NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2013
“It’s the end of the year. Plenty of time to finish something, end something, and start something new. Do all three!” -Unknown
Tis the Season for Holiday Parties Predicting High Performers Retention‑Now More than Ever
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Contents 1 A Note From the Editor Arizona Office Move
2 Tis the Season for Holiday
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Parties
Member Profile: COBiz Financial
Calling All California Members!
4 Highlights from 2013
Immigration Law Update
5 Advanced OD Program 6 Staff Member Spotlight: Sue Burdette
Save the Date! 2014 Public Employers Conference
7 Predicting High Performers:
Use of Selection Decision Aids
8 Organizational Development: A Case Study
Leadership Academy
9 Determining If a Workers’ Compensation Dividend Program Is for You
HR Audits
10 Two New Affirmative Action Deadlines
Affirmative Action Services
11 How Do Successful Leaders Become Even More Successful?
12 MSEC Library Topic:
Disasters Happen
13 Retention – Now More
Than Ever
MSEC Testing and Assessment Services
Employment Life Cycle Successful employers focus on both organizational and employee development, understanding each aspect of the employment life cycle. MSEC helps you identify services and seminars that are available to help you achieve success in all areas of employment. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2013
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A Note From the Editor
Lorrie Ray Membership Development
Are you ready for the holidays, and then the New Year? Of course, with holidays come the parties. There are tips for throwing a good party, without creating liability for your organization, and Tina Harkness has outlined this for us on page 2. As we look to the New Year, we want to get it started off right. Let’s identify, keep, and develop highperforming employees. Articles by Christy Smith, Peggy Penberthy, and Sandy Alexander touch on all of these topics. Retention – Now More than Ever (page 13) explains why retention is the big issue now and how you can work to keep good employees. How Do Successful Leaders Become Even More Successful (page 11) talks about the changes leaders need to make to continue on a high-performance path. Finally, Predicting High Performers – Use of Selection Decision Aids (page 7) explains how you can choose applicants that are likely to be high performers. It may be that you have great performers, but you need to develop your organization so it can grow. Read Organizational Development – A Case Study by Deborah Brackney about how one organization grew through some help and careful thought on how they were going to move forward. These are just a few of the articles in this issue. We hope you read them all and that you find them both useful and informative. In addition, you will notice that we highlight a member. Do you want to read an article highlighting your organization in our Workplace Matters magazine? Simply send an email to lray@msec.org or call 800.884.1328 and let us know. Happy Holidays and enjoy 2014!
MSEC’s Arizona office has moved! If you’re in the area, stop by and check out our new office located at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite D-280 in Scottsdale. We have more office space, better training rooms, and are easily accessible.
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Tis the Season for Holiday Parties Tina Harkness, Membership Development
During the Party: • Control service of alcohol. Under no circumstances should alcohol be served to obviously intoxicated individuals or minors. One of the best ways to manage this is to hire professional bartenders to require proof of age and to cut off partygoers who have had too much. Self-service situations should be avoided. Holiday parties are a great way to celebrate the season and reward employees for their hard work all year. Holiday parties can also expose employers to unintended liability, especially when alcohol is involved. This exposure can be minimized by smart decisions before, during, and after the party. Before the Party: • Plan year-end social events to be inclusive of different religions, cultures, and viewpoints. • Make the party voluntary as this minimizes the potential for the event being seen as work time for wage and hour, workers’ compensation, or other legal purposes. Holding the event off-site, outside of normal work hours, and without customers or clients in attendance are recommended for the same reason. • Clarify your expectations of employees and guests ahead of time. Communicate that the company wants everyone to have fun at the party and to drink responsibly and behave appropriately. A sample communication can be found in our FYI Workers’ Compensation: Managing Liability for Recreational, Athletic, and Social Activities. • Offer options for overnight accommodations at the party location or alternative transportation home to employees who do not feel able to drive themselves. • Contact your insurer as some policies cover offpremises events, or additional coverage may be available at a reasonable cost.
