Ed tor’s Note Some believe, corporate philanthropy is on the decline. Companies increasingly see themselves caught up between critics demanding higher levels of Corporate Social Responsibility and investors bulldozing to capitalize on short-term profits. This has led companies to become more strategic in their Corporate Social Responsibility. Increasingly, CSR is used as a form of promoting a company’s image through case-related or other high-profile charitable sponsorships. In the past decade, U.S. corporate spending on CSR jumped from $945 million in 2006 to an estimated $16 billion a year in 2016. Among these are some shining examples of companies which provide much-needed support to worthy causes, and in return increase their visibility and improve employee morale. The HR Digest’s ranking of ‘America’s Most Generous Companies’ shines light on companies with the highest CSR reputation. Plunge in!
Among other things, we have, Workplace Culture, which delves into the ASOS exposé of warehouse employee mistreatment in an investigation led by a leading Internet media company. Some of these horrific accounts by warehouse workers, raise the question: Are we forgetting the human in our pursuit to higher profits? You might also like Q&A with Jane, your official canon for brutally honest, straightforward answers to HR related queries, and concerns answered by Jane Harper. Legal Hub discusses why and how religious freedom outweighs transgender civil rights! Happy Reading!
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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
Nisha Dhamecha 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 Snapchat Spectacles - A Threat At Workplace?
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS What Inspires Your Workforce?
Q&A WITH JANE
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How do I stop the lunch thief from stealing my food?
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT The Growing Problem of Unites States’ Youth Unemployment
COVER STORY Companies with the Highest CSR Reputation The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Companies: Yes, We Care about America’s $1 Trillion Student-Loan Debt Problem
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LEGAL HUB Your Conservative Christian Employer Can Fire Your Transgender Co-worker
HR TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY How IBM promotes On-job Training
RECRUITMENT POINT
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Can We Rely on Algorithmic Hiring?
SUCCESS STORY General Electric’s Unique Employee Rating System
WORKPLACE CULTURE ASOS Investigation Claims: How Long Will We Continue to Overlook the Human?
UPCOMING HUMAN RESOURCES EVENTS & CONFERENCES
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Obama Urges to Act on Paid Sick Leave The DOL has issued a rule regarding President Obama’s Executive Order 13707, wherein federal contractors will need to provide up to 7 days of paid sick leave to all of their employees starting January 1, 2017. Under the Final Rule, Executive Order 13706 applies to four (4) categories of contractual agreements: 1. Procurements contracts for construction under the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) 2. Service contracts covered by the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) 3. Concessions contracts from the SCA by the Department of Labor’s regulations at 29 CFR 4.133 4. Contracts in connection with federal property or lands and related to offering services for federal employees, their dependents or the general public Moreover, any subcontract of a covered contract that (like the upper-tier contract) can be categorized as one of these four (4) classes is liable to the paid sick leave requirements. This way, if you have a subcontract with a federal worker which can be categorized as one of the above classifications, you are covered by Executive Order 13706 also. The Final Rule contains certain limited exclusions from coverage for the following types of agreements: (1) Grants; (2) Contracts and agreements with and grants to Indian Tribes under Public Law 93-638, as revised; (3) Any procurement contracts for construction projects that are not subject to the Davis-Bacon Act (i.e., procurement contracts for construction ventures under $2,000); and 010
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(4) Any agreements for services, except those explicitly covered by the Final Rule, that are exempted from scope under the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act or its executing controls. The Final Rule additionally gives that the Executive Order does not apply to contracts for the manufacturing or furnishing of materials, supplies, articles, or equipment to the government, including those subject to the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act. So, if you are covered by Executive Order 13658, which requires the payment of a $10.10 the lowest pay permitted by law to workers of government contractual workers, you are covered by this Executive Order too.
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DOL wants to Determine the Size of the Gig Economy Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced plans to bring back the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) to the upcoming Current Population Survey, in an attempt to get a clear picture of the 21st century workforce. In order to achieve this, the DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on September 30, 2016, proposed a reintroduction and an expansion of the CWS. The upcoming Current Population Survey is scheduled for May 2017. The CWS has not been used since 2005. It was discontinued due to funding issues. Since then, various aspects of employment have radically changed. By 2040, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors, says a survey by Intuit. With the resuscitation of the CWS, the DOL aims to gain reliable statistics about the number as well as the characteristics of these workers. As noted on the proposal, the DOL will add four new questions to the CWS. It says, “two questions will focus on whether individuals obtain customers or online tasks through mobile apps.” This questions will provide information about how gig-economy workers are finding employment and connecting with customers. The other two questions “will examine whether work obtained through electronic matching platforms is a source of secondary earnings.” This questions will help policymakers create better legislative and regulatory actions addressing services providers in the sharing economy. Employers may comment on the DOL’s proposed CWS collections of this data on or before November 29, 2016. 012
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Supervisor’s Remarks Could Be Used as Direct Evidence of Discriminatory Bias On September 2, 2016, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland held that the EEOC can now move forward in its case against a renowned Maryland healthcare provider for failing to promote a female worker because she had availed herself of a maternity leave. Under the EEOC v. Dimensions Healthcare System, a female employee was passed up for promotion, in spite of having more years of experience in the industry. In response to her inquiries, the supervisor told her that the selected candidate “had a management background. Plus you were on maternity leave for a while.” The court determined the case on the fact that the plaintiff has superior experience and qualifications compared to the selected candidate while rejecting the defendant’s argument. The court considered the single, isolated remark and the personnel decision made by the supervisor as direct evidence of a discriminatory bias. The EEOC v. Dimensions Healthcare System case is a reminder that comment, especially those made by the management, can constitute direct evidence of discrimination under federal discrimination laws. When there’s direct evidence of workplace discrimination, it’s easier for a court or the jury to find the management liable for unlawful discrimination at workplace. The case highlights the importance of training employees in the decisionmaking position to keep themselves from voicing harmful remarks or considering unlawful factors when making hiring or employment decisions or otherwise.
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Snapchat Spectacles - A Threat at Workplace? Last month, Snapchat (which recently changed its name to Snap, Inc.) announced the release of Snapchat Spectacles – colored sunglasses with a built-in camera that records videos. The videos can be stored in the sunglasses or uploaded into the user’s smartphone for social sharing. The video-camera boasts a 115-degree field of view, designed to capture how humans see. With employees filming a co-workers birthday celebration, or just goofing around in the office, there’s a chance that they may end up inadvertently capturing confidential information on a user’s screen or files on someone’s desk. This calls for robust security measures because the videos can be uploaded and shared irretrievably over the internet. Currently, the biggest challenge companies are trying to overcome is establishing robust privacy protocols in the workplace. An even bigger threat is the security of sensitive data, which companies share with their employees. In the growing wake of implementing data against cyber-attack from hackers, companies are providing training to employees on handling and storage of sensitive data. This includes training on how to avoid phishing scams, which can trick unsuspecting workers into giving away security codes or other sensitive information. Even with collective security measures, the threat of exposure of sensitive information that would occur from employees or authorized guests using Snapchat Spectacles at work is badgering. Products like Spectacles will soon become ubiquitous and employees will need to be vigilant about updating their security policies.
