Ed tor’s Note We know that Christmas is a time for giving, a time for receiving, it’s also a time for sombre offices to roseate with boughs of holly – or mistletoe, wreaths, trees and colored lights. A time for people to celebrate the millennial tradition of wearing Ugly Christmas Sweaters as a display of camaraderie with sardonic coworkers, and most disturbingly, it’s a time for the unavoidable ‘office Christmas party’ – an evening that many people see as a test of endurance and strong will. Is it possible to come out of a Christmas mixer relatively unscathed? We doubt it. During the 1950s, office Christmas party played a monumental role in climbing the corporate ladder. Career counselors advised ambitious men and women that skipping a holiday mixer was like ending your career: A boss spends thousands of dollars on food and drinks and you don’t show? You might as well moon him on a Monday morning! Today, the traditional office Christmas party has become outdated and immature. The Millennial Generation knows that what happens at the party does not necessarily stay at the party. The tradition has evolved – it has also become commercialized; and offices now take a different route. Take a note because some offices have nailed the art of averting the vast majority of heinous party crimes.
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The Team Editorial Anna Domanska, Editor-in-Chief
Christy Gren, Sub-Editor
Priyansha Mistry, Sub-Editor
Aubrey Chang, Associate Editor
Riana Petanjek, Sub-Editor
Design Kevin Paul Sr. Graphic Designer
Reepal Savaniya Graphic Designer
Project Management Tony Raval Project Director
Marketing Jason Miller Sr. Project Director
Jay Raol Project Director
Advertising Richard Dean, Advertising Manager
Technology John Hancock Head-Web Department
Le Manh Coung, Sr Software Coordinator
Finance Control R R Baratiya
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Julia Hunt, Magazine Production
Content Features
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HR DRIFT Should Employees Receive Compensation for off-the-clock phone use?
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS How Can HR Build A Game-Changing Talent Strategy?
Q&A WITH JANE
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Loyalty or job position: What Decides My Salary?
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Furry Fiesta! The benefits of taking your pet to work.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT How important is expatriate training to you?
COVER STORY The Evolution of Office Christmas Parties! 006
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LEGAL HUB Modern Workplace Problems: Immigrant Workers’ Rights
HR TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY Online HR Software: Top HR Tools to improve employee management
RECRUITMENT POINT
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How Can Companies Reduce Bias in the Hiring Process
SUCCESS STORY Richard Branson: “Clients do not come first. Employees come first.”
WORKPLACE CULTURE How office attires have evolved over the years
HR Events & Conferences 008
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Should Employees Receive Compensation for off-the-clock phone use? A majority of European Union (EU) employers struggle to make sense of the mandatory vacation entitlements. In the EU, the law provides employees with mandatory levels of vacation. For instance, in the UK, a full-time employee is entitled to take 28 vacation days, while in France, employees are entitled to 5 weeks of vacation (in addition to public holidays). Many EU employers are finding it more and more difficult to get their employees to take their vacation days off. Employees who don’t take their holidays until November or December, can pose severe problems for employers trying to manage their budgets as well as their workforce. Moreover, employees who fail to take vacation time make it even more difficult for employers to comply with the obligations under legislation relating to working time. There are various solutions, of course. One popular option is adopting the Use it or Lose It policies, where employees are not allowed to carry over unused holiday days into the next year. Such policies, however, must be enforced in such a way that they are in lieu of other employment rights. Employees should only be allowed to accrue holiday if they have a meaningful chance to use it – such as maternity or adoption leave. Some employers are even trying their hand at offering unlimited holidays. As lucrative as this sounds, the basic idea behind this perk to give employees a sense of entitlement and personal responsibility. Unlimited vacation days is a new concept in the US and UK, where the right to a set period of annual leave 010
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is deeply rooted in public conscience. Some studies suggest, that it does not end up encouraging employees to take leaves, and could be challenged as failing to ensure employees take the level of holiday which the law protects. Employers doing business in the EU would be well advised to make sure employees are using their holiday as it falls due. Hoarding or delaying vacation days can lead to a host of legal problems. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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DACA – Employers and what is means for Employees President Donald Trump has announced the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has provided removal protection and temporary work permits to nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children. No new DACA applications will be taken after September 5, 2017 meanwhile current DACA participants will keep their deportation protection status and temporary work permits until those benefits expire. After October 5, no DACA renewable applications will be allowed. The decision to rollback the DACA program has raised a number of important questions for businesses that employ DACA workers. What would happen to workers? Employees who have received work permits, also known as Employment Authorization Cards, through the DACA program may continue to work until their work permits expire. What about when the permit expires? When an employee’s work permit expires, the employer must verify the employee on Form I-9. If the employee presents documents establishing work eligibility – such as, green cards or other forms of immigration relief – the employee may continue working. Can employers terminate DACA employees? No. Terminating DACA employees with valid work authorization could lead to discrimination claims based on national origin or race. 012
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Is there anything employers can do to put DACA employees at ease? Some employers may want to reassure DACA employees during this uncertain time. Employers should avoid making unnecessary promises, including ones about future employment, which they may not be able to keep. Employers, however, may contact their representatives in Congress and lobby for legislation to maintain the protection of DACA employees. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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UK Workers Feel Frustrated By Flatlining Pay Workers in the UK feel frustrated because their pay has been flatlined for a decade. Low pay has contributed to low interest rates, which will remain low for a long time. No matter how efficient workers and employers are, flatlining is still one of the biggest causes of lack of pay growth. Currently, only between 1% and 5% of firms are “high-innovation� businesses who have embraced artificial intelligence, and are on the road to productivity. The biggest cause of sluggishness in productivity and pay is that firms keep taking the low-productivity road. Firms are unable to benchmark themselves against other firms to see whether they’re making any tangible progress. Pay growth has been sluggish over the past couple of years. This has taken the UK government by surprise, in spite of the evident rise in UK employment and jobs growth. Moreover, lack of pay growth is one key factor that has contributed to interest rates in the UK at their current low levels. Anti-poverty campaigns are using the bleak figures to show how workers with low skills in certain parts of the country are among those worst hit by flatlined pay and better employment opportunities. The rising cost of living has also hit workers on lower incomes harder than any other groups. Low to middle wage earners have been facing inflation that is up to once percent greater than for higher earners for the past decade. The phenomenon predates recession and is ineradicably widespread. It has been occurring consistently for the last two decades and is observed for lowwage earners across the age spectrum. 014
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One More Equal Pay Lawsuit Against Google Google, Inc. is embroiled in lawsuit that alleges systemic discrimination in pay against women. Three former female employees have filed a class action lawsuit alleging violations of the California Equal Pay Act, among other state laws, on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated current and former female Google employees in California. The three women claim they resigned from Google because of the widespread compensation disparities and lack of opportunities for advancement for women. According to the plaintiffs, when they first began working for Google, they and other women were initially placed at lower levels than their male counterparts with the same level of experience. Other women were placed at lower steps on the ladder, which led to lower compensation and lesser earning potential than their male counterparts. The claimants are seeking payment of unpaid wages, a 10 percent interest on the due wages, as well as liquidated damages. The State of California requires employers to pay the same wages to male and female workers and workers of different ethnicities or races who perform substantially similar work. The potential costs to an employer increase when employees succeed in equal pay lawsuits. Given Google’s thousands of employees, the number of plaintiffs and potential damages are significant. The State of California continues to push the wage equality bill. Pending legislation 9AB 1209) would require employers to disclose gender wage differentials for high level employees and board members by job classification or title. Pending legislation (AB 168) would prohibit employees from seeking or 016
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relying on salary history information concerning applicants. California governor Jerry Brown has until October 15, 2017, to sign or veto these measures. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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EU Employers Cannot Monitor Employees’ Personal Email Sent on Company Servers The European Union is way ahead of the United States when it comes to protecting employees online privacy rights. An upcoming ePrivacy regulation will limit employers’ ability to employee electronic communications. The European High Court of Human Rights has recently concluded that an employee does not have the right to review during the course of an internal investigation an employee’s personal emails sent using the company server. In a case involving a Romanian employee whose email messages were monitored by his employer without his knowledge or consent, the court concluded that the European Convention on Human Rights’ privacy prohibits monitoring, even when the employee sends such emails on the company server during working hours. Sadly, the U.S. jurisdiction does not limit the employers’ ability to monitor email messages of an employee. U.S. employers with European operations will need to consult with local legal counsel to determine that their policies meet the evolving standards set by the European Union.
