by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jan 22, 2014 | Diversity & Inclusion, Featured, HR Policy, Human Resources, Life, Motherhood, Personal, Policy, Pregnancy, Talent Management, Work/Life
Image Courtesy of “Think Progress”
After being pregnant three times over the past seven years, I have seen, heard, and endured things that have both shocked me and made me angry. For starters, there are far too many employers that are still treating pregnancy as if it is a cardinal sin and a complete undoing to their business. Having children whether as an older more tenured employee or an early careerist is a life decision that need not be vetted or agreed with by an employer. Certainly, there are the usual considerations of the inevitable impact of having children depending on where you are in your career; but they are just that- considerations.
Consider this instead:
*The U.S. is one of only 4 countries that doesn’t offer paid leave to new mothers — the others are Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and Lesotho.
*Having a baby is a leading cause of “poverty spells” in the U.S. — when income dips below what’s needed for basic living expenses.
When you are notified by an employee that they are pregnant, they haven’t just given you their resignation simultaneously. Pregnant women are not only capable of continuing their duties (unless sickness and or the physical nature of their job interfere), but they are worthy of having your support as an employer.
As a new business owner, I would like to impart some food-for thought for dealing with pregnancy in general and pregnant employees:
- Stop saying dumb things to your pregnant employees. If you are hesitant to say what you’re thinking or you are unsure; do yourself a favor and be quiet.
- Be kind. In as much as pregnant women are willing and capable, a little compassion can go a long way. Ask them how they are feeling. If they are struggling during the first trimester or beyond; allow some leniency. It’s that whole do onto others philosophy.
- Did you also know? *51% of new mothers lack any paid leave — so some take unpaid leave, some quit, some even lose their jobs. If you can help it, get out of this third-world mentality that exists in the US and offer your female employees a dose of relief in the way of a paid maternity leave, the ability to phase-back to work, short-term disability etc.
- While said employee is on leave, do your best to refrain from contacting her regarding work related things or anything in general. Maternity leave is supposed to be a time for healing, bonding, and family. Respect the employee’s time.
- Lastly, if there are concerns about adequate time and the like- communicate your concern, but don’t over communicate. There are dr.’s appointments, unforeseen sicknesses, etc. Again, if this is a good employee do your best to work through these hurdles. In business, there are always workarounds whether you want to openly admit it or not).
- Don’t forget your male employees. They are becoming dads too and may need your support as well.
Pregnant women are not second-class citizens. You do not have to fundamentally agree with the act of childbearing or its timing but you do have an obligation to respect the decision and support your employees as best you can.
Every year Working Mother.com compiles a list of the best 100 companies for the working mother. One of their requirements for application acceptance is that they offer at least one week of paid family leave or they must be on their way to implementing some sort of paid maternity leave. The list is great and proof that nothing I said here is pie-in-the-sky. Check the list of companies out here.
Here’s a wacky bonus tip: don’t touch your pregnant employee unless you ask. I once had a manager push in my protruding belly button because she thought it was odd and cute. Please stop doing these things. It doesn’t bode well for anyone involved.
What are some innovative arrangements or policies you have implemented to support your pregnant or even new mother employees?
*Statistics from MomRising.org- http://www.momsrising.org/issues_and_resources/maternity
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jan 20, 2014 | Business, Entrepreneur, Featured, HR Innovation, Human Resources, Personal, Talent Management, The Aristocracy of HR
Image courtesy of EdrinWilliams.com
I think it fair to start off 2014 addressing what I am doing and what my continued purpose is for being socially visible. In January of 2013, I started my own business called Talent Think Innovations, LLC. In addition, to having this new business I remain employed by Brookhaven National Laboratory. My move to start a business in lieu of working full-time was a goal and not something sparked by blogging or my involvement in social media.
Plain and simple, I knew after my last position in healthcare that my long-term goal and insurance plan for both my sanity and professional prowess was to be my own boss and call the shots.
So why am I still working full-time?
It’s quite simple, I have bills to pay, mouths to feed, and I still enjoy being a practitioner. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to quit a job where they are gainfully employed to go into business for themselves. I much rather keep myself afloat and gradually build my business for longevity and success.
I essentially get to have the best of both worlds by keeping my practitioner acumen sharp while expanding both my mind and capabilities through my business. It’s a win-win.
Who is Talent Think Innovations, LLC?
Talent Think Innovations, LLC is a Talent Management Consulting firm dedicated to helping start-ups as well as small to mid-size businesses focus on developing smart, innovative talent strategy, policies and cultures that value talent and put them first. This business is the heart and soul of everything I have preached on The Aristocracy of HR and beyond. It is about helping businesses operate in a way that makes sense and that focuses on talent-centric practices, programs and policies that truly favor the success of the workforce.
