The HR Digest January 2020

Editor’s Note

January 2020

It seems like every organization is struggling with the concept of eradefining changes. At the core of these process transformation initiatives is digitization – we’ve seen examples of workforce analytics being used to measure activities and perfect standardization. As the transformation accelerates, organizations are able to do more with less and make decisions faster. But it’s not an easy feat. Take it from Pam Jeffords at PwC who advises that with careful collection and analysis of big data, every major organizational transformation can be less intimidating, and more successful.

Speaking of era-defining changes, The HR Digest delves into trends that will rule the workplace. In the coming months, HR will no longer be an observer of the opportunities and consequences of AI, robotics, and even, deepfakes. Nicole Alvino from SocialChorus is here to share what she sees on the horizon, and how employers can keep an eye on the challenges facing their front lines.

For Legal Hub, we spoke to Margaret Ferrero from ADP on how business owners can prepare for the DOL’s new overtime rules going into effect on January 1, 2020.

Cheers!

As ever, we look forward to your feedback (editor@thehrdigest.com, @TheHRDigest on Twitter, Facebook.com/TheHRDigest).

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The Team Editorial

Design

Anna Domanska Editor-in-Chief

Kevin Paul Sr. Graphic Designer

Priyansha Mistry Editor

Pinaz Ratnani Graphic Designer

Anna Versai Sub-Editor

Project Management

Diana Coker Sub-Editor

Tony Raval Project Director

Jack Gilfoyle Content Writer

Jay Raol Project Director

Marketing

Advertising

Jason Miller Sr. Project Director

Jay Raol Director – Ad Sales

Technology John Hancock Head-Web Department

Finance Control R R Baratiya

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Le Manh Coung Sr Software Coordinator

Julia Hunt Magazine Production

CONTENT 6

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HR Drift

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Leadership Insights

California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5) Threatens to Rain on the Gig Economy Parade

What Should Human Resources Track?

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Q&A With Jane

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Employee Benefits

My Boss Stole My Idea!

The Missing Link in HR Leadership

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Cover Story

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Legal Hub

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Training & Development

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HR Tools & Technology

Decoding Workforce Analytics

Expert Q&A: Understanding the DOL’s New Overtime Rule

Reskilling and Upskilling Senior Talent to Outpace Change

Tap into gig economy workforce using a total talent management approach

The HR Digest Magazine | July 2019

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Recruitment Point Build a Winning Talent Strategy In 2020

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Success Story

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Workplace Culture

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Insights from Ford Motor Company that will transform your approach towards workforce turnover.

Can you measure culture?

Events Top picks of conferences and professional events around the world.

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CALIFORNIA’S ASSEMBLY BILL 5 (AB-5) THREATENS TO RAIN ON THE GIG ECONOMY PARADE California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB-5”) that radically alters the definition of an “employee” so that companies can no longer misclassify would-be employees as independent contractors. The bill, which Governor Gavin Newson signed into law September 18, codifies on the 2018 Dynamex decision by the State Supreme Court. Officially known as Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, stems from a lawsuit filed by a pair of delivery drivers against Dynamex, after the company switched their job status from employee to independent contractor.

AB-5 is now making headlines for its potential impact on the freelance economy, also known as the gig economy. The bill will limit the amount of independent contract work a California-based company can claim. This will affect a diverse range of freelancers from writers to exotic dancers to models.

Industries particularly most affected under the new bill will be: bartenders, freelance journalists, delivery drivers, exotic dancers, and cable installers.

AB-5 imposes a three-pronged test that identifies who is free to be

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an independent worker and who has to be a hired employee. A worker can be an independent contractor only if he or she: A) Is free from control and director of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract or the performance of such work and in fact; B) Performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and C) Is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.

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The “B” prong states that employers can only contract out work that is outside the usual course of their mainstream business. For instance, a rideshare driver could work under a contract with Uber only if those companies were primarily in the business of making waffles. A janitor could work under a contract with a cleaning company if the company were primarily in the business of selling pharmaceuticals.

The so-called “ABC test” also applies to a variety of claims including claims for unemployment insurance, paid family leave, paid sick leave, workers’ compensation, payment of wages upon termination of employment, and claims for overtime. Although, it provides exemptions for certain professionals including dentists, physicians, psychologists, cosmetologists, lawyers, investment advisors, barbers, architects, travel agents, engineers, commercial fishermen, accountants, and other “professional services.”

AB-5 offers some relief to editors, freelance writers, photographers, and editorial cartoonists, allowing publishers to hire them for up to 35 separate “content submissions” in a given year. This has been a source of woe for disabled people in the publishing industry who can freelance and still earn a decent living.

Members of the music industry have also spoken out against the rigid bill in an open letter penned by representatives of the Music Artists’ Coalition, the American Association of Independent Music, and the Recording Industry Association of America.

AB-5 would become effective as state law on January 2020. Businesses with independent workers not falling under one of the exemptions will be at an increased risk of claims of worker misclassification.

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BEST JOBS IN AMERICA Healthcare professionals are outperforming the computer geeks of the world in salary stakes, according to some surveys. The best paid jobs of 2019 are in healthcare, information technology, data analytics, finance, engineering, and law (see infographic on page 14).

Compensation for a particular profession is determined by the demand and the supply for that demand, the value that the professionals create in an organization, and the skillset that they bring to the table. The level of education and training also adds to the earning

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potential.

A survey by Glassdoor and another by a media company reveals that people employed in the healthcare sector are occupying the top best paying jobs of 2019. The earlier favorites, the Silicon Valley computer geeks, IT guys, and financial and management wizards are facing a downwind due to the economic crisis and the advent of the AI and augmented reality technology, which is changing the modern workplace.

The average median salary in the United States is $38,000. The average world median salary is almost half of this at $18,000.

Within this category anesthesiologists and surgeons earn around $267,020 a year. Gynecologists and obstetricians follow with $238,000.

Healthcare Employment on the Rise According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare employment is projected to grow 14% from 2018 to 2028—adding about 1.9 million new jobs.

This spike in healthcare sector jobs is mainly due to the ageing population the world over and the longer care that will be needed by them due to increasing life expectancy. Expectedly, the highest growth opportunities will be centered around caretakers, health aides and caregivers.

There are some other categories not listed here which are showing remarkable growth, including life sciences and biotechnology The HR Digest Magazine | January 2020

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and research. Requiring a higher level of education and micro specialization, these researchers and scientists are in great demand and are paid highly by the companies.

With the emergence of deep learning and AI, a breed of information specialists known as data analysts is facing a great demand too.

Sal Khan, president of financial search at Howard-Sloan Search, agrees that data analytics—the analysis and management of data— is one of the fastest-growing sectors. They draw salaries ranging from $120,000 to $200,000, depending upon experience.

Hiring Specialists Find Glassdoor Report Unreliable Some human resource and hiring specialists do not agree with the findings of the Glassdoor report. They say the used the Glassdoor ecosystem which may be skewed toward the lower-end earning potential in some sectors like software engineering and finance.

According to them, most software professionals get stock options and other benefits which have not been taken into account in the algorithms used by Glassdoor to arrive at the salary median of these professionals. Similarly, professionals employed in the financial sectors get bonuses and perks, which are not accounted for here.

They find the salary median for finance professionals lower than in actual fact.

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BROOKINGS REPORT: AI WILL HEAVILY AFFECT WHITECOLLAR JOBS The fourth industrial revolution of intense technology has come with doomsday predictions for the workforce in certain industries. Earlier, the wave of automation led to disruption for people employed in repetitive and manual jobs done by the blue-collar brigade; now the effects of the same will be felt by the highly skilled white-collar employees too.

A new study by Stanford University economist Michael Webb and published by Brookings Institution says that technology based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep machine learning that imitates human reasoning will take over white-collar jobs in the near future.

The study says workers with higher education and pay will be susceptible to the changes brought in by AI in the workplace.

Earlier studies like the 2017 Mckinsey report have revealed that almost 50 percent of work activities were already automated, especially in the manufacturing sector. “Just as the impacts of robotics and software tend to be sizable

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“Just as the impacts of robotics and software tend to be sizable and negative on exposed middle- and low-skill occupations, so AI’s inroads are projected to negatively impact higher-skill occupations,” the study states.

and negative on exposed middle- and low-skill occupations, so AI’s inroads are projected to negatively impact higher-skill occupations,” the study states.

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Workers with graduate or professional degrees will be almost four times exposed to AI compared to workers with just high school degrees, the report states.

The researchers of the study analyzed the overlap between the job descriptions and the AI patents using natural language processing (NLP) techniques to arrive at ratings for each job. For example, a research analyst job shares a common description pattern with AI patents which has analyst, data analyst, data tracking specialist as job descriptors.

Concerns have been already raised about how a large number of people are steadily losing jobs to robotics and increased mechanizations. This new patent research now raises additional concerns of more higher-end jobs requiring specialized skills and education, falling foul to increased use of AI. The Stanford study does not explicitly say that the white-collar jobs will be lost but that “they might be impacted,” in the sense AI technology will take up some part of their job or augment it rather than supplanting it.

The demographics most affected will be highly educated in white and Asian men. Industries with more number of women are less likely to be affected by the advent of AI. “Better-paid, white-collar occupations may be most exposed to AI, as well some agriculture and manufacturing positions,” the report reads.

Workers aged 25-54 will be most impacted by AI, according to the The HR Digest Magazine | January 2020

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report.

The impact of AI can be both positive and negative. The researchers believe that the highly skilled better-educated segment will also be the most equipped to weather the changes brought about by the use of AI in their fields. “White-collar workers with higher education levels may have better resources to roll with it and adjust more than, say lower-educated manufacturing workers in the U.S. with fewer skills,� said one of the researchers involved with the study.

More than 25 million workers in the U.S. around 15 percent of the labor force, maybe impacted the most by AI technology, read the report.

Sales managers, computer programmers, financial advisors, legal professionals, and marketing analysts are some of the professions where AI will make huge inroads.

An expert involved with the study is optimistic about the outcome of the advent of AI. He believes it might create new jobs for the people in the profession. AI will not be able to completely take over all the functions of the jobs that are potentially under threat.

But the lead researcher of the study, Michael Webb, is not so sure.

He says in the tests that he had earlier conducted on job descriptions that had commonality with the language found in the patents, a large decline in employment and wages was observed between 1980 and 2010.

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NEW YEAR, NEW CAREER If you’re thinking about a career change in the new year, you are not alone. According to a recent Fiverr study, a majority of American workers (59%) want to make changes to their careers in the new year.

