Are You Using These Hot HR Technologies?

Lately, there have been numerous discussions on advancing technology and its place in Human Resources.  Unifying talent management suites, harnessing the potential of cloud storage, and exploring gamification technology are prominent in our Human Resources world of 2014. One must wonder, are we making the most of these hot HR technologies?  If not, are we aware of them and how we can use them to our best advantage?  Let’s explore each technology in more depth.

Talent Management Suites that are “Unified,” not “Integrated”

                
According to Bill Kutik, technology columnist for Human Resource Executive, the word “integrated” to describe HR tech applications can be misleading. Vendors will insist their systems can be integrated between different modules from other vendors that clients are currently using, only to find post-purchase that the desired integration may not be possible.  As a result, a new buzzword in 2014 will be used: “unified.” Instead of having pieces of a talent management suite, HR professionals will have a complete unified system, as the components would be built together.

Naomi Lee Bloom offered this thought on unified Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) during the webinar Predict and Prepare 2014: “The number and complexity of the interconnections between what's normally in core HRMS and what's normally in talent management creates an enormous problem if you have to integrate across multiple disparate systems… can it be done? You write enough code, we can make anything work. But every dollar spent making it work is a dollar you don't have for innovation."

What systems are you currently using that could benefit from unification?  What steps can you take to harness this trend for your organization’s strategic advantage?

Cloud Data Storage 

TO THE CLOUD!! The rush to join cloud options for data storage has been an ongoing discussion for some time. In 2014, cloud storage has become safer, which means more organizations will take seriously the option to place their precious data in the cloud. Kutik speculates, "I think everyone agrees HR is moving to the cloud, …so the question is how fast will they do it, and which vendor will they choose to do it with?"

What data can you migrate to the cloud, to free up internal resources and enhance productivity?  What is holding you back from migrating to the cloud?

Fighting Low Employee Engagement with Social Performance Management and Education

A Forbes blog post quoted an HR manager with saying, “our employees are no longer looking for a career; they’re looking for an experience.” So what can HR do to make that experience rewarding, engaging, and encouraging? As explored in a recent Astronology article, gamification is a new and exciting area to consider in order to engage candidates and employees alike.

In a fairly recent eyebrow raising Gallup poll, only 29% of American employees are engaged at work. Why? While a variety of factors may be in play, broadly speaking, Human Resources has been paying less attention to employee development.  This results in the dreaded skills gap, employee feelings of inadequacy on the job, and a general sense of lack of caring by the employer.  So why does employee development get moved to the back burner, given its far reaching effects? Perhaps we have been focused on other areas in recent years and have strayed off course?  Did concerns over the cost of employee development – whether in terms of finances or time – drive those decisions?  Whatever the reason, expect more conversation on employee development plans in 2014.

In what areas can your employees grow? Have you considered using gamification to create a performance management and employee development system that facilitates sharing, development, and communication between employees and managers?  Not the standard yearly review, but rather a program that the employees can access at any time, to track their own growth, and enjoy mini-rewards for reaching goals.

It’s anticipated that organizational learning will become less formal over time. While learn-at-lunch programs and e-learning have been used with measured success, gamification is making big waves.  Don’t be surprised if you find your own organization creating online gaming formats in order to train and educate employees. Such ingenuity will create excitement for employees and will surely keep them enthused and engaged with their organization.

Are there some areas of technology not mentioned here that your organization is using successfully in Human Resources? Please share them with us!  We may feature them in an upcoming issue of Astronology.

The Perks That Make Up Some Top Tech Companies

Technology companies offer great perks to keep top talent within their ranks. San Francisco is home to many of those great companies and their perks are the standard bearers for most of the top companies in the world. Outlined by The San Francisco Business Times, here are a few of my favorite of the perks:

• Salesforce.com's unlimited gummy bears...and donation matching up to $5,000
• Dolby Laboratories' early screenings of films in the Dolby theaters in the office.
• DocuSign's "tranquility room" with "soft lighting and water fountain for mothers or people who want to chill out" and, of course, Nurf guns.
• Dropbox's complete music studio equipped with drums, piano, amplifiers, etc.
• Quantcast's annual home brewing competition--of beer
• OpenDNS gives a week-long vacation on the company once you get to the five-year mark
• And, my favorite, Piston Cloud Computing gives each employee "A beautiful, awesome hat of your choosing (bowler, fedora, panama) that is adorned via a hatting ceremony."

These are just some of my favorite perks that are being offered by companies in San Francisco to employees. There are a lot of ways to make employees happy but one of the most memorable ways to do it is through unique and meaningful perks. You don't always have to offer employees an awesome hat--but do something employees will be connected to you by.  

Some Friday Inpsiration

So why am I posting two Tweets from 2009 (H/T to George Takai) Because that same guy who didn't get hired by Twitter or Facebook didn't give up. He decided that he was going to do something on his own and do it big. And this week, almost exactly four years after his rejection from the social media giants began, Brian Acton sold his company, WhatsApp, to Facebook for $19 billion.

I think that's probably going to net him a bit more than any of those jobs would have in the past four years (or four millenia). The lesson: turn a rejection into a stepping stone, instead of a tumbling block.

And to get your start on that path, here is The Daily Muse's list of the 50 best conferences to attend this year. Find your passion and your talent and go find a way to get that turned into something amazing. We may not all be able to sell our companies for $19 billion--but we can all be like Brian Acton and turn rejection into success.

Have a great (and inspired) weekend!