After working a few places and in HR, I have seen everything HR shouldn’t be about and how we not only undermine our value but also facilitate a diminished value of the business with poor practices from the perspective of both candidates and employees. I have long been known by co-workers and superiors as a change facilitator and initiator; always looking to improve or create something better. Unfortunately, my experience has also shown me that all of that enthusiasm, passion and knowledge can go but so far in an organization with the impact of politics, bureaucracy and ignorance.
I have decided that I want to work with the organizations that have made missteps and need help regaining inspiration and traction. This is my call to action.
What’s next?
They say you are not truly in business until you start making money and have clients. Well, I accomplished that prior to my one year anniversary. I am working with some fantastic people and even more important there is synergy between my philosophy and my partners.
You all know me best and first as the “CzarinaofHR” reigning over the popular Aristocracy of HR blog. It is finally on its own domain and also acting as the official blog for my company. It is only right that my two voices be unified on one platform. I will continue to blog my heart out as your “Czarina” as well as on my contributor platforms like Performance I Create, TLNT, and Achievers.
You can also find me on my new You Tube show “Ask Czarina” where I will make the blog experience a little more personal in 2014.
Lastly, in case you missed it, I am speaking now and so you shouldn’t be surprised to see me at select events or venues sharing what I know.
Regarding social media, my theme for 2014 and beyond is to “engage with a purpose”. For my business, brand and network purposes I must remain active, but how active and how frequently will vary. There’s something called life and while the digital life is great, real life is even better.
In conclusion, my aim is to help people and businesses whether through the blog or my services. If I can help you or anyone you know don’t hesitate to reach out.
I look forward to walking this new journey of 2014 with you. Thank you for your continued support!
Janine Truitt
The Aristocracy of HR
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Aug 27, 2013 | Human Resources
Building a culture should be founded on the principles of inspiring your employees to work towards a central purpose, values and vision that give life to your business goals.
As you build your team, you should of course be mindful of those knowledge, skills, abilities and personal attributes that lend themselves to success in your organization. In fact, you must define it to be able to seek it out. However, once you define it and seek it out – what does your workforce makeup look like?
It is my experience, that although companies speak about multiple profiles of prospective hires that would be the ideal fit for their culture; they end up hiring one specific type of individual. In time, these people become conditioned to the “way” of the company and in effect “drink the Kool-Aid”. They are not in control of themselves – they think, speak and behave alike. Essentially, they have become a little too engaged in the company culture and as a result they are cultish too.
Too much engagement?
Yes, too much engagement is entirely possible. We know the issues that arise with disengaged employees and we know the benefits of an engaged employee. I’m talking about over engagement whereby the employees no longer think for themselves- where no one dares to challenge rules, policies or procedures no matter how ridiculous they are. It is a condition by which employees have been suckered into believing the company’s every word and no one can counter their beliefs.
CULTure much?
Cults are groups of people with evidence of extreme devotion to a person, place, thing, idea or movement. If we examine the darker side of cults, they usually have a leader that spoon feeds them bits and pieces of disjointed or erroneous information. Often times, these leaders instill fear to keep their followers loyal, fearful, and ignorant enough so they don’t stray. The followers hang on the cult leaders every word never questioning his or her intent or purpose.
Just like a cult, some companies prefer like-minded people to enter their circle of trust. As such, you may hear of diversity and inclusion for superficial purposes, but in practice it will be non-existent. Innovation or creativity are usually curse words in these companies so beware the usage of them.
In more damaging news, this CULTure will inevitably chew you up and spit up you out if you are different, a disruptor, mover and shaker or change influencer. It usually appears in the form of warnings and eventually if they don’t think you have been brow-beaten enough it will turn into bullying. What’s even worse is the HR departments in these companies have usually had a sip of the Kool-Aid as well and will do very little to alleviate the situation.
What is HR to do?
Here’s the disclaimer- I recognize that not all HR departments would condone this behavior in their companies. I’m not speaking about every HR department. However, it is clear that nothing like CULTure could go on unless our HR friends in the organization allowed it. I have personally experienced this and many of my HR colleagues have experienced working in companies with this cult-like behavior. That tells me that my “well-intentioned” HR brethren were purposely sleeping on the job so as to please senior management and/ or others engaged in this behavior.
We are in the pleasing game, but not at the expense of turnover, bullying and other workplace atrocities. In HR, if you see something, say something or at the very least probe and investigate any signs of issues or upticks in turnover. Additionally, I see HR as a company culture originator and catalyst-which means any culture built upon a singular mindset, group of people, etc. is limiting and isn’t likely to bode well for your recruitment, retention or succession efforts in the long-term. We are living in a hyper-connected world where dissatisfied employees like dissatisfied customers will expose you and your CULTure online and beyond.
If everyone in your company is starting to finish each other’s sentences or are skipping to the same beat- it may be time to shake things up, rethink and redefine what your company culture stands for.
