Yes, the government is introducing yet another new form, the VETS-100A.  Large federal contractors will begin using the form September 30, 2009.  However, they should start collecting data for the new VETS-100A Report Form now or they won’t have the necessary 12 months of data to report.

Currently federal contractors with government contracts of $100,000 or more that were entered into or modified on or after December 1, 2003, are required to file the VETS-100 Report by September 30 of each year with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), as are federal contractors with unmodified government contracts of $25,000 or more that were entered into prior to December 1, 2003.

But in 2009, federal contractors will have to file the VETS-100A Report for government contracts of $100,000 or more that were entered into or modified on or after December 1, 2003, as well as the VETS-100 Report for any unmodified government contracts of $25,000 or more that were entered into prior to December 1, 2003.

In a May 19, 2008 final rule on reporting requirements, the DOL Veterans Employment and Training Service announced that the new VETS-100A Report would not have to be filed until September 30, 2009, but added that contractors are to collect and maintain the data for the new report in 2008. The DOL noted that the VETS-100A Report calls for contractors to provide data on veterans’ employment for 12 months ending on a date in the report year between July 1 and August 31 that represents the end of a payroll period, as is the case for the VETS-100 Report.

The job categories on VETS-100 and VETS-100A differ slightly because VETS-100A incorporates changes that the Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) of 2002 made to the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), the law requiring certain federal contractors to engage in affirmative action for certain veterans.

You will want to determine the size of your federal contract in order to determine which form(s) to complete in 2009.

I was recently helping a friend sort through resumes responding to an ad she had placed and came upon a realization.  No one …. ok very few people….. do cover letters anymore.  I must admit that I have a prejudice toward candidate who take the time to write a cover letter.

I find them valuable for several reasons.  They provide an opportunity to assess:

• grammar proficiency
• writing style
• attention to detail, are there typos?
• ability to formulate thoughts into words in a coherent fashion.

In a recent Office Team survey, 86 percent of hiring managers say cover letters provide valuable insight when evaluating candidates.   However, the prevalence of online job sites has job seekers responding to email addresses with a few sentences of introduction.  I think that job seekers would do well to include an old-fashioned cover letter, personalized to the extent possible.

Candidates should make sure that their cover letter is devoid of the typical errors –

• Addressing the letter Dear Sir -  As a female hiring manager I have received far too many Dear Sir letters.
• Referencing the incorrect job – When recruiting for multiple jobs, if you don’t know what job you are applying for then how should I?
• Failing to include an attachment – If you are asked to provide salary history, cover letter, salary expectations, resume, etc.  Do it!  It is not a suggestion, it can eliminate you from consideration.  If you can’t follow instructions during the hiring process I am not optimistic that you will follow instructions as an employee. 
• Cute email addresses – Don’t list “cute” emails on your resume.  PartyGirl, BabyFace, Loverboy, may be great for friends, but not for obtaining employment. 
• Providing unnecessary personal information – I want to hire you, not be friends with you.  I do not care what your hobbies are and certainly don’t tell me about your children, their ages, what your spouse does for a living, etc.

The job market is tough, use every opportunity to tell why you are the ideal candidate and differentiate yourself from the hundreds of other people applying for the job.

As the use of web based programs grows, becomes more common and is more widely accepted we've begun to have clients ask to add 3rd aprty widgets (like their own stock ticker) to our online human resource software.

I get why clients want this... it's a perk for their users and can enhance employee self-service.  Widgets, when embedded together in a single page, can offer a kind of one stop shop for employee self-service.  if your learning management softwware offers this widget and your performance management solution overs that widget and you embed them all in your core HRIS software then everything has coalesced into one easy to use piece of software.

As a general web surfer I think widgets are great.  I use several of them and like to look at sites like google to see what new gadgets are available.  Almost all of my favorite sites offer some sort of plugin or another.

As the head of IT for a company I hate widgets.  Everyone wants to install them on their desktop, include them in their home page so they're there every time they open their borwser.  My problem with them is that they are frequently authored by random people and aren't subject to oversite so they are potneitally riddled with spyware, malware, virus and whatever other icky stuff someone can dream up.

Two news articles this week point this out.  One, a blog post from TechCrunch, talks about a worm spreadhing on Facebook.  Another points out theat google gadgets are now the focus of hackers.

