HRACC

If I had a dollar for every time I said, “I’m gonna’ write a book.”, I’d be rich enough to retire immediately.

As HR professionals, we’ve heard and seen some pretty bizarre things in our workplaces. From employees selling beer from their iced flat bed trucks in the parking lot of a drug-free workplace, to a female employee complaining of sexual harassment due to her supervisor telepathically asking her out on a date… I’ve encountered scenarios that could be best sellers in print.

But one of my favorite examples just came up this week. A production manager reported to me that a worker in her food processing plant arrived to work with a live rooster strapped to his back. Picture this: the rooster was not happy about being tightly restrained atop his owner, and was pecking and scratching the worker’s neck and back in protest. The feathers were flying and blood was dripping in what should have been a sterile food processing environment. In spite of all the raucous, this worker couldn’t understand why his actions were not acceptable. In fact, he was somewhat surprised he wasn’t being commended for his decision to come straight to work from the cock fights since taking the rooster back home would have meant arriving to work late.

Do you ever encounter unexplainable situations similar to this and wonder… what were they thinking?! And who was responsible for hiring these people?! Then we sheepishly notice that all fingers are pointing toward us in HR as the responsible party.

If we didn’t help hire these employees, maybe we should have. Too often due to our full administrative agendas and the press of business, we allow much of the recruiting and screening process to fall upon the shoulders of the supervisor. After we place the ad and forward the pile of applications to the hiring manager, HR may not be involved again until the request comes to complete the mandatory background report. Although the manager has the technical job knowledge to assist in the selection process, he or she may not be trained in how to interview effectively to draw out past behavior and look for glimmers of common sense.

Or perhaps due to our seasonal demands, we’re urgently looking to hire a large number of low-skilled employees and don’t have the time or resources to conduct full interviews. We’ve just got to get the warm bodies before our competition does. Unfortunately, what we don’t find out about applicants before we make the job offer may ultimately come to light after they’re our employees in the form of a questionable workers comp claim, a nagging chronic discipline issue, or as a costly employee relations saga, such as the cock who came to work.

You’ve probably heard the phrase: “Go slow to go fast” – it’s one of my favorites, and one I think relates to much of what we do in HR. The down-side of not having the luxury or taking the time to be ultra-selective in the hiring process is we’ll pay the price in lowered productivity, lack of dependability, and perhaps costly employee mistakes. But perhaps the “up” side is good material for that book that someday I’m gonna’ write.

Benchmarking Best HR Practices

Please join us for an opportunity to get to know other HRACC members while benchmarking HR topics. Tables will have a variety of topics to select and discuss including:

This Is A GREAT Opportunity To Bring Another HR Manager
to Learn and Share These Best Practices

Seating is limited. Members who [

] by Thursday, June 15 receive the early registration discount! You should have already received your email invitation for the luncheon. If you have not yet responded to your email invitation, please do so as soon as possible. If you prefer, you may RSVP for yourself and guests at:
http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?4W,M3,145c1f6a-601e-4d24-9813-f4e5cabc4194

HRACC Legislative Update - June 2006

By Lisa Williams

Do you remember your first summer job?

My father firmly believed in building a strong work ethic and so at 14, I got my first real summer job (no more babysitting). I worked in a fast food outlet in Yosemite where we were living. It was great! I made money, and got to spend it how I wanted. The only downside was coming home smelling like greasy French fries and the uniforms we called clone outfits (brown and orange polyester will never be a good look). I went on to have many other summer jobs, but that was my first.

My guess is that many of you probably worked in fast food, retail or maybe at a summer camp. I hope your experience was one which built a solid foundation for your future employment. Unfortunately, some teen workers do not have a good experience because of the way they are treated, either by customers, their co-workers or management. If you employ teen workers, this is a great time to refresh your and your manager’s knowledge of the regulations regarding youth employment. Below are a couple of links to information sites for that purpose.

The Department of Labor’s website “Youth Rules” has information and links regarding youth employment at http://youthrules.dol.gov/

The EEOC has launched an initiative “Youth at Work” to educate employers and youth about equal employment opportunities and their rights. You can find additional information at http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/youth/index.html

One area which you hope no teen ever encounters, is the possibility of working with a registered sex offender. Unfortunately, in many of the entry-level jobs which teens are often employed, there are sometimes sex offenders, as the positions do not generally require background checks, or employees may not disclose this history. In California, we’re also limited on the use of the sex offender information on the Megan’s Law Website, which would otherwise provide valuable conviction related data. You cannot use the information on the site for employment purposes unless it is to protect a person at risk, and who that person is has not been defined by the legislature.