Hiring managers say now is a good time to switch career as recruiters come back to work after the Christmas lull. But with so many people racing to get the best offers, what’s the best way to snag your dream job?

We asked hiring experts for their top tips on how to go about changing your career and discovering a professional path that’s perfect for you.

Focus on the why Yiorgos Boudouris, talent attraction manager at GetJobber says it’s important to ask yourself a few questions as you start this selfdiscovery. “I meet with job seekers all the time who are no longer excited by their current role. But they can’t specify what it is that they don’t like. Instead, they just know they aren’t happy.”

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Boudouris suggests beginning with a few questions: Why don’t you enjoy your current role?

What do you think will be more motivating about this new career path?

What are your transferable skills?

How will you measure whether the change is successful?

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We all dislike certain aspects of our jobs. This doesn’t mean we aren’t passionate about other aspects of it. It’s better to get our head clear on what we’re looking for next.

Explore and understand career options Foram Sheth, ALV co-founder and leadership coach advices job seekers to arrive at a career direction that is meaningful, fulfilling and perfectly aligned with who they are and what they want from the future. “However, to get there, you need to consider all of your options,” she cautions. “Then you can pare back your list based on the opportunities which best utilize your passions and gifts and best align with your values and purpose.”

Network According to Pete Newsome, president of 4 Corner Resources; a professional staffing firm based in Orlando, FL, networking is the key to career success.

“Networking is a vital element in the job search. Investing the time to build meaningful relationships with professionals in various careers gives you sources for referrals, job leads, advice and further insight,” Newsome says.

“The most connected people are often the most successful in their respective careers. Networking will help you cultivate and enhance your skills, keep up-to-date on the latest trends in your industry, remain in the know about the job market, meet prospective mentors, and gain access to resources that will bolster your career The HR Digest Magazine | January 2020

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development.”

Create a personal brand Maria Kraimer, a professor of human resource management at Rutgers University, believes it’s important to start building your reputation in your desired career field before you quit your current career. “This personal brand equity you have built over the years may not be transferable to a new career field or organization. Thus, to make a career transition more successful, it’s important to start building your personal brand prior to fully making the transition,” she says.

Job seekers should also volunteer to do some work in the chosen field so that others in that career field see the value you bring to the table first hand.

“Most companies want to hire people with relevant experience.

If you don’t have it, you may need to consider signing up for a course at a community college or even pursuing a degree at a university to gain relevant expertise. Learning relevant new skills and specialized knowledge through a certified course may give you the boost you need to get employers to pay attention to your resume,” Karimer advises.

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AVOID A BAD RECRUITING EXPERIENCE IN 2020 According to the recent survey Harris Poll, conducted for the American Staffing Association (ASA) workforce monitor inappropriate interview questions often act as a top deal-breaker.

The poll conducted revealed that job seekers find some questions of the employer or the interviewer as irrelevant and irrational which adds to disinterest in the organization they applied for.

This apathy continues when they are offered jobs in the organization and leads to turning down the proposal. In addition to that, job seekers continue to suggest their friends and relatives prevent job applying in that particular organization.

Now, what are these questions that are considered irrelevant and irrational by the job seekers and adds to their disinterest in the organization? What can be these questions which affect the reputation of the organization, expectation of the job seekers and considered as time wastage? Let’s have a view of such questions.

‘Framing-bias’ questions When an interviewer asks, ‘Which is your favorite, Star Wars or

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Star Trek?� he is considering the other person to have similar likes and priorities like him. This most likely falls under framing bias, where the interviewer is judging the delivery rather than the content.

Irrelevant questions If an interviewer asks, “Who is favorite best Hollywood Actor or Actress?� then some of the job seekers may say Meryl Streep, Robert de Niro or any other. But after some time, they will certainly realize

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When an interviewer asks, ‘Which is your favorite, Star Wars or Star Trek?” he is considering the other person to have similar likes and priorities like him. This most likely falls under framing bias, where the interviewer is judging the delivery rather than the content. as to what was the basis behind this question and there was certainly no relation with the job position.

Overly personal questions When an interviewer asks, “What do you do after the job?” job seekers may find themselves in an embarrassing position in which personal information is sought by the interviewer. Some may take courage to answer while others may refuse to answer.

The above are just among the few questions that are personal, offensive and not in any way related to the job. When an interviewer asks such a question, he/she is making a disgrace over his/her profession and causing harm to the reputation of the company.

Therefore the companies are required to select the most professional and efficient interviewer for the job so that the most deserving and highly talented candidate can be selected for the company.

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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS

WHAT SHOULD

TRACK?

HUMAN RESOURCES

Adopting data and artificial intelligence in organizational culture

O

By: Diana Coker

rganization culture is generally defined as the way we do things in the business place.

An organization’s culture involves the behavior, norms, assumptions, and values that all the employees carry at their workplace.

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Artwork : Freepik

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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS These organizational culture inputs help in creating mutual understanding among the employees and align their efforts towards the accomplishment of stipulated targets and goal s for their organization.

It has been observed throughout the decades that the organization’s culture requires changing at a steady pace. This is because of the way of handling business, utilizing resources and deploying humans at work changes.

For instance, the advent of new technology requires changes and reforms in the business place so that the new-age technology can be utilized by the existing human resources such that the expected outcomes are achieved.

Adopting data and artificial intelligence in the organizational culture has become a new-age trend.

Every organization is striving hard to add artificial intelligence and other technological breakthroughs in its business so that the competitive edge advantage can be attained.

The adoption of data and deployment of artificial intelligence in organizational culture observed a setback in the earlier stage. The employees resisted these measures considering them as a means to affect their sustenance in the business and an excuse that could be used by the management to remove them from their respective jobs.

However, it was observed that its widespread brought in high efficiencies in the business process.

The employees observed that their skills got upgraded and overall productivity of the business improved by many folds. This convinced 30

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the employees that the new age technology of artificial intelligence and adopting data is meant to improvise their ability to perform better at work than removing them. This helped in overall acceptance of adopting data and artificial in the organization culture as a vital step which brought in various benefits.

Artwork : Freepik

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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS

Detecting fraud Big data has already been made by tech companies with the purpose to safeguard their data from external invasions that could result in loss or sharing of vital information to the competitor.

In addition to that detection of fraud has become easier with the adoption of data and artificial intelligence which helps in recognizing any unusual activity that may occur on the website of the company or office computer systems.

An early alert is raised which brings the attention of the concerned authorities towards the unusual activity so that timely action can be taken.

Thus the pressure from the human resource deployed at the work station declined. Their ability to detect fraud, scan the problem and apply corrective actions improved by manifolds.

Hence the acceptance of adopting data and artificial intelligence was made by the employees in their respective organizations and it became an important part of the new age organization culture.

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Improve customer service AI has brought in information about customer experience and further helped in analyzing them to recognize the root cause of dissatisfaction.

As a result, the problems are now identified in a short period and the concerned managerial personnel takes responsive action to take over the problem and work towards improving customer service. In addition to that, the huge number of feedbacks given by the customers is grouped such that certain evaluations can be made and attention could be brought towards the matter that is creating issues and becoming the cause of dissatisfaction.

Artwork : Freepik

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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS

Automate work process Workforce analytics has helped in achieving automation in the work process.

It has declined the pressure from the employees who have to wait for giving the next direction and keep a close check on the work process.

Instead, the directives are issued on a proactive basis which is thereafter applied by artificial intelligence. The adoption of data further helps in keeping a close track of the day to day proceeds of the business.

Artwork : Freepik

This way the managers are now facilitated with the ability to automate the work process so that the desired outcomes are achieved even when they are physically present at that place. Work automation has also helped the multinational businesses to stay in alignment with the world-class standards that are required to be followed at the workplace to meet up the customer expectations, maintain the reputation of the business and create a brand image.

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Support predictive analysis

The data information available gives an in-depth view of the situation to the managers so that they could wisely make a decision based on the latest data information. This way adoption of data ensures that relevant, updated and dependable decisions can be made.

Predictive analysis gives an in-depth view of the situation to the managers so that they could wisely make a decision based on the latest data information. This way adoption of data ensures that relevant, updated and dependable decisions can be made.

The predictive analysis can help in setting the sales target, production targets, turnover targets, market share, and other related.

Artwork : Freepik

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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS

Inventory management be avoided. Thus, the managers are not required to physically move to the inventories such as warehouses, storage centers, etc, but, could effective records using the data inputs and artificial intelligence technology.

This way delivery management is also made possible through effective inventory management supported by the adoption of data and artificial intelligence techniques.

Artwork : Freepik

AI has helped ineffective inventory management processes.

The present-day businesses are always in pressure to set an inventory which neither becomes a dead stock nor results in a shortage of stock to meet the customer demands.

Therefore keeping a trend of the past year data, the adoption of data helps in maintain the inventory such that the business process is supported and halts in the supply chain management process can

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Speed up the hiring process Gone are the days when a high number of emails and letters were received by the Human Resource Manager which was needed to be reviewed personally and then the relevant were to be selected among them.

Today, the use of artificial intelligence has helped in the easy selection of the relevant candidates just at a click of a button. The Human Resource Manager uses this technology on the online forms that have the information inputs in a particular format.

The use of new-age technology is made to select the most relevant candidate out of them. For instance, the Human Resource Manager can set command to review candidate information of only those who have done graduation and have more than three years of experience.

This way the time and efforts that were earlier used in refining the information are now reduced by the use of artificial intelligence and the adoption of data. A lot of time, efforts and money are therefore saved in the hiring process and the whole process observes a speed up.

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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS

Recognize the training needs With the development of business in various new locations and regions, it has become a challenging task for the training manager to recognize the need for training of each employee. Therefore the need for a new technological breakthrough was expected.

Artwork : Freepik

The managers of today are using people analytics to recognize the needs of human resources. Data makes them aware of the existing skills of the employees and past training that occurred. The use of artificial intelligence is further made to decide the future training needs that would be required to improve the existing skills of the employees and get them ready for the new age competition.

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Support decision making Decision-makers in the organization are now offered the latest information in the form of data which helps them in framing strategies and taking a decision that could support the sustenance of the business in the long run.

The decision making made on the latest data information inputs further helps the managers to identify the issue at the early stage and apply a proactive action so that controls over the situation can be applied.

It has rather become easier for the managers to run the business, make a decision and perform better on their respective job positions. Adopting

No organization today is considered complete and competitive unless it deploys these technological breakthroughs. The adoption of data has made it easier for the managers to analyze the records and decide the future course of action based on the informed decisions that are followed.

