Bill Belichick, Advice and Lists, and a Stress-Free Holiday Season

Let's start out on this Tuesday with The HR Capitalist who talks about the most-talked-about head coach in the NFL so far this week, Bill Belichick (picture on right from same article) who was under fire across the country for a decision to make a non-convential decision in a big spot (and to be fair, some agree with his decision). The blog defends Belichick saying that unconventional decisions like that are what you need to do to win and how Tom Brady, the New England Patriots' quarterback, backed up his head coach.

The truth is that you do have to make big decisions that leave yourself open to second-guessing if you are to be a successful leader, but when the move doesn't work out, you can't always hide behind the loyalty of your "team" as Belichick clearly has done. But then again, Belichick wouldn't have that loyalty unless he had some success.

Other articles:

About.com has some advice for creating a stress-free holiday season in the office

Some great articles from Human Resource Magazine including:

• How to become an HR contractor 

• The top 5 retention tools

• And; top 10 equal pay questions for employers

Enjoy!

Nightmare Bosses who Make Every Day Friday the 13th

Saw this picture on the New York Post website today. The Post lists Anna Wintour, Dick Cheney, George Steinbrenner, Martha Stewart, Naomi Campbell, Donald Trump, Steve Phillips, Gordon Ramsay, Scott Rudin, Marge Schott, David Letterman, Lenny Dykstra, Leona Helmsley, Dov Charney, James Dolan, Bonnie Fuller, Bob Barker, Bernie Madoff, Ronald Perelman, Sumner Redstone, Ken Lewis, Ken Lay, Al Dunlap, Faith Popcorn, Sam Zell, J. Edgar Hoover, and Paul Pressler as the worst bosses.

I think you could add the fictional bosses of Michael Scott from The Office, Bill Lumberg from Office Space, Mr. Burns from The Simpsons and Don Draper from Mad Men on there as well.

Who else would you add to the list of nightmare bosses on Friday the 13th?

Recession and the Job Market

The recession has taken its hits on the job market and we've covered a lot of it on the blog. But no one (at least in the Mainstream Media) seems to write more currently about it than the Wall Street Journal's Careers section. Here are a few recent articles:

I happen to catch a glimpse of the WSJ while in a meeting in a co-worker's office the other day and one of the titles on the front page was "Life on Severance: Comfort, Then Crisis" (picture on right from article). I think it was a very interesting article, but I wonder if the severance package that was described in the opening paragraph was one that was supposed to get people's emotions stirred up. There are people who are a few years out of college, stuck with tons of student loans, and making $35,000 a year who maybe got a month of severance. Then there is the $200,000-a-year CEO who they describe in the article who got a year's worth of pay as severance and has $100,000 in savings. I don't think many people are crying for that guy.

But the point of the article is an interesting one: there is a growing severance economy of unemployed Americans who use severance pay and savings to keep up their lifestyles. The 405 Club asks if severance pay is the new welfare? I don't think that's the case, but for many, it's providing that slowly eroding bridge until the next job offer. How much severance does you company give? Do you think it's enough or would you, if you made the decisions give more? It's an interesting dilemma for companies who then have to worry about keeping happy those who are left behind.

Two more good articles:

• From today's WSJ, word that workers returning from layoffs have struggled to recoup the earnings power as wage erosion threatens to slow the economy's recovery.
• Lastly, this article is supposedly from tomorrow's WSJ (I told you we're ahead of the curve), and says that women now hold half of all U.S. jobs because of the large hits in layoffs to male-dominated industries. This has upended roles about which spouse stays at home finding more women heading back into the workforce to support the family as a single-earner. Very interesting indeed.
  

Yankees Parade Picture, Boeing and AOL

Wanted to post a picture from the New York Yankees victory parade down the Canyon of Heroes. This is one of the many pictures I snapped that day showing Jorge Posada telling us all the Yankees are, in fact, #1. I've put some more pictures over at my sports blog, No, You're a Towel. I don't believe that any work actually got done in the financial district that day as employees hung their heads out of windows.