This is an important issue and we’ve identified a timely opportunity for advocacy in this regard. Assemblyman Spitzer (Orange) authored AB2263 which would:

“Require every person required to register as a sex offender who applies or accepts a position as an employee or volunteer with any person, group or organization where the applicant would be working directly and in an unaccompanied setting with minor children, and the applicant’s work would require him or her to touch the minor children on more than an incidental and occasional basis, to disclose his or her status as a registrant, upon application or acceptance of the position, to that person, group or organization.”

The bill has been passed by the Assembly and is now in the State Senate. Analysis of this bill implied it could be extended to fast food or retail situations where a registrant may have to work unaccompanied with minors. Even if you do not employ teen workers, this bill is important for the safety of minors and can help insure they have a positive experience in their summer jobs. We encourage you to consider writing Senator Poochigian and advocating for this cause, as well as other members of the State Senate.

As a mother of a soon to be 14 year old who will have his first job this summer, I know I’ll be writing, and if this issue hits close to home for you, I encourage you to do the same.

SHRM Foundation

Your Foundation at Work: The Masters Series

When you attend the SHRM Annual Conference, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the Masters Series. The SHRM Foundation sponsors this series of in-depth learning sessions featuring internationally known experts in the field of management science. The Masters Series focuses on timely and provocative issues that affect your career and industry. Open to all attendees, these senior-level programs offer insight into the HR profession from thought-leaders and top academicians. For more information on Foundation sponsored educational programs, visit www.shrm.org/foundation or forward any questions to miike.garcia@fresnoeoc.org

SHRM Foundation: Investing in Your Future as an HR Leader

SHRM Foundation Logo

This month’s profile features Heidi Horton. She was selected for her participation in the membership committee. Thanks, Heidi, for getting involved in the HRACC committee program.

Name: Heidi Virginia Horton, CPC
Position: Executive Recruiter
Company: BennettFrost Personnel
First Job: Lemonade stands when I was a kid. My first professional position out of high school was as a temp clerical employee in Human Resources for the City of Napa. I came back and worked there each summer throughout college.
Years in HR: 10+
Best HR Advice I’ve Received: Consistency is key.
Favorite HR Advice I Give: Do what you love and the money will follow. Don’t chose a career path based entirely on income potential- you will eventually burn out and lose your edge.
Best Training I’ve Received: The Leadership Fresno program exposed me to so many aspects of Fresno that I was not familiar with, and allowed me to grow professionally and personally. It challenged me to take responsibility for the health of our community and to be a morally conscious business leader.
Manager Who Made a Lasting Impression & Why: My first HR Director always was ‘present’ with everyone she dealt with. I always felt that what I had to say was important to her. She was able to make everyone feel valued.
Favorite Restaurant: La Rocca’s
Book I Recommend: Love ‘em or Lose ‘em, Getting Good People to Stay: Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans. 1999 Employee retention has to become a priority for all businesses as the candidate market shifts and becomes more & more competitive for talent.
Proudest Moment: Completing my first triathlon (and conquering a fear of swimming in open water)
Interesting Experience/Adventure: I went to Guatemala when there was a traveler advisory against it. It was exciting and scary at the same time! It is a beautiful country with wonderful people- I am so glad that I went.
If I Could Magically Choose a New Career I Would: Substitute Interviewee. If someone got cold feet or extremely nervous before an interview, I could sit in for them! There is definitely a market for this! Seriously, I love the interview process, and enjoy learning other techniques. I wish I could sit in with my candidates going on interviews, and provide on the spot pointers and constructive feedback.

In late April, several California State University, Fresno students participated in the Job Shadowing Program sponsored by HRACC and it’s professional membership. The purpose of the program is to enrich the lives of both CSUF students and HR professionals; while giving students a first-hand look into the “real” world of human resources. There were approximately 30 students who asked for a job shadowing opportunity, and the members of HRACC stepped up to the challenge.