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data and artificial intelligence has rather become an integral part of the organization’s culture.

No organization today is considered complete and competitive unless it deploys these technological breakthroughs. Data analytics has made it easier for the managers to analyze the records and decide the future course of action based on the informed decisions that are followed.

On the other hand, artificial intelligence helps in directing and controlling the business process even when a manager is not physically present at a particular place or job position. This way it becomes easier for the managers to keep up with their job responsibilities and deliver them more effectively by using the new age technology inputs.

environment needs to adopt data and artificial intelligence for its survival. This new age technological breakthrough has offered great assistance ad support to the present day managers and has become a part of the organizational culture where they are considered vital for the smooth running of the business.

The coming decades have lot many more technological innovations to offers to the managers. Therefore only those managers will be able to cope up with these changes and reforms who will continue to accept and apply the adoption of data and artificial intelligence as an integral part of their organizational culture.

In the future, it is expected that every organization that strives to sustain itself in a highly competitive

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Q&A with Jane 42

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The brutal and straightforward answers to HR-related queries and concerns.

Send in your queries with the subject line ‘Ask JANE HARPER’ at info@thehrdigest.com

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WITH JANE My Boss Stole My Idea!

We’ve all had this happen to us at one point or another. You pull an all-nighter to finish a presentation; share an idea with your boss and then hear him repeat it in a client meeting. To succeed at work, you not only need to work hard but also get the credit due to you.

What do you do when your boss takes credit for all your work?

Dear Jane, I’m a part-time junior copywriter in a media agency where I easily work on 10-15 projects per week. I have a boss that always takes credits on work that I did. In 7 months of working with the company, I’ve never once received proper credit for all of my hard work.

Problem is, my boss doesn’t leave a paper trail when he assigns work to me. There’s no way of showing that he is stealing credit on projects or work that I did. When a creative gets appreciated, he will plaster his name all over it and clam it his to the client.

On the first couple of projects, I didn’t notice his behavior, only after working there for a few months I see a trend.

To be honest, I love working at this company. It’s when I don’t get my due recognition that I feel dejected. Why work hard if the boss is just going to steal my ideas? While writing this email to you I

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realized that from the 100+ projects, my name is in neither one of them!

I guess I could speak to the HR, but I may be risking my employment status here as there’s no paper trail. What do you think I should do?

In my first role as an intern, I would eagerly discuss plausible solutions with the senior executives. Most of the time, my bosses claimed all the good ideas and plans when they were praised in a meeting. Unfortunately for me, I would be held accountable for the bad ideas and mistakes. It helped me learn to document my work, especially important ideas and projects. Soon after, I started finding myself in a position where I would have to provide more information or show I came up with the idea.

In your situation, we don’t know what would work. So here’s what you need to do.

Learn setting limits You’re not an ideas goose that needs to lay one golden idea every day. Stop accepting projects and assignments unless they’ve been sent to you via an email. By accepting assignments without a paper trail, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. You’re still losing productivity, credibility, and focus.

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WITH JANE Discuss the issue with co-workers Address the situation to the coworkers who are close to you and ask them if they’ve been subjected to such instance before. Try to find the reason. Take suggestions from your coworkers on how to handle such a situation.

Contact your HR Department: As mentioned above, contact HR if everything else fails. Remember, talking to them won’t mean that their decision might arrive in your favor.

Leave If your boss is still taking credit for your work, it’s high time you leave. This company is not the right fit for you. Not only you’ll waste your time on projects and assignments you’ll never get due credit for, but you’ll be emotionally drained and your productivity will eventually start declining. I hope you find my answer satisfactory and take the right decision ahead. Good luck!

My coworker won’t stop staring at me.

Sometimes, not confronting a coworker who keeps staring at you sends the wrong message. It’s a dicey situation, but one that can lead to serious ramifications when not dealt with immediately.

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So, how to deal with it?

Hi Jane, I would like some advice on a situation I am in.

An intern at work stares at me. He holds eye contact until I break it off by looking away. Any time of the day, I look up I catch him staring at me. I’ve tried to smile and say a quick ‘hello,’ but the coworker either doesn’t respond or looks away as if I’ve said something hurtful about his appearance. What’s a tactful way of bringing this up to HR? I’m sure staring at your coworker isn’t an offense, but it’s making me feel very uncomfortable. realized that from the 100+ projects, my name is in neither one of them!

I guess I could speak to the HR, but I may be risking my employment status here as there’s no paper trail. What do you think I should do?

Like you said, staring at your coworker isn’t an offense. Unless you work at a big tech company like Netflix which has imposed an anti-harassment policy where looking at anyone longer than five seconds is considered creepy.

Years ago, I worked in an office where the intern won’t stop staring at us. This includes a staredown with our boss who had to look away out of embarrassment. It turns out he was simply socially awkward and didn’t realize it until his supervisor pointed it out to him.

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WITH JANE If this guy is giving you a weird vibe, I would say you approach HR. Tell them you’re feeling that this guy is making you feel uncomfortable by staring at you multiple times per day. In scenarios like this, it’s always appropriate to speak out.

My coworkers won’t stop skinny shaming me. How do I handle comments about my appearance?

Skinny shaming can be as harmful as fat shaming. A coworker’s remarks on appearance at work can rise to microaggressions and lead to actionable harassment. Read Jane Harper’s take on how to respond to offensive comments at work.

I lead a small team at a small-sized enterprise. To make Friday a little sweeter, and definitely, a day employees look forward to, we have lunch together. These lunches have turned into a big social gathering as employees of various departments gather in the balcony to eat, chat and mingle. This was a good thing – a very good thing, in fact, and for several reasons until I became the subject of skinny shaming.

Honestly, I get my share of hurtful jibes – remarks on my thin wrists, ankles, and overall negative comments about my appearance. I’ve never taken it personally because I don’t think it means anything.

None of this was a big deal to me until a coworker commented that “a chubby woman is a happy woman.” “R,” a member of another

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team loves to tell people how some women are skinny because they have an envious personality which burns all the fat in their body.

Those are the usual and tame remarks, but then she spiced it up with “I was skinny like her a few years ago, but then I became less envious – more happier, and have since put on some weight.” She proceeded to tell us the virtues of a content personality. About 5 minutes into her speech, she looked at me and said something to the effect of “you should learn to be less envious since your body quickly burns all that fat.” Soon, another coworker chimed in.

The HR wasn’t around when this happened. Then again, I don’t think her presence would have mattered as R has commented on my appearance in the past when the HR was around. HR and R are fair-weather friends, so I don’t think I’m going to get any help from human resources.

It’s bad enough that I was called names such as “skeleton” at school and now twenty years later I find myself at the same juncture. When I approached my boss and explained the situation, he laughed it off saying they’re jealous of fit people.

What is your take? This isn’t the first time R has made offhanded comments about my body. It certainly won’t be the last – and I hope, I’m proven wrong. Should I talk to her, or should my boss?

There is no denying that this is a disturbing situation. Comments about appearance at work can certainly and justifiably lead to a trip to the HR. In this case, the HR may have an implicit bias because of her close proximity with R.

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&

WITH JANE Any smattering of highly personal comments about physical appearance at work are both infuriating and demoralizing.

As a young woman and a feminist, whose approach to work is guided by principles of inclusion, equality, and fairness in the workplace, I find these sort of comments nothing more than an attempt to undermine one’s authority and devalue their input in the workplace.

The first step is to decide whether it’s worth addressing the skinnyshaming.

Speak up…

You’ll certainly draw attention to the comment and put the other person on the defensive. If you don’t learn to speak up, you’re essentially giving R the permission to do it again. This might also be a learning opportunity for her as she might not realize that commenting on a coworker’s physical appearance at work is not OKAY.

The cost of speaking up…

The stakes are higher because you’re in a position of power. As a manager, you have a responsibility to make sure no one in your team feels threatened or uncomfortable at work. Before that, you need to consider who you’re dealing with, what their reaction might be, and what the costs will be if you speak up.

They might easily dismiss your concern (“It was just a joke!”) or

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get defensive (Are you accusing me of skinny-shaming?”). Ask yourself: “How does this person handle confrontation? Are they self-reflective?”

Explain how their comments on your appearance make you feel.

“I know it wasn’t your intent, but your comment made me feel uncomfortable.” Follow the initial statement with a question. “What did you mean when you said that…” or “What information are you basing that on?”

This should prompt them to self-reflect, as well as give them a chance to take it back.

Educate them…

That’s not to say you shouldn’t speak up. If you feel you might get pushback while addressing the coworker’s offensive behavior.

You can educate them by offering more information. For example, if R suggests that you’re skinny because you have an envious personality, you might say something like: “I read an interesting study the other day that found that our genes provide the code for how our body functions, and can have subtle or dramatic changes on features such as hair, eye color, and even body weight. Fat people are found to have a higher genetic risk score than skinny people, which contributes to their risk of being fat.

On the other hand, thin people have a much lower genetic risk score, i.e. fewer genetic variants that increase their chances of being overweight.”

If the comments about your appearance continue, you should consider escalating the issue.

Got something to ask? Send your questions to info@thehrdigest.com.

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EMPLOYEE

BENEFITS

The Missing Link in HR Leadership Strengthen Your Performance Development Plan By: Anna Versai

Goal setting is a well-recognized aspect of performance management. In 2016, only 57% of Human Resources Leaders aimed to make an actionable impact on organizational performance through a robust performance development plan.

Today, that number is 83%. But businesses are still not clear to what the distinction is between this and HR.

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Artwork : Freepik

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EMPLOYEE

BENEFITS Getting optimal performance from an employee is a two-way street.

Both the employee and employer have to contribute to get results that prove beneficial to the organization and the employees’ progress in the workplace.

People come with different skill levels, manner of working, and needs and it is incumbent on the manager to see that the employee is able to utilize his or her skillset appropriately in the position he or she occupies.

One way of doing it is through constant feedback and performance reviews.

Some companies have annual reviews. At some places, it is seen as just a formality, and in others, it is viewed as a matrix to determine raises.

Research says that nearly 53 per cent of employers have no plan in place to measure the productivity of individuals in the workplace. Paired with the mere review formalities that some places have, it is a sure-fire way to have poor engagement and wasted resources in the workplace.

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A mere appraisal is hardly equipped to raise a lackluster performance. A detailed plan and performance matrix is needed to engage an employee to improve his current performance and to see that it benefits both the worker and the company in the long term.

An employee development plan needs to clearly outline the direction one needs to take to improve skills and provide opportunities to achieve the same.

Performance planning process or PDP is the system that helps the manager and employee both identify their business goals and their role in the pursuance of it.