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• Control alcohol consumption. Limiting and monitoring consumption is also essential to reducing potential liability. Distributing drink tickets or setting drink limits is one option. Food should be served to slow the absorption of alcohol. Alcohol service should stop at least an hour before the end of the event. In addition, make non-alcoholic drink options available. • Do not hang any mistletoe! Sad, but true, employees are less careful about their conduct at afterhours events where alcohol is involved. • Designate party monitors to “work” the party, keeping an eye out for inappropriate behavior including obviously intoxicated employees or guests. The monitors should intervene early if a situation appears to be developing and know what alternatives to offer. After the Party: • Investigate any complaints arising from conduct at the party. Failure to respond to complaints can lead to even greater liability. • Take corrective action for inappropriate behavior by employees consistent with your policies and practices. Contrary to what employees might think, their conduct at your party can be the source of disciplinary action and even termination of employment. If you have let guests know ahead of time to drink responsibly and behave appropriately, such action is reasonable follow-up. Any more questions about your holiday activities? Call us at 800.884.1328. We are happy to help.
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Member Profile CoBiz’s approach to customers provides the right mix of services that address their needs, builds long-term relationships that grow and change as they do, and frees them from financial worries so they can be fully invested in their careers and lives. Banking Colorado Business Bank and Arizona Business Bank combine the high-touch personal service of a local community bank with the diversified product array of a large national bank. They offer a complete suite of products and services tailored to the needs of small to mid-sized businesses, business owners and professionals including commercial banking, real estate banking, private banking, treasury management, and structured finance. Colorado Business Bank and Arizona Business Bank are part of CoBiz Bank, member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. Insurance CoBiz Insurance offers a full range of business insurance, personal lines, employee benefits, and retirement plan services* focused on meeting the needs of businesses and professionals in Colorado and Arizona. Their team of professionals is skilled in understanding the changing climate in the insurance industry.**
CoBiz continues to look for new and exciting opportunities to grow their company and introduce their services to new customers and audiences. For more information, visit cobizfinancial.com or find them on Facebook, Twitter (@cobizfinancial) and LinkedIn(linkedin.com/company/cobiz-financial-inc). *Securities and Advisory Services offered through Financial Telesis Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. CoBiz Insurance is not affiliated with Financial Telesis, Inc. **Investment and insurance products are not FDIC insured; are not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by, the bank; and may be subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of principal.
Calling All Californians!
Investment Banking Green Manning & Bunch is an investment bank specializing in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, and strategic financial advisory services for middle-market companies. They focus on three practice areas of Building Materials and Services, Healthcare, and Manufacturing and Industrial Services.
To better serve our members, we are in the process of creating forms, informational email blasts, and webinars for employers with staff in California. Even if you have one employee working remotely in California, there are some California laws that will apply.
Wealth Management CoBiz Wealth Management collaborates with customers to create an individualized wealth plan that aligns perfectly with where they are financially, what they aspire to do, and where they want to go in the years to come.
Email cainfo@msec.org with the employer name and email address and you will receive information relevant to California law.