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What Are The Laws Regulating Pre Employment Credit Check? Recently, San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to offer fully paid parental leave to new parents. The debate over fully paid parental leave has gained momentum in a similar manner the issue of minimum wage hike did across the country. This move for paid leave will offer new fathers and mothers to spend time with their newborn or newly adopted child. Under this new mandate, all new-parent Californian workers are eligible for fully paid time off for six weeks. The employees in California are already entitled to receive 55% of wage for up to 6 weeks. This policy receives its coverage from public disability insurance. The burden of rest 45% is covered by employers. The advocates for this issue suggest the measure is necessary because there are parents who cannot afford to lose paychecks to take time off following an adoption or birth. Few government entities and big league corporations already offer employee benefits. But for startups and smaller businesses, this issue has emerged out as yet another costly mandate, which they surely cannot afford. The move consists of various implications for the startups in the city, a majority of which offer generous policies to employees already. Smaller businesses are going to get a tough time due to the implementation of this policy. They certainly cannot carry the costs on their shoulders. 018
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People Matter People work to learn, excel, and evolve. To ensure better economic results in terms of engagement, turnover and retention, HR leaders need to identify what inspires their workforce, and work towards it.
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This year’s Gallup poll showed that seventy percent of employees are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work. For many leaders, employee engagement tops the list of must-haves. Some turn to incentivizing with material perks such as bonuses, free food, recreational rooms, etc., in hopes to improving employee engagement. However, a growing body of research shows that these efforts do not address the more effective drivers of long-term productivity. A positive organization psychology not only yields a positive environment, but also dramatically benefits the bottom line. It’s widely taken for granted that abrasive leadership can push employees to perform better and faster. What organizations fail to recognize is the hidden costs they are subjected to. Did you know that health care expenditures at high-pressure companies are roughly 50 percent greater than at other organizations? According to the American Psychological Association, more than $500 billion is drained off the U.S. economy attributing to workplace stress, and 550 million workdays are lost each year due to work-related stress. Sixty percent to eighty percent of workplace accidents are caused by stress, and it is estimated that more than eighty percent of doctor visits are due to work-related stress. As a matter of fact, workplace stress is the root cause of health problems ranging from heart problems and premature death. The stress as you jump up the ladder is linked to serious illnesses and death. As per on study, the lower someone’s rank in a hierarchy, the higher their chances of premature death from heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. In a study of over 3,000 employees by Anna Nyberg at the Karolinska Institute, the results showed a strong link between leadership behavior and heart disease in employees. Leaders who cause stress are bad for the heart, literally. Next comes the cost of disengagement. In a take-no prisoner culture, engagement is high, however, the inevitable stress caused often leads to disengagement in the long-term. Workplace engagement is associated with feeling valued, respected, supported, and secure. On the other hand, in a high-stress cut-throat environment, the cost of disengagement is invariably high.
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Studies conducted by the Queens School of Business and by the Gallup Organization, it was found that disengaged employees had -
Thirty seven percent higher absenteeism Forty nine percent more accidents, and Sixty percent more errors and defects. Organizations with low employee engagement scores experienced had -
Eighteen percent lower productivity Sixteen percent lower profitability, Thirty seven percent lower job growth, and Sixty five percent lower share price over time. While organizations with high employee engagement enjoyed hundred percent more job applications. Third is the cost of lack of loyalty. According to a growing number of studies, workplace stress often leads to an increase of almost fifty percent in voluntary turnover. Employees go on the job market, decline promotions, or resign. The associated costs arising from lowered productivity, lost expertise, recruiting and training are even higher. As per the Center for American Progress, the cost of replacing a single employee is approximately twenty percent of the employee’s salary. A lot of companies these days are establishing innumerable perks ranging from office gyms to telecommuting.
A Gallup poll showed that at companies offering benefits such as telecommute and flextime, employees place workplace wellbeing above material perks.
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That said, workplace wellbeing comes from one place, a positive work environment. To create a positive workplace culture, here are a few basic principles:
Care for colleagues as friends Maintain responsibility for colleagues, Provide support, offer compassion, Avoid blame-game, Forgive errs, and Treat one another with trust and gratitude. As an employee, here’s how you can foster each of these principles: A growing number of studies confirm that a positive social connection at workplace results into invariably high productivity and profitability. As a workplace with positive social connections, employees get sick less often, experience less depression, and perform better on the job. A research led by Sarah Pressman at the University of California, it was found that the probability of premature death is -
Twenty percent higher for obese employees Thirty percent higher for excessive drinkers, Fifty percent higher for smokers, and Seventy percent higher for employees with poor social relationships at workplace. A toxic work environment can severely affect social relationships, and consequently the life expectancy of employees. As an employee, you must know how your employees feel at all times. In a brainimaging study, it was found that when employees recalled a boss, that had been rude or un-empathic, they showed increased activation in areas of the brain associated with negative emotion. Meanwhile, the opposite was true when they recalled kind or empathic bosses. Leaders who show compassion towards employees foster collective resilience even during organizational crisis.
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Managers who go out of their way to help an employee in trouble, foster a loyal workforce. In a research led by Jonathan Haidt at New York University’s Stern School of Business, leaders who are self-sacrificing, inspire and motivate their employees to become more loyal and committed towards the organization. Employees working under self-sacrificing leaders, trust their bosses more and are more cooperative during challenging times. They find their leaders effective and charismatic, and are thus more productive and profitable to the company. Leaders must encourage their people to talk to them, especially about their problems. According to Amy Edmonson of Harvard, employees feel safer when they know that their leader has the best interests to improve their work performance. Thus, humble leaders who encourage their staff to be open about their problems leads to better productivity. The bottom line is that instead of creating a fearbased workplace culture, you must contribute to create a workplace that fosters empowerment. This way, empowerment, along with better learning and teamwork, leads to better performance outcomes. As an HR leader, commit to create a workplace where a specific set of values are encouraged. This will set the tone for creating a positive workplace culture. A workplace with kind and generous leaders are strong predictors of organization effectiveness. On the other hand, a workplace with abrasive leaders are linked to poor employee health, where employees tend to suffer from heart problems. People matter; by reinforcing a positive work environment, you’r commitment towards better performance and engagement. Happy employee not only create a better workplace, but also improve customer service. Consequently, a happy work culture not just improves employee well-being but also performance outcomes and client satisfaction. A positive workplace also improves people’s social relationships with each other and increases their ability to innovate and be more creative. It helps employee bounce back from difficulties and bring their best strengths during more challenging times. An organization that fosters a positive work culture achieves significantly higher levels of effectiveness in areas including customer satisfaction, productivity, financial performance, and employee engagement.
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The brutal and straightforward answers to HR-related queries and concerns. Hi Jane, We have this gentleman at my job who would sneak away into the lunch room and steal lunches. I once saw him taking bites out someone’s lunch and when he didn’t like it, he threw it in the garbage. We all would come to the lunch room and find our lunch thrown away in the trash with a bite taken out of it. To be honest, I find it pretty hysterical. I’m guessing I’m the only employee who has caught him doing this. The problem is, I don’t know how to bring this up to the HR. I don’t know if I want someone to get fired because of me. Shall I just let this go, until someone else catches him deer in headlights?
Answer I firmly believe that stealing is ethically wrong. By stealing someone else’s food, that gentleman is robbing someone’s meal of the day. That person might have woken up early in the morning to prepare the meal for him. By taking a bite from someone’s lunch, he has also contaminated the meal. At the same time, throwing someone’s food in the trash is absolutely unacceptable. I feel that you should inform the HR about this matter and tell them the incident honestly. Even if someone else catches him, he may have to face the consequences eventually. Then it’s better if you report about it soon. The HR will take care of this incident tactfully and might even let him go with a warning.
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Hi Jane, I’m a supervisor in a nationwide-retailer. We have a group of employees (all in their early to mid-twenties), who spend a lot of their time doing nothing at all. They’d just disappear for up to an hour sometimes. One day, I decided to find out what was actually going on by following them. Apparently, this group had built a ‘blanket fort’ behind the dumpsters, where they’d just chill out. Now, I decided to reprimand them for their action. Since then, they are actually doing their jobs properly. Somehow, the area manager got a whiff of this, and now he wants me to fire this group of employees. Because I’ve already taken action over this before, I don’t know how it will look on me if I bring this up again. Help!