Jaime Bitter, who job shadowed Dawn Cagle from Fresno County EOC, was very pleased with her experience. While visiting the FCEOC, Ms. Bitter was able to spend approximately 20-30 minutes with eight of the HR staff and learn about their different areas of expertise. She stated, “I was able to ask as many questions as I liked and I truly gained knowledge and direction for my own future plans by visiting the Fresno County EOC.” Ms. Bitter is excited to participate in the job shadowing program again next year and recommends taking part in the program to all her fellow students.

Mai Kue, who also did her job shadow with Ms. Cagle at the Fresno County EOC, had no idea what aspect of human resources she wanted to focus in after graduation, but has narrowed it down to benefits or recruiting after her job shadowing experience. Ms. Kue stated, “I got a glimpse of reality, or life after college. It’s not as scary as it seems.”

Another CSUF student, Robyn Brown, visited Stephanie Hausladen and the Career Services team at Heald College. Ms. Brown was happy to find out that Ms. Hausladen’s position in human resources includes public relations and marketing as well as helping the students at Heald College find internships and jobs, perfecting their resumes and conducting mock-interviews. Ms. Brown stated, “[The Career Services Team] was very encouraging. I learned a lot.”

I had the pleasure of having Lily Pesin as my job shadow. Ms. Pesin came to one of our Legal Beagle Bagel Breakfast seminars regarding meal and rest period regulations and then accompanied me on a site safety inspection. Ms. Pesin asked great questions and had a lot of knowledge to share. The experience was very enjoyable for both of us.

On behalf of all of the CSUF students who participated in this event, and the entire student chapter, I would like to thank the HRACC members who participated in this semester’s job shadowing program. It means a lot to the students to have your support, your encouragement and your time. Thank you!

If you would like to participate in any future job shadowing opportunities, please contact me at goosev@flgconsult.com, or at 559.256.5011.

For those old enough to remember the early '60s album title song You Talk Too Much, you probably can't even count the number of times the tune has popped into your head when speaking with certain, let's say vocally stimulated, coworkers. If old Joe Jones could just get a royalty for every mental broadcast...

Despite those excessive users, conversations drive most key internal business practices. Individual pay, goal setting, problem solving, feedback and most other activities occur in conjunction with a conversation.

If your experience is anything like mine, these conversations have not always been helpful. You, me, and a host of others have at some point in our careers met Attila The Hun who didn't think we would get the message unless it was sufficient to quell the Roman advance. After we became supervisors, we may have even discovered an occasional strain of Attila in ourselves. When something goes wrong, the conversation looks more like blaming and accusing instead of building employee capabilities through effective problem solving.

Then there are moments when we have to tell someone his or her performance is unacceptable, and we get squeamish. It's a painful exercise, so we mention five or six positive things the employee is doing and slip in a general suggestion on how to improve instead of directly addressing the problem and providing specific actions for improvement. The employee walks out of the meeting not even sure what the conversation was about.

Of course, having the right conversation is just as important as managing it effectively.
Consider performance appraisals. Only 10 to 30 percent of managers say the process is useful despite all the training to teach us how to do it right.

At issue is the fact that many supervisors are trying to combine conversations about performance and pay when, in fact, the relationship is insignificant at best when considering a merit pay range of 2-4%. Further muddying the process is that the supervisor is told to provide feedback when the only thing on the employee's mind is “How much am I going to get?”

Let's have the right conversations and discuss base pay as a function of market rates in one conversation and performance ratings in another since they are so loosely connected anyway. We know from research and experience that the standard range of raises doesn't motivate anyone, but can certainly demotivate most everyone.
Frequently, appraisal systems require us to set annualized individual goals for employees even though most goals require commitment from others and don't fit into neatly established accounting timelines. So we commit employees to activities, instead of results, and we plug them into the new fiscal year with the intention of following up at appraisal time.

What has to change? First of all, conversations should center around business needs and corresponding timeframes, not financial reporting requirements and artificial constraints. Why set goals on an annual fiscal year basis when goals should be established and completed as required by the business regardless of annual reporting? Conversations should build employee literacy about the business so that employees can set their own objectives according to business needs which may suggest individual or group initiatives are most appropriate.