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Highlights from MSEC’s 2013 Immigration Law Update Sherry Lin, Specialized Legal Services
MSEC’s 12th Annual Immigration Law Update (ILU) conference on September 20, 2013, covered a range of developments in immigration law. Speakers discussed worksite compliance, changes in the Form I-9, and enhancements to E-Verify, and progress toward comprehensive immigration reform was the big-ticket item. Other actions in the past year also garnered attention, especially the death of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 3 of DOMA violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Shortly after this decision, the Board of Immigration Appeals, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of State announced that immigration benefits that had been traditionally available only to heterosexual married couples now would be available to same-sex married couples. The next day, the Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, a.k.a. S. 744. The bill provides a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants with the possibility of naturalization. The bill also includes significant changes to the employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant visa processes, and an increase in visa numbers. As expected, the bill would make E-Verify mandatory for all employers. A number of House bills have also been proposed and passed in committees. Many of the House bills contain provisions similar to the Senate bill, such as mandatory E-Verify and changes to the employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant visa processes. However, a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants is absent from any House proposal considered to date. In the enforcement area, fines assessed for I-9 violations have been substantial in recent years with crippling effects on businesses. A number of employers have found success appealing to the
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Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) based on evidence showing mitigating factors, such as good faith compliance, small size of the business, history of violations, and financial conditions. The Office of Special Council (OSC) has been heavily involved in investigating and enforcing the antidiscrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. These investigations focus on an employer’s possible discriminatory hiring and firing practices, and document abuse and retaliation, and discriminatory I-9 and E-Verify practices. Of particular interest is disparate treatment of lawful permanent residents an d naturalized citizens. If OSC finds violations, the employer faces significant civil penalties. USCIS also announced two enhancements for E-Verify. The first enhancement allows E-Verify to contact the employee about Tentative Non-confirmation (TNC) by e-mail, if the employee provides an e-mail address on the I-9. The second enhancement replaces the TNC notice with a Further Action Notice and Referral Date Confirmation. These enhancements do not replace the employer’s obligation to advise the employee about TNC and provide guidance to the affected employee. For employers with foreign national employees, the ILU review covered changes in the availability of Immigrant Visas over the past year and predictions for future movement and 2013 H-1B activity, which included imposition of a lottery for cap-subject visas for the first time in 4 years. Another development affecting this group has been changes in the I-94 practices of U.S. Customs & Border Protection. If you have questions about immigration law or worksite compliance, please visit our website, MSEC. org, or contact one of MSEC’s immigration attorneys Chris Bauer at cbauer@msec.org and Sherry Lin at slin@msec.org, or call 800.884.1328.
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Advanced OD Program Bridget Morris, Organizational Development and Learning
Experienced organizational development (OD) practitioners and HR managers who do a lot of OD interventions in the workplace can now look to MSEC for training. MSEC has a yearlong OD Certificate Program, and some of you reading this may have already graduated from it. In 2014, we are excited to offer the Advanced OD Program to provide the next step in advancing your skills and adding to your toolbox. The Advanced OD Program builds on the foundational tools that many of us already practice to focus on specific niches and specialty areas. The program launches in April 2014 and continues through April 2015. The biggest difference between the Advanced OD Program and our OD Certificate Program is that the Advanced OD Program is a-la-carte. We have put together a menu of various topics and interventions to choose from based upon your interests. We understand that the OD/HR work world gets really busy—and being out of the office every month can be taxing. So, we think this alternate set up will really work with people’s schedules while advancing their careers in OD. I wanted to tell you about a couple of the topics: MBTI and Stress Understanding colleagues and navigating the difficult waters of the workplace impacts not only the individual, but the entire working unit. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Step-II (MBTI-II) provides a framework to assist individuals and organizations to understand reactions under stress and triggers which take us deeper within the layers of Type Theory. This session builds your ability to recognize how you or someone else might behave when under stress,
to help keep you from making matters worse, to respond in a constructive ways, and to avoid triggering your own defensive behavior. The Art of Storytelling Oral storytelling has a rich history in our culture as a way to store, retrieve, and convey information. We are shaped by the stories we hear as well as by the stories we tell. Within an organization a welltold story can help us learn, understand business processes, create and modify corporate culture, manage change, facilitate the transfer of knowledge, and help to develop, coach, and mentor others. This session focuses on fundamental story making and storytelling skills. Emphasis is on techniques and exercises that participants can use in their day-to-day work life. Strategic storytelling can be used to teach, inspire, motivate, and help maintain relationships. Participants will learn how to engage an audience, gain their trust, and build rapport. The narrative is essential to our understanding of people and of events beyond mere fact, a key skill in one’s ability to lead and influence. Become a story practitioner who recognizes how stories shape us and who understands how to shape stories. As a result, you will be more effective in meetings, presentations, facilitations, and business interactions. Other classes of interest are The Matrix, Enneagram, and Conflict Coaching. We have worked hard to offer a diverse program based on feedback from previous OD certificate attendees, and what we in the Organizational Development and Learning Department have noticed is helpful to organizations. We would love for you to join us. I am happy to talk more to you about these programs. Email me at bmorris@msec.org.