Answer Firstly, do remember that it is your job to correct someone if they are not co-operating with the office protocols. In terms of this incident, I feel that firing them is not necessary unless they repeat their mistakes as you have already taken action against them. Also, they are abiding by the rules and working efficiently. In this case, what you can do is that explain to the area manager that you have taken action against them in the past and now they are behaving themselves. Make him understand that if those employees step out of line again, you’ll make sure they are fired. Assure him that you will keep a close eye on them now onwards. On the other hand, inform those employees that the area manager is aware of their activities. This will stop them from repeating such behavior and keep them focused on their work.
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Howdy Jane! We’re dealing with an employee here, who has a bit of a hygiene issue. This man just does not bathe! The whole office smells like a rat-infested moldy carpet when he’s around. I don’t know how to bring this up to the HR’s notice, without looking like a snitch. Any advice?
Answer Hygiene is a personal agenda but if it’s affecting the people around, then it does not remain that personal anymore. It becomes extremely difficult to work around someone who’s spreading foul smell. Such odor can affect the work quality of the people around him and also cause inconvenience. That employee might find it humiliating if you approach him directly about this. Hence inform the HR that his odor is unpleasant for you and hinders your work productivity. Request them to subtly talk to him about it so that it does not bother others as well. I’m sure the HR will find a solution for this without hurting the sentiments of the employee.
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EMPLOYEE
BENEFITS Companies:
Yes, We Care America’s $1 Trillion about Student-Loan Debt Problem
Facebook offers laundry services, Airbnb gives employees a yearly $2,000 bonus to travel the world, Google offers massage credits, and Evernote offers twice-a-month house cleaning services. For Millennials, these are some very Silicon Valley-esque perks. But, do they really want it? Employers are starting to offer some very practical solutions to the gravest of all Millennial-problems: paying off student-loan debts.
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In June this year, the accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers announced that the company will help associate-level employees (who make up 45 percent of PwC’s 46,000 U.S. employees) with their student-loan debt. PwC will contribute about $100 a month towards an employee’s student-loan principle for up to six year, for a total payout of $7,200. Since paying off loan principle will reduce interest, the company estimates that the benefit is worth up to $10,000. “Student loan debt-driven by the rising cost of higher education-is a pain point for recent graduates,” said Tom Codd, the U.S. Human Capital Leader for PwC, in a press release. “As a firm that recruits more than 11,000 new hires off campus each year, this is an opportunity to differentiate ourselves with a key talent group-millennials-and provide a meaningful way to help reduce their debt.” A Boston start-up called Gradifi worked with PwC to create the program. Tim DeMello, Gradifi’s founder and CEO, said that PwC is the platform’s first client but that the firm has signed on another 100 companies that are keen on figuring out how to offer student-loan relief as a perk for their employees. The move not just keeps companies competitive in recruiting talent, it additionally sends a message that they care about America’s $1 trillion student-debt problem. A lot of companies have as of late announced studentloan perk programs. Natixis Global Asset Management is offering federal student-loan repayment to employees who have been with the company for at least five years up to $10,000. Fidelity Investments is also expected to launch an employee student-loan repayment pack by the end of 2017.
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EMPLOYEE
BENEFITS From a psychological viewpoint, student-loan relief can be stress reducing. If more companies open up to offering such perks, it may become a real relief for the Millennial generation which is already struggling to pay off student-debts. The only snag here is that the money to replay student-loan debts is taxable. There are a few more considerations too. According to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Cappex.com, student-loans repayment perk does not essentially equate to getting paid more. Some companies cap the amount of debt relief, which means the extra money will eventually run out, and you don’t have a higher salary. In a September study from IonTuition, a site that helps manage student-loan repayments, more than fifty percent of current students and recent graduates with student-loan debts said they would preferably get an offer of loan help than a healthcare plan. About half of the students surveyed additionally said they would preferably have student-loan help than a 401(k). Companies that offer student-loan help, do as such on top of a 401(k) and medical insurance. In any case, if employees don’t get these perks along with the loan repayment, they may be better off with rather tax-exempt perks. The faster a company offers to pay off the loan, the better the perk. This is because keeps the interest from accruing on the loan, which eventually makes it cost more.
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For the time being, relatively few employees need to consider such things. Around 3% of firms in 2015 offered to help their employees pay off their student loans, as per a study from the Society for Human Resource Management. Yet, the general public sees signs that this perk could turn out to be more common. For one thing, Millennials now represent the biggest demographic in the workforce and are more likely to begin demanding the perks. With the job market recouping, millennials will have more influence when evaluating job offers. This might as well be the start of a new trend. Student Loan Genius, a company that helps its clients deal with their student loan benefits, announced a new option in August 2016 that may help to alleviate employees’ tax concerns. With this added component, organizations can make a contribution to an employee’s retirement account pretax that is triggered by an employee’s student-loan payment. In the meantime, employers and employees are looking to Washington for help on this issue. Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) presented a bill in Congress in January that would permit companies to put as much as $5,500 a year pretax toward their employees’ student loans. Unlike other legislative proposals for the student-debt crisis, including allowing borrowers to renegotiate their loans at lower interest rates through the government and making two years of junior college free-the bill has support from a few Republicans.
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THE GROWING PROBLEM OF UNITED STATES’ YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
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For the first time in last few decades, the United States’ unemployment rate is steadily dropping - hovering below six percent. However, with the aging population moving out of the labor force, comes an even bigger problem: skill mismatches. According to the latest figures, 9.3 million Americans are unemployed, in spite of 4.8 million job unfiled because businesses are unable to find people to fill them. Even with the advancing technology which has been transforming work across a wide range of sectors, more and more employers are finding it difficult to find workers with the skills to match new machines and business processes. A very novel solution to this perennial problem, which has caught the attention of
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policymakers, educators, and employers is: dual-training. Last year, the Obama administration announced $100 million in apprenticeship grants, and will spend another $6 billion over the next year. With
vocational education falling out of fashion in America, less than 5 percent of people train as apprentices, in the construction sector. In Europe, vocational training also known as “dual training� is
considered as a highly respected career path. Take for instance, Germany where around sixty percent of people train as apprentices in sectors as diverse as IT, banking, manufacturing, and hospitality.
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In Germany, companies like Daimler, Bosch, and Siemens have a long-standing tradition of apprenticeship. Known as dual training, trainees during their apprenticeship split their days between classroom instruction at a vocational school and on-the-job time at a company. The theory learned in the class is reinforced by the practice at work. Trainees also learn more about work habits, responsibility, as well as the culture
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of the company. They’re also paid for their time, including in class. This kind of arrangement lasts for three to four years, varying according to the sector.
apprenticeship as something for the atrisk youth or the struggling students. It’s nothing like the sort of corporate social responsibility we do in the US.
The best thing about apprenticeships in Germany is that both the employer and the employee respect practical work. Germany employers don’t see
Their biggest aim is to create a worldclass talent pool. Executives in charge of such programs are often careful about who they hire. Trainers learn quickly, and see learning as not just a necessary skill to thrive at workplace, but a responsibility. At an automotive plant in Mannheim, the apprenticeships are so popular that they receive about 3,000 applicants each year for 60 slots. At Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, the number reaches 22,000 applicants for 420 slots. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this is that both employers and employees are looking at apprenticeship as shortterm training. With dual-training, trainees don’t just learn career-building skills, but are also able to develop analytical skills. With robots taking over in the near future, companies will need people who can solve problems. Dual training helps create a talent pool of skilled, thoughtful and self-reliant employees, who can improvise when things go wrong, and make things work better.
