to make our workplace a more peaceful and enjoyable place to work.
-Andrew
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Astronology - 2010 Salary Budgeting Forecast - What a Difference a Year Makes
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Monday, September 21, 2009
Happy New Year, Coaching, Inter-connectivity and Passion
My recent business trip wasn't much "business". It was an "Early Career Summit" which was basically a 4-day leadership development conference. We learned networking skills and then had the chance to network with functional heads, ran an industry simulation in small groups, got personal coaching, were talked to by senior leaders (the CEO, CIO, and others), and got to present on what we learned to a panel of senior leadership team members (among other activities).
When people try to describe the difference between small and large companies, this is one type of activity that can be excluded from mostly all small companies. Large companies can offer greater resources and this was certainly one time where those resources were tapped. There were three big keys from last week I would like to highlight:
Coaching - We had the opportunity to have a senior leader sit in on our simulation sessions, record what we were doing, and then give us feedback afterward. Although this can't always happen (and I don't think I would want someone sitting in my cubicle with me and listening in on my phone conversations), this was an invaluable tool. The key takeaway for me is that employees (especially those just starting out their careers) should be encouraged to find coaches to help them out along the way. One of the senior leaders said "harsh words from your friends is better than kind words from your enemies." I think it's important for everyone to find a friend within an organization who they can get honest and constructive feedback from and who will tell them the hard things they need to learn. This is something that you don't need a large company to do, either. But I think it is a great way to help people grow.
Inter-connectivity - One of the things most important to running a successful organization is to make sure all the parts run correctly in conjunction with one another. That includes things like working well in teams, good communication, collaboration with other departments, and knowledge of other parts of the business. But all that can't happen if you don't know how the dots all get connected together. I equated it to baking a cake. If you're only job is putting the icing on, you've missed out. You need to know what ingredients went into making the cake, how they got mixed together, how long and what temperature the oven is on for and what it should taste like. The key is knowing when you a pull a lever, what gears move and how that affects the bottom line. I think that if people did a better job of leveraging their skill sets and understanding the inter-connectivity of their position, they would become a lot more efficient and effective in their organization.
Passion - Our kickoff speaker talked about passion in performing every day and I think it was another takeaway I have from the conference. Having the skills and the infrastructure and the group around you is a key in laying the framework, but a passion to succeed is just as important. As HR professionals, that is a key in finding the right employee as well; they can be tremendously skilled and have experience, but if they don't bring the passion to perform, they many not be the right employee for your organization.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Remembering 9/11: How Sports Helped Heal
It's true that you'll never forget where you were when the towers fell. I was a senior in high school and everything that happened--from hearing the news from the football coach to watching the first tower fall in the teacher's lounge surrounded by baffled students and teachers and the second tower fall on makeshift TV set-ups in the campus commons--seemed totally surreal. But I think the thing I will remember most about 9/11 in New York is how the whole city came together and sports, however cheesy that sounds, was the driving catalyst to bringing the city back to life that fall.Many forget that Shea Stadium became a triage site. I make fun of Shea Stadium to no end, but it definitely saw its finest light after 9/11. Lisa Olson remembers:
But Shea Stadium -- dirty, rotting, beautiful Shea -- came to life during that dark week. It still pains me to think of all that went on in the shadow of that now-demolished fortress, so forgive me if I simply reprint a few paragraphs from a column I wrote a few years ago in the New York Daily News:The NFL and MLB seasons came to a halt. And when they resumed, things didn't go back to normal right away. Michael Strahan took the lead for all sports by saying that no games should be played in the NFL, especially with the Giants able to see the smoke billowing from the World Trade Center wreckage from their field. The NFL set the precedent by canceling the games. The heated rivalry of the Mets and Braves took a break to shake hands before the game and wore NYPD and FDNY hats. A hockey game between the Bruins and Rangers were stopped so that everyone could watch President Bush speak abut the tragic events. The Yankees played in Chicago and White Sox fans held up signs that said "We're All New Yorkers".
The line of ambulances, engines idling, began at the press gate and extended to the Grand Central Parkway. There was nowhere to go, no survivors to help. At first the city wanted to turn Shea into a triage center, then considered using the stadium in Queens as a morgue. It was too soon to realize thousands of people had simply vaporized. A small sign was affixed near Gate C: Donations Here.
Next anyone remembers, cars began pulling into the Shea parking lot, the ribbon of lights stretching into the suburbs like the final scene in Field of Dreams. Within 24 hours of the first tower falling, boxes of clothing, food and other supplies extended from first base around to third. Someone donated a tractor trailer, hardware stores sent over chainsaws, the Red Cross set up tents and beds.
Soon the old Jets locker room at Shea was filled with mounds of toiletries and blankets, to provide a small haven for rescue workers who lacked the energy to make it home. They weren't calling the steaming hole downtown "The Pile" or "The Pit" just yet; they slept an hour, grabbed a box of cereal and headed back to the city to find their brothers.
