Effective Communication

If you’re employed or seeking employment, one skill that employers demand is effective communication. Whether written or verbal, effective communication is key to an individual’s success in the business world. We communicate and interact with each other daily and how we communicate says WORDS about us.

Let’s focus on the written word. With the ever-increasing use of computers, email and other electronic forms, the need for competent writing skills is necessary. For companies, oftentimes the business relationship with customers and vendors is maintained through the use of electronic written communication. We forget that this communication is a reflection of your company. Communication that is consistently riddled with spelling and grammatical errors will reflect poorly on your business. For an employee, your writing will form the reader’s opinion about you, your personality and abilities. Additionally, in many organizations the performance appraisal process will address an employee's written and verbal communication skills. No matter who you are, your communication style can create either a positive or negative impression.

Always proofread your work – even if spell check says there are no errors! Oftentimes you have read your document so many times that your mind “sees” what should be there versus what actually is. If you can, put the document aside for a couple of days then come back to it with fresh eyes. Alternatively, having someone else read your work is always a good move (thank you Emily)!

Being clear and concise is a common quality in any form of effective written communication. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we miss the mark. The below are a couple of actual letters that are being provided to you in their natural state. With the exception of eliminating the company name in one of the automatic response letters, I have not made any changes to the verbiage, structure or spelling.

Keep communicating, people!


Automatic Response Letter #1
Further to our earlier email acknowledging your application for the above post, I regret to inform you that, on this occasion, you have not been successful

Automatic Response Letter #2
If you do not hear back from us within 4 weeks then on this occasion you can assume your application was unsuccessful.

Automatic Response Letter #3
Friday, April 09, 2010Dear XXXXXX:Thank you for your interest in XXXXX International. We appricaite your application and wish you the best in your job search. All selected candidates will be contacted by a company representative shortly.Thank You

Candidate submission #1
I have three years on hands of experience In the HR field and I am seeking for challengeable opportunity which inspires me to put my comprehensive resume in your good hands as I believe that I strongly fit your expectation.

Candidate submission #2
Also, I played a respected role in the public work, so you will find me to be quick-learner, well-spoken, energetic, excellent computer user, confident, and presentable, the type of person on whom your company will rely. I also have a wide breadth of experience of the type that gives you the versatility to place me in a number of contexts with confidence that the level of excellence you expect will be met.

HR as a Business Partner

Human Resource professionals have long been requesting a “seat at the table” when it comes to strategic and business planning. However, HR has a history of being viewed as an "overhead" department. Just an expense, like the electric bill, necessary to keep the business running. Oftentimes the HR department is understaffed or staffed by employees with little expertise in the field. “Top management frequently thinks that anyone, regardless of background and experience, can do HR management, as long as he or she has an IQ in at least the double digits. Consequently, whenever top management has an executive manager that is no longer useful, they will throw him over to the HR department-after all, what harm can he do there?”

Do I need to point out that HR reaches and impacts every department every day? Whether it be in sales, administration, customer service, or finance, HR is responsible for the entire “human resources” of the organization. HR recruits the employees, hires them and trains them. HR ensures that the best performers are retained to ensure profitability is maintained. HR provides the organization with the human “resources” necessary to successfully run the organization, thereby having a direct impact on the bottom line of the organization.

Break the Cycle.
Human Resources needs to be respected by upper management in order to be viewed as a true business partner and not an inefficient staff function. This respect has to be earned by being a high-performing department, demanding respect for its performance and expertise.

To be a business partner, Human Resources needs to be an active participant in running the organization. This can only be done by understanding the business goals of the organization and aligning with those goals. Human Resource departments are only taken seriously when their activities are related to bottom line results. The function of Human Resources is not only to help and take care of employees, but also to align the people with the strategic plans of the organization. The HR department and its functions must continue to evolve to meet the challenges of today’s business, technology, and workforce.

When this is done, Human Resources is truly a business partner.

Why Do Talented People Leave Companies?

There’s a war for talent out there. The caliber of a company’s talent increasingly determines success in the market place. Having great talent is not only important, but critical. Employee retention, especially of your best, most desirable employees, is a key challenge in organizations today. An employee's expectations of developmental, financial and psychological rewards he/she gets from his/her work are way up. Switching jobs has little, if any, stigma associated with it. High performers are likely to leave companies where they feel underdeveloped, undervalued, and underpaid. Remember, workers are not fixed assets. They are free agents.

