Bad habits – Scarlet Pruitt of HR World discusses 15 bad habits of HR Professionals. These run the gamut from gossip and leaking information to failing to confront rule breakers and underperformers. The latter is something we often see – managers who wait to deal with a performance problem until the employee is unsalvageable, even though an earlier intervention might have led to a resolution of the underlying issue causing the performance drop, often a matter that is rooted in a personal or family situation. One other weakness we might add to the list is the “rescue syndrome” – HR managers who take the weight of the work force problems on their own shoulders, playing confidant or counselor to troubled employees. Getting involved in an employee’s personal problems can be like stepping in quicksand, the better course of action is to ensure that good professional counseling resources such as an EAP are available and are used.
More bad habits – as long as we’re enumerating bad habits, we also call your attention to HR Daily Advisor’s post about 8 common failures in hiring and recruiting, as suggested by an employment attorney.
Massachusetts employers take note: you have a new reason to ensure strict compliance with wage and hour laws. Jay Shepherd of Gruntled Employees talks about a newly enacted Massachusetts law that requires trebles damages for an employer’s violation of wage and hour laws. He notes that previously judges had discretionary powers in determining whether or not an employer had malicious intent in violating the law but under the new law, treble fines are mandatory.
Watch your language – Evil HR Lady talks about why she favors a strict workplace.
Disengagement – Are 20 percent of your workers disengaged? Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 discusses a recent report on The State of Employee Engagement 2008 issued by global consultant BlessingWhite, which reports that only one in three of your workers are fully engaged. And if you are looking to determine what this looks like, Frank Roche of KnowHR offers his nomination for the best definition of employee engagement.
Flexible schedules – Ken Nowak of Envisia Learning discusses how flexible work schedules and telecommuting might increase worker productivity. Thanks to Wally Bock, who always points out worthwhile reading matter on his excellent Three Star LeadershipBlog .
What Mom is worth – In case you missed it, last week, salary.com issued their annual calculation of what a typical Mom’s salary ought to be. They determined that the time mothers spend performing the 10 most popular “Mom job functions” would equate to an annual cash compensation of $116,805 for a Stay-at-Home Mom. They note that the primary driver of mom’s six-figure salary is the amount of overtime clocked. Stay-at-Home Moms work a 94.4 hour “workweek”and Working Moms averaged a 54.6 hour “mom work week” in addition to their paying jobs. Use the Mom Salary Wizard to determine your Mom’s market value.
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