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Should Employees Receive Compensation for off-the-clock phone use? On August 3, 2017, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a favorable decision in favor of an employer in an off-the-clock case on the issue of whether the employer had knowledge of the work performed. The court held that the employer was not liable for overtime compensation because it lacked constructive knowledge that the plaintiffs did not receive overtime compensation for performing off-duty work on their cellphone. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) requires employers to compensate nonexempt employees at time and a half of all time worked over 40 hours in a workweek. For law enforcement employees, overtime compensation is required if the individual works more than 171 hours per 28-day period. The law also requires that the employer have actual or constructive knowledge that work is being performed to obligate overtime compensation. According to the 7th Circuit, employers must pay for the work they know about, even if they did not want the work done. In this case, the Chicago Police Department was not liable for overtime compensation because it lacked any actual or constructive knowledge that the plaintiffs did not receive overtime compensation for performing certain duties off-the-clock on their Smartphones. Employers must pay for the work they know about, even if they did not ask for the work. If an employer prevents or discourages employees from reporting unpaid time, the presence of a process for reporting unpaid time will not protect the employer from liability. 020
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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
How Can HR Build A Game-Changing Talent Strategy?
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The most vocal critics say HR Managers focus too much on administrative work and lack vision and strategic insight. The harshly put feelings aren’t new. They’ve erupted because people don’t like being told how to behave. We get particularly defensive when we’re instructed to change how we interact with people, especially those who report to us. The HR makes us perform tasks we dislike, such as preventing us from hiring someone we “just know” is a good fit, or documenting problems with difficult employees. Usually when companies are struggling with productivity issues, HR is seen as a valued partner. When things are going smoothly, managers tend to think, “What is the HR doing for us, anyway?”
This doesn’t mean HR is above criticism. There is plenty of room to improve and yet, little has been done in the past. In the early 1900s when the U.S. economy was booming, recruiting and retaining workers was a difficult thing to do. After the World War II, U.S. industry suffered from an exponential talent shortage. A lot of small companies went out of business, and many big ones had to be sold. In the leadership void, modern HR was born. The HR managers ushered in practices such as job rotation, coaching, developmental assignments, 360-degree feedback, and succession plans. This sound routine today, but there was quite something back then. The need to include such practices
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arose mainly to attract and retain talent post the World War II. HR became not just a powerful function, but one voted the most glamorous by business executives. The economic slowdown of the 1970s eliminated labor shortages had business leader design programs to identify and develop good managers and workers. Supervisors spent less time on their direct reports. They had people working under them to manage everybody else, and other tasks were now given a higher priority. During the 1980s, when it was found that managers believe people-management tasks too distracting, they were allowed to devote less efforts to evaluation and coaching. The HR Manager’s tasks were now inclusive of hiring, retention and evaluation and coaching. While at the same time, tasks traditionally performed by HR were now pushed onto supervisors.
to follow procedures without having any direct power over them. This is more commonly known as “managing with ambiguous authority,” where those on the receiving end feel it’s like nagging. As the economy recovers post the 2008 Great Recession, businesses are now looking to HR to speed things up. The expertise will help companies get ahead of debilitating market shifts. What can the HR do to lead the change? Chief executive officers and other executives are rarely experts on workplace issues. Whatever experience they have comes through training programs and assignments in which they could have learned effective people-management practices. HR teams can articulate a point of view on people-management topics relevant to the business.
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LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
LAYOFFS A report published at the beginning of the 2008 recession noted that only a third of HR departments were consulted on company decisions about who to layoff. This is one area where HR has the most expertise of any function.
RECRUITING Many organizations don’t allow managers with no training in the recruitment process. The HR can provide training in interviewing candidates, which would reduce the risk of litigation and the cost of poor hires. 026
FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS Managers who want to retain control often resist working from home and telecommute. HR leaders know these arrangements can make the workplace more productive.
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WORK PERFORMANCE Most companies are now stepping away from evaluations as they realize the HR has been right all along – Managers need training, time and the incentives
to have the much-needed conversations with subordinates about performance and growth. HR has profound knowledge about workplace issues. Although, The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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it makes no difference if it doesn’t help the company gain firstrate analytics such as employee data and how to gain the most from their human capital. According to a recent Deloitte survey, HR Managers felt least prepared in the area of analytics. Companies like Google, Microsoft mine their own data to predict successful hires. Similarly, IBM uses its employee database to create teams effectively. Besides the tech sector, no other company has been able to successfully employ the use of data to identify its best performers and minimize its own health care costs. In many companies, CIOs are the ones handling big data to solve HR problems, 028
such as hiring the best candidates and finding out which practices increase productivity. If HR is to meet goals on people management, it must either handle those analytics itself, or partner with CIOs and their teams to do the work. Today, one of traditional HR’s biggest problems has been supporting business strategy. Companies no longer stick to long-term plans. Instead they generate streams of initiatives to address talent requirements. What can HR do to bring the long view back into
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organizations? By integrating with the immediate problems that businesses face, they can help the companies use human capital and once again be reliant on it. HR should assess what initiatives should be taken: what emerging needs do they need to address first? How do those needs map to the company’s talent pipeline? How are things likely to change in the marketplace? Do we have the ability to handle those changes internally?
because each of these companies now specialize in talent. Human capital is their biggest asset. This doesn’t mean that other sectors are falling short. For instance, JP Morgan is now using an algorithm to identify candidates who are likely to break the rules. Now is the time to reimagine how to handle human capital more broadly. Companies should treat HR more than just a cheerleader for an initiative to draw talent; otherwise leaders will take on another task for attracting and retaining talent and end up burning more capital in the process.
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Hi Jane, If the employee’s social media profile is his personal life, then why do managers keep a check on it? Being a millennial in this highly competitive world, I live with the thinking that my life revolves around work and tag myself as professionally ambitious. To quench my thirst for success, I am very particular about the kind of personal image I put forward in front of my employers. I firmly believe in the ideology that personal and professional life must not be mixed up. This is why when I work, I don’t like discussing my personal life and once I’m out of the office premises, I forget all my professional worries. But I have often noticed that companies don’t follow this ideology even though they preach it. This bothers me. I fail to understand that the privacy of an employee is respected in all terms but except for social media accounts. I have often come across incidents wherein recruiters stalk my social media profiles before they even consider hiring me. There have also been instances when interviewers have asked for login details as well. Even after I pass all these obstacles and get hired, I still need to be wary about what kind of content I post on my accounts in case any of my colleagues or even managers find it unsuitable. Why would I be judged on the basis of what I do after office hours within the office?
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Answer First of all I would like to clarify that you aren’t the only one who has this doubt in terms of distinguishing between one’s personal and private life. It is necessary to bring this up as there are a number of misconceptions surrounding the same. Employers never make it clear as to why do they give importance to your social media profiles. But on a logical front, they are not interested in stalking you creepily in order to know the latest ongoing buzz in your life. This is your personal space which the company officials don’t intend to intrude upon. You may be at the next big party or might have shared an offensive opinion but it doesn’t bother them. All they are concerned about is what kind of an employee is going to join their organization. We are well aware of the fact that a background check is necessary while hiring someone. Even when we hire domestic help for our homes, we run a background check. Then why are we against a background check when it comes to us? Another reason why employers ask us for our password is that it is a test to know if you have anything to hide or not. Among the interview panel are experts who can judge you by your reactions and body language. A number of times the password is not even used but is a test for you. Moving on to the part where you feel that you need to be careful before posting anything. Well this comes under your personal life. It means that even if your colleague or senior is judging you on the basis of you hanging out with the opposite sex or the opinions you shared, that is on the personal front. He is not questioning your
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professional capabilities by doing so. Judging people on the basis of the social media accounts is a common phenomenon these days and is not related to your professional efficiency. If your colleague lets his personal judgment affect your professional relationship with him, then I advise you to bring it to your manager or HR’s notice.