Unfortunately, according to MLB.com, some of those employees hanging their heads out the window got a little "overzealous" and threw private data out the window including unshredded personal financial documents that included Social Security numbers and other personal information (including whole pay stubs). The person standing next to me was actually hit with an entire blueprint from an arcitecture firm. There was also, according to The Star-Ledger, "medical records listing names, addresses, insurance information, medical diagnoses, and other private information."

That's a big oops and Human Resources should have cautioned employees about what documents to throw out. You would think with a half-ton of paper handed out that employees would have had enough to throw, but while more sensible employees threw toilet paper (and quite a bit of it), less sensible ones decided to throw out documents that could be extremely damaging for an organization.

A few other articles:

• Boeing, long-since linked to Washington state, moved their corporate offices to Chicago and now are moving some of their production of the 787 Dreamliner to South Carolina. Wired starts to explain why and some of it definitely has to do with the workers and the environment.

• Lastly, AOL is about to start another massive layoff round today and The Business Insider has a lot of details. One thing that seems like a smart move: a voluntary buyout program to ease the sting of a "mass firing". Although it achieves the same effect, it looks a lot better if people are let go on their own terms with a nice package, especially in this economy.
  

Yankees Win, thhhhhheeeeee Yankees Win (and a few HR articles)

We don't hide our baseball loyalty very well here at the Astron Solutions blog. We're (Myself, Jennifer and Mike) big Yankees fans and we're gloating today after the Yankees took home #27! They were able to overcome controversy, weak areas and past failures to finally capture the biggest prize.

Love or hate the Yankees, you have to respect how well-run their organization is, regardless of the money. They put the right people in the right situations to succeed and pushed guys when they could be pushed. They stuck behind guys like Alex Rodriguez who had trouble outside the workplace and allowed him to succeed at the workplace. It's a good model for HR to replicate.

A few HR articles for you as I get ready to head to the Canyon of Heroes tomorrow:

• The Wall Street Journal gives some advice of what to do if you dislike your assigned mentor

• Wired has an awful story about a woman losing her job because of an error in the FBI criminal database. Ouch.

• Lastly, word today from The New York Times on the House of Representatives extending the jobless benefits.
  

Astronology - What Type of Managerial Attitude Do You Have?

Astronology Volume X Issue 18   November 3, 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   The Astron team will be on the road again soon.  For now, we're hard at work in the office!  We will keep you posted on our travels so that we can meet you in person!   Fact or Fiction   The King of Hearts in a deck of cards is the only king without a moustache. Yet he was fashioned after Charlemagne. Fact! During the 15th Century French card manufacturers assigned each court card after historical or mythic figures. The king of hearts is presumably fashioned after Charlemagne (who did have a moustache.). This practice discontinued by the 19th century however.   What Type of Managerial Attitude Do You Have? Many of us are familiar with the inspirational phrase, "your attitude determines your altitude." In the worlds of human resources and management, this phrase holds much truth. In this issue of Astronology, we take an in-depth look into managerial attitudes, and how they affect the overall health and functioning of an organization....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

 

Military Experience As Job Experience

I was reading an interview from National Review yesterday about how the Israeli military has helped their economy grow by leaps and bounds over many much bigger countries, especially in the technology sector. As the interviewed author, Dan Senor, states:

Israel represents the highest concentration of innovationand entrepreneurship in the world today: the most start-ups per capita; the highest percentage of GDP invested in civilian R&D; more companies on NASDAQ than all of Europe, Korea, Japan, India, and China combined; and the biggest destination for global venture capital per capita. Israel raises 2.5 times as much global venture capital as the U.S., 30 times more than Europe, 80 times more than India, and 350 times more than China.

So why Israel? Why would a country so small and so often under attack be seen as a positive place to do business for people throughout the world? And why would Israel having a military matter? Senor explains:

The military is where many Israelis learn to lead and manage people, improvise, become mission-oriented, work in teams, and contribute to their country. They tend to come out of their years of service (three for men, two for women) more mature and directed than their peers in other countries. They learn “the value of five minutes,” as one general told us. They even learn something more uniquely Israeli: to speak up — regardless of ranks and hierarchy — if they think things can be done better.

