Positive Jobs Outlook

In a post earlier this month, I shared my views that now is the time for companies to kickstart their hiring programs.  There is an abundance of talent looking for a good opportunity.  It is (presently) an employers market with more job seekers than jobs.  That, however, will not last as the economy continues to improve. 

Already some of the best talent available is being snapped up.  Too many companies have missed the green flag and are still acting as though the yellow caution were being displayed.  It is time to step on the accelerator pedal and pass the competition.

As evidence of this I offer the latest news from the Conference Board.  They publish the results of a survey of online job sites and the number of positions advertised or Help Wanted On Line (HWOL) ads.  With May just concluded, the conference board has reported that there has been a sizeable net increase of advertised positions (250,000 more than April).

The future of the economy is still uncertain (always has been, always will be) but the green flag is out.  Drivers who miss it will be passed by those that see it.

Going Postal -- Violence in the Workplace

Many of us are familiar with stories of workplace tragedies: A disgruntled employee unleashes his fury by shooting at fellow employees and managers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), out of 5,657 total work fatalities in 2007 in the United States, 864 of these fatalities resulted from workplace assaults and violent acts. Everyone's heard of going postal. How do you avoid your own industry becoming a popular moniker for that sort of behavior? Will the next one be going automotive, going finance, or going semiconductor?

So what exactly is the definition of violence in the workplace? It's any act where a person is intimidated, threatened, abused or assaulted in the workplace. The warning signs of violence can include chemical dependency, personality disorders, impaired ability to function and other disturbing behavior. However many of these incidents can occur with no warning, but it's the responsibility of the company to do as much as possible to avoid such situations. We watch the stunned survivors on the evening news, completely unaware that this calm employee had a violent side. While there are hundreds of these incidents occurring each year, there are also expensive lawsuits being filed: Negligent hiring lawsuits.

As managers and business owners, what can we do to avoid these negligent hiring lawsuits? The best we can do without a crystal ball is to use all available tools to help in smart hiring practices such as pre-employment screening procedures and background checks. Avoiding liability means hiring people with no violent behavior charges in their past. We may rationalize that this is a small problem that wouldn't happen to us, but let's go over some facts provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): a government agency in the Department of Labor to maintain a safe and healthy work environment.  Homicide is the second leading cause of death in the workplace.

• Assaults and threats of violence number almost 2 million a year.
• Most common assaults are simple assaults, 1.5 million a year.
• Aggravated assaults: 396,000/year.
• Rapes and sexual assaults: 51,000/year.
• Robberies: 84,000/year.
• Homicides: nearly 1,000/year or 864 as quoted above.
• The economic impact of workplace violence cost employees $500,000 in 1,175,100 of lost work days each year.
• Lost wages: $55 million annually.
• Lost productivity, legal expenses, property damage, diminished public image and increased security: billions of dollars.

The last bullet is motivation enough. Going Postal, sadly, is still popular decades after the phrase was created. And while we can't predict all employees' behavior, we certainly can put more strategies in place now to know who we're hiring.

Running an Ethical Business Successfully

On May 7th, a Florida housekeeper stole over $100,000 in jewelry from a home where her duties were to clean the house of the homeowners, not clean them out. Homeowners are becoming leery of hiring just anyone to clean their homes and tend to their yards. Some are turning towards businesses whose motto and practice is one of trustworthiness and therefore whose representatives are hopefully those that can be depended upon. And this cautiousness can spread to all facets of business, whether to our bankers or mechanics. A cry for ethical workers can be heard among the mumblings of families where greed has taken the forefront to a sincere day's work. And then when those honest businesses are found -- they have loyal customers for life. A good recommendation from a friend -- even if the price of a product or service is higher -- is always a better sell.

What are some tips that business owners can incorporate to gain such a reputation and thus increase their business productivity?

• Treat each person as if they are a potential customer, even if you know they'd never use your product. They may have friends or family that would. And remember people ultimately buy relationships so put all potential customers at ease.
• Never hesitate to apologize for your mistakes and follow-up with corrections.
• Be honest and upfront from the beginning, articulating the standards that your company adheres to.
• Participate in employment screening, knowing exactly who you're hiring.
• Employers set the example to their employees. If you want ethical employees, keep a high standard for yourself and have consequences for employees that violate the code.
• Keep promises to customers even if it costs. Remember referrals don't come from dissatisfied customers.
• Respect. If we want respect -- just as we tell our children -- treat others with respect. Treat customers, vendors, and employees with respect and loyalty will follow.
• Be socially conscious, donating time and money to causes that are relevant to you. This sends a positive message to those watching.