Talented employees may leave a company for a variety of reasons. Employers often feel that the primary reason for an employee to work for any organization is money, but the employees may also leave a company even if the pay is good. The employee may be burned out, may not fit into the culture or may leave for personal reasons such as illness, family obligations, etc.

Sometimes you may have to look below the surface.

The pay may be good, the hours are right and the location is good. While people may chase the money thinking it will bring happiness, money is only a maintainer, not a motivator. Notwithstanding financial rewards such as bonuses, performance incentives, etc., employees need recognition, promotion and progression up the management ladder. If employees are not able to accomplish this, they may leave in spite of the good salaries.

"People leave managers not companies," write the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. If you're losing good people, look to their immediate boss. The immediate boss is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization, and the reason why people leave. When employees leave, they take knowledge, experience and contacts with them, straight to the competition.

Ask the right questions. Do the managers create the right opportunities for the employees? Is there a lack of training and/or development opportunities? Is there recognition for employee contributions? Do the employees get along well with their manager? Do employees have the support of their manager? Do employees have the trust of their manager? Do your managers need training? Do managers have open communication with their employees? Do they develop their subordinates?

Top talent is bombarded by recruiters and peers at other organizations with opportunities to make a move. The result is that top talent is always evaluating their current situation vs. alternatives, not only in terms of dollars, but also with respect to work environment, growth opportunities, etc. So if the company forgets to value their top performers every day, that could be the day that another opportunity wins.

There is nothing worse than an employee who doesn’t feel appreciated.

Survey your current employees often. Ask them why they stay.

Keep communicating people.

My continuing thanks to Emily McGowan for proof-reading services on this blog.

What's In Your Employee Files?

Let’s face it. Human Resources will never be able to make the move to a “paperless” environment. In the hiring process alone there are new hire approval forms, applications, resumes, W-4’s, I-9’s, etc. So, as an employer, where do you retain all this documentation?

First, employee privacy rights require that all personnel files are kept in a secure location, preferably under lock and key. There should be only one official set of personnel files. If you have a Human Resources department, the files should be housed there. Please bear in mind that access to personnel files should be limited to those individuals with a bona fide need to know the information in the file.

At a minimum there should be two employee files, the personnel file and the medical file. Oftentimes an employer will additionally maintain a payroll file for its employees.

The personnel file should contain job-related documentation (information relevant to the employee’s employment only) such as:

• Employment application
• Offer letter
• Acceptance letter
• Job description
• Development records such as training, education and degrees
• Performance appraisals
• Commendation letters
• Emergency contact information
• Documentation regarding compensation history
• Acknowledgement for the receipt of the employee handbook and other policies.
  

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires employers to protect and treat medical records as confidential and to maintain them separate and apart from other business records. Information that should be maintained separate from the personnel files and retained in a confidential medical file are:

• Health insurance application
• Life insurance application
• Request for medical leave of absence
• Personal accident reports
• Workers compensation report of injury or illness
• OSHA injury and illness report
• Any other document/form containing private medical information
• Drug test information and information concerning drug or alcohol rehabilitation
  

Last but not least, let’s talk I-9 documentation. Employee I-9s, and their supporting documentation, should be retained in a separate file and location. It is recommended to retain the I-9s in a three-ring binder. Remember to review the file annually and to obtain updated support documentation when necessary.

My on-going thanks to Mrs. Emily McGowan for her proof-reading services!

An Incomplete Education?

In 2008 a friend gave me a book titled “An Incomplete Education.” The book contains “3,684 things you should have learned but probably didn’t.” It’s a delightful book full of information ranging from the trivial to the significant. The title of the book captures your attention immediately. And, it makes you think. When is an education “complete?”

In every organization, employee-related and legally-related (risk management) training such as harassment, safety, etc. is mandatory. This training, when properly presented, helps reduce the risk of inappropriate behavior in the workplace and the potential, resulting lawsuits. Another standard reason an organization provides an employee with training and/or development is when a performance appraisal indicates improvement is needed.

But let’s step away from the subject of mandatory training and discuss training as an “investment” in your employees.