Hi Jane, Is random drug screening a fair practice or should the employees be given a benefit of doubt? I am the HR manager of a tech firm and like any other HR personnel; I’m responsible for keeping a check on the behavior of our employees. Last week, we had an employee who came to work fully stoned. I would like to clarify that this is not just an assumption but an actual fact. People usually assume that if someone has swollen eyes or acts funnily in comparison to his usual behavior, he has consumed any form of intoxicant. But this was not the case with this particular employee. When he came to work that specific day, he was quite restless and kept looking for excuses to leave his desk. In order to do so, he kept going to random people in the office and engaging in small talk with them. Many of these people reported to me that such behavior is disturbing them and I must ask him to discontinue doing so. We all thought that he was just in the mood to be cordial but that was not the case. When I called him to my room to politely request him to mind his own business, he proudly announced that this must be the marijuana effect. On knowing this, I joined the dots and realized that this was the reason behind his unusual behavior. I gave him a stern warning to never repeat it in future and let him go. But this incident opened
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my eyes. It is just this person who came and told me the truth. A number of people would be doing so but were never caught. The incident gave me an idea to conduct random drug screening among the employees to make sure that nobody comes to office intoxicated. Once I do so, people will become careful and will make sure that their senses are under control whenever they are in the office premises. Can you please guide me on how to go about it?
Answer It is a common practice to conduct drug screening not only among employees but also before hiring them. It is wise of you to come up with this solution before things get out of hand. After all, you will be held responsible in case of an incident of unruly behavior at the workplace. But before you conduct any such tests, it will be better if you attain proper information about it by your pathologist. Ask him about the kind of tests that can be done and plan things accordingly. You must also be aware about the type of drugs that you want to get screened. This is mainly because the trace of each drug varies in different forms. Certain drugs stay longer in one’s urine than in the blood and vice versa. The pathologist will be able to guide you about what is the ideal test for a workplace. I would suggest that an alcohol test will be pointless as its traces are visible in one’s urine for up to 80 hours. When you conduct such a test, your employee can easily claim that he had some wine with dinner that’s why the traces. Also, certain companies allow consumption of beer during lunch. But there are a number of drugs which leave a 034
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lasting effect on a person’s senses for hours at an end. At such the time, the excuse of its consumption a night back does not work. You must make it clear that drug consumption is unacceptable on working days even after working hours. Along with this, its consumption is illegal in a majority of states. It will be advisable to conduct any such tests towards the end of the week before you close for the weekend. This is because on an average, drugs are visible in the urine as well as blood for three to four days. If you do it sooner, the person will claim that he attended a rave party on the weekend and justify his actions. In states where marijuana and hash are legal, you can’t object if results show its consumption. At such a time, you can mess with the minds of your employees. Come up with a rule according to which if results show drug consumption three times, then the person will be fired with immediate effect. By doing so, you will not need to announce the results and will instill fear about random drug screening among employees. And majority of times it works. Also make it clear to your employees that if they are suffering from a hangover of any kind, it is better to stay at home instead of risking their job.
Hi Jane, Loyalty or job position: What decides my salary? Hi Jane! I have decided to approach you with my query as I have nobody else to discuss this with because I believe that my issue might 036
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offend the HR of my company. I will give you a brief idea that it concerns my salary structure and I have often heard that bringing up this issue with your employer or your manager is considered rude and I don’t want to do anything that will jeopardize my impression in the workplace. I have dedicated more than seven years of my life to the company I am currently working for and am always praised for my ideal employee behavior and unwavering efforts. Even though such kind words flatter me, I feel that I am not appreciated in terms of appraisal for my efforts. After spending such a long portion of my career over here, I have reached a respectable position but not one I can boast about. If my company would hire someone new for my position, they would need to pay at least 30 percent more than my current salary. The reason behind my comparatively low pay is that I have been given regular increments over the years but never a significant pay hike. Due to this, I feel that I am not valued enough at the workplace. It seems that my loyalty for the organization is taken for granted. This has demotivated me to a great extent because of which I dread to go to work. After spending so much time at one place, I don’t feel like venturing for a new job nor am I happy over here. I don’t know what to do.
Answer If I have to be completely honest with you, the reason why you are even asking me this is because you are the kind of person who does not like getting out of your comfort zone. This is my personal assumption. One of the major reasons behind this may be that as you have spent a large chunk of your professional life at the same place surrounded by familiar people. Leaving this job would mean that you will have to start the process of learning something new and mixing with unknown people all over again. This may seem like a tedious process but it is for your own personal benefit. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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There are many instances wherein employees are underpaid just because they aren’t a special recruitment for the given position and have been promoted gradually over the years. The company will always appreciate you as by giving you your current job position, they are not only saving their money but also a lot of their time and energy. A new recruitment requires a number of interviews and negotiation which not only includes an impressive salary but also perks to lure an efficient candidate. After the recruitment process is done with, the company needs to train the employee from scratch. All this need not be necessary in the case of a loyal employee who has dedicated his time to the company. On gradual promotion, you only need basic guidance. This is why promoting a loyal employee is a win-win situation for the company but the same isn’t the case for the employee himself. Along with this, the company knows that you won’t go anywhere as you have been with them for such a long time. This is where your loyalty is taken granted for. In your case, your concerns are absolutely justified. If you are putting in so much effort and time for the company’s progress, you must also be rewarded for the same. If you
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feel demotivated, it will adversely affect your work productivity. You will once again lose the opportunity to be rewarded because of it. I would suggest you to broach this subject with your manager stating that as you are putting in so much effort for a higher post, you would like to know what the appraisal system is for the same. If your manager says that appreciation is your appraisal, then it’s a reality check that the company doesn’t deserve your efforts and you need to move on to an organization which values you. Whatever your decision is, make sure it is in your favor.
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EMPLOYEE
BENEFITS FURRY FIESTA! THE BENEFITS OF TAKING YOUR PET TO WORK We usually discuss that a highly competitive world has given rise to immense pressure and need for efficiency among the employees. But we fail to notice that it is not just the employees who are facing the pressure of competition but also our employers. As the job opportunities are on a constant rise, these employers need to strive hard to retain efficient workforce in their organization. In order to do so, they are ready to go to any extent, literally. The main way to make sure that employees don’t leave is by keeping them happy and giving in to their demands. Giving in to any kind of demands does not mean acknowledging a toddler’s tantrums. The organization must know how to distinguish between a reasonable and an unruly one. This is done taking into consideration the convenience of the organization. Reasonable basically means that it must evidently improve the productivity at the workplace. One of the useful ways to yield high work productivity is to make sure that you have your employees’ undivided attention. This means that if the employee does not have to worry about something else at the back of his head, only then he will be able to give his best. Taking this ideology into consideration, employers started allowing their employees to bring their kids to work so that there won’t be parents stressing over what their tiny tot is doing. But this perk doesn’t end here. 040
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There was a lot of hue and cry about not treating animals equivalent to humans. A number of people argued that for them their pets were as good as their own children. This sparked a debate about allowing pets at work the way children are allowed. Initially, companies were not so pleased with the idea of having animals around at the workplace. After all, it is tedious to look after them and make sure that they don’t trouble the people around them. After endless discussions, the concept of allowing pets to work moved over from being an annual event to a regular phenomenon. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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Furry creatures going around your workplace
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When this concept of bringing pets to work was initially brought up, it seemed like a fun activity to do once in a while to lift up the spirits at the workplace. This gave rise to the celebration of a special day wherein the employees would bring their pets to work. A fresh change like this in the everyday life within the confines of the office is what every organization needs once in a while to freshen up the atmosphere which helps boost the work productivity for a few days.When this experiment turned out to be a success, up came a suggestion regarding carrying out this celebration on an everyday basis. The mere mention of this suggestion created a mental image of a messy office in the minds of the people in charge. All the HR could think of hiring people specially to clean animal poop all day. All the managers could think of was hearing the petty cry of an animal in the middle of the meeting. All the employer could think of was a potential moving toy roaming around in the office, distracting everyone. Robin Johnson, an advocate in Annapolis, USA stated that, “I have always detested furry creatures. Just the thought of touching them would creep me out. But when I first heard about this concept, I was intrigued. After spending a day wherein a happy face with four legs was moving around in the office, I changed my opinion.� These were just impulsive thoughts. After extensive discussions and research, a different perspective about the same was formed.