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Perhaps, the best part of dual training is its flexibility. It’s flexible to an extent that the dual training model requires tracking. Kids in Germany choose at age 10 among an academic high school, a vocational training, or a mix of both. However, there’s a lot of scope for trainees to switch tracks later in their life. The students can always go back to school to earn a master craftsman certificate or a specialization. This type of educational reform, which banks on lifelong learning, has helped Germany bridge the skill mismatch gap. It’s a distant dream for American companies to achieve the dual-training model without experiencing hiccups. Here’s why: it’s costlier than it seems to be. In Germany, companies have a different way of calculating the pay, where the figures range from $30,000 per apprentice to over $90,000. The figure is likely to be sky-high in the United States, where companies don’t just have to build the problem from scratch, but also pay for tuition, and help colleges become successful training partners. The Siemens USA plant in North Carolina spends around $170,000 per apprentice. If more and more companies follow this model, a substantial amount from their business will simply go into costly apprenticeship programs. It’s hard to imagine American companies willing to look beyond ROI and focus on the long-term benefits of the dual training model. Perhaps, an even bigger challenge is that the dual training model requires centralization efforts. There has to be standardized curriculum, occupational profiles developed by the federal government in collaboration with the companies, educators, and union representatives. Apprentices in Germany learn the same skills following the same timetable, which guarantees a high-quality programs. The standardization also makes it possible for trainees to switch jobs later on in their lives. Perhaps, the biggest obstacle is our attitude towards practical skills. Here, we consider apprenticeship as “blue-collar” work. It’s hard to imagine attitudes changing towards practical skills. We’re not suggesting that adapting to such a model is impossible. Drivers of such programs vary from country to country. In Germany, there’s a dire need for talent, as businesses want to train the future pipeline of leaders. In America, that’s for us to decide. 050
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COVER STORY Companies with the Highest CSR Reputation
When it comes to a percentage of pre-tax profits donates, some companies, big or small, lead the way. It’s more than philanthropy for these companies. After all, there’s no harm in making the world a better place - be it being at the forefront of Ebola treatment in Africa, or selling an expensive new products at 2% its price for cancer patients or diabetics. A lot of corporations from the Fortune 500 list have increased altruism efforts in recent years to the extent that it bucks the trend. Some believe that corporate America is giving less and less, that it constitutes for only 20 percent of the total givings across the country. Today, more socially conscious employees and consumers want to associate themselves with companies that share their values. People are seeking out to companies that are doing good. Among our list of America’s Most Generous Companies, we have a couple of financial institutions and pharmaceutical companies which bulk up the list, along with a major food company, and of course a technology companies which makes up as a few household name. 052
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PFIZER CEO: Ian Read In 1849, Charles Pfizer and his cousin Charles Erhart borrowed $2,500 from his father to establish Charles Pfizer and Company. Their first pharmaceutical product was an anti-parasitic used to treat intestinal worms, a common affliction in mid-nineteenth century America. The pharmaceutical company has made some incredible progress since and chances are you have relied on a medication made by Pfizer. The biopharmaceutical company makes Advil, Bacitracin and Dristan among others. Between 2010 and 2014, Pfizer helped about 2.5 million patients in need access more than 31 million medications, valued at more than $7.9 billion. Through their corporate responsibility programs, the company has touched the lives of millions of people in third world countries. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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JOHNSON AND JOHNSON President: Alex Gorsky Johnson and Johnson might be best known for the BAND-AID. However, the organization’s altruism portfolio aims to do a great deal more than that! The pharmaceutical giant focuses on five objectives: making childbirth more secure; treating and preventing intestinal worms in kids; using cellphones to share healthcare data to new and expecting moms; eliminating mother-to-kid HIV transmission; and ground-breaking work to treat HIV, tuberculosis and certain tropical illnesses. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
GENERAL ELECTRIC
President: Jeff Immelt General Electric has launched several initiatives to solve health and education problems globally. Developing Health Globally is the GE Foundation’s project to improve healthcare services for some portion of the world’s most vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The Developing Futures Education Program supports activities to enhance the equity and quality of K–12 government funded education in the U.S. This system has contributed more than $225 million and thousands of hours to support student accomplishment and professional improvement for instructors in K-12 state funded schools over the U.S. Also, the GE Foundation made Developing Health through various beneficial organizations with free, charitable group healthcare focuses. Since then, the GE Foundation has put a huge number of dollars in the project, which backs GE’s initiative to convey better and less expensive medicinal services to more people. “The GE Foundation focuses on health, education and disaster relief,” wrote Deb Elam, president of the GE Foundation, in her most recent letter to shareholders. “Additionally, over the past 60 years, the GE family has given more than $1 billion to charity through the GE Foundation Matching Gifts Program. The concept of corporate matching gift programs started with GE.” The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP President: Lloyd Blankfein Goldman has a four-point philanthropy strategy that helps female entrepreneurs, offers financial grants to non-profits, puts resources into growing companies and gives opportunities to its employees to volunteer. Between 2012 and 2013, the financial institution expanded philanthropy efforts by almost 9 percent. The investment bank proceeds to connect with on more extensive public matters that can possibly spur financial development. Has such a lot of charity work helped Goldman Sachs repair its damaged reputation for adding to the 2008 financial crisis? After all, Goldman Sachs amplified the misfortunes connected with the economic downturn in the U.S. housing market. People who know little to nothing about Goldman Sachs, be get awed by the commitments it has displayed towards generous giving. The HR Digest Magazine | Ocotber 2016
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PEPSICO Chief: Indra Nooyi For a company whose items fill up your pantry, how would you see a crumpled bag of Lays blowing across your streets? PepsiCo and its foundation support education, the environment and human sustainability. The company’s approach to deal with community engagement, which incorporates its charitable givings has been named “Performance with Purpose.” “Today, a company’s profits are inextricably tied to the prosperity of its consumers, customers, employees, communities and society writ large,” wrote CEO Indra K. Nooyi in her letter to shareholders. “More than ever before, profitability and sustainability are synonymous. Corporations should embrace this new way of doing business.” There’s evidence that a strategic approach is necessary towards both, business and philanthropy. If your organization is going to do philanthropy, it’s better if you’re focusing on issues related to the business. It means you’re giving back to the society in more than one way. Although, some consumers prefer hundred percent CSR. Take for example, Goldman Sach’s case; it contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, or Walmart, which played a huge role in undermining worker compensation across America. It’s easy to see the CSR efforts made by corporations, however, some of these are done to cover the wounds the business creates on its path to success. It would be better if large organizations had a more serious attitude put up towards paying taxes and conducting their business in a responsible way. Philanthropic endeavors by an organization, can have a powerful effect on its competitiveness and overall performance. It can in fact be a cost-effective way, and even help improve competitive context. It enables companies, whether small or large, to not only use their resources, but also extent beyond by seeking efforts from nonprofits and other institutions. For example, by contributing to a university, the organization can create a local base of advanced skills in the company’s field. Moreover, philanthropy triggers collective corporate action. Due to philanthropic effort, companies are able to forge partnerships with governments and nonprofits that may someday solely benefit them. Industries prone to controversies, such as pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals, can associate themselves with philanthropic foundations. In the process they can make a way to create value for the society and themselves. Sometimes, CSR efforts aren’t just about a company’s self-interest. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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Your Conservative Christian Employer Can Fire Your Transgender Co-worker
It is legal for a conservative Christian employer to fire a transgender employee, simply because the person wants to dress as a woman. In a summary judgement against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at a Michigan district court, the ruling said that a conservative Christian employee has the right to terminate a former funeral home director, who was starting to transition from male to female. The latest ruling is a powerful reminder of how tenuous workplace transgender rights are in the United States. Aimee Stephens, was a funeral director at Harris Funeral Home from 2007 and 2013. In August 2013, Stephens informed her employer that she was transgender and would be undergoing genderaffirming surgery, and planned to return to work as a woman. Two weeks later she was fired by the Baptist business owner, Thomas Rost, because she intended to dress as a female.