It helps to add value to the position one holds and find the right job fit in the culture of the place of employment.

So what are the right ingredients of a Performance Planner that strengthens the organization.

Artwork : Freepik

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EMPLOYEE

BENEFITS COMMUNICATE CLEAR BUSINESS GOALS

HAVE REGULAR MEETINGS AND APPRAISALS

Finding a lackluster performance in the department is a sure indication that employees are not invested in the organization’s progress.

Clear communication is the key to better performance and meeting of expectations. Experts recommend quarterly appraisals to get the team moving and keeping the employees on their toes. Make the appraisals a positive experience rather than something that is held as a threat over their heads.

A good manager needs first to communicate what is expected from the team in the short term and long term. Once a clear goal is set, then assign responsibilities. If you find that someone in the team is more comfortable behind the desk rather than interacting with clients, then you see that s/he gets the desired change or a training module is put in place for the person to get the required skills. If some equipment or software is needed to improve performance, then see that it is installed.

Bridge the gap between present and future needs. Prepare for a growth spurt where talent from within can be utilized and promoted. Making use of in-house expertise saves resources in manpower and capital.

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The meetings should be used to question the employees on their career goals and what professional development they expect at the workplace. Offer advice and concrete plans to help them reach their goals. It can be as simple as a three-day training module to learn the latest software or a time change to help them enrol in a course in the evening.

Regular appraisals keep the employee informed about if they have met the goals set before them and what needs to be done if not.

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MANAGER’S ROLE Have a performance review form ready with goals met, what needs improvement, and what is expected in the future.

Artwork : Freepik

Sit with the employee and work through the form; this gives a clear indication of progress and goals met. If not, then share your views on how it can be improved.

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EMPLOYEE

BENEFITS LIST PLANS AND MODULES THAT ARE AVAILABLE Once the lacuna has been established, list out the goals and actionable plans that are on offer in the organization. Offer a mentoring program, where the worker can be put under someone who has experience in the field.

Training Modules: Industry experts and outside trainers are called to explain the latest in the field and even hold workshops.

Taking up a project related to the field: Such a responsibility builds confidence, allows one to research independently and gives a sense of achievement.

Once time and money have been spent to hone skills and build new ones, then this is an excellent opportunity to see that it is put to use. This will help them apply the learned skills and get feedback immediately on the task.

A practical application of the new skills makes it more relevant.

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PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN While talking about a performance development process, it is essential to mention a performance improvement plan or PIP also. The performance development process will have no meaning if the administration does not set clear milestones and dates for the employees to meet.

Have a PIP template with specific goals and dates of expectation of completions set out.

Alongside this, a column should be there for how it is going to be achieved.

Another column should be for what has been achieved to date, and the experience.

Share a copy of this form with the employee.

This gives a concrete form to the goals set out and is a clear record and performance tracker, which is also transparent.

Any time there is a disagreement, the supervisor and subordinate can access the form.

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EMPLOYEE

BENEFITS

Post PDP and PIP

It is okay to set goals but the stock has to be taken about how much money and time was spent in achieving the targets.

Artwork : Freepik

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A performance development process and improvement plan does not end once the goals have been set and met. It is an ongoing process where follow-ups are essential.

The whole exercise is about feedback. Getting feedback on how the set goals were achieved and what needs to be done to see that the momentum is maintained.

Another takeaway can be about resource management. It is okay to set goals but the stock has to be taken about how much money and time was spent in achieving the targets.

Were the modules and training programs worthwhile and useful?

Often, industry experts are called in, and they give a theoretical lecture that has no bearing on the practical front.The supervisor needs to communicate that employee

feedback is valued, and changes have been implemented based on them.

Management cannot push an agenda for business and goal improvements from top-down. Once the shortfalls have been discussed, they should be implemented. Promises of new software, new equipment, exposure to new fields or required travel have to come through.

Lastly, the progress forms and success stories and related documentation should be shared with Human Resources.

The HR department is the human and cultural face of an organization.

This is where all that has been successfully implemented in a company is imbibed and made a part of the corporate culture. This will ensure that the PDP and PIP become a part of the organization.

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Goals

with

Performance

Workforce

Analytics The demand for more quantitative approaches to solving people management issues continues to rise along with the complexity of workforce challenges. To better understand the capabilities of workforce analytics, we spoke to Pam Jeffords to discover the problems PwC is trying to solve, the workforce analytics approaches they are using and the challenges they’ve encountered.

By: Priyansha Mistry

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A

2015 Economist Intelligent Unit survey found that 82% of organizations plan to begin or increase their use of ‘workforce analytics’ in HR over the next decade. CHROs are adapting to a data-driven world, setting up specialist teams of data analysts, training existing staff, and recruiting suitable talent to perform core-HR functions such as hiring, onboarding, retention, turnover, and more.

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According to a 2015 Deloitte survey, business leaders still doubt the HR function’s ability to perform analytical projects such as “conducting multi-year workforce planning” or “using HR data to predict workforce performance and improvement.” This survey is an indication for organizations: “big data” is not as easy as it appears and HR professionals must carefully proceed to untap the benefits of a tool as critical as workforce analytics.

Charley Miller, founder and CEO of Unitonomy, says understanding workforce analytics means having a sense of what’s working and what’s not when it comes to individual and group performance. “If a company doesn’t have a system measuring all of the factors that we know scientifically contribute to keeping employee committed, then this company is simply watching a retention percentage shift around without any understanding of the underlying factors that could be leveraged to improve retention,” Millers says.

One way to think and do workforce analytics is to make sure the organization understtands: 1.

2.

What’s measured and why; and How the data is applied to improve performance.

To create the work culture that integrates workforce analytics is not an easy feat. Introducing workforce analytics risks creating an environment where the talent feels monitored. However, when applied well, people seem to understand the purpose of analytics in the workforce is to make work better. This begins with understanding the core components of competitive advantage of leadership gets a sense of what needs to be improved.

With workforce analytics into the equation, businesses no longer have to rely on broad metrics but can take a granular look to see what factors are

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really affecting organizational performance and outcomes.

One proven way to use workforce analytics is by using segmentation.

Organizations can separate big data into small chunks to dig deeper and see how specific data points are connected to various outcomes in a more meaningful way. Analyzing the impact of workforce analytics on business outcomes and overall organizational performance has too much potential to be ignored. However, HR still has work to do to develop the skills necessary to identify organizational needs, and learn how workforce analytics can be leveraged in an effective way.

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Making progress on D&I means getting the data right

Collecting and using data in the right way and employing the right tools can help business leaders make progress toward their biggest D&I challenges.

Pam Jeffords, PwC, Workforce of the Future Diversity Leader

A global manufacturing company knew they needed to make progress on their diversity and inclusion goals. But they didn’t know where to focus their efforts. Should it be on reducing attrition for people of color? Promotion rates for women? Hiring people with different abilities? Improving the engagement rates for a certain department?

Thanks to predictive analytics, they found their answer - and their focus. By analyzing their own workforce data, we were able to help the company identify what would have the biggest impact on future representation, prioritize actions and create a multi-year roadmap to reach their goals.

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Emerging technology and new tools have the ability to gather and analyze data that can provide organizations with real insights into their D&I efforts.

They can help business and HR leaders measure their progress, assess the impact of their diversity goals, and gain insight into what’s working (and what’s not).

While the global business case for diversity and inclusion has been established for years, when it comes to individual companies understanding if their efforts are working, few can actually answer. PwC’s Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarking study found that only 5% of companies have mature D&I programs that involve a continuous data-driven process or a multi-year D&I roadmap built on insights.

Here’s your opportunity In general, businesses and organizations struggle with workforce data as a whole. Almost all industries find it difficult to make headway with data and analytics—not just diversity data. But when it comes to using diversity data effectively, the numbers are notably stark.

Many companies collect very limited data related to representation.

According to our Benchmark study, only about half (51%) of organizations track general employee demographics, such as gender. And far fewer (19-20%) use their data to measure discrepancies, such as looking for gaps in compensation, performance or promotions.

What’s more, the demographics that organizations track are often limited to binary gender, race and ethnicity, as defined by the EEOC or other

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government reporting agency. Some also ask other “standard� demographic questions.

But limiting the type of data collected also limits the ways you can use it. Inclusively collecting demographic data is vital to having a fuller, and more accurate and authentic understanding of who is represented. This allows an organization to uncover deeper cultural discrepancies that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, if leaders only use binary descriptors in their day-to-day language and communications, their efforts to create an inclusive environment might not succeed.

Develop trust to gain insight In order to collect a broader range of data, employees must self-identify.

And for that data to be accurate, employees have to trust their leaders enough to be willing to share that information. Companies need to spend time building trust with their workforce around how any self-identification data will be used, such as cognitive disabilities, sexual orientation and gender identification.

Employees have to trust that the information they share will be kept confidential, to the greatest extent possible, and that it will not be used against them. This is particularly important in a global context given the high risks for certain populations in some regions of the world, such as members of the LGBTQ+ community and members of religious minority groups.

Self identification on engagement surveys is one of the only ways employers can get a sense of the experiences of certain groups. Building trust around the purpose and positive intent for capturing the data should be a high priority for leaders. Employees deserve to know why a company is collecting their information and what the company will use it for. And leaders must effectively communicate the purpose and importance of collecting

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data and be held accountable for how it’s used to further D&I goals.

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Use analysis to create better experiences Collecting the right data is a vital foundation, but the real key to making progress is how you use that information. Analysis can help you better understand your people’s experience, eliminate potential biases in selection, assignments and assessments, and identify trends. It can also help you personalize experiences for your people through skill-mapping, career navigation, listening, well-being tools and more.

One way many leading organizations are using analytics to improve diversity efforts is in recruiting. Often, bias in recruiting can emerge before a hiring manager has a chance to interact with a candidate, as research has shown that gendered terms in job descriptions can affect who even applies to a position. Companies are counteracting this by using technology to identify potential bias in descriptions and substituting more gender-neutral terms. They are also using tools to conduct blind screening to eliminate potential sources of bias like gender, social backgrounds, names of educational institutions or ethnicity.

Go beyond retroactive analytics Today, many organizations use diversity data retroactively. For example, they might review a team’s performance over the previous year to see who was given certain advancement opportunities, spot a gap, and then seek to rectify that problem going forward.

But with real-time and predictive analytics, leaders can spot gaps immediately and take steps right away. For instance, companies can create real time reporting on the demographics of project staffing enabling business leaders to quickly identify any gaps in the assignment of favorable proj

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Leveraging relational analytics, or organizational network analysis, business leaders can use those insights to identify groups of employees that may not organically or informally be getting exposure to the right opportunities and create a formal program to address that gap.

ects to uncover potential bias or blind spots.