Employee training and development is the number one way to prevent these kinds of tools from becoming a danger to your information security.  You can't alway control where people go, or even sometimes, what they install while at work.

So, it is clearly obvious that we have all been yelled at here at Achievant for not blogging enough if at all.  Like so many times in life we are being punished for the actions of a few.  Well!  I am that few, or at least a member of a very small group (like no more than 2).  Big picture, I sort of get the blog idea but I am one of those individuals that if I can't see some pretty immediate and measurable gain I am less likely to move it up on my priority list.  Being brutally honest, everythng seems to be a priority!  This is not a new phenomena but one that always intrigues me. I think we would all agree that not everything is a priority and if it is then we better settle for a heavy dose of status quo and mediocre results.

Same holds true for the many organizations we talk to on a daily basis.  We/They get so stuck in the tactical day to day that you can never get out in front of things that are the "supposed" priorities.  Examples would include but not be limited to conversations that should sound very familiar and and usually start out something like; "My top priority is...", "The top project we need to deliver on is...", "The results of our 4 column process (strategy session) reveals we need...",  now insert the priority:

....to improve and automate Applicant Tracking
....to streamline our HRIS System
....to create a consistent Learning Management approach
....to train leadership on the essence of Performance Management
....to automate Time and Attendance 
 

I think you get the picture!  If we continue through the conversation and go out several weeks if not months I would submit that very few of these priorities would actually still qualify or would not be that much farther down the path of completion.  The biggest obstacle is nothing went on the back burner or yielded to the priority.  Sound familiar?  

Speaking of looking out several weeks or months, I am expected (priority) to deliver several more blogs, as in one a week.  Let's see if I can break the cycle.  Wish me luck! 
  

I had the best of intentions.  We purchased the coolest blog service from Compendium Blogware (www.compendiumblogware.com) and I was going to blog once a week and let the world know what my thoughts were on life, business, HR and brag a little about Achievant's success.  Well....it's 8 months later and I've written 5 blog entries.  I've fallen 27 entries short of my goal of once per week. Pathetic.

I feel like some of the organizations we're talking to about applicant tracking, HRIS and performance management. They bought some software with great hopes and expectations.  They were going to load their employee data, track time & attendance, do on-line benefits enrollment and automate their performance management review process all at the same time. Somewhere along the way their "day job" got in the way. We both needed more than just software - we both needed a partner invested in our success.

That's what makes Achievant so different from the rest.  We invest in our clients by ensuring they utilize our platform.  We invest in our clients by taking responsibility for getting the application up and running - loading employee data, configuring workflows, defining reports, training the organization and ensuring after the 90-120 day implementation period they can be proud of the decision they made.

I will have to say the Compendium has held us accountable to our initial promise and have been on-site recently to ensure a good kick in the pants.  They know how to partner and so does Achievant.....our clients will testify!

  

Learning management software is a beast unto itself.  It can be a very simple piece of human resource software or it can be a giant, full-blown module.

In my career I have worked on Online Employee Training software that has covered the entirety of the possible range of robustness and complexity.

Because learning management modules can spider their way into so many other aspects of HRIS they can be an integral and important part of any talent management system. Learning management naturally flows into performance management, succession management and even applicant tracking depending on what your on-boarding process is like.


This week Achievant rolled out some new enhancements to its LMS.  Our module for learning management started off life as a lightweight module that though flexible and fairly robust had room for growth.

We've added over 17 new features some of which included:

·         proctoring features for trainers who need more detailed class planning and tracking

·         more robust class rosters and session results

·         the ability to track education credits for both internal and external classes

·         automated notifications for minimum class size not being met

Our goal, as is almost always our goal (and philosophy), as we build out our web HRIS software is to grow it incrementally.  Each time we work within the app we look for areas where we can add new features.  We listen to our current clients, our future clients and our industry to see what needs and wants are out there and we take the opportunity to add them whenever we can.

For us, such a successive refinement approach to all of our modules is not unlike learning management itself: with continuous work and grooming people (or applications) can get better at their jobs.

I just got back from my first prospective college visit to Florida with my oldest son, Michael (because of course why would he want to attend a college with in-state tuition!).  I’ve also been traveling a lot lately for new and perspective clients so I’m becoming quite the airline connoisseur.  Frankly as airfare has sky-rocketed I tend to book whoever is cheapest or works with my schedule, but I do have my favorites.