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Stephen’s case was one of the two sex discrimination lawsuits filed by the EEOC in 2014. These lawsuits highlight the need for the federal employment agency to initiate litigation on behalf of transgender people. In the 56page decision on the EEOC v. Harris Funeral Homes case, Judge U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox gave his summary judgement. Judge Cox ruled that the Title VII does not specifically count protections against gender identity discrimination or transgender status, and hence the statute does not apply in Stephen’s case. “This Court previously rejected the EEOC’s position that it stated a Title VII claim by virtue of alleging that Stephens’s termination was due to transgender status or gender identity - because those are not protected classes,” Cox wrote. Since Rost has a sincerely held religious belief regarding the immutability of gender, allowing Aimee Stephens to follow the female dress code was an undue burden on his freedom to exercise religion. He backed up his judgement citing the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the precedent set by the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. “The Court finds that the Funeral Home has shown that the burden is “substantial.” Rost has a sincere religious belief that it would be violating God’s commands if he were to permit an employee who was born a biological male to dress in a traditionally female skirt-suit at one of his funeral homes because doing so would support the idea that sex is a changeable social construct rather than an immutable God-given gift. To enforce Title VII … by requiring the Funeral Home to provide a skirt to and/or allow an employee born a biological male to wear a skirt at work would impose a substantial burden on the ability of Rost to conduct his business in accordance with his sincerely-held religious beliefs.” If this rationale is maintained, it could get to be controlling legal standard for how transgender workers are to be treated at work, and it speaks to a capable reproach to the case law that recommends Title VII incorporates gender identity.
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Your employer’s religious freedom trumps an employee’s entitlement to be accurately identified at work. Above all else, Cox’s decision infers that a specific religious perspective about the changelessness of sex trumps the wide acknowledgment of existence of transgender individuals by the scientific and medical community. Even under the generally traditionalist guidelines in Michigan, having gender-affirming surgeries would have permitted Stephens to be lawfully viewed as female and assigned all things considered on both her driver’s permit and her birth certificate. Her medical records would have been upgraded to designate her as female. However, in spite of the legitimate and medicinal acknowledgment of Stephens’ way of life as female, the court is permitting Rost’s own religious conviction that sex is God-given and permanent to abrogate the official designation of Stephens’ gender. Basically, the court determined that on the grounds that Rost’s religion does not permit him to perceive transgender individuals, his business does not need to recognize them either. That speaks to an unnerving and perilous infringement on the legitimacy of trans-individuals’ existence, even where they have be able to win some trans-affirming policies with respect to official documentation.
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Employers don’t need to tolerate the presence (or work) of individuals whose personalities repudiate the entrepreneur’s sincerely held religious convictions. Cox’s judgement is likewise a concerning reentrenchment of ideas conceived out of Hobby Lobby about the free exercise of religion through a business. The Hobby Lobby decision held that an organization couldn’t be forced to give a benefit to its employees that abused the organization’s sincerely held religious convictions. Cox’s judgement expands that reasoning to hold that an organization can’t be constrained to tolerate the presence of an individual worker who is not acting as per the organization’s religious views. At any rate, Cox’s choice determines that an organization has the privilege to constrain its workers to credit to its specific perspectives about gender - regardless of the possibility that those convictions contradict both statutory and medical standards. For whatever length of time that the business expresses that those convictions are earnestly held matters of confidence, it can constrain employees to follow its own specific understanding of gender. This extension with respect to the idea of free practice of religion is intended to truly encroach on the personal autonomy and self-determination of transgender people. The perils for the transgender group here reach out beyond just the ideological contentions about the unchanging nature of sex. Transgender people face high levels of segregation and unemployment. A majority of states in the U.S. still have no laws particularly keeping managers from terminating transgender individuals basically to be their identity. Regardless of the best efforts of the Obama organization, there are still no government statues that unequivocally distinguish trans-individuals as a class shielded from employment discrimination.
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Various LGBT rights groups have criticized Cox’s judgment. Human Rights Campaign legal executive Sarah Warbelow said in an announcement: “This is a reckless ruling against a woman who was fired simply because she is transgender. Judge Cox’s deeply disappointing decision has the possibility of setting an incredibly dangerous precedent that purported religious beliefs can be used as an excuse to violate non-discrimination laws. It has the potential of opening a Pandora’s box of discrimination against a wide range of vulnerable communities. We are incredibly concerned about the implications.” The EEOC lawyers are also unhappy with the judge’s decision.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
How IBM promotes On-job Training The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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A few years ago, Pep Boys realized that their traditional way of educating employees about theft wasn’t really working. Until that point, they had relied on classes, meetings and posters to teach employees about theft. Soon after, they turned to a Canadian startup, Anoxify to try a new approach, where the information was stripped down to the most basic ideas and presented in a rather novel fashion. Under this new approach, employees were given quick sessions in the form of a mobile game, where each session would take only 3 minutes. Employees could earn points from these sessions and those points could be redeemed for rewards. The novel approach didn’t take long to prove its benefits. Unlike corporate learning models, not only did the employee use the system, but also gained measurable business results. Thefts in more than 700 stores dropped by $20 million in the first year alone, because employees were better able to identify suspicious behavior and report it properly. Axonify CEO Carol Leaman says that before the experiment, they took for granted that employees knew what to do. The HR industry is amidst an enormous
shift in how it’s using technology to train employees. A lot of industries have already transformed through technology, however HR is still in the beginning phase of it. The HR software market is estimated to be at $15 billion, however not all of that capital is being put to proper use. Despite companies using learning management systems, the fastest growing segment is more than 30 percent of the corporate training material that companies develop is squandered. The general concept that training should be measured by what employees really learn is a reasonable leap forward. In the 1990s, traditional classroom training began to offer approach to “learning management systems,” which helped companies better scale their training efforts, because lessons could be incorporated and conveyed ondemand through corporate intranet. In any case, the data and reports they generated were primitive. Around then, it was especially about who attended the courses. Yet, that is of no worth. What companies truly need to know is whether employees really learn and retain the data, and whether it’s the right information for enhancing business performance.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
In Axonify’s platform, assessment and training are entwined. Since numerous employees use Axonify consistently, the platform can continually track employee learning and intelligently give the data needed to close an employee’s individual knowledge. The app also influences learning research to enhance retention by repeating the inquiries in specific time interims. Even after an employee “graduates” out of a specific point, the inquiries will be revisited to around seven months to help recall the information. IBM uses behavior data in an unexpected way, to deliver valuable training materials to employees when they really need it. For instance, when another IBM employee schedules their first meeting with different employees, the aide detects that it’s their first time, and proactively shows material about how to direct a meeting.
TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM TRAINING How did it work? Precisely. Individual training lectures gathered employee and trained them collectively. What did it measure? More than participation and, if there were tests
and quizzes, individual performances scores.
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS How did it work? It brought the classroom experience to the PC and eliminated the requirement for in-person lectures or sessions. Training should now be possible exclusively at the employee’s convenience. What did it measure? LMS were generally limited to measuring completion of the training and development and if there were tests and quizzes, individual performance scores. To get a good understanding about what employees know and how they’re learning, analytics systems should consider more than just HR-provided training and development material. The things that happen in a learning management system are under 10% of the activities that individuals seek when they need to learn something. If you need to learn something, you don’t go to a LMS, whether you have access to it or not, use Google or seek a co-worker’s help.