With predictive analytics, leaders can get a better sense of whether their D&I efforts are successful and determine where to focus going forward. It can often take years to know if D&I initiatives are successful, but predictive analytics can project out the demographics of the workforce in five or ten years, help evaluate the success of certain programs and identify those that are not working.

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Don’t forget the human touch Embracing technology doesn’t mean doing away with the human touch. In fact, we will only unlock technology’s fullest potential when it’s used with a people-centered approach and a culture of understanding.

For example, workforce analytics could be used to look beyond individual attributes and provide insights on relationships within the organization.

The power of one’s internal network is critical to their ability to progress within an organization. It stands to reason that someone from a historically underrepresented group might not have as large of an internal network as someone from the majority group. Leveraging relational analytics, or organizational network analysis, business leaders can use those insights to identify groups of employees that may not organically or informally be getting exposure to the right opportunities and create a formal program to address that gap.

Progressive technologies have created a tremendous opportunity for leaders to make real progress on their D&I goals—but only if they’re using it to its full potential. By tapping into the insights from your own workforce data, business leaders can create a better, more inclusive experience for every employee, now and in the future.

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Expert Q&A: Understanding the DOL’s New Overtime Rule By: Jane Harper

Employers need to plan now for January 1 change when an estimated 1.3 million workers will receive eligibility for overtime pay.

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The United States Department of Labor has issued a new set of rules that will cover an additional million plus workers under it. The rules will go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Under the new proposal, people earning a salary level of $679 for 40 hours per week (about $35,308 annually), will be eligible for overtime pay based on varied duties.This threshold has been raised from the previous limit of $455 per week of 40 hours, which was set in 2004.

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This new rule was made after extensive discussions and Request for information (RFI) inputs from the public. Nearly 200,000 comments were received from the citizens regarding this issue. Six discussions were held, and it was decided that the present compensation for overtime was inadequate. Hence, the new proposals.

Under the new labor law covering overtime

1. Increase in minimum salary required for an employee to qualify for exemption from overtime raised to $679 from $455 per week.

2. One qualifies for the Highly Compensated Employees (HCE) category now if one earns $107,414 per annum instead of $100,000 3. The rule allows employers to use non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments to satisfy up to 10 per cent of the standard salary level.

4. There will be no changes in overtime protection for police officers, paramedics, nurses and laborers, including those in non-management production line work.

5. Non managerial employees in maintenance, construction, carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, iron workers, craftsmen, operating engineers, and longshoremen, all qualify.

6. Salaries of workers in the the US territories and the motion picture industry will be revised.

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7. Under the FSLA rule, people who are non-exempt (non-exempt are the ones who earn $647 or below or 40-hour week) need to be paid 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for work in excess of 40-hour week. Along with the minimum pay rule, there are some job duties that the DOL has clarified, which have to be met to qualify for overtime. Please visit the government site to get a clearer picture of the specified duties.

It is estimated that 1.3 million American workers will be eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL says this revision was “long overdue in light of wage and salary growth since 2004.

Fixed earning thresholds become substantially less effective over time.�

As the rule comes into effect on January 1st, employers have barely any time to put into effect the new compensation plans.

In an earlier proposal in 21016, the salary threshold to qualify for overtime was set at $913 per week or $47,476 per year and included a mandatory salary increase every three years.

Most employers will be paying overtime to some of their workforces.

A way to lessen the strain can be to give staffers who are very near the threshold limit, a pay increment over the threshold, so they become exempt. In the long run, this would be less of a burden for the employer.

Others will strictly enforce the 40 hours per week rule so as not to pay overtime.

Employees who are exempt from the rule need to earn the weekly cut off or above regardless of if they are paid weekly or bi-weekly.

If an exempt employee is paid biweekly, the minimum salary-level amount is $1,368. If the employee is paid monthly, the minimum salary is $2,964.

It will be the small businesses, retailers and manufacturers that would be the most impacted by these rules.

The FSLA has a Safe Harbour Policy for employers who are yet not ready for the new rule enforcement and make some inadvertent mistakes.

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The Department of Labor has updated the salary test for “white collar� exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees, computer professionals, and outside sales employees. To protect the exempt status of their employees, companies should ensure that-1. All rules are clearly communicated to all concerned.

2. Reimburse employees for any wrong deductions.

3. Have a complaint process in place.

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Margaret Ferrero, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at ADP is here to share her perspective with employers on what the changes mean from a regulatory perspective.

Q. What do the final overtime rules mean for employees and employers?

The new overtime rules will have two main impacts to businesses: financial and cultural. Both large and small businesses will see these impacts, although larger organizations may have more resources to help manage and work through the changes.

The financial impact will occur as a result of employers’ decisions to either reclassify employees from exempt to non-exempt and pay those individuals for any overtime worked, or to increase employees’ salaries to meet the new threshold. Increasing exempt employees’ salaries to meet the new threshold could have a significant financial impact. Contrastingly, reclassifying employees as non-exempt will require an evaluation of the hours worked by the employees and whether there is any regular overtime that will need to be paid at an overtime premium once the individual’s role is reclassified.

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The new overtime rules will have two main impacts to businesses: financial and cultural. Both large and small businesses will see these impacts, although larger organizations may have more resources to help manage and work through the changes.

Both approaches will also have an impact on an employer’s culture. An increase to employees’ salaries can have a very positive impact on an employee’s engagement and job satisfaction, while reclassification of employees from exempt to non-exempt could be perceived as a negative impact on an employee and his/her job satisfaction.

Some employees may view such reclassification as a demotion and will not understand how the change will fit into their long-term career development and growth. It’s important for employers to proactively have conversations about these changes to highlight the benefits of a non-exempt status like having a more set, regular schedule and qualifying to be paid for all hours worked, including through overtime.

Overall, business owners should take the time now to engage with outside sources to educate themselves on what resources they may need, train their managers on the changes being made and positively communicate these changes in a way that empowers all employees.

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Business owners should take the time now to engage with outside sources to educate themselves on what resources they may need, train their managers on the changes being made and positively communicate these changes in a way that empowers all employees.

Q.How can employers stay out of the penalty box?

When an employer does not comply with FLSA regulations, the DOL will discover it in an audit. Depending on what is uncovered, this can result in the requirement of payment of backpay, interest, any missed overtime and penalties.

When it comes to following the overtime requirements, there are a few considerations that could be overlooked by employers resulting in potential penalties. For example, employers sometimes misclassify workers as independent contractors when they should be considered employees.

Employers should clarify this discrepancy, by reviewing factors such as the type of work being done by the workers, how much time is being spent on other work by independent contractors, how much control is exhibited by the employer on the contractors’ work, etc.

Beyond misclassifications, employers should also regularly review job descriptions and types of roles they have classified as exempt to avoid inaccuracies. Annual comparison of the day-to-day work of exempt employees to proposed job descriptions can help keep employers out of the penalty box with the new regulation.

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Reskilling and Upskilling Senior Talent to Outpace Change By: Jack Gilfoyle

The American workforce is changing. By 2021, studies predict that 50 percent of all employees will be Millennials. The other half of the workforce is a mixture of Baby Boomers and Gen X, which means the ages of employees in America can range anywhere from 18 to 70.

In such a changing landscape, companies must effortlessly adapt and tailor retention strategies to meet the needs of a multigenerational workforce. Organizations relying on archaic solutions to 21st century 82

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labor challenges are more likely to experience negative effects on their ability to attract, retain, and motivate their workforce.

According to 2019 Deloitte Human Capital Trends Survey more than eight out of 10 global managers view learning as important or a very important issue for organizations today.

A top priority for every organization should be to implement better measures for the aging workforce to get more out of their careers. A study

by McKinsey & Company found that 66 percent of top executives said retraining and upskilling their employees were urgent business priorities.

According to 2019 Deloitte Human Capital Trends Survey more than eight out of 10 global managers view learning as important or a very important issue for organizations today. However, organizations are still lagging when it comes to providing a dynamic, continuous learning opportunities.

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Kelley Steven-Waiss, CHRO of HERE Technologies and Founder of Hitch warns that organizations aren’t doing enough to re-imagine how they’re reskilling and upskilling employees of every generation. “Enterprises have a social responsibility to help create the conditions and provide the tools to move people emotionally into thinking about reskilling and upskilling opportunities in more of a growth mindset vs. a scarcity mindset,” StevenWaiss says. “We need to point human beings of all generations towards work that is more meaningful by leveraging the technology we have today to get insights about their skills and aspirations. By doing so, we

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really have an opportunity to create the future of work and to motivate and keep our internal workforce in tact longer by unleashing the talent inside (both the individual and the company!).�

82%

employees surveyed work well with Gen Z

95%

work well with millennials

94%

work well with Gen X

83%

work well with baby boomers

Age Is Just a Number: The Truth Behind Generational Stereotypes at Work findings

Source: Addison Group

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The benefits of attracting and retaining senior talent are huge. It’s incumbent on organizations to continue reskilling and upskilling their senior talent so they can also motivate other talent inside to stay or attract external talent to become a part of the enriching employment experience. The HR Digest spoke to Steve Pritchard, HR consultant for Anglo Liners, who has lined up the following benefits of retaining the senior workforce.

There are many benefits to including senior talent in your workforce.

As well as often already being multi-skilled in their area, older workers can make for great leaders. They have likely learned key communication skills over the course of their careers which are necessary for good leadership. In contrast, a younger employee may not yet have had chance to learn these skills.

This kind of transferable skill which senior talent can bring to a position is often harder to learn than more technical skills, which makes them a valuable asset to any team. Having a multigenerational workforce strikes a great balance because older employees can act as mentors towards younger employees; imparting knowledge of these key skills.

Another benefit of bringing senior talent into your business is that they may also bring with them a large network of professional connections made throughout their career. This could bring a vast number of opportunities to your company.

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less likely to job hop, unlike many younger employees. It is worth investing time into upskilling your older employees as they are more likely to remain loyal to the company. Similarly, work ethic is often found to be better in older workers.

In rapidly evolving industries, the idea of upskilling your senior talent to remain competitive is fast-taking hold. Here is how it can be achieved.

INSTILL A HIGH-IMACT LEARNING CULTURE Kaizen, Japanese for ‘small, incremental, continuous improvement’, in its contemporary form is used to improve and streamline corporate processes. Kaizen refers to activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers.

