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September 2009 Archives
It's hard for me to hide my love for the New York Yankees. And it is also difficult to hide my disdain for most things involving the Boston Red Sox. Of course, to be unbiased about the Red Sox would probably require me to not be a Yankee fan, so if you are a Red Sox fan, do take my column this week with the knowledge that I am trying my best to be open-minded.
One of the things that frustrates me about the Red Sox is premature celebrations. In 2003, prior to game 7 of the American League Championship series, the Red Sox grounds crew painted the World Series logo on the field. The Red Sox and Yankees had yet to play that night, but for some reason the Boston Red Sox organization decided to paint the logo on the field prior to the game being played. The Yankees went on to win that evening and rendered the logo useless.
How does this apply to HR in business? Celebrating a promotion, job acceptance, or new opportunity BEFORE you have written confirmation and acceptance of a job could mean doom for your career. Be sure that until a formal announcement is made of your promotion or acceptance of a new job that you have it in writing and formally accepted the position. If you celebrate too early (or celebrate in front of others who may be interviewing for the same position), you may end up making enemies you didn't have before.
Last week, I published an article on Welcoming Work Environments. Here are some comments from readers on ways they were welcomed to their job.
1. "I got welcomed by my boss, but then I was given three handbooks to read and told to go upstairs. Needless to say, I didn't stay very long."
2. "Each day for my first two weeks, I met with three new people in the company and spent a good amount of time with each one. It made me feel right at home."
3. "At XXXXXX, we had checkins with the boss every day for the first two weeks. At first I was real uncomfortable with all the attention, but after the first couple days, I realized it was to make me feel like I was part of the team."
Q: My friend's father is interested in having me join his company as an intern. I have been interested in his company for a long time, and known him for a long time as well. How do I approach the application process?
A: I'd approach it with the same professionalism as you would with any other process; send him your resume, address him formally, and proceed through the process as would any other candidate. This will demonstrate to the employer that you are not just applying because you know him, but because you really enjoy the company despite the relationship to him.
Starting people off on the right foot with your company, department or classroom begins with effective disciplinary procedures. This doesn't mean threatening behavior, looking for reasons to discipline, but creating an environment where policy and procedure are clear and strict.
It is an old saying that it is "far easier to loosen up than it is to tighten up." Having strict policies when it comes to decorum, attendance, methods of communicating, and the like can pay huge dividends down the road. When you have a strict but fair policy governing your workplace, you can then afford to make concessions for reasonable accommodations.
Again, be careful when it comes to being accommodating, as this too can be seen as "giving in" or being "too flexible" to those who follow everything by the book.
Those who follow what you and your company stand for deserve consistency. By walking your talk, making clear and concise (but fair) rules, and by never succumbing to emotions in responses to requests or in making decisions, you can have the respect and honor you and your company deserve.
Discipline isn't just about "disciplining" people; it's about having the discipline to know how to carry yourself gracefully regardless of the circumstances. When the people who report to you can see you responding well no matter the pressure, this breeds the same type of character traits that you possess.
If you work hard at maintaining your cool, keeping your head when others have lost theirs, and are consistent in your delivery of company and personal practices, you will earn many "disciples" who will make it easier for you and your company to meet its goals and vision.
From a standing ovation at our first training meeting at Apple to the Traditions class at Disney on my first or second day of work, I have been a part of so many welcoming experiences to my organizations.
At Gap, being welcomed was lunch with my boss on my first day; it can be something as simple as that or as something as complex as a multi-day welcoming seminar.
The key to getting people on the right track and being welcomed is to make it a consistent process that your entire team is on board with.
How were you welcomed at your latest job? I will share the best stories in next Friday's column.
Putting together job descriptions solves a multitude of problems, from the pre-hiring and recruiting process all the way through severance of employment. Many people I talk to can't find exactly what their job description is, and often are surprised at its contents once it is "discovered."
A great tool to determine what to include and what to leave out of the job description is the web site provided by O-Net. This site allows you to look up job descriptions for multitudes of jobs and job titles, and can allow you to see what you do (or what you should have your employees do) in each role critical to your company.
If you don't have job descriptions in place already, this is the place to go to setup your frameworks of job descriptions.
Visit O-Net at
http://online.onetcenter.org/
I heard a commerical on the way in to work today asking for part-time employees who "must be available nights and weekends." Some of the greatest turnover I have seen has been in the night and weekend workforce. One of many challenges managers face is how to deal with turnover of this type while still keeping the business afloat.
A best practice I have seen work best is to require all full-time staff to work at least one evening in order to qualify for full-time pay and benefits. If nights and weekends are such a concern, then utilizing some of your best staffers to cover your most difficult to cover shifts will increase productivity and hopefully decrease turnover.