This most recent trip had me on Southwest Airlines.  Now I’ll admit that as an HR leader I have followed this company for several years.  Southwest is one of the few profitable airlines and has been in the black for 33 consecutive years and has paid a small dividend for 127 consecutive quarters. While its competitors are reducing the number of flights offered and grounding hundreds of aircraft, Southwest will add a few flights daily, will take delivery of another dozen aircraft next year and still plans to grow by 2 percent to 3 percent.  Southwest now carries more passengers annually than any other U.S. carrier.

So, my down time in the airport yesterday had me pondering...how has Southwest been successful?  I think it is based on a few guiding principles –

    * Keep things simple
    * Keep it consistent
    * Manage costs and maximize productive assets, and
    * Manage customer expectations.

These are business strategies that can be applied to most businesses.

Keep It Simple

While Southwest’s competition operates numerous types of planes, Southwest flies just one plane type.  This saves millions in maintenance costs, employee training, parts, etc.

Business Application – Do one thing and do it well

In the technology world, Human Resources software providers are trying to be all things to all people.  At Achievant, we have determined what we do is provide HRIS software solutions to small and mid-sized companies.  Achievant is not a payroll company, but we work with your payroll company to manage your employe data.  We have seen numerous companies try to meet all needs by bolting together the components of a human capital management system (i.e., HRIS system, time and attendance tracking, learning management, performance management, applicant tracking, and succession management) together with a payroll system and try to pass it off as integrated.  As a result these providers are adequate at many things, but not really good at anything.  Don’t get caught up in a feature/function comparison….who has the prettiest screen, bell, or whistle.  You should evaluate the entire package.

Keep It Consistent

I have to admit that I have not always been a fan of Southwest's approach to assigning seats.  Which is…..there are no assigned seats. You just line up according to an assigned number and you choose an open seat as you board the plane.  As someone who is slightly a control-freak (ok, maybe a little more than slightly), this was initially unsettling to not have a seat assigned specifically to me.  But, as I have flown with them more I have come to appreciate the control of choosing my seat...the one that is not next to the crying child or the chatty person, and have relished the opportunity to get a seat with extra leg room or no one sitting next to me.  Best of all, they still provide beverages and snacks for free!

Business Application – Manage the brand experience

At Achievant we work very hard to manage the experience our clients have with us and our Human Resources software solution.  Every time they contact us we want to respond to them in a friendly way, on a timely basis, and in a way that is relevant to them.  

No fees, no frills

As other carriers have removed perks and added fees, Southwest has kept its customer proposition streamlined and unchanged. The airline only sells in a few price "buckets" which allows it customers to understand the fare structure and believe they are getting value for their money. Prices are all-inclusive too, no fees for fuel surcharges, ticket changes, or luggage.  They have looked for out-of-the-box solutions to things like the clunky beverage cart.

Business Application – If customers can’t understand the pricing structure, they can’t understand the value you offer

Most HRIS systems, learning management systems, time and attendance solutions, and payroll providers utilize an ala carte menu for the services they provide.  In addition to the monthly or annual subscription, anything additional you’d like (e.g., a system change, new report) is charged by the hour or project.  This can make it very difficult to manage your costs.  I have spoken with numerous potential clients who when questioned how much they pay their current system provider, respond that they won’t know until the end of the year.

At Achievant, we have adopted a modular pricing model that is very simple to understand and is inclusive.  You are not charged for new version releases, minor system changes, client support, etc.

Management, Happy Workforce

Herb Kelleher finally stepped away from Southest earlier this year after leading it for more than a generation.  Although he was a very colorful leader, the airline avoided fads, shied away from anything that increased costs or complicated the basic travel proposition. Management ranks are lean, but most importantly, productive.

Southwest has embraced a culture of making their work (and consequently our travel) more fun.  They sing, dress in casual uniforms, and allow employees to go “off-script”.  In return, they have employees who are friendlier, seem to enjoy their jobs, and don't strike.

Business Application – If your workers aren’t happy, your customers aren’t happy

It is important to note that there are many intangibles that contribute to how much employees enjoy their job.  Take time to focus on these and you will be repaid for your efforts in higher levels of customer satisfaction.  360 degree feedback can be a great tool for this.