Ask yourself are you building a culture or a CULTure?
Janine Truitt
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jul 29, 2013 | Human Resources
While the economy seems to be on the mend, there are still many companies struggling to remain solvent. As such, companies that cannot find other ways to cutback are moving to layoff employees.
This is never an easy time for employer or employee. No one wins in these situations. The only upside is the business extends its lifeline at the expense of the employee’s jobs becoming obsolete.
There are ways to somewhat ensure that assumptions, gossip and miscommunications don’t make an already difficult situation worse- and that is to communicate truthfully and regularly. In business, we speak a lot about “being transparent”. This is one of those times where preaching about transparency will not help -you will have to act the part.
As a manager, you may not be able to divulge all that is being discussed regarding a pending layoff. However, once you start discussing the potential for layoffs and request that employees justify the necessity of every duty and task they perform- you are opening up a pandora’s box of worry.
Worry in turn becomes assumptions, and assumptions become gossip. All of which are catalysts to commiserating employees in the bathrooms and/or in the hallways- as their discussions lead to distrust of management and disenchantment with both the business and work.
Ask yourself this- what would you want to know if your boss said layoffs were coming and it could affect you? How important are the details of the layoff that you can’t be honest with your employees?
Let me remind you once again that you are managing adults. Adults have bills to pay and families to care for and in as much as any of them complain about their jobs- the fact is they need them. Communicating effectively during a layoff entails you being empathetic, truthful and timely.
Here are five tips for communicating during a layoff:
1) Call a meeting with your team when notifying them of a potential layoff situation. There is a time for e-mail and this is not one of them. This is a difficult message to deliver. Conducting a face-to-face meeting allows for an open discussion of the information being received and any concerns.
2) Be ready to answer questions that may be asked about how this will affect individuals. This will require you to take off your manager hat for a second and be a human that understands (to some extent) how this is affecting your staff.
3) If you aren’t sharing details, you aren’t sharing details. The worst thing you can do is to tell your team you have no further details on how cuts will affect them only for them to find out through the grapevine that there is more to know. The employee-boss relationship can be sticky. If you have been sworn to secrecy, don’t be caught voluntarily sharing information that hasn’t first been shared with those it affects- your staff.
4) Do not let long periods of time lapse in communicating updates to your team. Even if you haven’t heard anything new- it doesn’t preclude you from inquiring and reporting back to your staff. A layoff is a situation where any news is presumed bad news and no news is not good either. Keeping them up-to-date even when there is nothing to share will at least make your staff feel like you care enough to keep them updated.
5) Be truthful. If the plan is to cut 10% tell your staff that. It is all in the delivery. You can simply say- “senior management has called for a 10% across the board cut. This doesn’t mean that any of your jobs are in jeopardy per se, but we are evaluating all possibilities at this time. I know this is a difficult time for all of us and especially you, the employee. I need you all to continue to perform as you would normally and I will continue to keep you abreast of this situation. I am here to discuss any concerns you have individually.”
Who can argue with that kind of communication?
Many employee situations or dilemmas can be made easy with effective communication. Keep in mind, what really motivates the employee-employer relationship without making it solely about either side- can help you to humanize the way you interact with your employees and more specifically, during difficult times such as layoffs.
Janine Truitt
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jul 2, 2013 | Human Resources
All too often, I have encountered people in leadership that walk around with this air about them. They are too good for you to stand next to. You ought not to breathe their air; for good measure just stop breathing when they are around. As a matter of fact, be sure not to speak to them unless instructed to.
What do I think about all of this?
Plainly, it’s a load of crap and businesses need to redefine or get clear on what leadership means. Leadership is not about putting on appearances or a power trip. It is a necessary and crucial role in the organization that offers visionary and practical guidance and administration over a particular portion of the business.
Your ego and assumed celebrity as a leader is not a license to misuse the autonomy and power you have over your employees. Your job is to guide more than lead; listen more than you speak. In short, be humble and get over yourself.
Engagement is so 2012.
When you foster an environment, where employees don’t feel empowered or respected you are building up to disastrous results. Never mind whether these two variables lead to a disengaged workforce. Forget that! Engagement is the least of your worries when employees feel belittled or not valued. Your biggest concern is the following statistic (which I have shared before), which is that 8 in 10 employees in your organization are prepared or would leave your organization today if they could. The other statistic of interest is half of those employees will be successful in finding comparable work and compensation.
The greatest concern businesses have today is turnover.
As job market confidence improves, these numbers can only increase. At the height of the recession, it was said that companies would benefit in some regard because employees would be less likely to leave given the economic climate. That was true as we saw layoffs increase over quits, but the first month of the recession in December 2007 saw 2.9 million people quitting. As of April 2013, we are down to 2.3 millionpeople quitting just four months into the year. Obviously, there can be many reasons why people have quit their jobs. However, the key is to ensure- to some degree- that it isn’t because of your hierarchy-driven, pompous leaders.