There are many arguments for and against this policy, but when looked at from the perspective of total organizational success, this policy can work in any setting. It rewards those who are flexible with their schedule to the fruits of full-time salary and benefits, while encouraging those who may just be joining the workforce that there are opportunities to participate in the company other than just night and weekend work.
One of the best ways to give back to your community in the absence of giving donations is giving of your time.
Last fall, I began the process of becoming a mentor in the Saratoga Mentoring program. After an extensive background check, a series of interviews, and a long wait, I was matched up with a mentee in the early spring of last year.
I mentor a 10 year old boy from Wilton, and we spend about 1-2 hours every other week, sometimes every week, doing things like playing tennis, going to a movie, throwing a football around, or on a rainy day, grabbing a slice of pizza and visiting an arcade. It has been a thoroughly rewarding experience for the both of us.
There are many young men and women like my mentee who are looking for someone they can spend some time with. I urge any and all of you to check out the Saratoga Mentoring Program, or a similar program like Big Brothers.
To find out more about the Saratoga Mentoring Program, visit
Q: I was selected for a management training program for a retailer based on my professional background and my interest in working for the company. I made it clear in the interview that my long-term goal was to be in administration with the company. A few months into training, I realize that that is where my heart lies. How do I handle this yet keep my chances solid of pursuing a greater role in this company?
A: I was in a similar situation as you many years ago. How I handled it was to enjoy what I was doing at the time, and making connections with the department I eventually landed myself in. Doing the very best at the role I was in, I made it clear that I was passionate about the company, even if inside I knew my heart was in a different role. Then, based on the relationships I had in the new department, I worked out some opportunities to shadow their operation and get to see if that was what I really wanted to do. Sure enough, in time, it was the right match, and the right opportunity came along.
I would work as hard as possible in the retail setting, and clearly keep the ear of your leaders by keeping in mind what you want to do long-term. It is those dedicated to whatever role they are put in that are the most likely to get the roles that they seek.
When September 1st arrives, baseball teams bring up anywhere from zero to 15 players to support their teams during the playoff stretch. In the case of the Yankees, this came in the form of a 3rd catcher, a second backup infielder, a backup infielder/outfielder, and 6 or 7 extra "arms" in the bullpen. These callups were used to help give people rest before the postseason begins, give people an opportunity to prove themselves in key situations, and in some cases provide a resource on the bench for late inning running or hitting opportunities.
For teams that aren't performing well, these September callups are a great opportunity to showcase talent to trade them for other important team players, or to test out players for future roles in the organization.
These same approaches can be applied to your team as you prepare for the holidays or any peak business opportunity. Bringing in temporary talent, interns, trainees, or just giving your current staff opportunity to play new roles or take vacations before the busy season can be the recipe for an excellent "roster expansion" for your business. Some of the best people I hired and have seen hired are the ones brought in prior to a busy time, where they can hone their skills on a limited basis, or give people needed time off before the time that really matters.
The Holiday In is not a hotel, but rather an idea behind working on a holiday. It may sound like I am a workaholic, but I find sometimes I get my best work done on a holiday. Christmas, New Year's Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, I work. Not the whole day, not even half a day, but I work.
I find that putting in a couple hours to plan for the future, dust out an old book or email, or to reach out to people on the special days of the year to be extremely valuable.
Granted, I don't venture into an office, but find a couple quiet hours at the beginning or end of a holiday day to be great, uninterrupted, productive time.
So this Labor Day, I'll be spending a few minutes or maybe an hour doing a few things that I've let sit aside.
Q: My new job doesn't grant any sick time. What am I supposed to do, just come in to work sick?
A: As a relative put it so eloquently, "Are you expecting to be sick?" Sometimes the perception of not having sick time is not as foreboding as the reality.
Many companies today do not grant sick leave out of the gate, because they expect employees to be there and be on time. However, that does not certainly guarantee that you will not have sick pay after a probation period.
Other companies I know don't grant "sick days", but do award unlimited sick time in the event of a real medical emergency so people who have an illness can stomach the long term prospects illness can bring.
Give the company a chance, and give yourself hope that you will be well for the first 90 days. Sickness happens, but having a positive outlook on your health is very important as well.
A few weeks back I talked about my workation to Alaska. Something else worth giving a look at is the concept of business travel with build in vacation time coming and going from a business trip. For those who are on the road a lot, building in a day or two on either side of the business trip for leisure can help make the concept of business travel much more enjoyable (and if planned correctly, without added additional cost). After a bumpy plane ride back from my work-ation in Alaska, I decided my next trip that I'd break up my flights to and from my destination into two days of travel. For example, I plan on spending a day or evening in Minnesota on my way to Anchorage next year to see the new Twins stadium. On the way back, I'll be hopefully stopping in either Denver or another baseball city to see a game there. I will be booking 4 one way tickets if possible to enable me to plan this well. I figure if I am going to have to rush from one plane to another and fly 8 hours each way, I might as well enjoy the time to and from both places.
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