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BENEFITS We are usually told that in order to complete a project successfully, one must put in all the hard work and dedication that he can. But we fail to notice the scientific facts associated with this as they contradict this belief. Certain studies clearly state that when an individual spends too much time on the same task, his productivity will be inhibited. At such a time, a furry creature’s bark will break you from the work spell and will restart your brain at a faster pace.This is a way to reenergize your mental self and get back to work with better focus. Interacting with a pet can replace the tea break you were planning to take. There are a number of companies which promote the concept of bringing a pet to work in order to maintain a lighthearted atmosphere at the workplace. Doing this motivates the employees to look forward to come to work. At the end of the day, no management formula or strategies can help you yield the kind of productivity which can simply be attained by a group of people who thoroughly enjoy their work. The willingness to do the job says a lot about the managers looking after the workforce as well. Another study claims that as having pets around reduces stress levels, it induces a friendly environment. This promotes cordial relations among its employees. This will happen as interacting with pets will also give rise to interactions between people who aren’t even aware about each other’s existence in the office. Cordial relations ultimately result in better communication and understanding among the colleagues. Such a situation helps build trust while working together as a team. Even though we have grown up to believe that animals and humans belong to two distinct races, with maturity and the right understanding, we have realized that even animals reciprocate to our feelings. This is why pets are treated as affectionately as one’s own child these days. 044
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Benefits of taking your pet to work
Hence if a child can be brought to work, then why not a pet. With the pet around, the owner need not worry about if he ate well, or went for a poop, or is breaking something in the kitchen. The peace of mind he gets while watching the pet himself instantly boosts his efficiency. The difference in efficiency has been noticed through various researches. As competition is on a constant rise in various sectors of the professional arena, each company wants to make sure that they have the most efficient workforce in the market. Due to the development of numerous companies all at once in the same sector, even employees have the liberty to choose which company to work for and will value them the most. Therefore to retain the best of their employees, companies are willing to go the extra mile and make provisions to fulfill their wants. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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Today’s global economy may require even small businesses to send professionals abroad. It has become a competitive necessity. For instance, nearly 80 percent of midsize and large companies currently assign employees to work in foreign countries – and 45 percent plan to increase the number they have on assignment. International assignments, however, don’t come cheap. On an average, expatriates cost three to four times what they would in an equivalent position back home. A fully loaded expatriate package including benefits required by law and cost-ofadjustments costs anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million annually. The single largest expenditure most companies make on any one individual except for the C-suite. In a study of expatriates at about 500 U.S., Japanese and European companies, it was found that managers don’t find their tenure worthwhile. Managers sent on international assignments returned early because of job dissatisfaction or difficulties in adjusting to a foreign location. In addition, nearly two-third did not perform up to the expectations of their bosses. The most problematic of all – nearly one-fourth of expats who finished an assignment with their company only to join a competitor, within a year of their repatriation. If companies are spending so much money on expats, why do so many companies get it wrong? The main reason seems to be that many 046
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How important is expatriate training to you?
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companies don’t engage in special efforts for their expats. People at the home office find it difficult to imagine that expats need help adjusting. Of course, a lot of companies engage in serious efforts to make international assignments beneficial both for the expatriates and the organization. More often than not, such companies cosign the responsibility of expat selection, training, and support to the human resources department. According to a study, only 11 percent of HR managers have little understanding of a global assignment’s set of personal and professional challenges. Many don’t see why people who’ve been given international assignments should be getting special attention particularly when something goes horribly wrong. The companies that manage their expatriates effectively follow the below mentioned general practices:
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CROSS CULTURAL SOCIAL TRAINING The HR department in your company must be prepared to offer cross cultural training for an employee going abroad on an assignment. The trainer must familiarize the expat and their family with local customs, general taboos and expectations for social interactions. This includes everything, from serving meals for dinner guests to gift-giving etiquette in the country where the expatriate is expected to work. For instance, when a colleague first moved to Japan she went to a colleague’s funeral and wore a black suit. She noticed several attendees at the funeral pointing at her. She discovered that black signifies joy in Japanese culture, while white is the appropriate color for mourning. She was embarrassed and mortified that she had offended the deceased’s family.
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CROSS CULTURAL SOCIAL TRAINING
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The role of the HR manager involved in expatriate training is to help them go through coverage of labor relations laws in the
country, as well as effective leadership styles in the new culture. The expatriate must learn about hiring practices, productivity standards, disciplinary methods as well as local laws and regulations in the said country. In addition, the HR manager must research and cover important topics that can affect the overall performance of the expatriate. For instance, in certain countries it is customary to get to know potential customers before building a business relationship with them. In many countries, one does not approach the top management in an organization to discuss a business deal. The business conversation is always handled by lower level managers.
SECURITY TRAINING Due to increased political tensions across the globe, the HR department must address security issues. The expatriate should learn about what local conditions could affect them and their family. HR managers should address issues such as the likelihood of kidnapping and terrorism, as well as the implications of being arrested by local authorities. You must also ensure you’ve included spouses in to some of the training. For instance, a large percentage of expatriate assignments remain largely unsuccessful because the wife or husband is not happy in the new country.
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REMOTE TRAINING The HR department should plan for training of the expatriate. This training can be in various forms – such as live meetings via teleconferencing and web-based training. Such training will not only keep the said expatriate up to date on the company’s development, but will help the HR manager receive feedback from the expatriate on certain issues and further training that is required.
REPATRIATION HR manager must also include repatriation training to further their agenda. Repatriation requires adjustment to their home country, especially after the employee has spent years working abroad. The returning employee needs to become familiar with practices in the home office, as well adjust to 052
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the reporting hierarchy. Moreover, HR must plan to incorporate the returning employee’s insights and knowledge gained abroad into future training for other expatriates moving to the same location. To summarize, you should consider the following while designing a training initiative for expatriates: Language (formal and conversational) Culture (food, dress, and observance of holidays) Currency and exchange rates Professional expectations as well as interactions with the staff
SENDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE HR managers often send people abroad for the wrong reasons. More often than not, they send the wrong people! This is not because the said person lacks the necessary skills. Managers often send people who lack the ability to adjust to different customs and business
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practices. In other words, sending people who are culturally illiterate can cost you a lot of money. For instance, a senior manager at a U.S. automaker who was an expert at negotiating business deals was transferred to China to conduct similar deals. The man’s confrontational style offended the consensus-minded Chinese to the point where contractors and suppliers did not even speak to him directly. Moreover, the man was unwilling to change his ways. He was soon called back to the company’s home office, and his replacement was sent to China to undo the great damage he had done. Make sure the expatriates are fully appraised of the challenges, issues and differences. The single most important part for an HR manager is to make sure the expatriates understand the living and working environment they are about to enter is exponentially different from their home country’s. Automaker Honda begins expatriate assignments with clear strategic objectives such as the development of a new car model. The assignees are asked to finish a survey to identify personal strengths and weaknesses related to the international assignments. Six months before the expatriate is expected to return, the company initiates a training process to locate a suitable job for the person. This includes a debriefing interview upon repatriation to be inclusive of the lessons learned from the international assignment. Due to Honda’s integrated approach, nearly all of its expatriates consistently perform beyond expectations. Moreover, the turnover rate for returning expatriate is less than five percent. Most important, expatriates consistently achieve the key strategic objectives established at the beginning of each international assignment. 054
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COVER STORY The Evolution of Office Christmas Parties! The outlandish, drunken office Christmas party used to be a staple of popular culture, namely television, books, and movies. Now it has dropped out of the imagination; the only example I can think of recently is Office Christmas Party, a goofily ridiculous comedy from 2016 starring Jennifer Anniston and TJ Miller. Are office holiday parties a thing of the past? Or have we simply stopped noticing? During the 1950s, holiday office parties were a mixer saturated with alcohol and gushing with twelve months of pent-up frustrations at coworkers and bosses. Thanks to Mad Men, and its damning portrayal of office Christmas parties, we know the mixer was synonymous with reckless behavior: gin in the water coolers, clothes 056
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strewn around the company halls, and people grappling with growing feelings of seclusion. It was the time when holiday parties played a significant role in climbing the corporate ladder. Career counselors advised ambitious men and women that skipping a holiday mixer was like ending your career: A boss spends thousands of dollars on food and booze and you don’t show? You might as well moon him on a Monday morning in the office! By now, workers were getting tired of the seasonal obligations; at work, schools and family. Many wished they would have simply taken a day off rather than attend an obligated ‘off’ day at work. During the 1970s and 1980s, holiday office parties had become a slow, unhurried affair. There were exceptions, of course – drugs and orgies became a common thing. By the 90s, companies were now fearful of exposing themselves to hounds of regulators amidst the cash-strapped economy. The traditional office mixer had become outdated and immature. As far as corporate logic goes, office Christmas parties are to foster and strengthen working relationships. Turns out, it’s far from its intended purpose. As per a 2007 Columbia University study, most employees stick to their existing pool of office friends during a mixer. A company function can rarely leave a lasting impact on office dynamics. Today’s office Christmas parties aren’t The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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perceived by singles as an excuse to flirt, or get physical with people from other departments. Photocopying bare bottoms is about as salacious as parties get. Of course, you’ll still find a nude Santa gyrating on a table, and more, but it’s not like people are high on LSD and sledding down stairways. The event is a bit more than a stodgy, midday, corporate affair, where non-alcoholic mimosas are included. They’re kitschy and cute and sometimes, a little glamorous. The ubiquity of Ugly Christmas Sweaters has led to an uptick of Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties at work. The event has become on par with Black Friday or celebrating Halloween at work. These tacky garments are now being appropriated from their perpetual spot in the wardrobe to becoming the go-to garment for Office Christmas parties.