And how does the United States treat military "experience"?

U.S. military career adviser Al Chase told us that a number of the vets he’s worked with have walked a business interviewer through all their leadership experiences from the battlefield, including case studies in high-stakes decisionmaking and management of large numbers of people and equipment in a war zone, and at the end of it the interviewer has said something along the lines of, “That’s very interesting, but have you ever had a real job?”

This is one place the United States may be missing out. The United States is now employing an entire workforce in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. Those people are getting experiences beyond the type of stress anyone would see in a workplace. They are being asked to work together in teams and/or given leadership positions. Yet when they come back from the war we need to see actual work experience? True the lack certain of the technical competencies needed for certain jobs, but more often than not, I fear that we ignore the example set by Israel and dismiss our military veterans on the job force when they could be one of our greatest assets.

Don't Report Your Time Off?

WorldAtWork recently posted a blog entry titled: "Vacation time: Is It Time to Stop Tracking?" It's an interesting question and one which has a lot of different answers depending on who you ask. From WorldAtWork:

Many companies over the years have migrated from siloed leave policies that designate a specific number of days for vacation, sick leave and personal time off to paid time off (PTO) banks programs that provide a total set number of days off that employees can use for any reason. Newer, even more flexible, programs now provide employees with more informal personal time and vacation arrangements with their managers when it suits them, guided mainly by their ability to perform their jobs successfully.

Now this is much like an honor system, and like any honor system, you have the chance of abuse or free riders. But the idea makes sense. With people permanently tethered to Blackberries and the internet, the job doesn't have to stop when you leave the office. If people don't abuse the system, they'll get their job done and be happy, which should increase productivity even more. I once interviewed for a job that was run like this, though they expected you to make up for the time you missed...but you could miss as much as you wanted.

Some companies allow you to trade time off credits, work a Saturday/Sunday to get another day off, or other similar ways to make time off more flexible for the employees.

The problem here is this is not for every job. You still need to know when people are going to not be at their desks--especially in service-oriented companies--and reporting time off (or at least letting their managers know ahead of time) is one way to accomplish that. This also can only occur at companies where the management and the employees feel secure with one another. Employees have to feel comfortable enough with taking the time off (since there are issues with them feeling that way as it is) and employers need to feel comfortable enough in the fact the job will get done and the person will not abuse it.

But in the world of increasing attachment to the office, allowing an employee to have the ultimate "flex" time off doesn't mean they'll truly be away from the job and could be another "benefit" that separates your company from the rest when recruiting new employees.

Question to the audience: do any of your companies do this? what are your opinions on the subject?

ESPN an HR Nightmare

It has happened before at ESPN. Harold Reynolds and other on-air personalities had been fired for inappropriate relationships with subordinates. It has happened with other staffers as well. Yesterday, it reached a boiling point after former New York Mets General Manager and ESPN personality, Steve Phillips, took a leave of absence after a bizarre story involving a relationship with a 22-year-old production assistant, detailed in yesterday's New York Post.

According to sports blog Awful Announcing, in 2007, ESPN hired a new Senior Vice President, Human Resources, in part to help with the rash of sexual harassment complaints. It didn't seem to help. And the problem is, as Deadspin reports, that everyone seems to know and care except for the higher-ups at ESPN.

Deadspin relayed a story about another male on-air personality that has been rumored to take place in the same inappropriate activities. Deadspin also tells the story of an ESPN staffer who may have been promoted for the wrong reasons.

So why does this happen? Yet another Deadspin expose told of the culture that existed at ESPN and described it very much as a Human Resource nightmare. This is a culture that existed for a long time and was reinforced by the executives who were taking part as well.

As a New York Magazine poll last week showed after the David Letterman scandal, people have very differing opinions of what is OK to do in the office. A positive culture has to come from the top down. When executives and other people in power are taking part in inappropriate relationships and human resources is unable to curtail the behavior, chaos, like what seems to be occurring at ESPN happens and opens up the company to a litany of lawsuits. Let's hope your company does not look like this.