These are important business applications that I think will apply to any industry, not just HRIS software and talent management providers like Achievant.  In the meantime, I will continue to watch the progress of Southwest. 

Like most retailers the Atlanta based home supplies chain, Home Depot, is facing tremendous pressure to be more efficient, increase sales/revenue….basically do more with less.  To that end, they are reorganizing the human resources function—a move that will result in cutting its 2,200-person HR staff in the field by about 50 percent.

Today there is an HR manager in every store, but in the future, there will be 230 district HR teams that will oversee six to ten stores each.  Each team will consist of an HR district manager and three HR managers who report to that person.  Each store will continue to have an administrative HR employee on site who will oversee schedules of the associates. Home Depot is also creating a 200 person service center to handle HR calls from employees and managers.  The new structure is expected to be in place by May.

Home Depot plans to use the savings resulting from this restructuring to add three sales associates to the floor of each of its stores by year-end.  Analysts are already applauding the move by Home Depot believing that they were overstaffed with the current structure. 

I think that it will take some time before we know if this restructuring really saves them money.  Without the right support and training for the store managers, Home Depot may find itself redirecting its HR workforce “savings” into a litigation fund.  Store managers will need to be willing and prepared to “step up” to activities currently handled by their on-site HR such as employee relations, wage and hour, and harassment issues. 

We’ve seen that other big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart have learned the hard way that it can be very costly to the organization when there aren’t enough HR reps in the field.   So with Home Depot, we will wait and see. 

 

I was interested to read about a new program launched by Wachovia Bank that allows employees to take an unpaid leave of absence for up to three years to care for loved ones.  It does not grant job protection and once on extended leave, individuals are considered inactive employees and their benefits are put on hold. 

However, the program does provide a formal way for employees to maintain a presence with the bank.  They retain access to some of Wachovia’s web-based tools, stay in contact with managers and receive employee communication materials.  They are also given regular listings of job openings within the company. When they return, benefits kick in immediately—such as 401(k) plans and vacation days—as though they had never been away.

This initiative is noteworthy for several reasons.  Obviously it highlights Wachovia’s willingness to be a flexible employer which will enable it to differentiate itself in recruiting.  Aside from being a recruiting tool, I think Wachovia will also see it as a key tool for retaining good talent as employees comparison shop, it is difficult to assign a dollar value to flexibility.  Flex programs are relatively inexpensive to create and generate employee appreciation.

Wachovia’s program is generous not only with the time employees can spend away from the workplace, but also with the definition of who is eligible for the extended leave - spouses, children, parents, domestic partners, grandparents, siblings, grandchildren, and in-laws.

It will be interesting to watch if other large employers follow Wachovia’s lead. 

One of the many benefits of using Achievant’s HRIS system is the on-going system improvements that we provide.  We are continually working on the system, module by module, to make improvements.  Typically the suggestions for potential enhancements come from either our clients or Achievant staff. 

Best of all, we provide these enhancements at no additional cost to our clients.  Very few Human Resources software technology companies offer this.  Usually the new version comes at a significant cost to the client. 

Currently we are working on some Training or Learning Management enhancements.  We anticipate having these enhancements ready to roll out late April/early May. 

We are excited to be rolling out the following features:

• Place to record outside classes – allows for better tracking of conference or workshop attendance
• Ability to add classes not part of curriculum – allows for customized or ad hoc additions of coursework unrelated to an organization’s curriculum map for the position
• Class start and stop times – improvements to the training calendar view
• Track number of training hours – more and more organizations set standards as to the number of hours of training each employee is required to have. 
• Print roster for class sign-up sheet with class proctor capabilities for attendance and scoring
• Course enrollment close date – if desired, decline admittance to a class after a certain date
• Track scores and Pass/Fail on per class basis
• Determine class size by course and close class when seats are filled
• Set a minimum class size and if desired, cancel if the minimum is not met
• Create additional reports

 What has your HRIS software provider done for you lately - for free?

 

 

 

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you probably think that either I never returned from Spring Break (a great idea, although I’d run out of money very quickly) or that I’ve reached the pinnacle of ultimate laziness judging by the number of posts I’ve written lately. 