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Staff Member Spotlight!
SAVE THE DATE! FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014
Sue Burdette Sue Burdette joined MSEC in April 2010 as an administrative assistant in the Human Resource Services Department. Sue transitioned into the Organizational Development and Learning Department in 2012 where she now acts as a facilitator and consultant working with leaders, supervisors, and individuals to help change the dynamics and outcomes of communication in the workplace. Sue holds a B.A. in Education and Psychology from Colorado Women’s College in Denver, Colorado. She is a Certified Enneagram Teacher in the Narrative Tradition through the Enneagram Professional Training Program founded by Helen Palmer and David Daniels. Prior to coming to MSEC she worked in the corporate world of sales and marketing for 25 years. Her professional experience includes corporate training, public speaking, sales and marketing, personal coaching, and small group workshops. Key note speakers, breakout sessions, legal update! Sheraton Hotel 360 Union Boulevard Lakewood, Colorado
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When Sue is not working she enjoys all that Colorado has to offer. Spending time in the mountains and riding her bike on the Denver trails are her top priorities.
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Predicting High Performers: Use of Selection Decision Aids Christy Smith, Outsourced Consulting Services
Deciding which applicants are most likely to be productive is not easy. However, there are a number of ways to increase the chances of accurately predicting the high performers. Most employers use processes such as job applications, resume screenings, reference checks, and structured interviews. A frequently overlooked yet powerful addition is pre-employment testing and assessments. The science of pre-employment assessments, grounded in the field of Psychology, was developed to provide evidence-based decision aids for predicting high performers. It has progressed substantially over the past 20 years and we now know a lot about how to use pre-employment assessments to predict high performers. However, the science of pre-employment assessments can also be technical and difficult to understand. Combined with the rapid growth of the assessment vendor market, it is no easy task for HR professionals to determine what assessments to use and how to use them. Indeed, research suggests that many HR professionals shy away from using pre-employment assessments for this very reason.
Use job-relevant tests. • Tests should specifically target the KSAO’s identified as essential for the position. When possible, it is important to put the assessments in context for the specific position in the employer’s organization. Use a combination of tests. • Cognitive ability tests and skills tests are great ways to predict technical task performance. High performers are often not just technically savvy; they also perform other positive organizational behaviors outside of their direct job responsibilities (e.g., team players, put in extra effort to ensure customer satisfaction, etc.). Personality and work style inventories are both great ways to predict this type of performance. MSEC is here to help you select high performers. We have an employee testing and assessment department devoted to helping our members evaluate assessments they are already using, select assessments to adopt, and answer any questions about testing and assessment. Do not hesitate to contact us at testing@msec.org.
Below are a few quick tips to consider when using pre-employment assessments to predict high performers: Start with a thorough and accurate job description or job analysis. • This information is essential to selecting which assessments are appropriate for use. Job descriptions should outline the KSAO’s (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics) needed for successful performance. Use a valid test. • The concept of validity can be obscure but its importance cannot be overstated. Validity is generally defined as the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.
Hire The Best Testing is the most accurate and effective method of measuring for ultimate success. Contact MSEC Testing and Assessment Services and let us help.
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Call 800.884.1328.
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Organizational Development: A Case Study Deborah Brackney, Vice President
These projects proved successful, and between 2008 and 2013, the member’s sales grew by 75 percent (from $50 million to $85 million). The executives’ time shifted from spending only 10 percent on strategic activities/efforts to over 60 percent, the next level of managers grew the skills to assume day-today operational responsibilities, and the organization acquired and integrated two companies. In 2008, we got a call from an MSEC member with approximately 45 employees, a management team of 10, and an executive team of six. Customers included local, county, state, and federal governments, along with mining companies. The company had grown from a startup in the early ‘90s to a $50 million business in 2007; however, in 2008, the company’s sales plateaued and the executive team was searching for ways to accelerate growth. The member wanted to grow to be a $100 million company in the short term and become a national company with sales of $1 billion over the next decade. MSEC provided the assistance this member needed to break out of the sales plateau. Their specific request was a customized leadership academy. After meeting with an MSEC staff member, they realized that they needed infrastructure support and leadership development. MSEC called in its Partner Arrow Performance Group (APG) to determine what would be helpful. Jointly, MSEC and APG performed an organizational review, which included interviews with employees and key customers. Employees also participated in a performance excellence survey. Over the next three years, MSEC and APG worked with the member in planning and conducting over 20 projects, including strategic planning sessions; a management and leadership development curriculum for executives, managers, and supervisors; a newly designed organizational structure for the company; and, a product development process.