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Martin is one of the founders of the Tin Can API, a new standard for communicating and storing data about employee learning events. Tin Can is the cutting edge successor to SCORM, a specification that was initially made to standardize content crosswise over various learning administration frameworks. The things that SCORM could quantify and track were those where a single client was signed into a learning management system, taking a recommended bit of training in an active browser session. Tin Can, then again allows organizations and employees to record more basic learning events, such as writing a company blog post or attention a session at a conference. More companies are now beginning to understand how employees actually learn and allowing them to do it the way they wish to, instead of forcing them into a draconian system. This type of integration is a trend catching up in the IT departments. More CEOs are requesting for technology solutions that support collaboration. Across a range of industries, companies are shifting from controlled, closed environment to more open environment. It’s no more possible to expect a single software, program or app to do everything-rather, employees expect multiple applications across different platforms to work in harmony in a useful way.
IBM has integrated social collaboration tools into their talent management and learning systems. Social communication has been eliminated from virtual classroom instruction, instead, learning is considered as a social activity. IBM has found that employees learn and absorb more from training programs when they’re working socially. As job functions related learning turn into something more user-friendly, it also encourages employees to improve their performance and results. In a survey of why employees rely on such playforms, it was found that it’s because they help them do their job better. When employees have more knowledge, they feel more empowered and confident in taking action and are actually much better at their jobs. A decade ago, HR tools and technology was generally used by the HR division, though now companies are more centered around employees themselves as the primary clients. In the near future, companies might use the technology to empower employee and help them increase their individual performance. By giving employees more meaningful data about the way they’re doing their jobs, they will be able to improve on how they’re functioning and perform better.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
Can We Rely on Algorithmic Hiring? The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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Let’s agree on one point: humans are biased decision makers. Here’s a majestic example of this: hiring managers have a tendency to hire candidates who remind them of themselves, resulting in further homogeneity in the workplace. In the tech sector, this homogeneity has been especially incredible: Google’s first diversity report, released a year ago, reported only 2 percent of its staff are black, and 3 percent Hispanic. Facebook announced it’s going to try the NFL’s “Rooney Rule”which requires that NFL teams interview minority candidates for coaching positions, in order to be more diverse. One proposed solution is to try to remove some of those predispositions with a systematic analysis of data, i.e. rely on algorithmic hiring. Companies employ personality tests during screening, then use data analysis to determine its ideal hires. Generally, the algorithm depends on what a company is looking for, some common variables include using the data from identity tests to predict whether a candidate will quit or steal on the job. Algorithmic hiring has become the norm, as of late. Google used an algorithm to staff up rapidly, using a detailed overview to zone in on candidates who will fit into the workplace culture. One study of algorithmic hiring found that a simply equation was essentially superior than humans at identifying high-performing workers. The result held across various industries and levels of employment, and the researchers attributed the outcome to humans giving careful consideration to unimportant details and using data about candidates conflictingly. Presently, one company is reporting that algorithmic hiring can enhance diversity. Infor Talent Science gives software that helps companies hire using behavioral data, and then make a predictive model based on top performers. They then hire candidates based on how they match up to those top performers. One particular company used data of 50,000 hires for their clients and found an average increase of 26 percent in African Americans and Hispanics across a range of industries and jobs.
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Regardless of the industry, whether it’s a call center, restaurant, or retail, algorithmic hiring increases the diversity of the workforce. In an Infor report it was found that a wholesale client was able to expand Hispanic contracts by 31 percent. A food joint was able to recruit African American contracts by 60 percent. One of the admonitions of Infor’s study is that their data is only based on hires who disclosed ethnic background. Similarly as with most overviews, checking the racial box is willful. Accumulating racial data has for some time been tricky as candidates regularly worry that it will result into racial discrmination. (The Census Bureau too suffers from this issue, and it is exploring different avenues to collecting data about race and origin.) But it’s not clear that, minority candidates are undercounted: Others may believe that disclosing race will pull in diversity-minded employers. So will hiring algorithms eliminate the biased hiring process? Researchers warn that big data’s objectivity can also cover other biases built into the algorithm. Chelsea Barabas, a researcher at MIT’s Center for Civic Media, says Decisions taking into account algorithms, are getting to be used for everything from predicting workplace conduct to denying opportunity in a way that can mask partialities while keeping up a patina of scientific objectivity. These are concerns by different researchers, for example, Kate Crawford, who has made arguments against the case that big data doesn’t oppress social groups. There’s a lot of research on the reasons that diversity is useful for the work culture: It increases efficiency; it increases critical thinking; it’s even been shown to increase sales and generate more revenue. The question of whether work diversity is good appears to have been answered. But, how do we accomplish such diversity?
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These results may appear to show that algorithmic hiring can decrease biases, however an organization needs to think about doing as such. Infor’s results are incredible, however, there are very few companies interested in increasing workplace diversity. Hiring managers are great at specifying what’s required for a position and inspiring data from hopefuls-yet they’re terrible at measuring the outcomes. An analysis of numerous studies of candidate assessments shows that even the simplest equations beats human hiring decisions by no less than 25%. The results are the same even with a large pool of candidates, regardless of the job function they’re getting interviewed for. In a study conducted by HBR, Brian S. Connelly, of the University of Toronto, it was found that people making the call were more familiar with the company and had more information about the applicants than included in the equation. The issue is the people are easily distracted by things that might only be marginally relevant, and they often use this information inconsistently. Studies recommend that while evaluating people, 85% to 97% of hiring experts depend to some degree on instinct. Hiring managers believe they can settle on the best choice by contemplating a candidate’s envelope and looking into his or her eyes-no algorithm necessary. They would argue that an algorithm cannot substitute a veteran’s vast knowledge. If not appropriate to leave the decision making process up to the machines altogether. Companies must use an algorithmic hiring process in order to narrow the field before calling on human judgment to pick a few finalists for the job. Even better if we have several managers weight on the final hiring decision. This way, you can boost the benefits offered by the algorithm and cater to the managers’ needs to exercise their hiring power.