Rest assured that neither is true.  I did return from Spring Break (and it was great, thanks for asking) but I’ve have been swamped with work, which is always a positive thing in a start up organization.  I have just launched the Project Kickoff for another company using our HRIS system, have another client set to Go Live in a couple of weeks, I’m doing a 360 degree feedback engagement for a small employer and we’re overhauling the Learning Management module for our next big system enhancement launch. 

So, I have not been blogging much, but I have not been sitting idle either.  Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about some of the upcoming enhancements to Learning Management/Employee Training. 

I was intrigued to read a February 2008 white paper by Hudson, a talent management service provider, The Ambition Divide: Differences Define Women’s Career Aspirations.  Both as an HR leader and as a female, I wanted to learn the results.  When asked if they aspire to the executive level or higher, 77 percent of the female respondents said “yes.”

Approximately one in five female mid-level managers are not interested in reaching the executive level according to a recent study by Hudson.  Those who said “no” are referred to as “decliners” in the survey.  Interestingly the study found no correlation between respondents’ aspirations and their family commitments. The report indicates that 69 percent of “aspirers” are married, compared with 61 percent of “decliners”. 63 percent of aspirers have children, compared with 59 percent of decliners.

Decliners should not be viewed as unengaged. Rather than advancement, 37 percent of decliners said they seek intellectual stimulation, compared with just 17 percent of aspirers.  The opportunity to do interesting and challenging work is what 39 percent of decliner respondents like most about their job, compared with 22 percent of aspirers.  By contrast, the opportunity for growth and development was the single most important goal for 48 percent of aspirers, compared with just 28 percent of decliners.

The vast majority of aspirers (78 percent) said they want their next career step to be a promotion or lateral move at their current company.  So what is the call to action for the corporate world to keep these women? 

Female respondents said they favor opportunities to work with senior management, access to leadership development, mentoring and training programs, and the chance to work on companywide strategic initiatives.  Respondents reported that they believe their employers are most effective at offering training programs and formal schooling and least effective when it comes to providing mentoring programs, offering flexible hours and instilling an understanding of the business. 

If employers understand the goals and aspirations of female managers, they should be able to develop strategies to retain them.

 

One of the most important components here is training on how to do a performance evaluation.  Tomorrow, I’ll explain what that should look like.

 

I listened to a speaker the other day who reminded me how important it is to have a clear vision. 

In the absence of clear vision, people tend to lose confidence in the ability of their leadership and often will become paralyzed with fear.  They are lost....they don’t understand where they are headed. 

As an HR person, I have an opportunity to see people who don’t have vision on a regular basis.  In an interview they will inevitably falter in responding to questions like  – Why do you want this job?  What can you do for us?  They lack vision and are unable to communicate where they are headed and most importantly for me as a recruiter, why they should become part of our organization. 

Without this vision, people will flounder and fail to move ahead.  Vision is not just a corporate thing, but also a personal thing.  Vision provides a clear picture of a desired future.  Often we are tempted to make vision overly complicated, but vision should be measurable and reachable. 

Vision needs to be carefully laid out.  Otherwise, how do you know if the vision is being accomplished?  How do you know what is a win?

I read with great interest this week a study called “Actions Speak Louder Than Words,” which purports that companies need to take steps to make sure an ethics policy is something they are living, not just giving lip service to.  This includes balancing self-interest with community interest and having company leaders serve as ethical role models.

The study was written by Valparaiso University (my alma mater) business professors Dr. Michael McCuddy (a former professor of mine), Dr. Karl Reichardt and Dr. David Schroeder.

The paper was recognized by the International Journal of Business and Economics has named the research the best ethics or business law paper in 2007 and offers empirical evidence that the presence of a written code of ethics and, more importantly, its effective implementation, does promote business success and a positive organizational reputation.

Dr. McCuddy and his colleagues surveyed thousands of accountants between 1994 and 2000 to determine the
short- and long-term impact of both written ethics codes and the effective implementation of ethical practices.   In his analysis of the survey responses, Dr. McCuddy said the presence of a code of ethics and ethical effectiveness explained six to seven percent of the variance in organizational success.

Dr. McCuddy said, “Since the margin between success and failure can be quite slim, ethics could be the solution to having the margin fall in the company’s favor.”