CHROs…How Is Your Role Evolving?

Initially, the responsibilities of the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) were clear-cut. Similar to a General Manager, and focused on the HR area of an organization, CHROs traditionally dealt with organizational design, talent management, recruitment, and rewards systems. Today, the CHRO role has evolved drastically and it continues to change.  How has your role as a CHRO evolved?

A Deloitte Strategist and Steward report groups the current CHRO roles and responsibilities into four major categories:

Workforce strategist: “Business strategy is increasingly a function of the workforce itself. Although CHROs continue to support and implement the overall direction, they now play a key role in steering and informing that direction – helping the CEO and other leaders craft strategies that make sense in light of global labor trends and available talent.”

Organizational performance conductor: “Companies today face an overwhelming number of choices, from boundary-less organizations, virtual teams, contingent workforces, telecommuting, and job sharing, to flexible hours, workforce diversity and more. CHROs help navigate all those options – creating value in the “white space” that other companies take for granted.”

HR service delivery owner: “Although CHROs are becoming increasingly strategic, they still need to deliver the goods of the day to day HR administration and operations…Today’s CHROs spend a lot less time overseeing their own systems, processes and transactions and a lot more time juggling a complex mix of in-house resources, employee self-service, and external vendors - doing their best to serve as the company’s HR market maker…”

Compliance and governance regulator: “CHROs have begun working directly with the board on workforce issues that are particularly critical or high risk; they also assist with a wide range of board related issues, from member selection and orientation to executive compensation and succession planning.”

To further validate the importance of the Chief Human Resource Officer’s evolving position in an organization, Dr. Karie Willyerd, SuccessFactors’ VP of Social Adoption, analyzed the financial performance of Fortune 500 companies with and without a CHRO as part of the C-Suite, or team of top senior executives.  Her key findings include the following:

1. Companies with both a higher percentage of goals aligned with corporate objectives and identified HR risks have better financial and market performance.

2. Companies that have a higher percentage of completed goals are more profitable, delivering higher EPS growth and better PE ratios than their industry peers.

Now that we know the lay of the land, it’s time to explore further.  What challenges can be expected for those in the growing and evolving role of CHRO?

Deloitte indicates that the following should be on the radar screen of all current and future CHROS:

• Addressing talent gaps
• Orchestrating learning, skills and career development
• Providing executive coaching for senior leaders
• Overseeing leadership development programs
• Developing cross-functional teams
• Overseeing an organization’s major change initiatives
• Defining organizational culture and values
• Defining diversity strategy programs
• Overseeing and managing compensation and benefits
• Formulating, executing, and managing HR policies / compliance
• Managing Human Capital risks
• Supporting the compensation committee of the Board 

“While all of the above are critical to the HR function, and the CHRO role, we find that understanding executive compensation’s legal constraints and nuances, and supporting the organization’s Board, is a key area of development for potential CHROs,” explains Michael Maciekowich, Astron Solutions’ National Director.  “If you are planning for a career path culminating in a CHRO role, take the time now to learn about executive compensation, rather than experiencing a ‘trial by fire’ years down the road.” 

All of this may seem overwhelming, or just downright demanding for anyone to add to an already full plate. So how can we make this expanded scope of responsibility more feasible? Sandy Ogg, a senior operating partner at Blackstone, and James Allen, a Senior Partner in Bain & Company’s London office, highlight some steps CEOs can take to change the behaviors of the leadership team…and how a CHRO can help:

-          - Be active in identifying between “doers” and “thinkers.”  “Each of these individuals plays an important organizational role when they are given responsibilities that tap into those strengths,” explains Jennifer Loftus, Astron Solutions’ National Director.  “For the greatest success with lessened stress, know the players on your team before assigning tasks and responsibilities.”

-          - Find and develop the right people with the right capabilities to solve issues, rather than trying to resolve everything yourself.  “Would that we could do everything ourselves!  Since that approach is neither practical nor advisable, teamwork and delegation are essential to success,” notes Jennifer.

Are you a CHRO? How has your role evolved in your organization? Share your story with Astron Solutions today and it could be a guest feature in Astronology!

Data Analytics – Is Your Organization on Track?

It’s predicted that by 2015 Data Analytics will be responsible for generating $3.7 trillion – that’s right, trillion – in products and services and 4.4 million new jobs. With such high expectations, many have wondered how data analytics can be used within the realm of Human Resources in order to strengthen an organization.

            
How exactly can data analytics be applied in Human Resources? Josh Bersin mentioned in a Forbes Leadership post that “Companies are loaded with employee, HR and performance data. For the last 30 years we have captured demographic information, performance information, educational history, job location, and many other factors about our employees. Are we using this data scientifically to make people decisions?” A simple question, but truthfully, are we using the information we get from exit interviews and employee satisfaction surveys to better our organizations’ bottom lines? Are we analyzing performance rates of employees and working on improvements? Or are we simply collecting the data in a rote fashion and not doing anything with it? We need to ask ourselves how we can use this wealth of information to better our organizations.

Two case examples are helpful in building the case for data analytics. Bon–Ton, a chain of 280 department stores in the United States, leveraged its data to identify the qualities apparent in their more successful sales reps.  Since reviewing this information, the company now screens potential sales reps by using a test designed around those key traits. Those who score high on this test generally sell 10% more than other reps, and tend to enjoy their work more. Since 2008, the company has seen a $1,400 increase in sales per representative and 25% lower turnover, providing a strong return on investment over the analysis and test development costs.