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These improvements resulted from a team effort of MSEC and APG personnel through: • Management and leadership development • Strategic planning • Numerous improvement projects If you want to learn more about how your organization could work to grow like this member, give me a call at 800.884.1328.
Leadership Academy MSEC’s customized Leadership Academies Consultants work with organizations to create a customized leadership strategy. We will design a program that fits your needs, culture, and price point. For more info call 1.800.884.1328.
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Determining If a Workers’ Compensation Dividend Program Is for You Jennifer Vold, Labor Relations Department
Is your organization safety-minded, with most of your employees working in Colorado? If so, you may be eligible to participate in Mountain States Employers Council’s Workers’ Compensation Dividend Program and receive a four percent group discount on your workers’ compensation premiums, with the potential for additional savings in dividends, typically based on the group’s overall loss-to-premium ratio. MSEC’s Workers’ Compensation Dividend Program is a group of member employers that meets quarterly to share experiences in safety and workers’ compensation issues and to receive relevant safety training. MSEC has partnered with Van Gilder Insurance Corporation and Pinnacol Assurance to provide participants with enhanced loss control and safety training, aggressive claims management, risk assessment analysis, legal services, process/procedure development and implementation, cost containment guidance, OSHA advocacy, return-to-work assistance, online tools, and more as a benefit to membership. Participating members receive a four percent group discount on their workers’ compensation premiums. This additional upfront discount is unique to group safety and association programs. For many employers, this benefit alone can completely offset their MSEC annual dues, further justifying membership. In addition, there are no risks or potential for increased premiums by participating in the WCDP. Participant premiums will never be more than what they would be as a non-participant through Pinnacol. Each participating member of the program is also automatically enrolled into the group’s dividend program at no additional cost. Dividends are calculated based on the group’s overall loss-to-premium ratio, and then distributed to those participants who also maintained acceptable individual loss-to-premium ratios. Participation in this program does not preclude employers from receiving general dividends through Pinnacol. All programs discounts and dividends are on top of any premium discount received by participants for being cost-contained. To qualify for membership, employers must be Coloraod members of MSEC and must use Van Gilder and Pinnacol, and meet certain safety and loss criteria. Contact Patrick Lewis at 303.831.5184, or plewis@vgic.com to determine if your organization can benefit from this program.
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You and Your Organization. Our comprehensive, professionally-conducted audit focuses on the programs and activity common to human resources professionals. We’ll work in tandem with you to identify your liability and vulnerabilities and guide you in implementing best practices to alleviate them. Call 800.884.1328.