Moreover, ethical effectiveness was deemed a more important factor in a company’s short- and long-term success and reputation than merely having a code of ethics. When a code of ethics and ethical effectiveness were significant predictors of short- and long-term success, Dr. McCuddy said the correlation for ethical effectiveness was 3 to 10 times larger than the correlation for code of ethics. The disparity in company reputation was even greater, with the correlation for ethical effectiveness 13 to 26 times greater than for code of ethics.   “With respect to ethics explaining both short-term and long-term success, actions do speak louder than words,” Dr. McCuddy said.

Ethical effectiveness was measured by respondents rating how effective their employers were with respect to seven practices, including providing ethics training, conducting daily operations in a manner consistent with its ethical standards, consideration of ethical standards in making long-term decisions and rewarding ethical actions.

To make an ethics code more than window dressing, Dr. McCuddy said companies should take four actions: 

1.      They need to look inside themselves and balance self-interest with community interest.

2.      Leaders throughout the organization have to become authentic role models to the rest of the workforce, putting into practice that balancing of self-interest and community interest.

3.      Then companies must foster and reinforce an organizational culture that creates expectations of everyone doing what is fair, right and just, and

4.      Make sure the organization’s rewards system is in alignment with its vales and ethics.

What are the actions of your organization “saying”?

You’ve probably heard the term Web 2.0 tossed around like a good salad at a fine restaurant.  It’s one of those buzzwords whose drone seems ever present in the background of web based technology talks today. 

What Web 2.0 is can be hard to define or maybe isn’t widely agreed upon and is generally based on your own biases.  In my opinion and in short Web 2.0 is generally comprised of any combination of three things:

1.       Functionality and features (particular within the user interface) equivalent to those you can get with a desktop application.

2.       A social twist on a formerly strictly technological domain (like search).

3.       Transformation of what was essentially tactically oriented automation of previously manual task into strategic analysis and action based on data from those tasks.

Being a web developer who works in the HR space I’ve started wondering what HR 2.0 should be.  Should I be developing a virtual HR world along the lines of Second Life where your avatar walks into a cyber-faux HR department that looks like a Caribbean resort in order to request time off or to complete an expense report?  Should I be working on a social alternative to the usual HR functions that uses a wiki-like mob Inteligencia to perform daily HR tasks?  Probably not.

What I should be working on is a way to take the tasks of time and attendance, learning management, session management, performance management, etc that we’ve automated and elevating them to be tactical and strategic.  An HR 2.0 application should be a proactive piece of software that doesn’t just help streamline day-to-day task; instead, an HR 2.0 application should point your organization in the right direction by helping determine strategic success factors.

Let’s take succession management (the subject of my last post) as an example.  The application might tell you what gaps you have now, might help you use our learning management module to plan to fill those gaps, might give you a roster of who is where and how long have they been there, but as an HR 2.0 application it should also tell you (maybe without your asking) that Bob Smith is the best choice for that new VP of Whatever slot that just opened up.  It should tell you that if you train Mary Jane Doe on topic X she’ll make the best replacement for John Somebody who has 29 years of service in and is ready to retire.

In short, a HR 2.0 app should be an active virtual employee within your company bringing solutions to you without the need of your asking it for the data to make that decision yourself.  Two dot oh means that it is time for software to move beyond automation of mundane tasks into the space of strategic planning.  Two dot oh software doesn’t just work hard; it work’s smart, too.

I read an interesting article in Workforce Magazine this week that indicated that most succession planning aims to replace senior management and ignores middle management.   

 

According to a report by Ernst & Young, as a large segment of the workforce nears retirement, large U.S. companies are woefully “unprepared for the looming brain drain” that will result. Based on responses of human resources executives at Fortune 1,000 companies, it found that most companies are not actually focusing on employee development. 

One in four companies (25%) say their middle management ranks will be most affected as these “boomer” employees exit the workforce. Even so, three-quarters (75%) of those with formal succession strategies in place focus exclusively on replacements for top senior executives, rather than identifying would-be middle managers.

 

This lack of deliberate succession planning results in higher costs: 52 percent of those surveyed say costs of recruitment have increased, while 43 percent have seen an increase in their training and development needs. The report warns that many companies will be exposed to “economic and productivity challenges” within five years unless they implement strategic succession plans.

 

Does your organization have a succession plan for all levels?

I am a nerd; ergo, I am a fan of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.  What’s that have to do with IT or HR?  Well, I learned my most import IT lesson from the first book of that series.  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (an actual interstellar travel book ala Fodor’s or Lonely Planet within the context of Douglas Adams’ imagined universe) has one important message at all times: “Don’t panic!”