In 2009, PNC Financial Services recognized that when hiring experienced outsiders over internal candidates, they were unknowingly hurting their organization. PNC partnered with its marketing analytics group to analyze the sales performance over several years of external hires versus people promoted from inside. The results? In some key positions, internal candidates were significantly more productive their first year than experienced external hires. In later years, outsiders did improve…but didn’t match the productivity of the internal candidates. In short, the company was losing money by not recognizing this reality.

            
So how can you use data analytics right now? Start with these two easy steps:

             
1. Use the data you have! Study it to identify areas of weakness. Don’t let the data sit dormant in a binder or in your HRIS.  Want to identify the qualities needed for strong employees in specific positions? Use the data from performance reviews to cross-compare with the competencies, repeated behaviors, and consistent actions of these employees. See if you can foster and develop these qualities or habits by training other employees. Want to reduce turnover rates? Examine those employee satisfaction surveys…and actually investigate those concerns and make adjustments.

2. Dig deeper if necessary. Sometimes the data you already have isn’t enough…invent new ways to grab the data needed. Google, for example, did a study on whether good managers matter for their culture. Prasad Setty, Head of Google’s people analytics group, says that “through various methods we found positive relationships between good management and retention and the performance of teams. We then conducted double blind interviews to identify key behaviors exhibited by our best managers. We found eight behaviors that make a good manager and five pitfalls to avoid. These are now incorporated into our manger-training programs and coaching sessions…the vast majority of our lower-rated managers have improved as a result.”

“Data analytics may seem daunting at first, particularly if time pressures or a fear of numbers is present.  Analytics need not require using calculus, however.  Key in data analytics is identifying patterns and relationships,” explains Astron Solutions’ National Director Jennifer Loftus.  “Those relationships can then become the basis for actionable measures that impact your organization’s bottom line.”

Need help setting up an employee satisfaction survey? Do you seek a more effective way to collect and analyze your talent management data to improve your organization? Contact Astron Solutions today to learn how we can help!

Answering the Dreaded Question

There are a lot of tough questions to answer in the interview process. "What are your biggest weaknesses" is one of my least favorite. "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" is the one I find the most annoying. But, by far, the most dreaded question for me is "What was your last salary (or what do you expect to make in this job?" That last question is not just one of the hardest to figure out how to ask, but also the least advantageous according to LinkedIn:

Employers will have the upper hand in your job search as long as you give them it to them. When you decide that you have something valuable and unique to bring to your next organization -- when you really believe it, and act out of that conviction -- you'll quickly move past the managers who don't deserve you, and focus on the ones who do. You won't hand over confidential information about your past salaries, because that's nobody's business but your own.

LinkedIn always has great advice from CEOs and other executives and this time is no exception. And if you needed a way to get away from giving that information while also not totally avoiding the question and not being rude, the author, Liz Ryan, has a script to be able to get you to the right position in the conversation.

For the employers, it's important to have the upper hand in the negotiation but don't you want to make sure once you hire this employee, they're going to be happy and stay around a while? Maybe being upfront about how much the position pays is the best way to make sure that you get that high quality candidate to come on board and stay.

The Zappos Model

There are certainly companies that do things differently. Some of those models are ones to emulate and some are cautionary tales to run far from. Zappos, the online shoe retailer from Nevada is one of those companies which certainly comes close to toeing the line between what is cool and modern and what is just plain weird and unproductive. Here are a few examples:

Paying New Employees to Quit

Yes, you read that correctly. Zappos pays its new employees to quit. Why? Well the Harvard Business Review explains: "If you’re willing to take the company up on The Offer, you obviously don’t have the sense of commitment they are looking for. It’s hard to describe the level of energy in the Zappos culture–which means, by definition, it’s not for everybody. Zappos wants to learn if there’s a bad fit between what makes the organization tick and what makes individual employees tick–and it’s willing to pay to learn sooner rather than later. (About ten percent of new call-center employees take the money and run.)"

 

Calling Its Executives "Monkeys"

According to the CEO, Tony Hsieh, he doesn't like the term "executive" so he instead went with "monkeys" according to the New York Times. Monkey Row is where the executives, er, monkeys sit. Why? And why monkeys? It could be because of the greenery: "The green makes you feel like you are in a rain forest. It started in our old offices, where every row had its own decoration theme and we went with a rain-forest theme. I can’t remember — maybe the term Monkey Row came up after the decorations, not the other way around."

 

Greeting Guests Loudly

Businessweek went on a tour of Zappos back at the end of 2009 and had this to say: "On the tour, which the online shoe retailer offers 16 times a week, staffers blow horns and ring cowbells to greet the guests, who move among the aisles in groups of 20, trying to get a handle on the company's unique culture."

 

Saying Goodbye to Bosses

So does this mean no more monkeys? I'm not totally sure but the Washington Post explains how this will work: "It will eliminate traditional managers, do away with the typical corporate hierarchy and get rid of job titles, at least internally...The unusual approach is called a 'holacracy.' Developed by a former software entrepreneur, the idea is to replace the traditional corporate chain of command with a series of overlapping, self-governing 'circles.' In theory, this gives employees more of a voice in the way the company is run."

So which ones do I like? Personally, I'm a fan of the last two (greeting guests and no bosses), not a fan of the first one (paying new employees to quit) and pretty indifferent on the monkey business. Why? I feel like eliminating the traditional manager culture is how many companies are going with eliminating offices and helps spur positive change. I like making guests feel like they're welcome and part of the office--it helps keep a fun environment. "Monkey" isn't exactly the most professional term but I could deal with it if people like it. But I'm not a fan of paying new employees to quit. I understand wanting loyalty, but the hiring process is arduous for all involved and to lose 10% of your newly hired employees seems like a waste. That's just my take on it but Zappos is certainly a company who does stuff differently.