What happens at a party, does not necessarily stay at the party Office Christmas Party can be a great opportunity to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate the holidays. Or, it can be a memorable reason for all the wrong reasons. “Getting on top of the boss’s desk and dancing The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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topless is a bad idea,” Emily Warren, chief executive of recruitment consulting firm said in an interview. “Making a pass at the boss’s spouse is not a great idea, either. These sort of things happen all the time and are a big cause of giving the HR headaches.” “Of all my years in HR, 90 percent of the parties go wrong,” she said, adding, “people regret behaving salacious the next day.” In order to prevent misbehavior that can lead to lawsuits, sexual harassment allegations and cringeworthy memories, here’s what you can do: Carton Treatment Centers found that 85 percent of the 2,000 adults surveyed last year said they believed it was appropriate to drink at a holiday party at work. Only 11 percent reported experiencing negative social effects from drinking, such as having their behavior hurt others at work. “Drinking excessively is one of the quickest ways to slide down the career ladder,” Helen Lindemann, an HR at a tech firm in Silicon Valley. The HR should try to balance between treating employees as adults and prevent potentially rogue behavior. One needs to ensure that everyone drinks in moderation. Lindemann recalled one employee who overindulged in alcohol and loudly flirted with the boss asking if she could receive a raise and bonus for her outstanding performance review. While the employee did receive a bonus and a raise, she wasn’t respected by anybody The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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at work, including her immediate boss and the colleagues. Attendees should only be allowed a limited number of drinks. It’s a good idea to offer vouchers for cab rides. One should also consider serving a light-alcohol punch if they know employees are sure to indulge excessively in alcohol. According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 59 percent of human resource professional said their companies planned to serve alcohol during an office Christmas party. The HR should email expectations for appropriate conduct when sending out e-invites to the employees. “Just because it’s being held in the office setting, it does not translate for an invitation to behave rogue,” says Lindemann. Even if you’re a mom-and-pop shop, you should consider setting expectations for appropriate conduct during the office Christmas party. When you don’t say anything, employees can take it for granted and can go crazy. Remember, what happens at the party does not necessarily stay at the party. Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and social media apps, there are a hundred more ways to document rogue conduct in the office and share it with your followers. This can not only do permanent damage to one’s career but also get them fired from the company. Arrive early. Network. Take the office Christmas party as a golden opportunity to talk to senior executives. Company parties are a great place to introduce yourself to executives who will influence your career and work life. You cannot just barge into your boss’s boss’s cabin, but at a party it’s a very easy thing to do.
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How does immigration status of an employee affect the company Evolution is an inevitable part of human life. One can’t move forward unless he participates in it in any manner and hence progresses as an individual as well. Evolution is a part of literally every aspect of life. In this day and age, we are witnessing the most advanced evolution of all times, the one technological in nature. But we often fail to notice that evolution is not synonymous to only progress. Just like many other things, even the problems an individual faces have evolved over the ages. Same is the case with workplace problems as well. As we keep progressing 066
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MODERN WORKPLACE PROBLEMS Immigrant Workers’ Rights as a human race, even the nature of our problems changes according to the current scenario. For instance, the kind of problems the HR faced in the office around two decades ago is extremely different from those that erupt these days. Taking this into consideration, it is essential to keep up with the times even in terms of crucial situations. In the race to be the best, companies are ready to go to any extent to ensure maximum productivity. In order to make this happen, the workforce plays a significant role. However updated the technology might be or good the raw materials are, all these are insufficient as long as the employees are efficient enough. For this, companies are readily hiring people from any corner of the world as long as they assure high work productivity. To lure such candidates to move to the city where your office is situated, the company needs to not only offer an impressive pay scale but also appealing perks along with offer to do all the paperwork for the individual. It seems like a cakewalk but is a tedious task when actually done. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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Why is the employee’s immigration status the company’s responsibility? A majority of candidates make it clear in the interview itself that the company is responsible for any kind of paperwork that needs to take place in terms of immigration. This is also a practical way to do it as the offer letter of the company makes it way easier for the candidate to attain the visa instead of a regular approach. There are certain companies which refuse to take the responsibilities of the immigration paperwork. Due to this, there have been instances where these companies have missed out on efficient employees just because they didn’t want to get involved in this tedious task. This opened the eyes of other organizations and they realized that if they want the best of the workforce, they need to make sure that the immigration status of an employee doesn’t affect the organization. Also, this clause is now included in the employee’s contract as well. When the company takes up the responsibility of the employee’s immigration process, it does not just end by giving the offer letter. That is when the process actually begins. The immigration criteria differ from country to country. Therefore when an organization decides to hire a foreigner as its
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employee, he has to first look into the rules of its own country and how compatible is the immigration office to grant visa to the employee belonging to that particular nationality. Whether we like it or not on a personal level, one needs to take into consideration all these factors to make the immigration process smoother. There are times when the company also needs to give a valid reason behind why do they need that particular candidate in their company and not anyone else from the same country. The best way to avoid any kind of misconceptions in the near future is to consult an immigration agent beforehand. The HR of the particular company must go through all the various clauses of the immigration policy of the country where the company resides. This is because even in one country, the policy is different according to the requirement of the candidate applying for the visa. Now a company has various types of employees. It may house an intern, a person who works on a contract basis, a trainee, as well as a permanent employee. The criterion for immigration application for all these employees is absolutely different. This is why it is necessary for the company to be well aware about the immigration policies so that they can draft the contract accordingly. The immigration clause on the contract can be altered according to the kind of employee you are planning to hire.
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What if your employee’s visa expires? When a candidate is joining your company, you are well prepared that the immigration formalities will follow. On the safer side, you also keep a cushion of a few weeks before the candidate’s joining date so that the formalities are done with by then. As this procedure is expected, it can’t be termed as a problem per say. A problem is when it suddenly pops up out of nowhere when you least expect it. In this case, it can be an issue wherein the employee’s visa has expired or has been annulled. This case can erupt only in with a permanent employee. Interns or employees on a contract basis don’t need a long term visa and hence they move out once their work is done. But if an employee is a permanent one and the company wishes to retain him in the long run, then such visa issues can be a menace to the organization. Usually the organization makes it a point to make a request for the visa approval of the individual well in advance. At times, a faux pas like this can take place. This can serve as a cause of major stress to not only the employee but also the organization he is working for. When such a situation takes place, the organization is in jeopardy to make sure that a solution is found on an urgent basis. People usually think that why 072
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does the company need to worry; it’s the employee who is losing the job and a source of income. It does not work this way. Losing an employee is a major loss for the company as well. Take into consideration the time the company has invested in hiring the individual. Adding to this, there is more effort and time put it to bring in an employee from another country. The company might have also invested money for the same. Also, training a new employee all over again is such a tedious task. When an employee has to suddenly move out, he also leaves a number of tasks midway. Therefore a ruckus can happen in the case of such a situation. Even though the immigration process is a personal task, it is the responsibility of the organization if the person is visiting that country for official purposes. This is why to be on the safer side and to avoid any kind of confusion in the future, make things extremely clear in the contract of the employee itself. In case of a sudden annulment of the visa, it is wiser to claim that the company will take no responsibility for it. Instead the employee will have to pay a hefty fine for the same. This will promote them to be careful throughout their stay which will be beneficial for the country as well.