People are seeking out honest businesses, so let that be a niche you fill. However hard it may seem at first, it will pay off in the end through loyalty from customers and your own personal fulfillment.

Running a business founded upon principles of ethical behavior requires strong leadership.  As a business leader, you will need to set the example (which includes how you treat your employees) for the rest of organization to follow.  You will need to define your company's core principles if they are not already defined, or perhaps refine them if they have already been defined.

Programs that are responsible for recognizing excellent employee behavior and rewarding them accordingly (often accomplished in performance evaluations and bonus programs) *must* include ethical behavior as a key component and few things have the ability to reshape behavior like reward systems.  Don't forget to include a review of hiring practices and evaluation criteria of the job candidates.  The hiring practices, procedures, and criteria will all need to be updated to reflect the company's updated core principles.

There is a competitive advantage in ethical behavior.  The reward is long-term and can take some time to realize.  Still, the reward is worth the effort and your customers, employees, and business partners will recognize and respect the success you will have achieved.

Now is the Time to Launch Your Hiring Program

The time is now.  Now is the time.

The global recession that began some 18 months ago has done some severe damage to a lot of companies.  They have had to thin the ranks of employees.  In too many cases, companies have had to cut so deep that the people who were being let go, were the some of their star players.

The recession appears to have hit bottom.  The financial markets are beginning to strengthen and the housing market is also showing signs of beginning the rebound.  The job market, however, is still terrible.  Unemployment figures were released this morning that shows the national unemployment rate at 8.9%.

However, there is a silver lining.  The job market is a lagging rather than leading indicator, meaning that the markets improve well before the job market does.  The monthly job losses are down (539,000 in April compared to 640,000 in March) but the job market is still in rough shape.  The silver lining is that there is a brief window of opportunity for smart companies to take full advantage of a poor job market.

There are some very good people who are out of work and looking.  Smart companies will recognize the upturn in the economy and seize the opportunity to cherry pick from the labor market those people who will help them go farther and faster than their competition when the economy is on the upswing.

In less than two months, the other companies will figure out that it is time to prepare for the future upturn and begin to hire accordingly.  Right now is that time when the market has begun to turn but most companies are still sitting on the sidelines in terms of hiring.

If you execute now, the cream of the crop is available.  If you wait another two months, many of the best will already be gone and race for top talent will have tightened.  Now is the time to seize the opportunity.  If you snooze, you'll lose.

Give Your Candidates a Copy of the Background Report

Background screening has become mainstream. That means that if you are looking for a new job, a new apartment or home to rent, or perhaps even just getting an insurance quote, the person on the other side of the desk will be running a background check first.

Occasionally, the candidate seeking a new job or new apartment will be unsuccessful. There might be many different reasons for failing to secure the new job or aparment. It might be that there insufficient income to afford the monthly rent for the apartment seeker. The job seeker might not have sufficient experience in the field. Often when unsuccessful, the applicant doesn't understand why.

Applicants who are left to speculate as to the reasons why they were unsuccessful in securing their desired apartment or job often wonder if it has something to do with their credit score, credit history, or reported criminal history. In the current economic recession, there are a lot of people out of work who need jobs. When these out of work job seekers suspect that their credit report or criminal history is preventing them from obtaining employment, many have chosen to address the issue through complaint to their state and federal representatives and senators. The representatives have been quite reponsive to these complaints and now several states have bills pending that would ban the use of credit reports as a component of the hiring decision.

Employers well understand the consequences of the loss of these valuable tools in the hiring process. In order to preserve these insight providing tools, employers need to be more proactive about sharing with the candidates (successful and unsuccessful) the contents of the credit, criminal, and related background checks.

Sharing with the candidates the background check is a simply a good idea. If there were a problem with a claim they make on their resume that is not supported by the facts, they could learn not to make unsupported claims (e.g. having a Harvard MBA when applying for forklift operator positions). If there were a problem with paying bills in full and on-time, the apartment seeker could begin to understand the consequence of those decisions and begin to act more responsibly in financial matters. If there were an unusual amount of traffic violations (speeding, reckless, running red lights, etc.) the job seeker applying for a delivery driver position should have the opportunity to understand the consequences of driving habits and make some changes there.

Moreover, if there were not a problem with the behavior or capability of the applicant but rather an error anywhere on the background check and the employer or community manager were to have relied on the erroneous information, the job or apartment seeker would have been effectively denied the opportunity to discover the reason, discover the error, and challenge the error (there are provisions for correcting errors on credit and criminal histories).