It’s as good of a mantra for an IT professional as any I’ve ever heard.  Things happen.  Bad things happen.  In the midst of a techno-calamity remaining calm can be the difference between a good decision and a bad one or between hours of down time or minutes of down time.

Monday’s Blackberry outage is a shining example of why panicking isn’t productive.  For those of you who don’t carry the ubiquitous device and are maybe unaware of the outage, Blackberry subscribers lost email functionality for a portion of the day Monday.

So you’ve read my title and you’ve read my intro and you’re wondering… what does any of this have to do with succession management?  Succession management, in the simplest of terms, in having a plan in place for when something (really someone) you need goes away.

In the case of the Blackberry outage you can find a number of testimonials on the web about how someone was so detrimentally impacted they want to sue Blackberry, or get a refund, or switch to a Treo.  Apparently, those people did not have a plan for what to do if their mobile device lost email.  Apparently they also couldn’t devise a plan on the fly.

So what if something more important than a Blackberry went away?  What if, say, I got fed up and quit or was lured away by a better organization?  What if I was promoted to Chief IT Czar of the Universe and someone else had to fill my role?

Fortunately, I have plan.  A succession plan.  I won’t list the many things that would make a good succession plan or succession management tool.  They are really pretty simple:

1.       Know who is on your bench. 

2.       Measure strengths and weaknesses

3.       Know who you need to keep

4.       Have a plan for making sure anyone you need to keep stays

5.       Be sure to continuously groom those employees for roles further up the career ladder

For me my first step in succession management for my position is to hire my replacement.  Once I’ve done that I start actively preparing that person (or maybe even persons) to take on my role.  I identify the gaps in their skill set and I start little by little giving them some of my responsibilities, exposing them to the details of my role/job.  I do my best to help them grow and learn.  Not only does it provide the company with a new me should the current me move on in some way, but it allows me to take vacations, effectively delegate work and provides a staff in whom I can trust and on whom I can rely.

Succession management doesn’t have to be overly architected or cumbersome.  It doesn’t even have to be overly formal.  Good succession management starts with the awareness of what leadership roles are needed, who currently fills those roles and who can fill those roles in the future (given the appropriate mentoring, training and career development).  Have a plan; work the plan; don’t panic.

On Monday, February 11, 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register a long awaited proposal on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  The DOL proposed revisions to certain existing FMLA regulations and requested public comments on a wide variety of issues related to the new military family leave entitlements that were contained in the National Defense Authorization Act.  The DOL will use these comments to issue final regulations for these new military family leave entitlements.

Proposed Changes to Existing Regulations
           
Serious Health Condition
           
Although many HR practioners would like further clarification of the definition of a “serious health condition”, the DOL did not see this same need and essentially retained the current definition.  However, under the proposal the DOL would modify the definition for "continuing treatment" of a serious health condition that includes a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive days and two or more treatments.  The DOL proposes that the two treatment visits must occur within a 30 calendar day period.  Currently, the time period is undefined.  Similarly, where the serious health condition involves a period of incapacity due to a chronic condition, the DOL would clarify that the employee must see a physician at least two times per year for that chronic condition.  The existing regulations are pretty vague, simply calling for "periodic visits."

Intermittent Leave

The proposal makes no change in the minimum size of an increment of intermittent leave that can be taken.  The existing regulations allow an employer to limit intermittent leave increments to the smallest increment of time permitted under an employer's payroll timekeeping system, as long as it is one hour or less. 

The proposal does include a helpful change requiring employees to comply with the employer's call-in procedures before taking unscheduled, intermittent leave.  It contains a new provision that will require employees to follow the workplace call-in procedures if they want to take unscheduled, intermittent leave, except in defined "emergency" cases. Currently, employees can take the leave and then designate it as FMLA-qualifying leave within two days of the absence.  The proposal only allows such an approach in the case of an emergency.