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Online HR Software:
Top HR Tools to improve employee management
A dedicated HR is not within the reach of every small business as not every business can afford them. Not having an HR department may save some money for business but it also means that small businesses are unable to plan their HR requirements properly. This may lead to various problems among staff members as various HR functions including sick leave, payroll and performance evaluation get ill treatment. Moreover, when HR management is gone to the dogs, it may lead to an unhappy workforce. Thankfully, there are lots of online HR tools that can help businesses meet their daily HR needs. Here is a list of the best HR tools currently available in the market.
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NEOCASE One of the most time consuming parts of any business is communication. It is to ensure that communication is understood. Neocase is a software CRM which aims to reduce calls, fax, webmail and mail volumes. It allows all queries and issues to be dealt with on an immediate basis. Moreover, it allows businesses to analyze and monitor employee happiness and boost their business workflow in order to make sure that processes are streamlined and faster. All of this makes up as an efficient way of dealing with communication and making a better use of human capital.
THE RESUMATOR This tool integrates with your email system and enables you to post job vacancies on well-known employment sites. You can read through the resumes sent in PDF or Word formats. You can also post jobs on various social media platforms or even have your own jobs webpages. The tool also helps set up workflows to give you a schedule by which you need to close the job openings in the company. Currently, The Resumator is only available on a monthly subscription basis. If you only have one or two job vacancies per month, its better you don’t spend your money on the system. However, your hiring needs exceed one or two vacancies per month, then you need to get this system on board. You can also add onboarding and training modules for an additional fee.
JOBATAR If you’re an extremely busy entrepreneur with no HR on the team, you may have a difficult time for shortlisting job applicants for a particular vacancy. Jobatar is here to solve this problem for you. Using this tool, The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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you may record questions to be asked to the interviewees and send them invitations to access the questions and record their answers. The responses given by the interviewees are recorded using a web cam on their laptop or PC. One can view each of these responses whenever they are able to find some free time. You can also access the system from your phone as well as tablet, and don’t need to be in the office to go through the interviews. This tool is the right choice to for if you are always on the go.
STAFF SQUARED Staff Squared is suitable for businesses all over the world. It is a cloud-based system which you can use to collect data and store it remotely. You can access all the HR files from any corner of the world, even when you’re telecommuting or sitting on a remote location on the planet. This tool comes with an employee interface that handles various requests such 080
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as shift change as well as vacation requests. It directs the requests to the appropriate supervisors on email for approval. Staff Squared comes with a monthly subscription and costs USD $4.5 each month for each user. It can get quite pricey if your business has a lot of staff members. The good news is, you can check out this tool for 14 days without paying a single penny to see if it’s the right one for you.
UPWORK A lot of companies usually have short-term requirements for graphic designers, content creators and programmers, which means they cannot justify hiring such talent on a long-term basis. Instead of paying a ludicrous amount in monthly salary, you can hire an expert on an hourly basis to get the work done. Use Upwork for sourcing specialist skills from freelancers from around the globe. Professionals who offer their services on this portal often telecommute. The main advantage of using Upwork is that you don’t even need to arrange an extra office space or office equipment for the short-term work. In addition, you can forget about mulling over any overhead cost of hiring and The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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training the professional. While this tool is quite different from a job board, it allows you to track work hours as well as goals and make payments accordingly. Upwork charges 10% of fees to the freelancers; employers are not required to pay anything for using Upwork.
ZENEFITS This tool is designed to cover the operational needs of an HR department. It helps with compensation, payroll, disability, insurance, tax management, and keep employee records. It helps you log employee attendance and records time sheets as well. The payments made to employees also include the option of various benefits such as offering stocks. Zenefits allows you to produce a wide range of reports – all on the basis of the data fed into the system. You may use these reports for tax filing as well as analyzing human capital and other resources. It is one of the most comprehensive HR tools available in the market and has been designed for compliance with the taxation and employment laws in USA. In today’s marketplace, there are tons of HR tools and technology than ever before. Unless you have a clear understanding of your HR business needs, and what you want to achieve now and in the future, you’ll find it difficult to find the right tool for your business. The software industry has evolved to meet the workforce needs of businesses of every size. Some of these tools help meet needs such as a competition for talent, demographic shifts, and the change in economy. Don’t be dazzled by the products available out there. Your objective is to not just support your business, but build and manage a more effective workforce.
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How Can Companies Reduce Bias in the Hiring Process
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Research shows that the hiring process is biased and unfair. Unconscious sexism, ageism, and racism play a monumental role in whom we hire. There are steps you can take to recognize and reduce these biases. Where do you start? How can you help your organization do the same? Unconscious biases cause us to make decisions in favor of one person or group to the loss of others. In the workplace, this can undermine diversity, recruiting and retention efforts. Biases can also shape a company’s culture and norms. HR Managers and Hiring Managers have to learn to de-bias their recruitment processes.
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AWARENESS TRAINING Managers need to rethink about ways to simplify and standardize the hiring process. To begin with, one must understand what hiring biases are and how they work. Awareness training can help employers recognize and acknowledge unconscious bias. This should further help spark conversations on steps the company as a whole can take to uproot the bias in their hiring process. Job listings play a critical role in recruiting talent and lay the first impression of a company’s culture. Certain word choices can have a strong impact on the application process. According to a research, masculine language, including words like ‘determined’ and ‘competitive,’ results in women perceiving that they do not belong in the work environment. On the other hand, words like ‘collaborative’ and ‘cooperative,’ tend to draw more women than men. Developer programs highlight stereotypically gendered words. You can either remove such words and replace with something more neutral. You may try to maintain a balance by using the same number of gendered verbs. Your ultimate goal is to explore how certain adjectives affect your applicant. Next, you should strive to level the playing field by ensuring your candidate’s specific qualifications and skills are not simply demographic characteristics. Blind the process for reviewing applications and resumes to improve the chances of recruiting the most relevant candidate in to the spot. Take work sample tests to mimic the tasks the candidate will be required to do when hired. This is one of the best indicators of future job performance. Ask candidates to solve work-related problems or participate in a skill test. A skill test is one of the best indicators of the quality of a candidate’s work versus unconsciously judging them based on appearance, gender, age and personality. 086
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STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS According to research, unstructured interviews, which lack the depth and a candidate’s experience and expertise meant to unravel organically through conversation, are often unreliable for predicting job success. Structured interviews, whereas, each candidate is asked the same set of questions in a standardized interview process can help reduce bias by allowing employers to focus on the objective of hiring the one who’ll contribute to the organization. Structured interviews are not just about asking questions in a certain sequence. Several companies, including Google, structure the content of their interview process using data. People in analytics departments often crunch data to figure out which interview questions are highly correlated with on the job success. A candidate’s take on certain question can give you a clue about their future job performance. A study found that impressions made during the first ten seconds of an interview could impact the interview’s final outcome. Meanwhile, another study suggests that employers hire people they like most on a personal level. This sort of natural chemistry or common interest can lead towards an unconscious bias. Instead, rating candidates as you would on their other skills during the interview is the way to go.