Gamification: Is It for Your Organization?

Gamification is a growing hot trend in HR, and in business in general. The use of game mechanics to engage people in solving problems and to encourage enthusiasm has been gradually gaining popularity in business.  It is estimated that by 2016, over 70% of Forbes’ Global 2000 companies will have some form of gamification in their business.

                               
Marriott International has been a forerunner in using gamification as a means to recruit future employees. In 2011 they released a Facebook game called “My Marriott Hotel,” which allows gamers to manage a “virtual” hotel starting from the hotel restaurant kitchen and then expanding to other areas of the hotel. The game can be played in five different languages.  David Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources of Marriott International,  states, “As Marriott expands in growth markets outside the U.S., and as we seek to attract more Millennials – those between the ages 18 and 27 – to our workforce, we must find new ways to interest them in hospitality careers…This game allows us to showcase the world of opportunities and the growth potential attainable in hospitality careers, especially in cultures where the service industry might be less established or prestigious.”  The game is located on Marriott’s jobs and careers page on Facebook and has surpassed 100,000 page views with active users from the U.S., Egypt, and India.

Besides attracting potential employees, gamification also can be used to engage clients. For instance, Global Corporate Challenge, a company that holds some of the world’s biggest corporations as clients, runs purely on gamification. The business creates a health initiative for organizations, to encourage employees to improve their health through virtual tracking of their health activities and providing challenges.  In the same vein of thought, Nike created a “tag” running app for its Nike+ campaign. Anyone using this app is put in a virtual game of tag where they must keep running to avoid being “it.” In addition, Deloitte Leadership Academy partnered with Badgeville to add gaming to its leadership development programs. Senior executives participate in learning programs online and are given rewards and badges that can be shared on LinkedIn and Twitter. Although these are nice examples, many organization wonder how they too can use gamification to their advantage.

Steve Sims, Vice President of Badgeville, wrote an article for the Human Resource section of About.com that listed 5 Ways Gamification can Improve HR Management. Perhaps this listing can help you to create some form of gamification for use in your organization:    

• Improve Talent Acquisition and Management

“Providing incentives can not only help attract qualified candidates from the start, but can also dramatically increase onboarding efficiency, as candidates are motivated to complete various steps to earn rewards. At the same time, much like a sales function, HR teams can also use gamification internally to reward top recruiters and incentivize employees to refer top candidates.”

• Cultivate Corporate Culture and Retain Valued Employees

“You can use gamification to promote a positive corporate culture by rewarding employees for cross-departmental collaboration, providing process or product improvement suggestions, or even participating in company-wide volunteer programs, for example. You can use a gamified platform to track these activities and opportunities, as well as showcase employee participation to their coworkers to provide intrinsic motivation.” 

• Motivate Employees to Learn and Participate in Training

“Adding a gamification experience to the online learning program can spur action. Employees, who earn rewards and recognition for having completed these tasks, or missions in the gamification lexicon, are far more likely to make it a priority. And HR benefits from the ability to check those boxes for compliance in a timely fashion, without the pressure of having to hound employees to complete the programs.”

• Incentivize Paperwork and Other Administrative Requirements

“…paperwork is unavoidable in areas such as completion of benefits enrollment forms and expense reports. So why not make it fun? Similar to training applications, rewarding employees with either peer or management recognition — or even tangible incentives — for completing required forms can create a friendly competition where employees try to out-do one another for the title of best expense reporter or quickest to complete benefits update forms.”

• Map the Path to Career Success

“You can even design such programs to allow team members to recognize one another for contributions made toward a common goal. And, again, all of this data is trackable, creating a valuable historic record to capture employee and organizational knowledge. By consulting the platform, it’s easy to identify employees who have achieved certification in specific skills, worked with clients in a specific industry or make other connections throughout the data. All of this combines to create a more efficient, collaborative, productive and upwardly motivated workforce.

Does gamification seem like a feasible trend for your organization to incorporate into its HR programs?  With so many organizations taking careful consideration of this idea, why not create some internal uses for gamification in your organization?  We’d love to hear your thoughts and current progress in the area of gamification – please send us a note!

Happy 2014 from Astron

When the clock struck midnight on 2014, I was in Central Park watching the fireworks go overhead, about to run a race to kick off the New Year. As I ran through the frigid cold, I realized that 2014 meant a lot of different things for Human Resources and that we were going to have a lot to cover this year.

It meant new Affordable Care Act measures which The Daily Journal writes that business need to be prepared for: "2014 is a big year for the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare"). Beginning Jan. 1, 2015, employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees must offer health insurance to all of them or pay a monthly penalty on their federal income tax return. If your business has fewer than 50 total employees, you're probably exempt from the mandate. But watch out if you have lots of part-time employees: the calculation of full-time equivalent status under Obamacare is very tricky."

There will be a lot of other national issues to address but that will be a big one in 2014.

There are some state issues as well. In the states of Colorado and Washington, marijuana legalization may mean new workplace rules and regulations may need to be initiated--and employee education towards these rules will need to be in place ASAP. But, as SHRM wrote back in November: "Despite the dramatic headlines, a close look at the measures approved reveals that it is unlikely that employers in the affected states will need to take any swift action to amend their drug-free workplace policies or their drug-testing programs on account of these laws."

