HR Tony

Stimulus Package & COBRA

The recent "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" (Stimulus package) signed into law February 17, 2009 greatly affects employers who are subject to offering COBRA - virtually every employer with more then 20 employees. 

In a nutshell, the package allows for employees who have been involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 to elect COBRA and be responsible for paying for only 35% of the premium by offering a 65% subsidy.  Even if an employee previously didn't elect COBRA, a new window of enrollment is being offered which means every HR out there has to open the record books and contact every member terminated since September.

Not saying this is a bad thing.  Now people are able to sign up for healthcare for a much reduced cost.  The question is; with unemployment rising and the Stimulus package only increasing unemployment benefits by $25 a week (keep in mind the average cost of a family health plan is over $400 a month) do you think more or less people will be inclined to sign up for healthcare?  Do you think this portion of the Stimulus package could have been spent more wisely?

Keep Your Head Up

It's everywhere in the news...5,000 layoffs from Sprint, 7,000 from Home Depot, 20,000 from Caterpillar...

The news of course is going to focus on the negatives: "10% of employees will lose jobs, etc. etc..." which is bound to freak people out. 

What about the other 90% of people; what did they do differently that allowed them to keep their job?  If you’re constantly worrying that you might be in the next round of layoffs, then you are constantly working at a lower capacity.  Now is not the time to stick your head in the ground and hope you go unnoticed to avoid layoffs.  

The best thing you can do is to keep your head up, constantly work above yours and your bosses' expectations and shine.  Not only will this more then likely help you keep your job, but it is going to be self rewarding and enrichening.

There are also several things you can do after hours to help keep you motivated in the workplace.  Going for a run, doing a Yoga exercise, eating healthier, drinking more water, laughing with family & friends are all great things to do.  These actions keep you grounded while making you feel better about yourself.  When you feel good, you’re bound to do good.

Circuit City to Close It's Doors

After struggling to stay afloat over the last few years, Circuit City announced that it will close it's remaining 567 stores; adding about 34,000 to the fast growing list of unemployed in these uncertain economic times.

In 2007, Circuit City decided to lay off (replace) 3,400 workers.  The decision was made to lay off top earning employees and replace them with lower earning ones.  It's pretty easy to see the logic here: lower paying usually equals less experienced.  Those of us in HR know that less experience means higher turnover, higher recruiting costs, higher training costs, and the list goes on.

When this decision was made, I wonder where was HR.  Were they simply trumped by the decisions a CFO made?  In a case like this, HR should have given facts and figures on the overall outcome of the decision over time, rather then simply looking at the cost savings of an employee's salary.

May this serve as an eye opener to us in Human Resources.  Yes, it's important that HR decisions have the company's bottom line in mind; however, it’s equally important for HR to stand up for the moral and needs of employees.

Personal Goals

Happy New Year!

 

After a relaxing holiday season, today most people return back to work.  Are you returning to work with the same motivation and mindset as in 2008, or do you have something different in mind?

 

As we roll into the season of New Year’s resolutions, we should focus on what our professional goals are, both short term and long term, and develop a strategy to accomplish these.  Try following these steps as you prepare your goals:

1. Define your own personal statement: a one-liner that describes who you want to become.
2. List any long term, 3 – 5 year goals.
3. Break down these goals by year.
4. Take your 2009 year goal, and break it down further, perhaps by quarter.

Your quarterly goals should be something that is attainable and will contribute to your overall success.  These should be challenging, but not extremely overwhelming and can include:

• Take a class or complete a certification.
• Read a book about a new trend in your field.
• Create new methods to improve your workflow.

Accomplishing these short term goals will prove to be a huge motivation builder by proving to yourself that once you set your mind to something, you can accomplish it.  It’s been known that when many successful CEOs plan their 5 – 10 year business goals, they also plan for short term personal goals such as completing their first triathlon or marathon. 

 

It’s easy to lose focus and motivation while trying to accomplish something over 5 years, so having short term success will keep you focused and eager to accomplish more.

 

My goals for the year are to spend more time with the family, get back into shape, read at least a few more HR books and continue to build my blog.  What about you?  What are your goals for the year and do you have a plan to accomplish them?

 

Team building & the Holidays

There is nothing like working with a team who you feel comfortable working with and who you can trust.  Building a team takes time, commitment, and a leader who truly understands the different members of the team.

 

I’m a strong advocate of building teamwork and hosting team building activities year round.  While there can be occasions where you can take the team on a retreat or plan a team building event on a larger scale (dependent on budget of course) team building shouldn’t be something that you occasionally plan for.  Any activity in the workplace should be organized keeping in mind how it will benefit EVERY employee.

 

Using the Holiday season can be of great advantage to spruce up team building for coming years.  This can be a great time to get to know fellow employees, supervisors and subordinates; what their favorite Holiday treats are and any interests and family traditions are good topics to learn.

Learning more about what fires up and makes employees happy will help team building at work.  There is nothing like working with a team who know your thoughts, react to situations, and is generally a step ahead of you with minimal if any communication.

 

Happy Holiday Season!

Why do we do it?

As I deal with snow-filled sidewalks on my way to work after having to wait in sub-zero temperatures for the train, I can only help to wonder why we do it.  Why do we wake up routinely every morning and go to work?  What drives us?

Yes, there’s the money issue.  We all need and want money right?  But is life just meant to be a routine so we can pay the bills, or can we make a difference in the way we run our life by finding out what motivates us?

Personally, the challenge of making a difference when everyone else thinks it's not possible is what motives me.  The opportunity of seeing a challenge from different angles, working to overcome the challenge and seeing the results is untimely satisfying.

This is crucial for HR professionals to understand.  We must understand the different psyche of our employees and develop a plan which will consistently engage them.  There are several factors which will motivate employees in the workplace including:  open communication with managers, high moral, a positive work environment, recognition and appreciation for a job well done.

Remember that trying to create a universal motivational program usually doesn't work.  While every employee works for the money, what drives them varies individually.  Learn more about what motivates every employee and ultimately remember to treat employees like they matter - because they do.

To Blog, or not to Blog?

Social networking has been around for about 10 years now.  In the last five years however, we have seen a booming growth with the addition of sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Myspace.

 

We now know that social networking is the way of the future.  We can now network and grow our "known contacts" with people from around the globe without ever meeting them.

 

Blogging has also seen a huge increase in popularity over the last few years.  A main topic for discussion among HR people is whether or not people should blog.  A blog will show everyone on the web who you are and what your thoughts are.

 

As you can see, I choose to blog.  I think keeping up with technology, creating your personal brand, and expanding your network as much as you can will help a person both personally as well as professionally.