According to Masaaki Imai, the father of Kaizen strategy, it is the single most important factor contributing to Japanese business success.

The Kaizen philosophy lies in a simple and clear underlying axiom: what you need to do is improve the processes around to make things more efficient.

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High-Impact Learning Culture: The Best 40 Practices for Creating an Empowered Enterprise HILOs that have a strong foundation of learning in their culture tend to outperform their peers in several areas:

32%

They are 32 percent more likely to be first to market.

37%

They have 37 percent greater employee productivity.

34%

They have 34 percent better response to customer needs.

26%

They have 26 percent greater ability to deliver quality products.

58%

They are 58 percent more likely to have skills to meet future demand.

17%

They are 17 percent more likely to be the market share leader.

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Organizations that follow the principle of Kaizen are better at things involving skill development and talent development. No high-impact learning organization is built overnight, it requires a commitment to learning. Success comes from commitments, management processes, and cultivated attitudes that accrue slowly and steadily.

BITE-SIZED DIGITAL UPSKILLING The old adage, you can’t teach an old dog a new trick isn’t necessarily true when it comes to senior talent. It’s likely that your existing pool of senior talent spends a lot of time at work on the internet. This means they do not lack the skills needed to make the most out of digital resources.

And so, the skills which they lack can be easily transferred through regular training programs inside the organizations. Besides it has been found that senior talent can easily adapt and is the most eager to acquire a new skill.

As mentioned earlier, a standalone training session isn’t enough to bring you much success. Organizations should create a plan that covers a host of sessions which cover not only the basics of digital but also put them at the forefront of their everyday work experience.

LEVERAGE CORE STRENGTHS As Steve Pritchard pointed out, organizations must assess the core strengths of their senior workforce. Once you have made a list of attributes and skills they perform well at, you can identify clear ways in which these skills can be updated or re-engaged with in the workplace.

Some of these skills carry maximum impact and can be transferred to the younger workforce in order to help with problem solving. Not only would this give senior talent a sense of value, but also allow them to be more engaged in the workplace.

The ultimate goal of upskilling your senior talent is to promote a culture of learning. Organizations should not see upskilling their workforce as a task, but as a diagnostic tool that leads to substantial achievements, allowing workplaces to be more innovative.

BUILD FOR THE

FUTURE Tap into gig economy workforce using a total talent management approach By: Diana Coker

According to the 2019 Freelancing in America study, 35% of the total U.S. workforce is now freelancers.

The study also found that 53% of Gen Z workers, who will make up the majority of the workforce in the near future, freelanced. How can HR actively help their organizations prepare for the future of work?

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The rise of the gig economy has also led to seismic changes in the demand for evolution in HR tools and tech to recruit, onboard, and deploy the freelance workforce. Zoe Harte, Vice President of Human Resources and Talent Innovation at Upwork, believes there are three areas where HR can have the most impact when it comes to driving tomorrow’s talent strategies: 1. providing value to the C-suite by talking in bottom-line terms; 2. encouraging divisions to embrace new talent models;and 3. facilitating an agile workforce.

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For Upwork, Zoe has led innovation of our talent acquisition strategy by incorporating an extended, flexible workforce. Zoe established Upwork’s Talent Innovation Program, the program which built this extended workforce. Upwork has an approximately 3 : 1 ratio of freelancers to employees as part of its team.

This way of working empowers the company to get more work done and provides access to the skills we need Zoe Harte, Senior Vice President, Upwork much more effectively than if we were limiting ourselves to local talent strategy to function in a more agile, pools. networked manner. We are already seeing the rise of organizations that Companies that will win the talent use Total Talent Management (TTM) war will be experts at developing that integrated the full range of talent and deploying the skills they have sources – from traditional full-time already acquired inside their employees to contingent workers. company (by contract staffing and one-demand systems to fill specific “With the rise of the gig economy, needs), as well as, those who remore companies are turning to imagine how independent workers will contingent workers,” said Leslie fit major skills needed for the future.

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cloud-based workforce management provider based in Livonia, Michigan.

“Yet, managing and paying a steady stream of gig workers can be time-consuming for HR. For organizations that use a blended talent strategy—including full-time, part-time, temporary, contingent, or gig workers—using a single workforce management solution for all worker types reduces the risk of introducing non-compliant practices.

internal gig marketplace allows you to tap into the skills and capabilities across an entire workforce so that your talent across the organization is fully utilized and optimized to adjust to changing working demands in the pixelated world of work that we will increasingly experience.

Further, this approach gives you complete visibility across the enterprise, which allows you to apply cost-saving measures, like reducing unplanned overtime, more consistently across all departments and locations.”

For organizations that use a blended talent strategy including full-time, part-time, temporary, contingent, or gig workers using a single workforce management solution for all worker types reduces the risk of introducing noncompliant practices

Now, more than ever, there’s an opportunity for HR leaders to be agents of change to help their teams adapt to the changing nature of work.

So, what can HR professionals do to make gig economy workforce a part of their talent acquisition strategy?

An internal gig economy marketplace, while in its infancy, is not a bad idea either.

According to Fuel50’s strategic advisor Josh Bersin, creating an

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According to Fuel50’s strategic advisor Josh Bersin, creating an internal gig marketplace allows you to tap into the skills and capabilities across an entire workforce so that your talent across the organization is fully utilized and optimized to adjust to changing working demands in the pixelated world of work that we will increasingly experience.

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Does it work? Kelley Steven-Waiss, CHRO of HERE Technologies and Founder of Hitch, believes an internal gig economy marketplace can be powerful in many ways: The alumni network can be powerful in many ways: It can fuel your growth later when returning employees have upskilled and can bring those learnings back Their reach to other qualified candidates can help you source additional talent in the future They can become best brand stewards to the outside years after they left because they understand your business, so treat your employees well throughout the lifecycle including after they leave.

For employers who depend on a steady, independent workforce, the gig economy can be certainly be a little tricky. From Uber’s rating system to Fiverr’s project tracking and payment tools, it has become easier than ever for freelancers to get a sense of control over their work in a way that it helps them improve their services and attract more business.

Organizations can automate the candidate experience with the help of Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Freelancing Management System (FMS).

You can keep your talent pool informed and engaged as they navigate through the hiring process. Such tools also offer a personalized onboarding experience for your candidates, as it has the added experience of building a genuine connection between the organization and the talent.

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System (FMS)?

period using Fuel50’s Mobility Marketplace app,” she says.

Anne Fulton, CEO of FuelFO, says these tools can be great but more importantly need to be supplemented with next generation internal talent marketplaces that drive significant gains in internal talent mobility.

“This gain came alongside more movement at the horizontal level and increases in employee engagement.

Employees are hungry for internal transparency across the business rather than transparency only to external “Ingersoll Rand research shows an candidates through an ATS or FMS.” increase in internal talent placements from 35% to 55% of all positions As the gig economy shows now being filled over a three year no signs of slowing down, it’s

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important to remember that your company future-ready.

By implementing best parts of the digital matchmaking into your recruiting process, you can help your team find the right talent. But this can only be done once the job is standardized and well-defined. This saves a lot of time and efforts of the HR to identify the relevant candidates for the particular job positions.

“This is a big move and it’s not easy,” cautions Ash Barot, CEO and Founder of Wolf, an On-Demand Staffing (OSD) app.

“Every type of freelance job your company will offer must be standardized and clearly defined. The profile of who would fit with this job must also be standardized and well defined.

The idea is that an ODS platform should be able to easily match a freelancer with a job and standard definitions guarantee that this matching is done as efficiently as possible.

Helping with these two pieces, the last crucial detail involves a change in mindset, when it comes to jobs and candidates. In the gig economy, one should think of jobs like light sockets and freelancers as lightbulbs, this may seem odd, but stick with me.

In the same way that light sockets are standardized so that various types of lightbulbs can use them, jobs should be standardized so that various types of freelancers can fit them.

In the same way that standardizing light sockets made finding the correct bulb easy, standardizing jobs will make finding the right freelancer easier.”

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BUILD A WINNING TALENT STRATEGY IN 2020 By: Priyansha Mistry

With the U.S. unemployment rate dwindling to 3.6 percent – the lowest rate since December 1969, and the job market the tightest it has been in half a century, organizations are struggling to attract and retain top talent. A survey from the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 52 percent of organizations were unable to fill jobs.

While some businesses have bumped paychecks, Glassdoor’s Employment Confidence Survey found that 4 in 5 employees would choose additional benefits over a pay raise.

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The labor market remains tight for all industries and across all skill levels indicating that companies are having difficulty finding the right talent across a wide range of occupations. The good news is that 28% of businesses reported raising compensation in order to give bargaining power to talented workers.

A prosperous economy also translates to more opportunities for minorities and marginalized groups like single mothers and people with disabilities.

It also indicates employers’ willingness to hire people with criminal records. On the same front, it reduces employers’ reluctance to engage in discrimination.

But, the tightening labor market is pushing SMEs to step up their game by offering a wide range of sweet-perks, which include executive and life coaching services, flexible vacation policy, employee assistance programs, and weekly happy hours. Such benefits can be an excellent way to retain top talent, and attract the cream of the crop. However, an often overlooked aspect of job perks is the impact it has on the lives of employees.

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Is HR prepared for the increasing workplace demands of the future? HR professionals can be engulfed in a mix of doubt and indecision when this question is posed. But fear not, prominent HR expert Nicole Alvino is here to discuss key trends that will shape the modern workplace in 2020.

Nicole Alvino, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at SocialChorus

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The battle against “fake news” in the workplace will come to a head In 2019, we saw the proliferation of “fake news” spill out of the political sphere and make its way into organizations. Companies are now battling new frontiers we’ve never seen before – from the fight against deepfakes, to “digital water coolers” running rampant among employees, to the spread of social and collaboration platforms that make it easy for anyone to spread disinformation. And all the while, employee engagement is only becoming more critical, as organizations must effectively engage and retain employees to win the war for talent.

In 2020, these forces will come to a head for business leaders as they look to combat the infiltration of “fake news” and deliver a unified message to employees. Organizations will risk losing trust and transparency with their workforce or turn to new strategies, such as creating a single source of truth for company communications, establishing “truth ambassadors” as trusted sources and building mechanisms for transparency and feedback.

Ethical leadership will make or break the bottom line Throughout 2019, a myriad of factors have forced companies to recognize the importance of ethical leadership. From employee protests and walkouts to GDPR and the data privacy troubles of companies like Facebook, ethics has become the crux of both employee satisfaction and business success as employees demand more out of their employers.