Federal law requires that prospective employers or prospective landlords disclose that the applicant may obtain a copy of the credit/criminal history report used in the decision for this very reason. I recommend that employers and community managers go further than the requirement (to inform the applicant they have a right to receive a copy) and actually provide the copies as a matter of course.

For those who have made mistakes in their lives and are feeling the consequences, it provides to them the sure evidence of the results of their choices and the incentive to choose more wisely. That is a very good thing for all involved. For those who might innocently be impacted by an error, there is an even more compelling argument to be made, as they would not only be denied what they sought, but importantly, would be wrongfully denied.



So do the right thing and make sure that your applicants receive a copy of their histories. You'll be doing them a favor and be helping to reduce the chance that some lawmakers will act upon these complaints by enacting law that would deny to you, the employer or property manager, effective background screening.

Vetting Your Candidates -- Don't Forget the Executives

When seeking to fill an open line or staff position, nearly all HR professionals are very comfortable with running a full suite of background tests on candidates meeting the minimum criteria:
- Employment verification
- Education/Certificate verification
- Criminal History
- Civil History
- Credit Check
- Drug Test

Running this battery of checks has become de rigueur for line and staff positions. There are enough candidates with issues that running the full background screen makes perfect sense (and plenty of examples of the downside for failing to do so).

However, when it comes to filling an executive position, there seems to be a different attitude. When questioned about whether or not executive candidates are subjected to the same rigorous checks, the answer is frequently negative. Curiously, many HR professionals seem to operate under the belief (when considering executive candidates) that this group of candidates has already been thoroughly vetted and referenced multiple times in their prior positions that it would be unnecessary, unduly expensive, and off-putting to the candidate to conduct such checks.

The reality will just as frequently show otherwise. Executives have no particular immunity from lapses in judgement and are equally subject to human foibles as the population at large. Judging from the volume of while collar, and even violent crime in some cases, executives make serious mistakes that would disqualify a line or staff worker at approximately the same frequency as the line or staff worker.

To illustrate the need more pointedly, let's review a number of executives who committed no greater offense than to have fraudulently embellished their résumé's. These exec's lied about their education, experience, or both in order to secure an executive position. All of which could have been, and should have been, discovered by performing a standard background check:
- CEO David Edmondson, formerly of Radio Shack lied about degrees he never obtained
- CFO Kenneth Lonchar, formerly of Veritas Software lied about obtaining a Stanford MBA
- CEO Ronald Zarrella, formerly of Baush & Lomb lied about completing an MBA from NYU
- Judge Patrick Couwenberg, formerly of Los Angeles Superior Court lied about his education
- Head Coach George O'Leary, formerly of Notre Dame Football lied about his academic and athletic background
- CEO Jeff Papows, formerly of IBM's Lotus Development division lied about education and military service

In each case, the reward of getting the desired position must have seemed greater than the risk of getting caught in a lie about their education, experience, or service. To their respective great dismay, they were each found out.

There are many more such cases we might cite which go well beyond embellishing of the résumé. We could just have easily discussed the crimes of which executives have been convicted resulting in their dismissal and potential incarceration.

The point is, that executive candidates need to receive the same level of scrutiny in their vetting process that the line and staff candidates receive during vetting. More to the point, since the consequences of hiring (and then having to fire) an executive candidate with a troubled past can have a far more negative impact than the hiring of line worker, which is just all the more reason to approach the screening of executive candidates with same level of impartiality as the line worker.

Case in point is that of Kenneth Lonchar of Veritas. When news came out about the CEO Kenneth Lonchar having lied about his educational accomplishments, a Merrill Lynch analyst immediately downgraded the stock ($6 billion market cap) on the premise that if the CEO demonstrated his ability to lie about his own educational performance, what confidence should the market have that he could not, would not, or did not also lie about the company's financial performance.

The CXO club is a fairly private club. It is one in which members typically do not ask impolite questions of one another, such as "Did you really get a Harvard MBA?". Consequently, as an HR professional, you must insist that the same scrutiny be applied to executive positions as are applied to line positions and ask those impolite but essential questions. Don't make the career limiting mistake that the executive candidate has already been thoroughly vetted earlier in his or her career or that the executive search firm you hired was fully diligent. The job you save may be your own.

North Dakota Bill for Background Checks

ND legislators are considering passing a bill that would require background checks to be done on all daycare workers.

For more details, click the link below.
http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=26554