Medical Certification

The proposal makes a major change in the "medical certification" provisions so that employers will be able to contact medical providers directly to obtain clarification or authentication of documentation.  Under the existing regulations, that communication must be between a health care provider representing the employer and the employee's health care provider.  The DOL would clarify this process to eliminate the requirement for an employee's consent and would permit an employer to contact an employee's health care provider directly provided there is compliance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 

The DOL is also proposing revisions to the medical certification process and its optional forms.  In this proposal a healthcare provider may disclose diagnosis information on a medical certification.  Another is that an employer must inform an employee why a medical certification is incomplete or insufficient and afford the employee seven days to correct it.  The DOL also proposes to strengthen the recertification and fitness-for-duty certification processes.  Recertification could be requested at least every six months and the fitness for duty certification would be more rigorous.

Other Changes
           
Other proposed changes would impact employer policies in the workplace.  These include a proposal to require employees to comply with the terms and conditions of an employer's paid leave policy when substituting a paid accrued leave, such as paid vacation or paid time-off, for unpaid FMLA leave.  Similarly, under the DOL's proposal, an employer could disqualify an employee from a bonus or award based upon achieving a goal if the employee fails to meet that goal due to a FMLA absence as long as other employees on non-FMLA were treated the same.

Probably one of the more significant revisions deals with employer and employee notification requirements.  The DOL would require employers to provide notice of FMLA rights and responsibilities to all its employees at least annually.  It would afford employers five days instead of the current two days to provide an employee notice of eligibility for FMLA leave as well as FMLA leave designation notice.  Likewise, an employee would be required to comply with the employer's usual procedures for calling-in and requesting leave when the employee's need for leave is unforeseeable. 

Military Family Leave

The other purpose of this notice is to seek public comments on the new "caregiver" and "active duty" leaves.  The DOL asks for assistance in the definition of the term "qualifying exigency" and determining whether it means an urgent or one-time situation or a routine, daily occurrence.  The legislative history suggests that arranging for childcare, handling financial or legal matters, or participating in official ceremonies would be "qualifying" reasons.

Also, the DOL has raised numerous questions about the 26-week entitlement of caregiver leave.  The 60-day public comment period will help the DOL define certain aspects of this entitlement such as: when the 12-month period commences (date of service member's injury or point in which the employee is needed to care for the service member); the basis on which the 12-month period runs (calendar year or when leave first taken); and whether "single" means it is a one-time entitlement or whether there is another entitlement in a subsequent 12-month period.   These are just a few of the areas for which the DOL seeks comments.

What's Next?

The DOL expects to issue the final regulations before the end of the Bush administration.  The rules will be open for public comment for 60 days from the date of publication, which was February 11.  The final rules on the new military family leave law will contain regulatory language based on comments received during the review process.

This regulatory update was sent out as an Achievant HR Alert.  If you are interested in being added to the distribution list for these, please let me know.   

Ok, I admit it.  When I saw this headline by the Associated Press the other day, I had to read it.  It turns out that those employees who are in high demand are being paid to interview and they set the price.  Yep, you heard me correctly…who knew there would be a market for such a thing? 

That's the proposition behind the self-funded startup NotchUp.com. Its founders, Jim Ambras and Rob Ellis, say the site will fill a void between recruiters who charge 30 percent of a new hire's salary and resume job sites such as Monster.com.

Their audience are passive job seeks who are happily employed professionals who are just keeping their options open.  Their web site indicates NotchUp is for you if:

• You’re happy at your job
• You’re good at what you do
• You’re not looking for a new job

Here’s how it works.  You plug in your industry, job, pay and experience into a calculator on the site to help you set your pay for an interview. NotchUp typically recommends a range between $200 and $500, but you decide the final amount.  Obviously a higher price may result in fewer offers to interview and a lower price results in less money for you. Then you submit your profile to the site.  Ok, I’ll admit that I put in my information and it suggested I “charge” $850 to interview me! 

Joining NotchUp is free, but you must apply or be invited.  If a hiring company is interested in you, it deposits the money with NotchUp and talks to you. If you seem like a real, engaged candidate, NotchUp will transfer the money to your PayPal account once the interview is over. The site makes money by charging a transaction fee, which it estimates will be somewhere around 15 and 20 percent.

A number of large companies including Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Facebook are recruiting on the site, which interestingly bears a striking resemblance to Facebook. So far, the response from would-be job seekers has been warm. The site officially launched Jan. 28, but it went from 445 members to 10,500 in the five business days.

Since most recruiters have discovered that typically the best people you want to hire are the people who aren't in the job market, this will be an interesting site to watch.