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DIVERSITY GOALS Also, be careful when you broach the subject of hiring into the conversation. Certain subjects can become controversial, especially when they undermine the people who are hired in those categories or even lead to a lash back from the advantaged groups. Research suggests that diversity in the workforce can be of immense business advantage. At the end of the day, it is the leader’s job to determine what they’ve done to set out to achieve certain diversity goals, if they have any. This would also encourage the company to keep diversity and equality on top of the hiring process. Stick with a method that does work, and substantially reduces error in predicting the outcome. Humans are biased, emotional and inconsistent when interviewing. As a result, only one in five interviews increase the odds that a hired candidate will be successful. Unconscious bias or stereotypes can create a non-level playing field for legitimate job seekers. It is rare that an interviewer ever goes home to find out the candidate who was hired was not successful elsewhere. One notable example of this being Jan Koum, who was declined a job offer at Facebook and then ended up selling his startup WhatsApp to Facebook for $19 billion. Implement these steps at the forefront of your hiring process. Recognize what you’re doing wrong with your recruitment process. Make sure you keep experimenting with what works best in your context. Hiring managers are powerfully and unconsciously influenced by their biases. It can be extremely difficult to remove bias from an individual. Although, it is quite possible to design a process that makes it harder for biased minds to skew the hiring process with their judgment. Stop wasting your resources by trying to de-bias the mindset. You should instead design a smarter hiring 090
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process that makes biases powerless, thus breaking the link between biased and discriminatory beliefs. This will also help your organization save millions of dollars from hiring a candidate not suited for the job. Most companies and individuals make less investment in human capital, particularly when using interviews to evaluate candidates. Interestingly, most organizations spend 70% of their operating budgets on workforce expenses. Rarely do these organizations measure the success of the hiring managers in their ability to select the right candidates. It is also rare for hiring managers to hold themselves accountable for becoming better interviewers. Using the aforementioned tips you can evaluate the qualifications and suitability of the job candidates, by comparing interview-based predictions with the performance on the job. It is quite possible that your organization’s return on human capital interview will increase over time as you acknowledge and reduce bias over time.
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Richard Branson Richard Branson’s corporate philosophy that “People are our greatest asset,” was not just made to impress the workforce. He is of the opinion that employees should be given top-priority. And thus, he has created a non-hierarchical, egalitarian, familylike culture in all of companies, an environment in which people like to work and coming to work. A central point of the corporate philosophy is that Branson likes to preserve the entrepreneurial integrity within Virgin. If you fail to motivate your people, you cannot get through bad times. If your employees are happy and enjoying their work, they will stay productive. Consequently, the customers will enjoy their experience with your company. The Virgin Group’s core businesses include retail operations, hotels, communications and an ubersuccessful airline. His flagship company, Virgin Atlantic Airways, has regular flights to New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Dublin. In many ways, Richard Branson has designed a company for the 21st century. What can we learn from Branson and his actions as an organizational architect?
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ENVISION Any leader’s role is to create and communicate a vision. Why is it so necessary to create a welldrafted and communicated vision for corporate change? The most renowned political leaders are masters of communicating their vision and presenting a viable alternative. This is done through language, metaphors, similes, and imagery they build to align forced, inspire people and make their vision a reality. Henry Ford wanted to build an affordable car for the masses. He wanted to help the farmers (his father was a farmer). IKEA founder Ingmar Kamprad founded the company to make affordable furniture for the masses, and Bill Gates wanted to change the way people work. When people are motivated, they commit themselves to the vision and to the mission statement of the organization. Your vision should play on the imagination and stimulate your employees’ creativity. It should be inspirational enough to create a sense of pride amongst your people so they go above and beyond the bottom line. This is how Richard Branson creates a sense of entrepreneurship amongst his people. He hires people with innovative ideas who want to run a new business, people who want to be the best among the crowd, people who have a strong desire to beat the competition. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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EMPOWERING Great leaders are effective at building commitment that will involve teams in their vision. Their teambuilding skills help their employees understand the business and instill a sense of ownership among the people. People at such organizations strongly believe that strategies are not limited to the top honchos of the organization. Leaders often talk about empowerment, but fail to express performance expectations. Exceptional leaders, however, empower employees and enhance their selfesteem to help each one of them perform beyond expectations.
ENERGIZING Every organization has people who are not living up to their full potential. There is enormous amount of energy flowing, which the leaders are supposed to channel into the right direction. It is in the leader’s hands to direct the energy externally and help shape the organization’s brand identity. A leader is like a social worker, who provides a sense of security, inspires trust and confidence and creates a safe environment. Here, emotional intelligence is the much needed trait that distinguishes effective from ineffective leaders. The most effective leaders recognize that The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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leadership means building a safe haven where people can be creative and become completely immersed in what they are doing. Richard Branson has created an organizational structure where people have a sense of ownership over what they are doing. These are the three traits of charismatic leadership - envisioning, empowering and energizing – which are essential to address people’s latent talent and bring them out in the open to make the world a better place. Branson applies his philosophy religiously – his organizations exist as small autonomous units which are run by self-managed departments made up of people who work autonomously. At such organizations, people set their own standards and rewards, and are eager to learn and know how to adapt. They go to great lengths to change the mindset of people who aren’t committed to the organization to achieve common goals. Virgin Atlantic, for instance, is an excellent example of this school of thought. Here, every single effort is made to surprise the customer in an enlightening way. First class passengers receive free The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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access to in-flight aromatic relaxation massage. There’s car service at both ends of the trip, all inclusive in the price of the ticket. In fact, Richard Branson himself is known to personally meet flights that arrive late or experience delays. At organizations like Virgin Atlantic, performance is not merely an abstraction. All the processes are directed towards providing the best customer experience and to enhance the possibility to improvisation through feedback loop. At Virgin Atlantic, every employee is familiar with the corporate culture of their organization. The values are fostered through workshops, meetings and seminars. People are expected to internalize the values and behave accordingly. In other words, Virgin Atlantic has never lost touch with the importance of human capital. All employees are well treated and remain at the core of its success. In the world of business, where shareholders control everything, Virgin continues to grow by doing things that are important to its employees and the customers. It puts employees first, customers second and the shareholders third because they see the wonders engaged employees can make in an organization. This is employee engagement – Richard Branson way! He may not have written books on HR and leadership, but he has built successful global businesses on the principle of putting employees first. The appeal of his companies is down to the leadership style which recognizes that happy employees equal more profits.