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Two New Affirmative Action Deadlines Melinda Sanders, Specialized Legal Services
Commencing January 1, 2014, all affirmative action employers must use the new 2010 EEO tab census data to prepare their written affirmative action plans. Affirmative action employers use census data to determine the availability of qualified minorities and women for their job openings. Since 2005, affirmative action employers have used the Census 2000 Special EEO file. If MSEC prepares your plan, we will automatically incorporate the new 2010 census data into your plan. Employers that prepare their own plans in-house must ensure their affirmative action software is updated with the new 2010 EEO tab census data to comply with the January 1, 2014 deadline. The groundbreaking new affirmative action veterans and disabled regulations go into effect March 24, 2014. Affirmative action employers face two new deadlines in the first quarter of 2014. The first of these and one of the most notable changes is the requirement for affirmative action employers to ask applicants to identify disability status before an offer of employment is made. Many legal experts question whether the Americans with Disabilities Act permits such an inquiry. While the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) asserts that such an inquiry is permitted under the ADA because it is requested to comply with affirmative action laws, some legal experts disagree. For this reason, we urge affirmative action employers to wait until March 24, 2014 to solicit information about an applicant’s disability status before an offer of employment is made. In addition, affirmative action employers must use a self-identification form written by the OFCCP to solicit this information. As of this writing, the form is not available. However, the OFCCP has assured federal contractors that it will be available on its website by March 24, 2014. Second, affirmative action employers will be required to solicit information from existing employees about their disability status. Employers may begin soliciting this information on March 24, 2014, and this solicitation must be completed before March 24, 2015. Thereafter, employers must solicit this information from employees every five years. Once during the intervening five years, the employer must remind employees that they are free to disclose or update disability status at any time. Any information employers receive about an employee’s disability status must be maintained as a confidential medical record and stored separately from the employee’s personnel file. The form employers must use for this solicitation will also be provided at a future date by the OFCCP. To assist affirmative action employers navigate these complex issues, MSEC is offering a half-day seminar on these new regulations in early 2014. In the meantime, please contact Melinda Sanders, Managing Attorney, Affirmative Action Planning Services or Sandie Harrison, Manager, Affirmative Action Planning Services at 800.884.1328 with questions.
MSEC offers a wide variety of Affirmative Action Services. Our menu of options is flexible, feature-rich, and customizable to meet your needs. Call 800.884.1328.
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How Do Successful Leaders Become Even More Successful? Peggy Penberthy, Organizational Development and Learning
How do successful leaders become even more successful? Renowned author and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith poses this question in his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. In the decades that Goldsmith has coached and trained Fortune 500 executives, he has recognized a distinct pattern. These bright, competent, confident leaders found their successful careers plateauing, not because they weren’t driven and focused, but because they weren’t aware of how their behavior came across to people that mattered most—bosses, direct reports, colleagues, and clients. When these leaders thought they were providing direction, others saw micromanaging. When they thought they were giving honest feedback, others saw insensitivity. When they thought they were giving seasoned input, others saw arrogance. Over time, these seemingly minor workplace infractions chipped away at the goodwill these leaders had amassed. As leadership coaches and trainers at MSEC, we see very similar patterns. We work with people who are very successful leaders in most areas, but have lost influence and credibility because of a key blind spot. While they have great intentions, they are unaware that they come across as controlling, insensitive, aloof, disorganized, or inflexible. Their careers slowly and subtly derail through death by a thousand cuts. Day in and day out, these bad habits take their toll.
also learn which behaviors are working well and appreciated. As part of this process, we encourage leaders to “go public” and talk with their stakeholders about what they are working on and to solicit support. This tends to humanize leaders and build trust. Once they have a better sense of how they are seen, we identify specific outcomes for closing gaps and leveraging strengths. Old habits die hard, so people need a series of practices to apply in their day-to-day leading. As such, these leaders become “scientists” of their own leading. As they experiment with new behavior, they mindfully observe what happens as a result. For example, a leader might experiment with approaching a direct report with questions rather than answers and observe how this affects the employee’s learning and their working relationship. Over time, leaders deepen their perspective and calibrate their behavior. They see that “what got them here won’t get them there.” They shift away from dysfunctional patterns, create effective patterns, and experience greater success. If you have a leader who wants to take their success to the next level, MSEC has a range of leadership development options including the Executive Leadership Program, executive coaching, and 360 assessments. Call 800.884.1328 for more details.