And, most exciting of all, 2014 will mark the 15th anniversary of Astron Solutions. It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating year #10 but we're on to 15. Thank you all for a great 2013 and to you and your families, we wish all the best in 2014 as we continue to provide you great information about a variety of Human Resources issues.

Questions Answer More Than Answers

I have a few questions that I love to ask in interviews. Most of them I don't care about the answers--I just care about the way the candidate answers the questions. But there is one question where I really am interested in the actual answer: "what questions do you have for me?" It may seem like a silly question to put so much emphasis on but the OnlineSpin blog from MediaPost agrees that can help separate a candidate--so they ask that question at the beginning of the interview:

In most cases, the response to that first question indicates within seconds how relevant, prepared and interested a candidate is. The questions a candidate pose signal to me whether I should expand the discussion or wind it down....I find that the questions a candidate asks -- and doesn’t ask --are often far more revealing than responses to questions I ask. A candidate’s questions are one of the best indicators of intelligence, reasoning and curiosity -- and the ability to frame and advance a problem with others.

As a young job candidate, I didn't take that question seriously--I thought it was just a filler at the end to ask questions about next steps and such. But then, as I started to interview others, I realized it was a great way to show how much the candidate really cared about the job--did they just Google the company beforehand or did they really work to get a full understanding of the company? Did they just have a precanned question for me or was the questions specific to the interview and, more importantly, the job and company? The ones who answered with the best question always got a leg up on the competition

Deck the (Office) Halls…Holiday Sensitivity and Celebration in the Workplace

In today’s multicultural workplace environment, holiday sensitivity no longer means simply putting a menorah next to the Christmas tree during the holiday season.  Observances such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and Bodhi Day should be considered. While world political tensions rise, religious sensitivity issues can rise too.  Employers challenged to show fairness, employee appreciation, and holiday spirit may be tempted to pull the plug on holiday celebrations altogether.  However, there are ways to celebrate the season in the workplace with sensitivity, understanding and respect.   

“Employers should strive to ensure that all of their employees’ unique cultural beliefs are equally represented and celebrated during the holiday season,” said Jennifer Loftus, National Director, Astron Solutions. 

There are a number of religious and cultural holidays that your employees may observe during the season.  In order to encourage understanding of each, they are listed here with a short description.

Christmas - The most recognized and celebrated holiday occurs on December 25, the day that marks Jesus Christ’s birth.  Over 3 billion Christians worldwide celebrate the holy birth by engaging in various customs and traditions, including singing, gift-giving, gathering with family and friends, and praying.

Hanukkah - “The Festival of Lights” celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC, and the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days.  During the eight nights of Hanukkah, candles are lit in a menorah, which holds nine candles: one for each night, plus an extra used to light the other candles.  In 2013 Hanukkah began on the evening of November 27^th and concluded on the evening of December 5^th. Hanukkah is celebrated by performing traditional songs, enjoying fried foods, gift-giving, and praying.

Ramadan - Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, celebrates the first revelations given to the Prophet Muhammad.  In 2013, Ramadan began on the evening of July 8^th and ended on the evening of August 7^th. Muslims fast during Ramadan, health permitting.  They do not eat, drink, smoke, or engage in sexual activity until sundown each day, using the daytime to concentrate on their faith, rather than on everyday concerns.  The fast concludes with feasting, gift-giving, and praying.

Kwanzaa - Created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at California State University, Kwanzaa is a cultural, rather than religious, holiday celebrated from December 26 through January 1 by many African-Americans.  The word Kwanzaa is Swahili for “first fruits of the harvest” and involves gathering family and friends to discuss and commit to seven guiding principles.  Each day, a candle is lit signifying a principle - unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.  A feast is held on December 31 for remembering, reassessing and rejoicing.

Bodhi Day - Bodhi Day is usually observed December 8th or the Sunday preceding it.  It celebrates the day of Prince Siddhartha Guatama’s realization and presentation to his fellow seekers of the Four Noble Truths.  From that point forward, he was referred to as the Buddha, the enlightened one.  Buddhists celebrate by stringing colored lights representing the numerous pathways to enlightenment, feasting on traditional foods and greeting each other with "Budu Saranai!" which loosely translated means, "May the serenity of the Buddha's be yours!" 

When preparing for holiday festivities, ask your employees for input during the planning process.  Encourage them to bring in decorations, and to share foods and holiday traditions. 

Be sensitive to any fasting, dietary restrictions or scheduling conflicts due to religious observance, prior to planning.  Don’t forget to offer vegetarian alternatives.

Make all holiday activities voluntary.  Not all employees may feel comfortable celebrating, or may not be able to join in according to religious beliefs.  Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, do not celebrate holidays.  Non-participation should not be viewed negatively.  

It is recommended that office decorating guidelines be established ahead of time.  Singing snowmen or paper garland that hangs precariously close to a light bulb may prove to be more distracting and/or dangerous, than festive.  

Remember, your organization can be held liable for injuries that occur on your property or at your sponsored functions.  If you are planning on serving alcoholic beverages at your holiday party, it is wise to have designated drivers or a shuttle service in place prior to the festivities.  In addition, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) suggests that employers have a cash, rather than open, bar for alcoholic beverages, to help cut back on the potential alcohol intake of partygoers.  Also, be sure to provide plenty of fun seasonal drinks, such as non-alcoholic eggnog and hot apple cider, in addition to soft drinks and juices. 