Astronology - Giving Constructive Criticism

Astronology Volume X Issue 17   October 20, 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   The Astron team will be on the road again soon.  For now, we're hard at work in the office!  We will keep you posted on our travels so that we can meet you in person!   Fact or Fiction   The PBGC premium will decrease for 2010. Fiction! In 2010, the base annual premium will increase to $35 per plan participant.  Currently, the rate is $34 per plan participant.  This $1 increase is due to federal law requiring premium adjustments to reflect changes in the national average weekly wage during the prior year.  Will that $1 matter?  In 2008, the PBGC had a $10.7 billion deficit in its single-employer insurance program.   Giving Constructive Criticism It's a fact of life we can't avoid. Whether it's working in a professional environment, learning in the educational realm, or interacting with friends or family, at some point in time we all have to face criticism. How we may perceive that criticism depends on whether we are on the giving or receiving end. When done right, constructive criticism is not meant to hurt or humiliate a person. Rather, constructive criticism is meant to build a person and push them to reach the next level of success. Learning how to give constructive criticism makes a difference in regards to how others view an individual and also how he or she demonstrates leadership. This issue of Astronology takes a deeper look into how to give constructive criticism in the workplace....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

 

Letterman and a New Look

A lot was written last week about the David Letterman situation and how Human Resources should handle this. Let's look at a few examples:

-Careersolvers asks if we're all that different than Letterman and gives, in the spirit of the man, a top 10 list of reasons why people get involved with co-workers.

-The Boston Globe Job Doc has a Q&A on "An Awkward Invitation" and whether you should go to HR for quick decisions.

-Hot HR Tips... says let this be a wake-up call for all Human Resources professionals

-Lastly, a Letterman insider writes about the incident for The New York Times and the atmosphere does not seem to be a good one. The situation should have been handled by Huamn Resources way before it ever got to the point it did. The article hits it right on the head: this situation was fair to no one.

Also, we have a new look here at the Astron Solutions World of HR blog. Let us know what you think. Send an e-mail to katzandrews@gmail.com to let me know.

The Job Market As It Stands

We all know the job market isn't good. Despite any numbers to the contrary, we are pretty sure we'll see 10% unemployment very soon and all of us know at least one person who is currently out of a job. I know of almost 20 people who have been laid off. It's not pretty out there.

The Wall Street Journal says that it will be years before lost jobs return. And some may never return. 7.2 million jobs have just disappeared since December 2007 and there will be many Americans left standing on the sidelines once their unemployment runs out. Sad times.

The New York Times tells the story of a pair of identical twins who are living in New York City, 17 months out of college and are looking for a job--any job at all. There story isn't unlike others that I've heard from peers who are only a few years out of college; the jobs just aren't there.

Lastly, also from The Wall Street Journal, an article about law-firm hires whose first task is finding an interim job. I know some people who have been fortunate enough to receive an offer from a law firm only to have that offer deferred. Banks have also been doing this, much to the chagrin of recent college (and graduate school) graduates. With the tough hiring environment, a deferred job is better for some than no job at all.

H-1B, ARRA, and TARP

I was forwarded a job description for a position at Capital One by someone I know. They didn't want to know anything about the job or my advice on taking it or anything to that effect; they wanted to know what this note meant at the bottom of the posting:

As a recipient of TARP funding and under ARRA regulations, Capital One will not sponsor new H-1B petitions or transfer existing H1B Visas.

I was curious myself. So I did some research. The Washington D.C. Employment Law Update laid it out in March:

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that employers receiving funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or under section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act (covered funds) must meet additional requirements before hiring foreign nationals to work in the H-1B specialty occupation category.

These new requirements were established by the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA), a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) – otherwise known as the stimulus package – signed into law on February 17, 2009. Under EAWA, companies receiving covered funds must guarantee that they will not displace citizen employees

And if you still want to hire that person, you need to answer some more questions that basically guarantee the government that you didn't displace a US worker for this job.

This makes sense in practice (with all the taxpayer money going to the banks, you want them to hire US tax-paying citizens), but I was surprised (probably wrongly so) to hear it was being done in this manner, with disclosures like that in postings.

Here are some more details on this from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.