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WORKPLACE CULTURE
HOW OFFICE ATTIRES HAVE EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS
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Right from the time the concept of working in a structured space with a group of people who are working towards achieving the same goal as you are came into light, there came a dress code along with it. This ideology was in order to show that all those people are a part of the same team and also there must be certain decorum when it comes to a professional environment. Office attire is very often linked to fashion trends in the given period. This is obviously true as people tend to wear what is trending at the given time but there is much more depth in this concept. The other aspect is often left unnoticed as people usually fail to look at that side of the story. If we board a time machine and go back in time to see how office attires did evolve over the years, we will also have to take into consideration the fact that the scope of professions was extremely limited back then. Going back to the Victorian era for example, people claimed to be self sufficient. They would grow their own crop, milk their own cows, and sew their own clothes. Therefore you can get an idea that there weren’t many professional organizations that were functioning. During an aristocratic rule, there were mainly two kinds of professional organizations; one was the state’s administration and the other was the army. When you are a part of the court of a particular ruler, it is mandatory to carry yourself with the same level of dignity. This is why it was essential to dress well for the people involved in the administration. On the other hand, any kind of army has always had a dress code for various practical reasons. These two practices mainly gave rise to the concept of particular office attire. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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Moving on from the State Court to a business house Right from the 17th century, the trend of business suits became acceptable for the workplace. This was because the colors were such that they wouldn’t draw much attention and the fitting of the apparel was impeccable in order to give a professional finish. Office attire was initially treated as a uniform but later with the advent of fashion, these suits got a touch of individuality as well. After around 200 years of their origin, the design of these business suits underwent a streamline. The usual dull colors were accompanied with various shades of the same color family along with cuts and drapes that signified the fashion trends of that particular age. This was followed by the 20th century business suits which moved over to the novelty of getting such attire specifically designed. When we term something as a business suit, it often projects the office attire of a man. The main reason behind this is that initially only men were a part of any given profession. The 19th century was the time when one could notice the involvement of women in important matters. Despite allowing women to work, traces of orthodox were still visible. This can be made out from the kind of clothing women wore to work. These intellectual women were expected to be covered from head to toe, literally. Women would wear long dresses to work which would begin from the neck and end at the feet. But as the empowerment of women was given importance, so was their freedom to select what they wanted to wear to work. This resulted in women wearing the same kind of business suits as men to eradicate any signs of inequality in terms of gender at the workplace. This in itself was symbolization about how times were evolving and people gave more importance to work and not who wore what as long as it came under the business attire category. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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When office attire was uniform in all sectors What began as an acceptable dress code in the royal court of any kingdom went on to become the official attire for people indulging in any kind of profession. As the need for manufacturing of products and professional services increased, this gave rise to the increase in the number of private organizations as well. This means that as humanity progressed and the importance of education came into being, the people expected products or even services of a high quality. As we have often heard, demands give rise to the supplies. This is what happened in terms of professional organizations as well. No organization can survive without its workforce. This is what led to the increase in the working class. As private organizations started taking shape, the recruitment process for this also began. Recruitment was not the way it is currently, it mainly was picking up people you knew and trusted upon. These people would then be trained to do the job. At times, an expert in the field was hired 106
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to train the rest of the people. As these people were new to the professional world, they preferred sticking to the dress code which they have seen all their lives. This was the time when discussing the office dress code was not even an option. If you stated that you are off to work, it was understood that you will be dressed in a business suit or a long dress adhering to the acceptable color tones without any hint of obscenity. This changed with further development of professions. As people gained more insight about various professions, these private organizations were segregated on the basis of their fields of expertise. As this happened, the companies became more flexible with the acceptable workplace behavior. Also, they began dressing according to their respective job roles. Upon knowing more about each profession and what kind of duties it will consist of, the office attire became such which portrays the duty you fulfill. The evolution of office attires removed the uniformity and introduced a separate identity for every profession. This gave rise to the trend wherein one could guess what an individual does on the basis of the clothes he is wearing. By this time, the importance of physical appearance with the right level of comfort had also been established. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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The office attire scenario in the present times We live in an age wherein office attire is used as an excuse to dress according to one’s personality at the workplace. With the rising competition, employers from across the world understand the importance of retaining their employees. In order to do so, they are willing to be flexible with the office rules for the convenience of the workforce. This is why now the trend of wearing what pleases you to work has emerged. Now the office attire scenario is such that people who need to maintain decorum in regard with their professions have to dress up in business suits or whatever is the official attire according to their culture. Companies which directly deal with clients are stricter about the office dress code than those who work behind the curtain. In fact, people in the creative field are given the freedom to wear the clothes which match their moods. Offices now believe that if the person is not representing the company, then he must be given the liberty to dress comfortably. Despite this, rules regarding the basic conduct of the workspace are still maintained. Now that the office dress code isn’t as rigid as it used to be, we need to put in more thought about what to wear at the workplace.
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Casual Jobs and Internships Fair
Date: Oct 03, 2017
Casual Jobs and Internships Fair is a 1 day event being held on 3rd Oct 2017 at the University of Exeter in Exeter, United Kingdom. This event showcases exhibitors who are experts, counsellors and companies offering different job opportunities to the jobseekers. Many of such events provide a wide range of jobs and make it easy for the jobseekers to get the right job in the Education & Training, HR Consultants industries. Venue: Exeter, UK
Spring Career & Internship Fair
Date: Oct 03, 2017
Spring Career & Internship Fair is a 1 day event being held on 3rd Oct 2017 in Commerce, United States Of America. This event showcases products by the exhibitors that are going to join the event who will introducing some of the latest ranges of products such as: Agricultural Production and Rural Infrastructure, Agricultural, stock farming, horticultural, fish farming equipment and technologies etc. in the Education & Training industry. Venue: Commerce, USA
Job Fair Moncton
Date: Oct 03, 2017
Looking for Work? New Career? Immediate Hiring? Direct Interview? DO NOT MISS JOBS CANADA! Come to The Crowne Plaza Moncton Downtown on October 3rd, 2017 from 1pm to 3pm in order to meet hiring companies, recruiters and get a job interview! Visit jobscanadajobfairs.com for more information, preregistration and to apply to hundreds of daily jobs posted online by recruiters and hiring companies. Venue: Commerce, USA
HR Audits
Date: Oct 03-04, 2017
The HR Audits, organized by the Marcus Evans will take place from 3rd October to 4th October 2017 at the NBC Tower in Chicago, USA. The conference will cover areas like introduction to HR audits, human capital risks, HR metrics, HR 110
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audit model, strategic alignment. Venue: Long Beach, California, USA
Graduate Recruitment, Internship and Placement (GRIP) Careers Fair
Date: Oct 05, 2017
Graduate Recruitment, Internship and Placement (GRIP) Careers will be held at the University of Derby in Derby, United Kingdom. This event showcases products like Government agencies promoting education, Banks providing Educational loans, Service Provider to Educational institutions, ICT solution providers etc. in the industry. Venue: Derby, UK
Recruitment Asia
Date: Oct 31-Nov 01, 2017
Recruitment Asia is the region’s most comprehensive forum on recruitment and talent acquisition. It is a must-attend conference if you want to boost your people strategies for strategic business outcomes. Addressing the key challenges in recruiting processes and showcasing the best practices and expert insights in this area, this event is positioned to be your one-stop shop which allows you to learn and benchmark against your own practices. Take full advantage of this opportunity to learn from the best, and join more than 150 other business and HR leaders from across Asia to map out the route to attracting and securing the best talent. Venue: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Deploying HR Analytics for Better Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness
Date: Nov 09, 2017
The Deploying HR Analytics for Better Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness, organized by the Corporate Research Forum will take place on 9th November 2017 at the Pewterers Hall in London, United Kingdom. The conference will cover areas like how to prioritise and what to analyse to get actionable insights, Alec’s ‘organisational systems approach’ to diagnosing the issues that need to be addressed, what questions should we be asking and what types of analyses of people and business processes in organisations do we need to apply, etc. Venue: London, UK The HR Digest Magazine | October 2017
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Miami HR Summit
Date: Nov 14, 2017
The Miami HR Summit, organized by the Executive Summits will take place on 14th November 2017 at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel in Miami, USA. The conference will focus on critical roles and skills that are required to execute strategy, and many more. Venue: Miami, USA
HR Professionals Conference
Date: Nov 23, 2017
The HR Professionals Conference, organized by the Hewett Recruitment will take place on 23rd November 2017 at the Bank House Hotel Spa and Golf in Bransford, United Kingdom. The conference will cover areas like HR Professionals. Venue: Bransford, UK
HR Law
Date: Nov 29, 2017
The HR Law, organized by the National Seminars Training will take place on 29th Nov 2017 at the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Tacoma, USA. The conference will cover areas like key federal equal employment laws, title vii of the civil rights act of 1964, pregnancy discrimination act of 1978, and equal pay act of 1963. Venue: Tacoma, USA
Recruiting Trends Conference
Date: Nov 30-Dec 01, 2017
The Recruiting Trends Conference, organized by the LRP Conferences will take place from 30th November to 1st December 2017 at the Palm Beach County Convention Centre in West Palm Beach, United States Of America. The conference will cover areas like Recruitment Management Systems, Recruitment Marketing, Screening, and Talent Management. Venue: West Palm Beach, USA
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Managing Human Resources
Date: Nov 30-Dec 01, 2017
The Managing Human Resources, organized by the National Seminars Training will take place from 30th November to 1st December 2017 at the Country Inn and Suites Annapolis in Annapolis, USA. The conference will cover areas like purpose and importance of human resources, recruiting, interviewing, and hiring, federal laws, discrimination, and compliance and many more. Venue: Annapolis, USA
HR Auditing: Identifying and Managing Key Risks
Date: Dec 04-05, 2017
The HR Auditing: Identifying and Managing Key Risks, organized by the Global Compliance Panel will take place from 4th December to the 5th December 2017 in Washington, USA. The conference will cover areas like background of HR audits, evolution of HR audits, developing an HR audit plan, identifying key HR audit issues. Venue: West Palm Beach, USA
International Conference on Human Resources & Talent Management
Date: Dec 21-22, 2017
The International Conference on Human Resources & Talent Management, organized by the SDMIMD will take place from 21st December to 22nd December 2017 at the Pacific Business Hotel in Xinyi District, Taiwan. The conference will cover areas like ensuring higher ethical standards, integrity & professionalism. Venue: Xinyi District, Taiwan
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