Once your plans are in place, be sure to enjoy this time of year.  Providing your employees with the opportunity to mix and mingle is a wonderful way to increase workplace camaraderie.  When handled with sensitivity and respect, workplace festivities can result in an uplifting combination of unity, cultural understanding, and joy for your team, which is truly a celebration of the spirit of the season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we watch the end of the Thanksgiving football games and eat the last of the dessert, we want to wish a very happy Thanksgiving (and Hanukkah). May this holiday and the entire holiday season be filled with family and joy. We are very thankful for you coming to read the blog and we wish you and your family a great rest of your holiday!

The Gap in the International Workplace

A few days ago we wrote about the multigenerational gap in the workplace for Astronology. As more companies fit into the mode of the global workplace, companies not only have to keep up with laws and policies related to employees internationally, but their different feelings toward work as well. As Marketwatch wrote, a GfK-Monster.com survey, says that gap can be quite significant:

"What is striking about the findings is that the strength of a country's labor market doesn't necessarily correlate with workforce contentment. While workers in challenged markets may have had fewer opportunities to advance in terms of promotions or salary during the recent downturn, it has not necessarily affected their happiness, "said Chris Moessner, Vice President for Public Affairs, GfK. "Clearly there are many variables when it comes to job satisfaction - for example, Canada and Germany have enjoyed buoyant labor markets, yet they lie at completely different ends of the happiness spectrum some of which could be driven by broader cultural differences between the two countries. More generally though, workers internationally want more out of their work and seem to have just settled for their current jobs." 

The issues lie not only in their attitude towards working in general but also their attitudes towards each other and how happiness is defined in those workplaces. In the US, money seems to be a big driver of happiness in the workforce but 22% love their job so much they would do it without being paid at all--or so they say. The most satisfied country with their jobs? India, which came in at only 5% who claim to dislike/hate their jobs. The key is to figure out what makes them like it as much as see if that can be distributed across the different countries in your workforce. If not, figure out what makes people happy in each country and work towards that--even if it means slight unevenness across offices.

Other Soft Skills a Need Too

Earlier we talked about how communication skills are lacking for many job candidates and are hurting organizations, but TIME says that it's not just communication skills that are lacking, but a lot of other soft skills as well including critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and interpersonal skills:

As much as academics go on about the lack of math and science skills, bosses are more concerned with organizational and interpersonal proficiency. The National Association of Colleges and Employers surveyed more than 200 employers about their top 10 priorities in new hires. Overwhelmingly, they want candidates who are team players, problem solvers and can plan, organize and prioritize their work. Technical and computer-related know-how placed much further down the list.

So while many state cirriculums are focused on the math and sciences, maybe another focus would be better. The one thing that college curriculum need to focus on, however, should be internships. Schools like Northeastern have seen a jump in applications due to their co-op program but maybe other colleges should take a look at doing so:

One thing that does appear to make a difference is internships...more than 80% of employers want new grads they hire to have completed a formal internship, but only 8% of students say interning in a field related to their major is something they spend a lot of time doing....Overall, only about half of college grads say they’re prepared for the workplace — and the number of bosses who think they’re prepared is lower than 40%.

Among students who don’t intern, only 44% consider themselves ready for the job market. That improves for students with unpaid internships; 58% say they’re prepared for the workplace. But among students who complete paid internships, that number jumps to 70%.

Part of the problem is that you don’t know what you don’t know, as the saying goes. Harris Interactive found a huge gap between students’ perceptions of their abilities and managers’ perceptions of those same skills.

Just some food for thought...

Good Communication Skills Can Go a Long Way

My question to the applicant was "tell me what you know about our company." It's a simple question with a layup of an answer in that I didn't expect this applicant to know anything about what we do. It was just to see how they answered it and how good their writing skills were--instead, I got this:

"I know that your involved with insurance"

YOUR

Let's just say that the job applicant didn't get the job. But this wasn't just an isolated incident of myself, as hiring manager, acting like a grammar nazi--this is a prevalent theme among job applicants (and their rejections) according to CNBC. And it's not just anedoctal evidence such as the one I just provided:

In a 2011 survey of corporate recruiters by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the organization that administers the standardized test for business school, 86 percent said strong communication skills were a priority—well ahead of the next skill. (When recruiters were asked in a separate question what changes business schools should make to meet employers' needs, the recruiters overwhelmingly called for something different: practical experience.)

The good news for job applicants is that the working world is starting to provide more training for those who may be grammatically disinclined--or just bad at communication in general. One workforce management consulting group quoted in the article said that they've seen an "increase of 20 to 25 percent in the number of clients investing in career development for employees, including improving their communication skills."

This is not just good for employees looking for their next position but for those people in the jobs they currently have--even if they're not client-facing. Many coworker-to-coworker issues can be improved with better communication skills and sometimes better training is all that is needed to fix that. With more companies willing to invest in that, it will not just make for better employees and better future employees, but a much more cohesive work environment as well

Making the Most of a Multigenerational Workplace

In today’s workforce, there are many angles to diversity. One area of particular interest is the multigenerational gap. Such diversity can be beneficial to organizations, and also challenging for any HR Representative to handle. In this issue of Astronology we examine the topic of multigenerational staffing.