Astronology - Win At Selling Your Value

Astronology Volume X Issue 16   October 6, 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   As October rolls on, we have three stops on the Astron Road Show to share with you! First up, National Director Michael Maciekowich will present on October 7th to the HR Committee of the Vermont Bankers Association. Mike will present on When the Money Runs Out, addressing compensation concerns surrounding long-service employees. Then, Mike travels to Wisconsin to exhibit at the 23rd annual Wisconsin State SHRM conference from October 14th - 16th. The Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells is hosting this year's event. If you're attending, please stop by booth 714 and say hello! Mike would love to meet with you. Also from October 14th - 16th, National Director Jennifer Loftus will present at the Human Resources Seminar of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). San Diego is the host city for this year's event. Jennifer will present on Using Total Rewards to Your Strategic Advantage.   Fact or Fiction Killer Whales do not belong to the Whale species.   FACT!   The Killer Whale or, Orcinus Orca actually belongs to the dolphin family. They also go by the common name of the Blackfish.     Win At Selling Your Value By Stacey Jerrold Does this situation sound familiar? You've been working at your company for a couple of years, performing well, getting good feedback, and positive annual reviews. You and your manager have talked about the possibility of you taking on more responsibilities and becoming more integrated into the organization. The first year you heard this, you were excited. The second time around you're left wondering if this will be the year. You ask yourself why no one seems to see the worth and value you can bring to your position and the organization....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

$25 an Hour Jobs

Great post from The New York Times Freakonomics Blog (and a true, but funny ending as well):

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.

One of the jobs on the list as Steven Levitt points out? Human resources recruiter! So there may be money in your job, yet.

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
  

Enjoy!

Stating the Obvious

Sometimes, the news just states the obvious...or what we think to be the truth (I call these "duh!"s). Here are a few examples of "duh"s in the recent news relating to the job world:

• 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."

A Wish for an Easy Fast

Tonight starts the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. As I fast for the day, I wish an easy fast for everyone else who is fasting.

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

Astronology - 2010 Salary Budgeting Forecast - What a Difference a Year Makes

Astronology Volume X Issue 15   September 22, 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.   Fact or Fiction?   Cats can hear ultrasounds. Fact!! Cats have a hearing frequency higher than that of humans and dogs. They can hear up to 64 kHz...1.6 octaves above human hearing and 1 octave above dogs.   The Astron Road Show   The Astron Road Show continues to roll. Have you see us on the road yet? We have a few more stops this month! On Tuesday, September 29th, Astron will sponsor the CUPA-HR NY Metro Chapter's first meeting of the year on "Integrating Compensation, Performance Management, and Career Development." National Director Jennifer Loftus will be on hand to meet the attendees and enjoy the sure to be robust panel discussion. October 4 - 6th finds Jennifer in Washington, DC at the Non-Profit Human Resources Conference. Jennifer will be moderating a roundtable discussion on HR issues in healthcare organizations on Sunday evening. She will also present a concurrent session Monday afternoon on total rewards. For more information on attending the information packed three-day conference, please visit http://www.nonprofithr.com/Registration.html. Stay tuned for more stops! Our Road Show continues strong into October.   2010 Salary Budgeting Forecast - What a Difference a Year Makes Remember way back to November 2009? For many, it seems like a lifetime ago. One  Astronologyarticle stated the following with respect to compensation planning: First, most organizations want to hold the line on their 2009 compensation planning budgets of 3.0% - 4.0%, depending on the industry, if at all possible. The danger with a dramatic compensation budget reduction is the potential of losing any competitive advantage when the economy experiences an upturn. What a difference a year can really make....more   Time Management: How to Become a To-Do List Conqueror By Stacey Jerrold Do you always perform at your peak? Do you always provide ample support and attention to the projects and people in your life? Do you always finish your work and leave your job at the end of the day with a clean desk and an agenda for the next day? If you have answered "yes" to all these questions, congratulate yourself and move on to another article.   If for any reason you answered "no" to one or more of these questions, or you feel that life has gotten out of control, there's no need to worry. Time management is a skill, a technique, a mindset, and a lifestyle that can be adopted by you if you have the desire....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