Mets players and employees worked the Shea parking lot for days, packing crates and lending ears. Manager Bobby Valentine refused to leave. Nobody was sure when sports would resume, but nobody could imagine being anywhere else, not while vans kept depositing worn out and filthy firefighters and police officers.
"They were just head-to-toe in dirt, debris, toxins and I guess what we know now were body parts. It was just horrible," says Sue Lucchi, the stadium manager who helped facilitate the effort. When she needed a good cry during those 10 days, she'd climb to the upper deck of Shea and gaze at the parking lots that had sprouted into massive warehouses, the ramps filled with supplies, barely an inch of ground to spare. The strength of the human spirit left her breathless.
And maybe that's what I loved most: everyone came together. Even just for a little while. People were polite and smiled at each other on the streets. Instead of hating policemen, we lined up and thanked them. Firefighters helped out firefighters and we honored them and helped out with sandwiches and well-wishes.
I remember organizing a candlelight vigil at the firehouse in my town. The chief, tired from constant trips down to Ground Zero and resting for a little while at the station, came out and spoke to us for a little bit. I asked him what got him through the day?
His answer: "Just seeing everyone pull together down at Ground Zero and..." he paused, thought for a second and then said, "the Yankees".
HBO did a fabulous job capturing the pulse of the city in their great documentary 9 Innings From Ground Zero, but the truth was that for that fall, the Yankees were one of the greatest forces in the city. Down 2-0 in the best of 5 ALDS to the Oakland Athletics, the Yankees rallied back to win the next three games (including the amazing Jeter flip play). In the ALCS, they took down the most winning team in AL history: the 116-win Seattle Mariners. Down 2-0 in the World Series, they fought back underneath the tattered flag rescued from the World Trade Center, winning game 3 and then two improbable wins in game 4 and 5 down by two runs with two outs in the 9th inning.
They would lose that World Series in dramatic fashion, but I never felt like they actually lost. For a little while, they kept everyone distracted from what had happened a few months earlier.
"I can't even imagine what they've seen and what they've been going through. They've lost like, how many? Hundreds? And here they're trying to make us feel good," Derek Jeter, the Yankee shortstop, told me one October night eight years ago in the halls of Yankee Stadium, after meeting with a group of firefighters who had just returned from burying one of their brothers.So tonight, before Derek Jeter tries to break Lou Gehrig's hit record, the Yankees will honor those who fell in 9/11. Eight years later, that seems fitting; for all the praise we give Jeter for passing a legend, we also need to remember to take a second and praise those real heroes.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Some Office Faux Pas
- Don't! Be the Office Downer- This does not mean "don't be serious". It just means that you should be amenable to your co-workers. When your name gets floated around as a potential cut, you want someone going to bat for you.
- Don't! Microwave Fish in the Office- Also, don't pop popcorn unless you're going to share it with everyone. I hate when someone pops a big bag for themselves and it smells throughout the entire office. It's selfish.
- Don't! Go Barefoot- I'm a big fan of kicking off the shoes under the desk. Just make sure if you do, that you have a pair you can quickly slip on. There's nothing wrong with having a pair of shoes to walk to the office and another pair to wear around the office. Just don't be caught as a Shoeless Joe.
- Don't! Set Your Ring Tone to the Jonas Brothers - "Keep your phone on vibrate" is great advice. Recently they handed out new Blackberrys at our office because we switched providers. Everyone wanted to get a new ringtone so they could differentiate their rings when they were away from the desk. One woman decided to go with this one ring that sounds like an alarm is going off. Everyone thinks the fire alarm is going off when her phone rings. It's awful and inconsiderate...especially when she takes a long lunch and forgets her Blackberry!
- Do! Save Smiley Faces for Mom- Leave smiley faces out of e-mails, IMs, and any other form of communication unless you are very comfortable with the person. Even then, leave it out. It can't be a good thing. Save it for AIM/Gtalk/MSN
- Don't! Be the Boss' New BFF- Kissing ass is always a problem, but this may not be the worst thing to be in this new environment. Your co-workers usually don't vote to have you laid off--it's the boss' decision. But don't go over the top. You don't want to come off as a kiss ass...even if you are a kiss ass.
- Don't! Read Your Emails Out Loud- Great advice. I had a co-worker who would conduct conference calls at his desk on speakerphone with the volume all the way up. This was his "protest" against not getting an office. Once layoffs came, he didn't have a desk at all.
- Don't! Give Yourself a Mani/Pedi- There's also the time spent giving yourself a mani/pedi as well as the noise. There's no business reason to be doing this at work. I'm sure your co-workers would be a lot happier if you ate lunch while getting a mani/pedi at a local shop for 30 minutes than you spending 30 minutes doing it to yourself at the office. They may even chip in just to get you to leave.
- Don't! Steal Food- Someone was stealing my food for a while. I never caught who it was (though I was tempted to put some eye drops in my food and wait by the bathroom for the culprit). But I took a bite out of my sandwich every morning to deter that person and they never did it again. And one person who caught someone stealing their lunch wasn't so kind--they told management about what they saw and the person was given a warning. They weren't around after the first round of layoffs.