In its section on generation-gap staffing, the Department of Defense website notes, “Just as financial experts tout portfolio diversity as a hedge again economic uncertainty, generational diversity is important to sustain stability and stimulate innovation in a multi-functional workplace.” Any group of employees has its strengths and weakness.  However, some of their concerns will certainly be different.  It is important that all employees feel valued by and included in the organization. These feelings will encourage employees to feel welcomed to share their perspectives, making teamwork easier.

What are the Concerns of the Generations?

Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. Each of these groups has defining moments that have shaped their views of the world and their values in the workforce. The chart below explains:

	Baby Boomers	Generation X	Generation Y
Age	45-63	32-44	19-31
Shared Defining Events in Life	·   Berlin Wall existence ·   JFK, MLK, and RFK Assassinations ·   Watergate ·   Vietnam	·     Falling of the Berlin Wall ·     Challenger Disaster ·     OJ Simpson Trial ·     First Gulf War	·     Terrorism Attacks on American Grounds ·     Global War on Terrorism ·     High School / College Shootings ·     Corporate Scandals
Key Values	·   Fulfillment ·   Indulgence ·   Balance ·   Equality	·     Freedom ·     Reality ·     Self-Reliance ·     Work / Life Balance	·     Diversity ·     Flexibility ·     Empowerment ·     Service-Oriented

Employers should avoid keeping stereotypical views of workers strongly alive in the workplace.  Instead, what do you do to enhance the best in your employees, while keeping in mind the background to each generation? Three simple steps can assist in achieving this goal:

1. Open Communication: Make employees feel as though their opinions and perspectives truly matter. When change occurs within the organization, make sure all are aware. Encourage employees to communicate with each other in order to bridge the gap between different generations.
2. Active Interaction between Managers and Employees: Managers should be able to communicate to employees that they view their dedication to work as valuable. Provide different assignments that challenge while maintaining individual interests. For example, Generation Y employees are notoriously known for their quick grasp of technological advances. If your organization is looking to expand or find creative solutions that involve forward moving with technology, why not involve Gen Y employees in team meetings? This will allow them to feel involved in subject matter they may find interesting, while allowing current leaders from other generations to identify where they can possibly nurture the employee. 
3. Continual Review of Employee Satisfaction: Under30CEO.com remarked that: “85% of the workforce wants to be provided the opportunity to continually improve and grow. This is not new. The difference today: If employees are not learning and growing, they are leaving.”   So how do you ensure that your employees feel like they are growing and learning? Quite simply…ASK them. Some employers feel the annual review is the perfect time to find out how an employee feels about his / her work achievements and progress. Others find creating an employee survey and conducting it at a separate time from the annual review works best. Still others create an environment where employee engagement is so high that employees feel comfortable speaking up at any point when they feel like they aren’t being challenged enough.

Overall, as long as employees are happy and feel accomplished at work – irrespective of their generation – they will continue to give their best to their organizations.  A multigenerational workforce can bring great success to any organization when employees receive active communication and recognition.  Astronology has a question for you, however.  What challenges do you see in your organization with multigenerational workers? What are you doing to overcome these challenges?  We look forward to hearing your stories and insights!  Please share them with us today!

The Lonely Commuter

The office environment seen on television shows people carpooling on their way to work and then working in large office environments with tons of collaboration and teamwork. Unfortunately, that's not totally indicative of how most US companies work, and, most startling, how most commuters get to their place of work. So how are they getting to work? Public Transportation? Biking? Unfortunately, despite attempts to make those more appealing for workers, neither according to the Wall Street Journal: it's commuting, and most of it is solo.

Credit: WSJ

Last year, about 76% of workers 16 years and older drove to work alone—just shy of the all-time peak of 77% in 2005, according to data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Driving alone dipped slightly during the recession, but it has been ticking back up as the economy revives.

Meanwhile, just about every other way of getting to work has either languished or declined. 

The one big uptick shown has been in people who work from home. Technology has allowed for more of Americans to be able to do this and despite a few high-profile CEOs objecting, the trend has certainly increased as time has gone along. I was one of these "telecommuters" for the past 10 months, helping to add to the national number of 4.4% of Americans who work solo.

So what does this trend show and what does it mean? Well the solo commuting is really bad for people who are trying to save the environment and solo working is bad for those offices trying to build camaraderie. But the growing trend is that people are living further away from where they work and they need to either go into the office alone or stay at home alone in work. With 45% of Americans not able to access public transportation, the choice isn't always easy. But as telecommuting becomes more popular, the hope is that the commuting alone numbers start to decrease a bit and the office-place doesn't suffer as a result

Is There Financial Literacy in Your Workplace?

It’s not difficult to see that some Americans make poor financial decisions. We’ve been bombarded with reports of the so-called sub-prime mortgage credit crisis--mostly because borrowers didn’t fully understand what they were getting into and the possible consequences. Depending where you are, you see ads for “car title loans,” Payday loans, and “refund advance loans” on your anticipated income tax refund. All of these incur, on an annual basis, astronomical interest rates, but are sold as putting cash in your pocket for “just a few dollars.” What about the person who accepts paying a $2.50 fee to withdraw $10 from an ATM once a week?

This situation has attracted the attention of high levels in our government. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has highlighted both the need for and the benefits of financial education conducted in the workplace. President Bush has recently formed an Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, appointing Janet Parker, SPHR, to the Council. Appointing the chair of SHRM to the Council clearly signals that the HR profession belongs in this national discussion. What is consistently seen as a tool to address the financial illiteracy concern is some sort of Financial Education in the Workplace.