The education and development of employees have a large ROI for the employer. With proper training, employers may see increased productivity, increased efficiencies in processes and reduced employee turnover. Employees may experience increased job satisfaction. Additionally, an increase in skills and knowledge leads to better pay, promotions and positions. Properly trained employees can carry out their work responsibilities with greater effectiveness and efficiency. `

When the decision is made to move forward with a training program, there are many things for the employer to consider:

• Identify the employee to be trained.
• Ensure that the training is relevant to the employee's job (conduct a needs assessment).
• Does the employee see the connection between his/her job and the training so that he/she understands the value?
• Consider the employee's ability to learn the material and use it.
• Is the training program designed with the employee in mind (identify the training process)?
• What will be the method of training? Will the training be "on" or "off" the job? If "on the job" training what technique will be used (mentoring, job rotation, coaching)?

As adults, many employees are motivated by training and continuing education that may provide a future reward rather than immediate satisfaction. Well trained employees are the key to your success!

Employee Handbooks

Employee handbooks and policies allow employers and employees to avoid miscommunication and/or misunderstandings. If an employee does not have access to written policies, how can he/she know when he/she is non-compliant? Oftentimes too late, the employer finds that the employee did not know that their action (or inaction) violated a company policy. When written properly, policies are a valuable resource and guide for both the employer and employee.

Although written policies are not legally required, if properly written they can provide the framework within which the employer can communicate his/her expectations to the employees. The handbook may contain general information such as company benefits, pay policies, holidays, vacation, sick time, attendance, etc.

Employers with 15+ employees should have written policies as they are covered by federal discrimination laws such as Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Family Medical and Leave Act requires covered employers (50+ employees) to provide written information relating to employee rights and employer obligations.

When developing a company handbook always remember the three “Cs” of Content, Clarity and Consistency.

• Content: What to include in the handbook.
• Clarity: Make the handbook simple and concise. The key is "readability." If an employee can't understand what he/she is reading, how can he/she be compliant?
• Consistency: Selective application of policies is an open invite for litigation. Policies must apply evenly to all employees. Remember that lawsuits = inconsistency.

Put policies in place. Review them on an annual basis. Educate your employees and supervisors.

Keep the lines of communication open everyone!

Undercover Boss - What lessons can be learned?

On February 7, 2010 CBS premiered Undercover Boss. No, I don’t watch it (nor do I follow other reality programs) but the premise intrigued me.

On the off-chance you have not heard of the program, the format is as follows: A high-ranking executive or owner of a corporation goes undercover in his own company as an entry-level employee (after altering his appearance, assuming an alias and a fictional back-story). With a camera crew in tow, the executive is followed on his day-to-day activities while being filmed as “part of a documentary” about workers in that particular industry. (All hype aside, how many employees are going to really be themselves in front of a camera crew? Sorry, I’m off target here.)

If you went undercover in your own organization, what would you discover? What would your employees say? Would they speak highly of the organization? Or poorly? Would they take pride in their jobs? Would they feel that their contributions were being recognized?

In the business world there are CEOs that have worked his/her way up through the ranks of the organization. He/she understands the business, the people, the processes, the policies and the problems. On the other side of the coin there are CEOs that have not had the opportunity to grow with the organization he/she now runs. Lacking that background and experience, oftentimes there is no true understanding of the company and its employees.

For an executive to go undercover in the workplace it offers him/her the opportunity to see first-hand how the company, from the bottom-up, functions. Stepping from the corner office down into the trenches allows him/her to see how changing policies, restructuring, job consolidations, etc. impact the organization and the people. The executive can take what he/she has learned from the experience and create positive change in the workplace. 99.9% of the time his/her perception of the business is different from that of the front-line employees. He/she can experience first-hand what is working and what isn’t, discovering where and who the true company “resources” are. Identify the talent – know who those individuals are - and cultivate them.

The same approach can be said for the HR Directors, managers and generalists in the workforce. TAKE a proactive look at the organization and people you support. TAKE the opportunity on an on-going, regular basis to fill the role of a front-line employee. I had the privilege on a couple of occasions to work side by side with the employees in the bindery department of a commercial printing company. It provided me with a better understanding of the roles these individuals played within the organization, the challenges they faced, and assisted me in developing a deeper appreciation of the contribution of each and every employee.

Are there lessons to be learned? Yes, I believe there are.