It is not uncommon for supervisors to be encouraged to document performance problems on appraisal forms. But why wait until then? That's the wrong conversation to be having on an annual basis. Conversations with under-performing or disruptive employees should occur at the time they are needed and the conversations should be documented then, not later. These conversations should look very different from other conversations about performance.

When we do appraisals and try to get employees to take greater responsibility for their performance, we tend to accept total responsibility for the process. We initiate the conversations, gather the information for what was accomplished, make the assessment, deliver the feedback, generate goals for the coming year, and make sure the work gets done. These are not enabling conversations that generate personal commitment.

Feedback and coaching conversations should occur frequently throughout the year with employees taking primary responsibility for making them happen. Employees who are responsible for their own development and success should obtain feedback from primary sources, request resources and development opportunities, and report on commitments. The supervisor's role is to facilitate the process, provide coaching when needed, and ensure employees are getting what they need from the experience in order to succeed.

Our conversations are powerful in influencing workplace cultures and consequent behaviors. Whether we manage our conversations like Attila, or otherwise, it will have an effect. And we must remember that having the right conversation is just as important as having the conversation right.

Trying it on for fit: Organizations as diverse as the Madison City Police Department, SAS, General Motors Powertrain Division, and others have shifted away from traditional performance appraisals with encouraging results.

Following are key workplace conversations to replace traditional appraisals:
GOAL SETTING—Employees identify opportunities to positively impact the core business and develop commitments with supervisors and others. As goals are accomplished, new goals are established and the process continues.

PERFORMANCE ISSUES—Supervisors meet with employees as soon as problems demand more than normal coaching. Conversations are documented.
FEEDBACK—Feedback and coaching occurs as necessary. The employee is accountable for his or her success. The supervisor provides support.

SUCCESSION PLANNING—The supervisor and employee meet annually to review and discuss preparations for potential succession opportunities.
PAY—The supervisor meets with employees annually to explain base pay increases and bonus or incentive programs.

Send an e-mail and let me know what you learn from your experiences. I would love to hear from you!

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO RECEIVES “TOP TEN”
STUDENT CHAPTER SUPERIOR MERIT AWARD

California State University, Fresno’s student chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management, has received a 2005-2006 “Top Ten” Student Chapter Superior Merit Award. This represents the eighth year in a row that the CSU, Fresno student chapter has received this prestigious award and the eleventh year in a row to receive a Superior Merit Award. The student group will receive a plaque for the “Top Ten” honor and will be recognized at the SHRM Annual Student Conference on June 24 in Washington, D.C. Patricia Lomany, Vice President of Merit, stated, “I am very proud of my student chapter’s accomplishments and for all the hard work and team effort that each member and officer contributed to the completion of the Merit Award.”

The SHRM student chapter merit award program provides opportunities for students to develop their professional skills, to be involved in community activities, to interact and network with local HR professionals, to experience the benefits of a partnership with national SHRM. The national Society for Human Resource Management has over 200,000 individual members and has been in existence since 1948.

Of 430 active student chapters nationwide, 123 submitted applications for this national award. To earn the “Top Ten” award, chapters earned from 3,215 to the maximum points of 3,300. The CSUF student chapter earned the maximum points of 3,300. For the Superior Merit designation, chapters must receive at least 1,901 out of 3,300 possible points. The Merit award is granted to chapters which receive 1,650 to 1,900 points and honorable mention to chapters earning less than 1,650 points.

Scholarship Opportunity for HRACC Members’
Sons and Daughters/Grandsons and Granddaughters

HRACC is proud to once again sponsor a $1000.00 Scholarship to be awarded to Sons, Grandsons, Daughters, and Granddaughters who are enrolled or planning to enroll in a college or university. There is no restriction on the college major. This scholarship is also available to students and/or members enrolled in a higher education program with the focus on human resources related course work.

The application postmark deadline is June 16th. The application must be complete and a current complete and sealed transcript of grades must be included. The application may be mailed to:

HRACC
Attention: Scholarship Review Committee (SGDG)
Post Office Box 28125
Fresno, CA 93729-8125

If you have any questions or need assistance in completing the application please feel free to contact myself or any member of the committee. The scholarship will be awarded at the upcoming HRACC Meeting.

President's Message

Benchmarking Best HR Practices

Your Foundation at Work: The Masters Series