Indeed, if financial education in the workplace is a part of the solution to this problem, HR professionals, as the stewards of employee education, will be in the forefront of the effort. Whether expressed as “financial literacy,” “financial education,” “financial stabilization,” or a catchy, easily-turned-into-an-acronym name (such as “Consolidated Approach Simplifying Handling Money, or “CASH Money”), employers on the leading edge of addressing this issue will become employers of choice.

What does your organization’s program look like? Is it truly literacy? Merely “education”? Voluntary brown-bag lunch-and-learn sessions? The minimum required by law (e.g., ERISA)? If this has been your program for a long time, and your employees are still in financial straits from poor decisions because today’s financial world is much more complicated than it was 10 or 20 years ago, don’t you think you need a change? After all, as the joke goes, doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome is akin to insanity.

So what does work? Let’s look at an allegory that you probably already have in place--your “health and wellness program.” It usually consists of health education, building an exercise plan, stopping smoking programs, and providing a time and place to exercise, sometimes at the workplace, sometimes a reduced membership fee at the gym. Change some of those words around and you have a financial wellness program: providing financial education, building a budget, stopping over-spending programs, and providing the access to real-world experts who can make the “financial exercise” actually pay off. As can be said, “learning about aerobics, studying the physiology of exercise, and knowing you should go to the gym” does not make one physically fit. You have to actually do the dieting, aerobics, workouts, that is, one must change one’s behavior to make it work.

The same is true for financial wellness. “Brown-bag seminars” alone will not get your employees on track with managing their financial affairs. It’s getting them to change financial behavior that does it. Sometimes it’s necessary to set up the conditions for your employees to get smarter and to change (for the better) what they do with their money. Setting them up for financial success can be as important to your organization as setting them up for professional success.

“Sure, but what’s in it for the organization?” Great question. If there’s a payoff, it makes even more sense to do it. The bottom line matters greatly. So, let’s turn the question around a bit. Is it worth something real to the organization if:

• Your payroll administrators have fewer garnishments and other legal actions to process?
• Your retention improves because employees return the loyalty shown “down” from management in helping them to take care of difficult matters?
• Your employees’ participation in tax-advantaged retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans) increases?
• Absenteeism is reduced, because your employees feel stronger loyalty and (surprisingly) are healthier?
• Employee theft (“shrinkage”) is reduced because of the improved loyalty?
• Overall productivity improves because employees are at their jobs more, instead of missing work to handle legal issues, for example?
• Overall productivity improves because employees are more focused on their work, instead of worrying about their financial woes?

The following two hyperlinks bring you to results from research conducted by independent researchers and The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Is there any reason to believe that your organization would be that much different from those in the research? Would you like to be known as an employer of choice because of all the personal, valuable, financial literacy you give to your employees, or just another organization who does only the mandatory one-hour lecture on the retirement plan?

Notice that this whole concept is independent of whether employees are exempt or non-exempt, professional, technical, skilled, or unskilled. Certainly, there is more for the organization in ascertaining if participants in the financial literacy benefit are likely to be retained--but success in the program can be a big motivator for those considering leaving the organization. It’s also independent of income level--six-figure-income employees can and do make poor financial decisions as well as entry-level ones, and often with bigger dollar consequences.

The research is done, and there’s plenty of it--improving the financial literacy of employees brings tangible benefit to both employers and employees. Why not do it in the workplace, where the link between the employer’s goals and the individual employee’s goals merge. The cutting edge is there. Will you help take your organization there?

Richard L. Virgilio, SPHR, is a retired Navy submarine Captain, a former study leader and analyst for The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and independent HR consultant. (rlvirgilioga@yahoo.com )

Privacy Goes Both Ways

In 2013 there are are lot of ways that people and companies purposefully violate their own privacy. People bare their lives on social media and are more than happy to publicly post information that probably should be kept private. Companies like to drop hints of private information to drum up interest in their next product release or to test out potential idea. It's not uncommon for both to be good things and bad things all at the same time.

But sometimes, it's not such a good thing. I started to think about this concept when reading this Deadspin article about whether athletes deserve more privacy in their injuries. It's a fair question as opponents' strategy can be altered and future earnings could be diminished, but with fantasy leagues and Vegas betting and 24/7 sports coverage, it's hard to keep it out of the news. But there are other concerns as the author of the article writes:

Professional athletes often have their privacy trampled on in the name of public discourse and the team press release. As a sports fan, I've never once stopped to think that this is strange or unfair. Yet as a physician, I'm familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and recognize the importance of the safeguards surrounding patient privacy. But professional teams often create their own HIPAA exemptions through the use of contractual waivers that allow team doctors and trainers to release private medical information to coaches, front office personnel, and owners. The waiver often allows the team to make certain injury information public, which makes many of us uncomfortable

It does and it doesn't. That athlete has the same ability to leave the team and talk about private details including signs and special plays and maybe even injury issues that may not be public.

This is not only in the sports world--employees sometimes violate the privacy of the company their leaving in the real world too. The Wall Street Journal has some gory details about that including the sad fact that nothing has to be printed out or written down anymore--as employees can just upload information to the cloud and be on their way. There is one way that HR Professionals can be ahead of the curve on this, however:

It's crucial that IT security managers communicate with the human-resources department so they are aware of pending layoffs or other personnel issues that might lead to employee departures. "The simplest thing companies can do is to make sure there is a good communication path between human resources and IT security staff," says Patrick Reidy, former chief information-security officer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who now holds the same post at Computer Sciences Corp.

Or else it could be your company's information that a former employee is posting on social media...and that could be really, really bad