How do we work with leaders to shift this trajectory? First, we make their blind spots transparent. Through 360 feedback and self-observation, leaders are able to see the disconnect between their intention and impact. They not only learn which specific behaviors are getting the in the way, they
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MSEC Library Topic: Disasters Happen James McDonough, Membership Development
Summer 2013 will forever be remembered in Colorado as the season disasters struck. Wildfires devastated hundreds of homes, disrupting the lives of thousands. Then as a hot, dry summer waned, a “thousand-year weather event” washed away whole communities, taking lives, destroying infrastructure, and shutting down numerous businesses. The final flood damages will be in the billions of dollars, and many businesses may never recover. Is your business prepared for the unthinkable? Disasters strike in many forms, in unpredictable ways, and in sporadic patterns. So what’s the point of even trying to prepare? Taking steps to plan your response to disasters may mitigate damages and make the difference between your business surviving and closing for good. Preparing for the unknown may sound overwhelming, but here’s good news. As an MSEC member, you have excellent resources readily available to prepare for disasters, emergencies, and workplace safety in general. The most accessible tool is at MSEC.org, listed under “Complimentary Tools”, look for “Safety.BLR.com.” Typing “disaster” in the search bar brings up a complete range of tools on “Disaster Planning and Response,” including:
• Communication An esoteric yet essential ingredient to disaster recovery is resiliency. Harvard Business Review articles and the book “Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back”, provide examples of resilient companies surviving while others fail when faced by similar challenges. Adding resiliency building to your organization’s disaster planning will take extra effort. However, a resilient organizational culture has a better chance at survival after disaster; as a bonus, it may also enhance employee engagement and productivity. Your MSEC member representative can discuss other considerations to include in your planning: • Handbook policies and practices • Employee attendance, emotional well-being, and benefits • Essential HR paperwork storage and security Membership provides you the tools to prepare for the unthinkable. Contact me for assistance accessing any of the described resources at 800.884.1328 or jmcdonough@msec.com.
• Key agency links to OSHA, FEMA, Homeland Security, EPA, and CDC
New books available for checkout from the MSEC Library:
• Training tips, hand-outs, forms, PowerPoints, videos, and more
The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future
• Guidebooks in English and Spanish • White papers on topics such as “Are Your Managers Ready for a Natural Disaster?” The MSEC Library has several books available for check out on emergency planning for both natural disasters and workplace violence. One quick-read, slim book titled “HR How To: Workplace Violence Prevention” is packed with useful tips on: • Best Practices: Getting help to victims quickly • OSHA’s Emergency Action Plan checklist
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Loyalty 3.0: How to Revolutionize Customer and Employee Engagement with Big Data and Gamification For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World The Gamification Revolution: How Leaders Leverage Game Mechanics to Crush the Competition
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Retention – Now More Than Ever Sandy Alexander, Membership Development
Why employees stay.
I recently attended the National SHRM conference and an overall theme quickly emerged from the majority of the presentations I attended. It became clear that a major employer challenge in 2014 will be the retention of high-preforming employees.
It’s not always about the money!
What is Driving this Trend? Many factors that were instrumental in keeping individuals from job hunting are changing. The economy is improving, opening up job opportunities that haven’t existed for several years. The Affordable Health Care Act will reduce the reliance of employees on employers for health care benefits, which was often the deciding factor in accepting a position. And, the influx of younger workers that don’t share previous generations’ sense of life-long employment loyalty to one organization is growing.
• Flexible schedule
The Challenge? Most high performers know who they are and understand the value they bring to the organization or perhaps more importantly the value they could take to another organization. With the emergence of LinkedIn and other social media tools, finding stalwart employees is easy for recruiters, HR professionals, and competitors. It is just a matter of time before high performers are identified by someone else. The key to stemming the tide of high performers leaving is quite fundamental. It starts with the ability to identify high performers before they leave or are lured away. Then, employers must determine what drives their engagement. It is imperative that you have strong relationships with your staff. Talk to them, find out what excites them, and ascertain their goals. Work with them to create career plans that meet their needs and are also tied to the company’s work plan and goals. Sharing a common goal creates a partnership; and that is a win-win situation.
• Paid time off benefits
• Comfortable with company and position • Opportunity to mentor other employees • Chance to build and learn new skills • Networking opportunities • Professional relationships • Stability
If you want to discuss how to create an environment where employees want to stay, contact our Human Resource Services Department at 800.884.1328. We can provide best practice tips and information for your organization.
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