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Softwares like Doxa, match candidates with tech companies and even particular groups and directors based on values, skills, and compatibility, like whether a team has more collaboration, or is there a team where a women’s options are taken more seriously? In this way, Doxa has revealed parts of working at companies that are never made public to candidates. This data, from anonymous employee surveys, also includes time keeping, weekly working hours, and which departments have the biggest gender pay gaps. Another software, Textio, uses machine learning and language analysis to break down job postings for companies like Starbucks and Barclays. Textio revealed more than 25,000 phrases that show gender bias. Language like “top-tier” and “aggressive” and sports or military analogies like “mission critical” diminishing the proportion of women who apply for work. Language like “passion for learning” and “collaboration” pull in more women. We cannot get too overconfident relying on data, human expertise is still necessary while making hiring decisions.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
General Electric’s
Unique Employee Rating System
The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
General Electric, founded by none other than the inventor Thomas Edison, is into its second century of existence. Not so long ago, it dumped the annual reviews for its workforce, ushering a dramatic change in the way performance is evaluated at the workplace. It’s selling off billion-dollar financing business that jeopardized it in the 2008 crisis and prompted a “too big to fail” designation. It’s in a general sense reforming to refocus on its industrial business. By the end of the transformation, its industrial businesses will provide more than 90 percent of earnings. It’s made some expansive changes in its management style too, under current CEO Jeff Immelt. GE has to make substantial changes to its annual performance reviews simply because it doesn’t work for the younger workforce anymore. There’s a growing realization that the annual performance review isn’t a good way to manage the workforce or to boost performance. It’s a process which leads to a tendency for the HR to focus more on process over results. The annual performance review has been loathed by the workforce in the corporate world for decades. Things are changing, it’s finally starting to fade. For quite a long time, General Electric practiced a rigid system, created by then-CEO Jack Welch, of ranking its workers. Formally known as the “vitality curve” the system depended on the yearly performance review, and came the workers’ performance down to a number on which they were judged and positioned against peers. A bottom percentage (10 percent) of underperformers were then terminated.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
GE got rid of the forced ranking system a decade ago. Today, it is in the middle of a big shift. It’s dropping the formal annual reviews for its 300,000 workforce, instead following a less controlled system of more frequent feedback via an app. There won’t be any numerical rankings at all. More and more companies, like Accenture, Microsoft and Abode, have begun dropping its system of formal annual reviews. General Electric may not have invented the new system, however it’s the company most identified with it now. The changes are unmistakable at GE’s Crotonville management-training center, where the company has sent future leaders since 1956. The company, as of late, is trying to make this center more friendly, welcoming and open. The campus is getting new buildings. One includes a studio where executives are taught suminagashi, the Japanese art of painting on water. There’s a two-sided kitchen, built in a renovated carriage house that was used to hold cooking competitions until a likeness towards over competitiveness prompted a few changes. An Englishstyle pub at the center of campus is now an airy café called “The White House” and meeting space serving craft coffee. Rather than drills on Six Sigma, executives can now take courses on mindfulness. The program is essential to helping the company transition from management by process to management enabled by mobile phones for the Millennial generation who have different expectations. The previous generation of employees were motivated by competition, but this is not the case anymore.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
The new app is called “PD@GE” for “performance development at GE” was built by a group consisting of Silicon Valley’s engineers. The HR group has been one of the first to embrace it, including the experiment with no numerical ranking during performance evaluation. Every employee has a series of short-term objectives, or “needs.” Managers are required to have frequent discussions, called “touchpoints,” on progress toward those objectives and note what was talked about, focused on, and resolved. The application can give synopsis, through notes, photos of a writing pad, or even voice recordings. The focus of the app is on ‘kaizen’ meaning constant improvement. GE employees can give or request feedback anytime through a feature called “insights,” which isn’t limited to their immediate manager, or their division. The focus isn’t on evaluating how well individuals are getting along, however, on consistent change. Currently, there are around 20,000 to 30,000 people using the new system. GE estimates that the rest will transition by the end of 2016. Years of research from neuroscientists and business school professors, has found that the practice of annual performance reviews is flawed. It’s biased and arbitrary. This makes the practice ineffective when it comes to boosting performance. Even if the companies say that they’ve eliminated yearly performance reviews and rankings, there are “shadow rankings,” where companies still do the same thing, yet more casually. The harshest critics of performance reviews argue that numerical rankings and pay differentiation are perhaps the most damaging parts of the system, and that such a system can’t ever truly change. Even when companies chuck annual reviews, they struggle to follow them. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
ASOS INVESTIGATION CLAIMS: HOW LONG WILL WE CONTINUE TO OVERLOOK THE HUMAN? The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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When Asos brought its supersized warehouse to Grimethorpe, just outside Barnsley in United Kingdom, the former coalmining town became the center of the world’s fastest growing fashion empire. Asos founder and former CEO Nick Robertson said in 2008 he needed the fashion empire to be the “Amazon of fashion”, and the business has become relentlessly, since it was launched in 2000, having established across 241 markets. In 2015, it hit over £1.15 billion sales. Presently the fashion empire is targeting £2.5 billion yearly sales by 2020. In the four months to June 2016 alone, Asos’ sales topped £514.6 million, a 30% increase from the same period the prior year. Whether you are in San Francisco or London an army of warehouse workers have assembled the garments, shoes, and jewelry to be sent the world over and delivered to your doorstep in two working days. XPO runs the distribution center on behalf of Asos and a company called Transline handles the recruitment part. To take care of consumers’ voracious demand for fast fashion, the Grimethorpe site works day in and day out; as dayshift warehouse workers leave, overnight workers come in, prepared to dispatch orders from 26 miles of walkways. In a three-month investigation, BuzzFeed News talked with current and former Asos warehouse workers and got obtained phone recording, internal memos and text messages that uncover the exceedingly pressurized conditions required in getting online requests from the company’s warehouse to consumers over the world within 48 hours.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
Temporary and permanent staff say they are burdened with arduous targets to process high volumes of orders every hour, and some say this even discourages them from stopping to drink water or use the washroom. Moreover, the managers have even asked that they don’t so towards the end of the shifts. The investigation comes as Asos finds its working practices under scrutiny. A month ago Labor MP Owen Smith censured the company’s use of flexible working contracts, and the exchange union GMB called the House of Commons business select board of trustees an inquiry into the firm after complaints about working practices at the Grimethorpe warehouse and “invasive monitoring and surveillance” of staff. It comes in the midst of growing public concern over the use of flexible contracts following exposés about the treatment of workers by companies such as Deliveroo, Hermes and Sports Direct. In the Asos investigation carried out by BuzzFeed, it was found that: Asos supervisors live-monitor the quantity of orders put through the hand scanners users by warehouse workers, who can be reprimanded if they fall behind. Workers say they can’t take regular water breaks or toilet breaks because of the constant fear of missing targets. Agency staff say they are kept on contracts they believe are exploitative as they take into consideration them to have assignments finished without notification, to be sent home without pay, or to be advised not to come in if management chooses to cancel their shift at any time.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
Staff on “annualized hours” contracts say their shifts can likewise be crossed out or stretched out at short notice under an arrangement that allows Asos to “flex up” and “flex down”, and that extra hours have been adequately unpaid with workers being given time off as opposed to money for time worked. Workers have had their assignments ended after falling sick at work or taking some time off to take care for sick relatives. Staff claim that security on the site is intrusive, and they are even made to remove their shoes for spot checks and searched upon entering the toilets. Pay is docked if a worker arrives at the warehouse even a moment late.
Logistics company XPO, which runs the warehouse, questions the allegations. It says workers are paid for every single minute worked and that it attempts to guarantee a best-inclass and safe workplace. Employee practices are under scrutiny following the relevations about the treatment of workers at British retailing team Sports Direct. The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee said in a 37-page-report that the retailer was regarding employees as ‘commodities’ rather than human beings. Food delivery services, UberEATS and Deliveroo have both as of late dissented over their compensation structure, in the most recent sign that distress among workers in the gig economy is growing. Sports Direct is under scrutiny by HMRC for paying workers less than the national minimum wage. The Committee heard a series of records of employee mistreatment, including staff being punished for matters such as taking a short break to drink water and for taking some time off work when sick. The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
Here are some of the most stunning facts heard by the board: An employee got an email laying him off, with no clarification, simply paid off and a pay statement after he had taken off sick for a few weeks because of ill health. A female worker from staff said she was being forced to discuss her periods publicly (she had been off sick, because of period pains, having routinely worked 12-hour days). The employees were being made to check out so wages won’t over budget plan yet they were made to continue working, so they weren’t being paid for all of the hours they did. The area manager would send an email on Monday mornings with a list of total hours worked by each of his managers the week before. Whoever did the minimum would get a lecture on things like now showing commitment. This would generally be in the form of a rant with everybody else copied into the email. Anything less than 55 hours a week wasn’t considered productive. Staff on zero-hour contracts were being forced to work a further three hours without pay.