Especially with forecasts predicting a potential economic slowdown, in

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2020 we will see the C-suite grasp ethical practices as a competitive advantage, revamping and restructuring corporate social responsibility programs and efforts to demonstrate their commitment. Ethical leadership will no longer be an option, but an imperative that directly impacts the bottom line, pushing companies to build ethics into policies and practices, place a renewed focus on company culture and seek ways to measure the impact of their efforts.

Employee engagement strategies will center on the multigenerational workforce We’ve all heard the talk of millennials and Gen Z taking over the workplace, and organizations can no longer ignore this seismic demographic shift when it comes to the employee experience. Businesses today are facing an employee engagement crisis, grappling with more factors and distractions among employees than ever before – from decreased attention spans to the proliferation of chat tools, social platforms and consumer-like technologies that have changed how employees consume information.

With so many varied preferences, behaviors and devices across generations, organizations will need to adopt a multi-generational, multi-channel engagement strategy in order to win employees’ mindshare in 2020. This type of approach allows for flexibility, targeting and personalization so businesses can deliver the right message to the right demographic – and retain workers before they go elsewhere.

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Insights from employee communications will deliver organizational intelligence Communications and HR teams will adopt a data-driven approach to employee engagement and communications, one that focuses on micromoments and behavior instead of relying on annual or even quarterly surveys. They will implement quantitative methods that correlate effectiveness of communications with business performance – from reduction of safety incidents to delivering business transformation to sales. This will allow leaders to get a real-time pulse on their organization that will be

How do employers create the most competitive benefits which service their true purpose – to attract, retain, reward and engage with top talent in the market? Most employee benefits and perks do not come cheap and costs can snowball as your company expand. The first step in creating a competitive benefits package which will be valued now and in the future is by understanding the kind of corporate perks and benefits employee’s value.

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Carrie Duarte, PwC’s Workforce of the Future Leader, is here to discuss the value of promoting corporate well-being, PwC’s “Be well, work well” initiative, and upcoming trends and technologies in talent management.

The HR Digest: How has the concept of corporate well-being changed over the years? Tell us more about initiatives at PwC’s Workforce of the Future?

Carrie Duarte: In the last few years, it’s been increasingly hard for

business leaders to gain an edge in the battle for talent. Recreation rooms and wellness centers are not enough to help them gain a competitive advantage. As people work in continually, “always on, always connected,” 24/7 environment where the risk of burnout and stress are pervasive, well-being is going to become even more important.

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Although wellness is a buzzword, companies say they are slow to reimagine workplaces in ways that foster well-being. We’re seeing progress when it comes to stress management programs; 64% of employers said they were offering them in 2019 compared to only 40% in 2018, according to PwC’s 2019 Health and Well-being Touchstone Survey, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. There’s still an opportunity for employers to take a more holistic approach to well-being programs by looking at the overall well-being of mind, body and spirit.

At PwC, we’re paying attention to how we can renew our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual/purpose-driven sources of energy to better support well-being and flexibility with our own workforce. We collaborated with the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California (USC) to launch the Well-being Learning Project, one of the largest studies of a corporate well-being effort to date. The goal was to explore the impact of well-being on teams and our business. The study demonstrated that well-being programs can energize a workforce and have strong ties to improvement in productivity, reduction in fatigue, and the ability to better and more fully engaged.

These results parallel what I’m seeing firsthand with clients. Companies who make the investment in the well-being of their employees will have a happier and more productive workforce and less risk of burnout.

Q. What are the typical bottlenecks and roadblocks faced by SMEs (leaders) competing to recruit top talent with the Amazons and Googles of the world?

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The bar has been raised when it comes to employee expectations.

Employers feel that there is a need to compete with some of the perks/ experiences offered by leading household organizations, but may not have the resources to do that, or have the data to prioritize what’s going to make a real impact.

Traditional rewards -- e.g. health insurance, a retirement plan, etc. - have almost become table stakes, and companies need to be more creative in how they attract and retain. A recent future of work study showed valuing human-centric working and well-being dominate the list when it comes to what leaders think is key to attracting talent. Employees in turn say

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they want intrinsically rewarding experiences, and an environment that fits their values.

Q. In what ways can companies build a good work culture that also fosters talent attraction and retention?

One way to attract talented people is to provide a good work–life balance

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and flexibility in hours and working locations. Slightly over half (51%) of candidates say they would forgo higher salaries for more flexibility.

That’s even higher among women (53%) and those who have been in the workforce longer (56%), according to a recent recruiting study.

Q. When we talk about preparing tomorrow’s workforce, how do you foresee the upcoming trends and technologies in talent management?

Despite all the talk about automation and AI, companies that want to succeed need to focus on harnessing the talents of the workers. The key is to keep the process human-centered.

Q. What’s the key lesson you want HR leaders to take away from your work?

There are four specific areas that business and HR leaders need to focus on to tap into the power of well-being programs to multiply the performance of their workforce:

Elevate how well-being is positioned — as an individual benefit or as a comprehensive program tied to company values and measured for impact on the individual, team and business level.

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Elevate

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Expand the traditional focus on individual physical and financial health, considering purpose in work and sense of belonging.

Expand

Recruit leaders and managers who are responsible for contextual and environmental factors. Teaming is the secret to making sure individuals keep up with their healthy habits.

Recruit

Tech-enable to provide a visible prompt for behavioral change. In our study, people who used technology trackers gave their teams higher ratings than those who did not.

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FORD

&

THE WAY

FORWARD

Insights from Ford Motor Company that will transform your approach towards workforce turnover

By: Anna Versai

In a time when workers are working more than ever before, and taking less paid vacation time, it’s helpful to see how we arrived at the standardized 40-hour work week.

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Ford Motor Company is the secondlargest automotive company in the US and the fifth-largest in the world.

Started by Henry Ford in 1901, its iconoclast founder, Ford has thrived and conquered the automobile market and expanded in ancillary businesses to become one of the most prominent family-controlled companies of the world.

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The company, since its inception, believes in investing in its people and is rated among the top employers throughout its existence. The company follows a culture of openness and growth-oriented strategies for its workers. Ford Mission statement and goal has always been one Ford, one team, one plan and one goal.

Ford is known for its distinctive methods of running the organisation focused on employee welfare and engagement. It holds the distinction of coming up with Fordism; reducing the working hours, with better salaries.

Recently the slump in auto trade was overcome with their One Ford and Redesign methods.

Ford History Ford has a wide range of cars and commercial vehicles in its stable for varied customers.

Henry Ford had a falling out with his investors in 1902, and he left the company with the rights to the name, and it was incorporated as the Ford Motor Company in 1903 with 12 investors on board. Ford eventually took over as President of the company, and under his leadership, the company started on its path of achieving its present status as a leading automaker corporate.

Henry Ford came up with methods for large-scale production of cars through improved engineering and use of assembly-line production utilising semi-skilled labour known as Fordism.

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In a 1926 interview to a magazine, World’s Work, Ford said: “Leisure is an indispensable ingredient in a growing consumer market because working people need to have enough free time to find uses for consumer products, including automobiles.

“It is high time to rid ourselves of the notion that leisure for workmen is either ‘lost time’ or a class privilege,” Ford said.

Ford was also noted for coming up with the 40-hour work shift in a 5-day week in 1926. Before that in 1914, he increased the pay of his workers from 2.34 dollars for a 9-hour shift to 5 dollars for 8 hours.

In a 1926 interview to a magazine, World’s Work, Ford said: “Leisure is an indispensable ingredient in a growing consumer market because working people need to have enough free time to find uses for consumer products, including automobiles.

“It is high time to rid ourselves of the notion that leisure for workmen is either ‘lost time’ or a class

privilege,” Ford said.

Henry Ford implemented the 5-day week to increase consumption.

This step, led to almost all manufacturers implementing this Monday-Friday work week across the world and is followed till date.

The changes were not brought about by any strong sense of altruism but because they made sound business sense. Nor was it to increase consumption of the goods as most blue-collar workers at the time had barely any money to spare.

The turnover at the company was

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very high, and the production of cars was suffering because of people walking out on the job, which halted production on the assembly line. Ford hired a workforce of 52,000 to fill in for a need of 14,000.

Also, the cost of hiring and training a new workforce was too high, so it made sense to raise the wages and retain the workforce. Moreover, long working hours were not conducive to higher production.The wages were high compared to the industry standards but were subject to certain conditions.

The hiked salary saw to it that the workers felt a sense of well being and developed a sense of loyalty. But the raise in money came with certain riders.

The workers were supposed to follow the American way of living; that is no evils of drinking and gambling. Migrant workers had to learn this way, and English. Workers whose wives went out to work were not eligible; married women were not qualified unless they were single with a dependent family.

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Evolution of HR style Ford has always believed in tough management of its employees. He believed in the perpetuation of paternal Americanism as described above, which was required of its employees for the decent wage and 40 hour-week Ford has a functioning style based on strict hierarchical functioning with rigidly assigned roles. But with changes in the industry in the 1980s, it adopted the policy of willing participation of the employees,

influenced majorly by the Japanese model of managing workers.

Performance-based metrics, teamwork for problem-solving, and opportunities for growth and skill improvement were introduced.

Here, instead of the managerial push, employment push became imperative.

Industry experts maintain that managerial control is still tight in Ford compared to other auto companies.

One Ford Allan Mullaly, the CEO of the company from 2006 to 2014, brought in many changes, the most noteworthy being the concept of One Ford. He was a charismatic leader who turned the fortunes of the company during tough times when the automotive industry was going through upheavals. Chrysler and General Motors, major auto manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy in 2009-10, but Ford was able to sale through due to the policy changes, cost-cutting and a massive belief in the power of its workforce.

Ford, as a company, believes its workers, the human capital, are the most critical assets of a company.

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1.

Aggressive restructuring and introducing a model focusing on cost-cutting for profitability,

2.

Innovating on the product front based on customer demand,

3.

Focusing on the balance sheet and financing strategies,

4.

and bringing all this together by working as one team.

Under the One Ford plan, the company aimed to consolidate production through reduction of vehicle platforms. Earlier, it had nearly 37 vehicle platforms which innovated on new vehicle designs and products. Now with just 9 platforms, it is coming up with a larger number of vehicles.

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Ford has a strong knowledge-based initiative for its employees. The company has many management and professional reskilling programs where employees can hone their skills and learn new techniques.It has initiated e-learning and has a popular in-house Ford Graduate program of two years.

