HR Conferences: Highlighting SHRM-Atlanta's 20th

HR Florida has started today and it has promise for being a great conference. Conferences can be a great professional development tool. The opportunities for learning and connecting are limited only by your time and willingness to attend. Since you cannot make it to HR Florida, unless you are already there, you need to look for other opportunities.

One I am familiar with, since I live in the Atlanta area, is the 20th Annual SHRM-Atlanta Conference. The keynote speaker is Don Yeager. As the conference brochure says:

 As a four-time New York Times bestselling author and long-time associate editor of Sports Illustrated, Don Yaeger has developed a reputation as one of America’s most provocative journalists. The variety of topics he has covered is so vast that every major talk show – from Oprah to Nightline, from CNN to Good Morning America – has invited him to be a guest. Using the lessons learned over his extensive career as both a journalist and an entrepreneur, Don has also become an award-winning keynote speaker, working with audiences as diverse as Fortune 500 Companies and cancer survivor groups, where he shares his personal story. Additionally, he has been engaged as a media coach to countless high-profile athletes, business leaders and elected officials.

The educational tracks for the conference include:

• Business Acument and leadership
• Law and legislations
• Total Rewards
• Organizational evolution
• Talent management
• Diversity and inclusion
• and HR Connection (social media tools)

They have extended the early bird registration until September 13th. So click on the link.

By the way, one of the most educational aspects of a conference is the market place. That is where you learn what is happening with new products and new ideas. You get exposed to the cutting edge stuff. So ALWAYS visit the market place at a converence.

It is easy to get to Atlanta, so no excuses.

Networking is More Than Just Handing Someone Your Business Card

I have posted a couple of times on networking. This one is a video blog, prompted by one I got from Keith Ferrazzi. He was talking about an article that had been published about him that he thought might have been a mistake but turned out good. The article is The 10 Secrets of a Master Networker. Check it out. Great stuff. It made me think that today many people think Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn is all they need to do to network. While these are valuable tools that is not networking. See what I have to say.



Two books have been influential in teaching me networking skills.  The first was one I read when I first went out on my own. This was Swim with the Sharks: Without Being Eaten Alive; Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate and Outnegotiate Your Competition. Mackay also wrote Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You'll Ever Need. Both are excellent books for learning networking skills. More recently Keith Ferrazzi wrote Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time and Who's Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success--and Won't Let You Fail. Both excellent resources as well. If you had to pick one I would most likely follow Ferrazzi in Never Eat Alone.

Alternative Careers to HR: Ever Thought About Being a Welder?

In a study published by Manpower, Inc. on August 25th they concluded that a lack of skilled workers, such as electricians, carpenters and welders, threatens the global economic recovery. According to the report "Employers in six of the world’s 10 biggest economies ranked skilled trades as their No. 1 or No. 2 hiring challenge." The report indicates that there are several factors contributing to this shortage. Primary among them are attitudes, especially in the United States, where for decades parents have told their children to go to college, get an education and then a white collar job. For the recovery to occur those attitudes need to change.

Manpower suggests that easing migration and immigration standards will help, with skilled workers from one country being allowed to transfer to another. They did say however, that these skilled jobs are not easy to outsource and provide good income potential that is pretty consistent despite the economy.

 The skilled trades category also includes jobs like bricklayers, cabinet makers, plumbers and butchers, jobs that typically require a specialist's certification. Many of these jobs are being vacated by retirement and have few candidates to take those spots. As the report says "In the United States, recession and persistent high unemployment may lead parents and young people entering the workforce to reconsider their options."

So if you are tired of trying to find that HR job or you are tired of all the bullsh*t that you have to deal with in HR you may want to consider one of these careers. Afterall it was the road to success for Jennifer Beals' character in Flashdance. (Of course being beautiful, sexy and finding a rich man didn't hurt either.)

Just In Case You Didn't the Feds Were Controlling Enough In HR

Before I start on my "rant" for the day I want to thank Stephanie R. Thomas for the post that is the inspiration for my post today. Her post, entitled The Men from NEPET Are Coming , appeared on the Compensation Cafe on August 20, 2010. In that post she pointed out a report from the government. This report, entitled National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force (Stephanie's NEPET), is a document from the White House that discusses the cross agency efforts to get the Paycheck Fairness Act passed by increasing the amount of scrutiny paid to, and information gathered from, businesses in the United States. My post will summarize what I consider to be the "high points" (or low  points depending on your point of view) of this report. For a complete understanding of the what you will be facing you need to read the report and Stephanie's post in addition to what you are reading here. Just follow the links above.