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The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
A total of 110 ambulances were dispatched to the Shirebrook warehouse’s postcode between 1 January 2013 and 19 April 2016 with 50 cases named “lifethreatening”, including breathing problems, fitting and strokes, chest pain and convulsions, and five calls from ladies suffering pregnancy issues, including one lady who conceived a child in the toilet in the warehouse. In the past few months, couriers for UberEats and Deliveroo have been organizing all-day strikes over proposed changes in the way staffers are treated. UberEats has decreased couriers; rates since the service launched in June in London. Workers are presently calling for UberEats to execute payment rates equivalent to a living wage of £9.40 an hour. Of course, corrupt bosses are to be blamed for it. Today it’s never been easier to overlook the human factor, and that begins with us. When we shop, we do it online and it’s picked and pressed by a faceless worker in warehouses like ASOS, Sports Direct and Amazon. When your delivery arrives, we disregard that a real person was involved in the process, especially in today’s age where so many of these tasks are now being performed by robots. The question is: how long will companies continue to overlook the human factor, because it is the fastest and the cheapest option available?
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20th Annual HR Shared Services & Outsourcing Summit
Date: Oct 17-20, 2016
Connect and collaborate with a vibrant community of innovative, forward-thinking HR shared services leaders at the 20th HR Shared Services & Outsourcing Summit taking place this October 17-20 in Orlando. HR Shared Services Interactive Discussion Groups (IDGs): Exchange candid, real-world perspectives during our intimate, peer-driven roundtable discussions. Take control of your educational experience by choosing between discussion topics such as: Is it time to invest in RPA? A Deep Dive into the Risks and Rewards of Robotics Process Automation Customer Engagement Spotlight: Extend your Influence Beyond HRBPs by Building Robust Relationships with Business Leaders HR SSO Metrics & Analytics Clinic: Embrace and Capitalize on a Data-Driven Approach to HR Service Delivery Root Cause Analysis Demystified: How to Diagnose and Repair Broken HR Processes and more! Venue: B Resort & Spa, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA
2016 Global Talent Management Conference
Date: Oct 24-26, 2016
Formulating a holistic approach to global talent management is challenging in today’s complex business environment. A number of external forces are working together to create a real need for organizations to strengthen their global talent pool. The integration of major moving parts which include executing your succession plan, developing global leaders, planning for global rotations, and implementing effective engagement/retention strategies must all seamlessly work together in a fast paced and changeable global environment. This conference will share these best practices by focusing on these 3 Global Talent Pipeline drivers: Developing Global Leaders (Leadership Development) Engaging and Retaining the Global Pipeline (Employee Engagement/Retention) Succession and Global People Planning (Succession Planning/WFP) Venue: New York City, USA
Corporate Learning Week 2016
Date: Nov 07-10, 2016
Corporate Learning Week 2016 will focus on powerful new tools and capabilities to help you transform your learning organization to align with your organization’s core needs and core values, to strike the balance between best practices and next practices that will engage today’s dynamic workforce. In the age of digital disruption and new learning expectations, discover new ways to keep pace with the speed of organizational change and competitive needs: 108
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Reinforcing a culture of innovation Clearly aligning with business goals Exploring emerging models in leadership development Mentoring millennials in the workforce Integrating new learning channels Proving/improving the impact of L&D Venue: Renaissance Downtown, Dallas, TX, USA
CHRO Exchange 2016
Date: Nov 13-15, 2016
The CHRO Exchange is the most exclusive cross-industry gathering of leading HR executives. Join us to discuss how to accelerate HR transformation and sphere of influence within your organization. Learn from real-world case studies and experience the best in senior-level HR networking opportunities.
Agenda:
Successful Case-Studies around Elevating the Role of HR: Successful Business Transformation Ignited by Human Capital Efficiency Talent Development and Workforce Planning: strategies to ensure enterprise talent needs are met in the short and long term Employee Engagement and Retention: redesigning organizational culture and focusing on enhancing employee experience, developing employer branding Interactive Discussions: the “Liquid Workforce” New Definitions of Employees and Employee Relations; Disruptive Technology and its Impact on HR practices; Workforce Legislation; HR Driving Innovation and more! Venue: Turnberry Isle, Miami, FL, USA
Recruiting Trends Conference
Date: Nov 14-16, 2016
Each year, the Recruiting Trends Conference attracts hundreds of recruiting professionals looking to re-energize their recruiting and sourcing practices. With a fast-paced mix of engaging presentations, focused workshops, peer-to-peer discussion and great networking events, it’s a highly interactive, dynamic way to learn about innovative recruiting strategies. And, the conference is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) and routinely approved for HRCI re-certification credits-so you know you’re getting quality education. Recruiting Trends also hosts an Expo showcasing the latest recruiting products and services. In addition to researching and comparison shopping, the Expo offers you countless opportunities to connect and share ideas with other industry professionals during dedicated networking events. Venue: Austin, TX, USA The HR Digest Magazine | October 2016
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CLO Exchange West Coast
Date: Dec 04-06, 2016
In today’s rapidly changing business environment fueled by external market forces, swift implementation of advanced technologies, and a multi-generational workforce, learning organizations must become agile and relevant in order to survive. Learning organizations can no longer wait for the business to dictate the emerging skills set, but must be proactive in partnering, aligning resources and tailoring opportunities to achieve a direct and measurable IMPACT. Through informal approaches, user collaboration and innovative delivery, you will see how today’s corporate learning and training is changing and disrupting training processes and methodologies. We are excited to bring you IQPC’s 7th Chief Learning Officer Exchange. This December 4-6 in California, you will hear from an entirely new expert speaker faculty on how to align learning initiatives with broader business goals to achieve a direct and measurable IMPACT on the business. Dialogue-driven discussion will provide a view of the internal and external factors impacting learning organizations of the future, with practical examples on how to link these new realities to learning as a strategic investment. Venue: Fairmont Grand Del Mar, San Diego, CA, USA
HR Shared Services and Outsourcing Summit LATAM
Date: Jan 30-31, 2017
Are you looking to adopt a HR shared services model for the first time or to expand your services in Latin America? If so, The HR Shared Services &Outsourcing Latin America is the ideal conference for you. It has been put together by HRSS leaders responsible for optimizing service delivery and it will help you supercharge your technology-driven HR transformation process. What you need to know about this conference: You will get over 12 hours of top-level content packed full of tangible takeaways, innovative perspectives, lessons learned and proven strategies for enabling HR transformation success in Latin America. It is your perfect opportunity to grow your professional network and find out how leadingedge companies are effectively overcoming region specific challenges related to regulatory complexity, increased competition for talent and multi-national service delivery. We will help you to get a better understanding on how to select and optimize the foremost BPA, RPA, payroll, HCM and case management solutions available, to ensure your company’s unique service delivery objectives are me. Venue: Miami, FL, USA
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People Operations for Life Sciences
Date: Jan 30-31, 2017
The Life Sciences industry is diving into a rapid phase of acquisition, integration, expansion, and globalization. Plagued with an already-competitive marketplace, HCM professionals are tasked with the effective recruitment, development, and management of highly-skilled talent force that is ready and able to achieve organizational goals relative to research and development while remaining cost-effective and competitive. A holistic, interdepartmental, and technology-driven approach is integral to maintaining a sustainable organizational culture which can attract top talent, increase the retention of key performers, identify roles that can be translated towards leadership, and manage internal training and growth-- determining the business strategy of today and where it is headed in the future. This January 2017, join in a comprehensive discussion of the techniques and technologies used by Human Resource, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and Organizational Development specialists in order to benefit your organization’s culture, promote steady business growth, and bring a higher level of functionality to your role as an HCM professional. Venue: USA
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