Ford believes in community participation and has an engagement program with its employees after retirement. There is an active volunteer program where old and new employees gather for community service. It is a good way of inspiring and energising the workforce

Smart Redesign The present CEO James Hackett is known as a pioneer in design thinking and user experience and seems to be the right pick in today’s environment of Augmented Reality and machine thinking and fully automated cars. He believes in making the business of driving a car simpler. The human-machine interface needs to be experiential, which comes with Smart Redesign.

He believes that the user, the human being, is most important in the scheme of things.

For human resource, smart redesign, means cost-cutting, getting rid of personnel and reassignment of roles. A cut in reporting roles, reducing management bureaucracy, flatter and more agile team is what Ford management has introduced under the present CEO. The restructuring is in response to the times, where all major industries are facing job cuts.

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Ford has introduced a voluntary retirement plan and flexible work schedule for its workforce nearing retirement. They can opt for part-time work for six months before retiring to ease the transition.

2019 Ford NAIAS Press Conference

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Can you

WORKPLACE CULTURE

Measure Culture?

By: Olivia Miller

For many organizations, measurement of culture and values is still at a nascent stage. The first challenge is the elusive and abstract nature of culture. But as board members, shareholders, and the general public require companies to be more transparent in their work practices, organizational cultural assessment has become ever-more important.

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WORKPLACE CULTURE What is organizational culture The simplest definition of organizational culture is the way things are done in an organization. It is the collective manifestation of the way management and employees perceive a company is run.

Daniel Cole, the famous author of The Culture Code, The Talent Code and Secret Sauce, calls it a set of living relationships working towards a shared goal. It is not something that you are but what you do.

Organizational culture is often paired with company climate. Organizational culture is implicit, whereas a company climate is more explicit and observable and seen. It is made up of the properties that determine the work environment and strongly influences the staff performance.

Artwork : Freepik

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Implicit values About 43 per cent of 25,000 employees from across 20 industries said they would leave their company for even marginally better salaries due to bad company culture, according to a report by TINYpulse, a research company dealing in employee engagement.

The new approach to company culture nowadays is to have a posh office with space to lounge, exercise, eat, and many similar perks. But how far does this translate into employee satisfaction and retention is anybody’s guess. Work culture is not about only having such benefits, but it is about work satisfaction and appreciation.

There are many examples of toxic work culture leading to the failure of a company. Evil deeds, misuse of funds, public spats, etc. can affect the way a company is perceived, and a loss of reputation can lead to loss of business and eventual failure.

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WORKPLACE CULTURE Employee Satisfaction and Cultural Ambassadors Industry experts and founders say that building a strong company culture is as important as innovating and acquiring new products and customers. If employees are treated well by a company, then that means a happy workforce, which translates into happy customers as a satisfied employee tends to work better.

Companies need to follow the individual first policy. The most critical business asset of a company is the staff. If you give them meaningful work, opportunities to progress, and appreciation, then you have a satisfied workforce that is willing to go that extra mile for you.

Artwork : Freepik

Richard Branson of Virgin Group subscribes to this philosophy. Before putting the brand Virgin on any business, he demands that they meet the company’s core values of customer satisfaction. He believes it comes from a workforce that is dedicated and committed to fulfilling the demands of customers.

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Value System Company culture is the value system embedded in the organization and how the employees and the customers see it.

Decide on the value system that you want to foster in your organization.

Then use the same values to evaluate every aspect of running the business.

Right from hiring to firing, all decisions should be determined by the core values of the company.

Have a company document listing the core values that the organization follows. Netflix has a 125-page culture document that enumerates what is expected of the leadership of the company and the employees and what the company shall do in return.

Southwest Airlines hires employees based on the values of “a warrior spirit, a servant’s heart and a fun-luving attitude.�

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WORKPLACE CULTURE It starts with hiring the right People. We are famous for “hiring for attitude” and that means we hire to our Values and Expectations – Warrior Spirit, Servant’s Heart, and Fun-LUVing Attitude.

Julie Weber, Vice President and Chief People Officer, Southwest Airlines

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Our expectations are thoroughly defined, and we’ve built our interviewing methodology around these expectations. We have a bold view on Employee Engagement. We view engagement as a two-way street. Yes, an employer must work to keep employees engaged by offering competitive pay and benefits, opportunities for development and advancement, and collaborative, mission-driven culture. But you also have to hire people who are engaged from the start, whose values are in sync with the organization.

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WORKPLACE CULTURE Culture of Distinctiveness Another way suggested to build a culture within an organization is to be unique. Many sports teams have reached their pinnacle of achievement by following a unique way of doing things. Be it holding sessions at particular times, starting meetings in a specific style or going through a distinct team ritual before the start of a match. It is all geared to build team spirit and promote a culture of giving your best to the group.

ted with legs so that employees remember what the company believes in. “We look for every opportunity to save money so we can deliver the best products for the lowest cost.�

A leading mortgage loan company has a policy that every customer query or email has to be answered on the same day. It is something that the company is zealous about with no excuses.

Every new recruit is taught this basic rule the moment he or she joins.

Jeff Bezos insists that company tables and desks be made of old doors fit- For the same reason, many schools and

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WORKPLACE CULTURE colleges have certain rituals and rules that are followed and encouraged, no questions asked. This builds fellow -feelings and shared experiences. That feeling of belonging is carried through the years, and people connect on the same. It can be a catchy line, a way of greeting, a specific process that has to be gone through before students start a class, or a prayer. The whole point is the experience of uniqueness and the urge to do it right and excel for the sake of the alma mater.

Build a Narrative Every organization has a story to tell. A story of excellence and a tale of mistakes and how they were handled. It is in the repeated recounting of these deeds that we can ascertain a company culture. How things were handled and how the company overcame certain obstacles is something worth repeating and sustaining.

A shining example of this is the way employees of the Taj Mahal Hotel,

Mumbai, handled the 26/11 episode of terrorism. Each and every one of the hotel employees stuck to their posts and saw to it that the guests under their purview were their first priority for protection.

Years of dedication to service and the passing of that code of conduct resulted in this brave and exemplary behavior.

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Perception It is vital to not rest on your laurels. Some companies and brands are perceived to excel in their purpose, but technologies and management style change and sometimes that purpose is lost.

Hence, it is essential to always keep a hand on the pulse of how your employees and customers perceive you. If you are a sustainable green company, then the message should be made clear to all. Employees and leaders both should be working towards that goal.

If the perception is that the green and sustainable tag is just a label that is fashionable, then it serves no purpose.

Many fashion industry labels claim to be green and committed to sustainable way of doing business but outsource to developing countries for economics and cost-cutting. Here the values systems are in dissonance and harmful in the long run.

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WORKPLACE CULTURE Communication An organization can be strengthened if it has a culture of exchange of ideas. Again, paying lip service to it is not right. Many tech companies have touted how every major decision is communicated to every employee, and regular town hall meetings are held to enable all employees to air their points of view and grievances.

On paper, this looks good, and it has worked till the people in charge are committed to carrying the team forwards based on feedback. But it takes dedication and commitment to have such open communication. Google and Facebook are recent examples of how such open communication can be abandoned halfway through when corporate interests clash with the company culture of openness.

Instead, having a clear written communication on company policy on sharing of information, diverse and inclusive workforce, ageism, and future direction can be more fruitful.

Most importantly, companies should follow up on how the employees interpret the core values and culture of a company. They are the representative, the human face. Find out if the company’s beliefs in respect, integrity, and honesty are actually carried forward. This is where the company’s climate comes in. Are these beliefs put in practice?

Explain what is desirable in a company’s culture of values, and if not, there are implications.

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Somebody has rightly said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. If you are not culturally sound as an organization, then no band-aid strategy will help you pull out your business from a bad slump. There should be an alignment between the purpose and plans of a company. Where it wants to go with its products or services and with the people working in the organization?

These are the fundamental value formulas that can build strong foundations to base your organization.

Artwork : Freepik

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Top picks of conferences and professional events around the world.

Hiring Success 2020 Share insights and best practices with 1200 talent acquisition leaders. Attend Success Circles and our Smart Lab to work with peers on your top issues. You 11-12 will gain the knowledge and power to make your FEB Smart Recruiters system sing, returning to your office as a recruiting rockstar.

Marriott Marquis SF Gary A. Bolles, Chair of the Future of Work, Singularity University

2020 Annual Employee Healthcare Conference Employee Health Care Conference focus on Employee impact, Insights from employees about their benefit experiences and the impact on their family and work, Capitol Hill and health care, All employers need to know about the impact of the mid-term elections on employer-sponsored benefits, the Affordable Care 12-13 Act, the new ta d tools shaping future workforce, MAR workplaces and benefits, Pace, process, performance, Aligning new solutions with the employer/employee value proposition, Benefit delivery platforms, Exploring the full continuum of self-managed and exchange approaches and much more.

New York Marriott Marquis, New York, USA Mike Adams, Vice President, Benefit and Human Resources Systems, Dean Foods The HR Digest Magazine | January 2020

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Employment Law & Legislative Conference Employment Law Legislative Conference will cover areas like 16-18 Employment Discrimination And Fair Lending, Employment MAR Discrimination And Fair Lending.

Washington DC, USA

People Analytics & Workforce Planning Conference People Analytics and Workforce Planning Conference will focus on how to embed evidence-based talent strategy throughout your organization to build better business outcomes. The conference will help you in Stay Business23-25 focused. Articulate the connection between talent and MAR business success. Use the language of the business, not workforce planning or HR speak. Navigate the Data. Only scientifically validated and cross-functional analysis can help prioritize HR strategies.

JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa, Aventura, USA

Employment Law & Legislative Conference i4cp’s Next Practices Now Conference is the top-rated human capital event of the year, and for good reason: it is focused on next practices in HR--cutting-edge approaches that impact market performance but that few companies are using.

Designed for senior HR, talent, learning, and other business leaders - and closed to vendors and consultants - the i4cp 23-26 Next Practices Now Conference offers superior networking MAR and thought leadership so you can better understand and address the critical HR and workforce issues facing your organization.

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Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA Diane Gherson, CHRO, IBM

ERE Recruiting Conference At ERE Recruiting Conference talent acquisition professionals will learn the best solutions to improve recruiting at their organization. Each speaker is chosen because of the results they are having and their strategy of success. These real-life examples will enable everyone to take the information shared, tie it to their business and execute on the challenges with 15-17 actionable solutions. We’re living in a candidate-driven APR market and this brings out a lot of new opportunities to improve how we stand out from the crowd and grow faster than the competition. Learn what it takes to become a world-class TA/recruiting professional.

Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, San Diego, USA Geoff Green, VP, Talent Acquisition, Foot Locker

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