In his campaign to be elected president and in the State of the Union address, Barak Obama made it clear that one of his goals was to erase pay inequities based on gender. Getting the Lilly Ledbetter Act passed was considered to be the first step. The report points out the next step "To implement President Obama’s pledge in the State of the Union address to crack down on violations of equal pay laws, the Administration has created the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, bringing together the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Department of Labor (“DOL”), and the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”)"

The report says that there are five areas that need to be addressed. These include:

1. Three agencies of the government have jurisdiction over pay discrimination and they do not coordinate efforts enough;
2. They feel they don't have enough data on pay and gender. So they will develop methods to extract this information from all the employers in the US, especially federal contractors;
3. They think employees don't know enough about their rights. The implication being that if they did they would turn their employers in more often. Also, employers don't know their obligations under the law, so they are going to provide information. They will also be hiring and training more investigators in order to step up criminal prosecutions.
4. They have determined they are not as "clean as a hound's tooth" so they are going to make sure they are complying with the laws too. (What an origianl concept!)
5. They don't feel the existing laws, especially the Equal Pay Act, are sufficient to handle the situation. So doing what all governments are compeled to do, they want to pass a new law, the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Here is my interpretation of their solutions:

1. Make sure that all agencies responsible do a better job of coordinating with each other. Hire more investigators and ferret out instances of pay discrimination in whatever form. Especially make the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) an agent of the EEOC in enforcing wage discrimination based on gender violations in federal contractors. Increase the focus of EEOC on wage discrimination. Remove restrictions on the OFCCP regarding audits, hire more investigators and prosecute more employers.
2. Increase the methods used to extract data on wages from employers. If you are a federal contractor the amount of information you will have to reveal will be increased substantially. The goal is to reveal companies in violation of the laws (pick one) and to prosecute them. Failure to provide such information will result in loss of contractor status. Since they do not have that hold over the private sector they will probably change the EEOC reporting requirements and will be looking for more information. (My prediction is that the minimum company size for reporting on the EEO-1 will be dropped below 100, probably to the 15 employee level)
3. Undertake a public education campaign in order to make it clearer to women why and how they can sue their employers for pay discrimination. They will educate employers on their obligations in order to remove "ignorance of the law" as any excuse. After hiring several hundred more investigators they will be trained to find cases to prosecute.
4. Clean up the Federal government, so businesses can't complain that the Federal government isn't following its own rules.
5. Working with unions, push and cajole members of Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, because, after all, that is what government is in the business to do, pass new legislation.

Ok I admit, if  you read the report, they probably didn't use the same language I did. I was taking some "poetic license". But it is clear that the intent is to get harder and tougher on businesses, ESPECIALLY FEDERAL CONTRACTORS. If you are a woman working in HR at a company where you are paid less than the men in HR, this may be a mixed blessing. You may get more money but jeeezzz look at the extra work you are going to have to do as a result of this effort.

And Stephanie... I think your title is probably incorrect. It will most likely be the WOMEN from NEPET Are Coming.

Are Your Employees Looney Today?

Today is the day of the FULL moon in August. It is called the Sturgeon Moon (and several others.) In popular lore many people think that on the day of the full moon people act wierder than on other days. In fact the term lunacy derives from the name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna. There have been many scientific studies on the effect of the moon, some which showed an effect and most that did not. According to Wikipedia the effect of the moon is considered a pseudoscience. The argument for the moon having an effect on human behavior comes from the fact that the moon does have a proven effect on the tides on earth. The gravitional effect of the moon on the oceans on earth is a well documented fact. For many people it then stands to reason that, since the human body is composed mostly of water, that there should be some effect there as well.

The actual science aside, I think there is an effect on human behavior. For centuries people have felt there is a lunar impact on how people act. (Werewolves for example) And if you polled many people today they would say they believe people act stranger on the day of the full moon. And that is the effect. Belief. We all know the phrase "Perception is Reality." So if your employees believe they or their coworkers may be affected by the full moon they are likely to act stranger or attribute strange acts to the full moon.

So if your employees are acting crazy today they believe in the effect of the full moon... or at least you do.

(Photo credit: Mike Haberman, taken on Santorini, Greece June May 2010)

Where Great Ideas Are Born

The inspiration for the title of this post actually comes from an article in Inc. in the May 2010 issue. (I am a bit behind in reading, but better late than never.) The online version can be found here at Incubation Nation. The article itself does not have anything to do with human resources. It is about 20 centers of innovation around the United States where new ideas and new start up companies are fostered and developed. It is an interesting read to find what and where. The relationship to HR comes from the fact that reading this prompted two questions to me.

First, where is the innovation in HR coming from? Are there "centers" of HR thought? Are there any HR thinktanks? (Cornell perhaps?) I am not sure if this can be tied to a location. It can certainly be tied to an event, that of HREvolution. (Hey Trish... when and where is the next one? I would suggest Atlanta, which will also be the host city for SHRM in 2011. We could have a convergence of meetings and a divergence of thought all at the same time.) It can also be tied to a number of people I consider "thought leaders." These include Trish McFarlane, Kris Dunn, Laurie Ruettimann, Steve Boese, Jessica Lee to name just a few. (The ranks grow each day. There is some very creative stuff coming from very creative people that you won't find in the mainstream HR literature. You need to read their blogs. It is encouraging to see, however, some of this stuff starting to seep into some mainstream channels.) Perhaps you, the reader, can someone you consider to be a thought leader in HR? Who is the engine leading your train of thought?