The greatest opportunity businesses have is retention.
A focus on leadership competencies that lead to successful business outcomes rather than haphazard promotion of ill-equipped leaders would be a start in ensuring you have a collaborative, respectful and engaging leadership slate. Encouraging bi-directional communication in place of top-down directives can also go a long way in giving your employees the autonomy in duty and thought that is needed for them to feel empowered. If you were diligent on the recruitment and selection side, you’re not worried about talent shortages- you already have great talent. Now all you need to do is to treat them right and retain them. It is often said people don’t quit jobs-they quit bosses. That being said, it would behoove you to continuously coach, mentor and hone the skills of your leaders.
It doesn’t get much simpler than this people!
Janine Truitt
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jun 21, 2013 | Human Resources
SHRM National 2013 is now in the past, but there are business considerations to examine now or in the near future. It is hard to summarize a conference of this size and magnitude. However, I will share the business trends & HR considerations that I feel were dynamic and applicable for us HR practitioners in the trenches.
Social Responsibility
On Monday, Blake Mycoskie the Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS, gave the keynote address to kick off the conference. His message was powerful as he described his journey in starting a business grounded in philanthropy. You see, TOMS is not just a company that sells comfortable, quality shoes. TOMS has a “one for one” model when it comes to their business model. What this entails is for every shoe that is sold, TOMS gives one free, specially designed pair away to a child in need of shoes. TOMS doesn’t stop at the shoes-they also do the same for those in need of suitable eyewear, sight-saving surgery or medical treatment.
Blake decided that he didn’t want to just sell shoes and eyewear and live happily in bliss with a lot of money. He decided instead that he wanted his business to stand for more. To date, he has given away over ten million pairs of shoes to children around the world in fifty different countries. He has not only managed to empower and engage his workforce through his philanthropic efforts but his customer base is equally engaged in the giving.
Social Responsibility isn’t the next HR buzzword. It is simply the human thing to do. During Blake’s address, I tweeted out:
The business consideration is this: Is “giving back” something you do ad hoc or is it part of your business strategy? There’s a difference between the two and it is important to know which team you are playing for. If ROI comes to mind when you think about social responsibility, try “giving feels good” or as Blake has seen in his own company:
The Culture Club
There has been a lot of discussion about culture over the past year and the discussion continued- as there were several sessions on the topic at this year’s SHRM National Conference. Out of the two sessions I attended on culture-both mentioned Zappos as a company that seems to have gotten culture right.
In the Glassdoor session on Tuesday with CEO, CMG Group (former COO of SHRM), China Gorman and Allyson Willoughby, Senior Vice President of People and General Counsel, Glassdoor- there was an interesting assertion made. The assertion was “culture is the right thing to do.” Culture has been discussed as being necessary connective tissue between the workforce and the company’s mission and values, but the “right thing to do” is a new concept. Why is it the right thing to do? It provides your workforce with a higher purpose and focus. Without purpose and focus, employees are just doing whatever and whatever is not a business strategy or a recipe for company success.
Here’s the second trend/consideration:
You need to know the answers to these questions and so do your employees. Remember it is all about giving your workforce a purpose and focus that leads to productivity and intended financial and non-financial outcomes.
Business Threats and New Opportunities for HR
The last trend/consideration of importance were emerging business threats and the need for HR to be aware and vigilant in providing solutions for these threats. The threats as stated in Jack Smalley, SPHR’s mega session: “Why the Best CEOs are Turning to HR to Lead the Organization Through Today’s Top Five Threats” were:
1) The ability to innovate
2) Businesses losing their competitive advantage
3) High costs of reckless hiring
4) Being able to retain top talent
5) Regulatory Concerns
The following statements by Jack Smalley, SPHR summarizes the immense importance of these threats:
In addition to high costs of reckless hiring, there is the consideration of reckless retention as explored by Karen Michael, Esq in her mega session called : “Bad Bosses/Big Losses: The Top Legal and Business Strategies to Fix the Boss and Save the Cost”. She discussed the pricey payouts and damaging outcomes caused by retaining bad leadership and creating toxic environments. It was an eye-opening look at the impact that bad management has regarding turnover, unneccesary litigation and poor morale. Workplace Bullying was also cited as being an important business consideration that companies should monitor and manage carefully.
This was the most compelling statement in her session:
Essentially, this means make sure your policies around discrimination, workplace bullying and the proper handling of an investigation are thorough and consistently enforced. No complaint is too benign that it shouldn’t require at least a conversation. Don’t be that employer!
SHRM National provided a lot of food for thought. There are some different rules of engagement at work in business and the economy and it is very clear after this conference that HR needs to be able to rise to the occasion in helping our partners navigate these complex issues.
What will you do to “become more”? I look forward to hearing from you.