- Don't! Crank the Russian Folk Music - This is an important one. If you're going to have music at work, just put on headphones. And don't sing out loud. You may need some noise to help you out, but your co-workers certainly don't. And the people they're speaking with on the phone don't want it either. I also think if you're going to put on headphones, it shouldn't be for the whole day. No one wants a worker that ignores everyone for their Russian Folk Music (going back to #1).
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Astronology - Honoring Ted Kennedy
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Thursday, September 03, 2009
What I'm Hearing...Complaining about Co-Workers
Intuitively, this makes sense. Few people like a whiner or a tattler.
Of course, if the person is commenting on something involving personal safety, the organization's financial well-being, etc., then bring on the commentary. Otherwise, most likely the person on the receiving end of things doesn't want to hear it.
Instead of being pulled down into office discussions, wouldn't a better route be to outshine that co-worker and make your supervisor notice you for the great things you do, rather than the squeaky wheel effect? I'm wondering why someone would opt for the latter approach - baggage from childhood? Insecurity in the job? Something else?
I'm interested to hear your thoughts. I'm sure that at some point we've all worked with someone who frustrated us.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
DON'T EMAIL LIKE THIS!!!!
That's exactly what happened to Vicki Walker, who was abruptly kicked out of her job for sending "confrontational emails" with text formatted in a variety of red, bold, and all caps fonts. Walker had sent the emails to fellow workers within the company, usually with stern and detailed instructions on how forms should be properly filled out.
Someone at ProCare didn't like her approach, suggesting she caused "disharmony in the workplace" and was being too confrontational via email, eventually firing her without warning.
Walker, however, got the last laugh. She sued for wrongful termination and won the case, pocketing $17,000 in lost wages and for other unspecified harm caused due to the firing.
What do you think? Are Caps Lock really that big of a deal? Do you train your employees in proper e-mail formatting?
What I'm Hearing...Customized Rewards
One of the key themes of my presentations is that, in today's economy, employers can't rely solely on base pay and benefits to attract and retain employees. Rather, total rewards is the new focus. Total rewards includes pay and benefits, and also adds work/life balance, career advancement and development, and performance management and recognition into the mix. Moving forward, organizations will have to tap into all 5 of these areas, and customize their blends to meet employee needs, in order to be successful.
In light of this I found two separate conversations I had yesterday quite interesting. In both instances, the employees' employers were trying to do something nice to reward their employees by tapping into the 3 new elements of total rewards. In both cases, the employees knew how much their company was spending on the "reward," and would rather have had the cash. They felt like their companies were forcing the "reward" on them.
Customization of rewards is key moving forward. To be done right, however, customization must be done from the perspective of the employee, not the employer. To truly reward and motivate, the compensation elements must be what the employee wants and needs, not what I as your manager think you should have because I happen to like it.
How much rewards customization does your organization use? Is it truly customized? How will your rewards programs change moving forward?
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
The HR Impact of Sterling Cooper in 2009
One of the things that's great about the show is how they keep everything authentic for the time. That means that people drink, smoke, and take part in a lot of other activities that make Human Resource professionals cringe today, including excluding all minorities (and Jews), gender discrimination, and sexual harassment. But how much of what takes place in Sterling Cooper would not be allowed to go on today? Halogen Life did a great look at that and determined that while the drinking and the smoking may fly in certain states and certain companies, the sexual harassment and discrimination would not (H/T Jay for the article). Here are their conclusions:
- Smoking - A smoke-filled Madison Avenue boardroom couldn’t legally exist today as New York, along with 22 other states, has laws banning smoking in the workplace, but unless the federal government or your city steps in, you’re free to light up in your office in over half of the states.
- Drinking - For white-collar workers, there’s nothing legally wrong with knocking a few back in the office, per se. Federal law only deals with alcohol consumption in the workplace if it would threaten the health and safety of other employees or the public — like if the employee must drive or operate machinery. Obviously providing drinks to those under 21 can land you in hot water, but unless you happen to live in a particularly “dry” community where the sale and possession of alcohol is regulated, you’re probably in the clear. Office worker bees who don’t have those concerns are free to imbibe, so long as the boss approves.
- Discrimination - Up until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employment discrimination was only prohibited by state and federal governments. Private businesses were free to hire and fire on any criteria they chose. Though actual change was slow coming, the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited businesses with over 15 employees from discriminating based upon race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
- Sexual Harassment/Gender Discrimination - While women were covered in the discrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee didn’t explicitly forbid sexual harassment as discrimination until 1980. Today, in the era of mandatory sensitivity trainings, Sterling Cooper would be hit with lawsuits faster than you can cry “sexual harassment.”
- Their conclusion? - It’s unfortunately fathomable that the kind of womanizing and discrimination rampant at Sterling Cooper could still occur today, but if you’re looking to inject a little bit of a Mad Men-esque feel to your work day, be safe and stick with the scotch. And maybe a smoke — outside.