The second question this article prompted was one for you, yes you! Does your company have great ideas being born? Do you have centers in your organization where creativity runs free? Or do you have an organization that lets convention run roughshod over creativity? Do you reward it or punish it?

What about you personally? Have you had a great idea that you have been able to implement? Was it easy or hard to do? If it was hard for you then it is probably hard for others. What can you do differently in your organization to foster "great ideas"?

I know, this is more questions than answers. I am looking for the answers from you. Give me examples, give me names, give me ideas....

Thought Provoking Reading: Four Great Posts from Last Week

Here are some very though provoking reads on a variety of HR subjects. Made me go hmmm... perhaps they will with you as well.

Where's MY Pay Czar? Why We Need a Total Rewards Audit of Congress by Ann Bares
Accountability for Congress...

Like It or Not, HR is PR...(and 5 ways to prove it) by Kris Dunn
Yes, you in HR you need to be a PR pro or at least take some lessons..

Which Managers Are Responsible for the Reality of Your Culture? All it Takes is One Question...by Kris Dunn
It is a great question.. you can develop a usable persona from the answers.

Are Job Descriptions Illegal? Here Are 9 Reasons Why They Should Be by Lou Adler
A thought that has divided the profession. I am still formulating my response to this one.

An Union Update: Craig Becker and the NLRB

I know many of you have to stiffle a yawn when you see the word "union" in a blog title. Well you shouldn't. It is IMPORTANT, especially at this time with this current administration. Of course if you feel that being unionized is good for business then don't even bother to read further. But if you are in the other camp, as am I, then read on.

Craig Becker, who was the chief counsel for the SEIU (Service Employees International Union), was given a recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board, despite the fact that the Senate had voted overwhelmingly against his appointment. (52-33) Well, he is in and now in a position to help make signifcant rulings on hundreds of cases that had found to have been made incorrectly because of a lack of a quorum on the board.

If you think that now, as a member of the NLRB, he will make unbiased decisions then you need to probably rethink that stance. To give you a bit more background on Mr. Becker I point you to Michelle Malkin's blog post on him, Summer of corruption: Obama’s Big Labor ethics loophole. Lest you think this is a "fan" piece I will warn you right now it is not. But she points out information about Becker that I find to be rather telling. Here is bit more information on this subject from the WSJ.

So read up and understand why you need to be concerned about EFCA or EFCA like decisions that may come out of the NLRB.

The Carnival of HR: The Jukebox Edition

I have a vague memory of an email that told me I needed to get a post in for the August 18th edition of the Carnival of HR. Well guess what, that is what it remained .... a vague memory. But that does not stop me from promoting it. The blog Welcome to the Occupation  is hosting this Carnival. You will find in it a creative assortment of blog posts described as a musical genre. Interesting and of course it includes many of my favorite bloggers. Haun, Eubanks, VanDervort, Elkinberry, McCarthy, Boese, Stelzner, McFarlane, Ruettimann, Martin and many more.

So click the link, put in a nickel (well that is what it still costs at Waffle House) and "play" some good blog posts. Enjoy!

Independent Contractors and the ABC Test: The Future is NOW

When I joined the World Future Society I received a collection of forecasts taken from the society magazine called The Futurist. Included among them was the following.

Small governments will eclipse big governments as a threat to privacy/liberty. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, there are close to 90,000 local governments in the United States (school districts, special districts, municipalities, and townships), each of which may find ways to exert influence over individuals in ways that distant big government never could. — World Trends & Forecasts, July-Aug 2009, p. 8

Listening to a group of attorneys from Ogletree Deakins speak at the SHRM-Atlanta dinner last night, August 17, 2010, I have concluded that the forecast is already true. They were discussing the very difficult regulatory environment companies face in using Independent Contractors. Dealing with the Federal government is difficult enough. And as I have indicated in previous posts, the most recent being Independent Contractor Safe Harbor Now a Minefield, the government is looking for ways to make more money and capturing the taxes from "mis-classified" independent contractors is one way of doing it.

But the Federal government is not the only one to be doing so. Many state governments are also looking to capture "lost money" by re-examing in independent contractor status and other worker classifications. They are beginning to apply what is called the ABC Test. This is described as:

Under statute and case law, an "employment" relationship will exist (unemployment insurance coverage is required) unless and until the employer is able to demonstrate that all three parts of the so-called "ABC Test" are met. Those tests are: 

A. Such individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of such services, both under his contract of service and in fact; and

B.  Such service is either outside the usual course of the business for which such service is performed or that such service is performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise for which such service is performed; and

C.  Such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business.

Apparently Part B is the real bear. According to the attorneys most companies are failing that portion of the test.

Here is a link to Vermont's explanation of their use of the test. ABC Test. More and more states are using this test. They see the revenue that can be achieved from this as a gold mine.

If you are using Independent Contractors you need to carefully exam your relationships and your contracts. You need to ask yourself "Can we pass the ABC test?" If your answer is "NO", I would suggest you may want to be talking to your employment attorney or a good HR consultant.