A regular round up of news, legal trends and workplace developments to help keep HR ahead of the curve
By now you’ve undoubtedly heard about monumental changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) taking effect in December 2016, but the actual impact of those changes on your business and the potential consequences if the transition isn’t handled properly remain firmly on the horizon.
Every year at the SHRM National Conference, you see all sorts of blog posts about how the content is great, but it’s really about the people you meet and the relationships you build. Hell, I’ve even written that blog post.
On June 29, @shrmnextchat chated with Jessica Merrell (@JMillerMerrell) about The Natural Selection of Talent Management.
In case you missed this excellent and informative chat on the lates trends in recruiting and talent managment, you can read all the tweets here:
Let me get straight to the point. One key element contributing to the dilemma of creative thinking in the workplace is fear of diversity – fear of "too" different. You see, this "too different" causes discomfort. This is the "get out of our comfort zone" we don't consider and resist.
Organizaitonal psychologist Michael Woodward ("Dr. Woody") chats with Fox and Friends' Clayton Morris about ways for beating low productivity at work due to the summer slump and takes a look at a new, high-tech office chair called the AltWork Work Station.
By Catalina Andrade
Is employee happiness an issue at your organization? Have you heard grumbling around the water cooler? Here are some go-to ways to boost morale and improve employee happiness used by Retrofit, a leading provider of weight-management and disease-prevention programs:
Source. Interview. Hire. Turnover. Rinse. Repeat.
It’s a never-ending cycle as organizations struggle to find and keep the talent needed to run and develop their organizations. The competition grows smarter and more relentless every day.
Anxious employers are beginning to pay closer attention to the recruiting trends that they may have scoffed at in the past. It’s finally sinking in that the only options are “get on board” or “go down in flames.”
“If you want more influence in your organizations, relationships will help you get there,” according to the authors of Social Gravity: Harnessing the Natural Laws of Relationships (Talent Anarchy Productions, 2012).
by Ross Smith and Darla Barrett
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
Red e App Survey of HR Professionals at the SHRM 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition Reveals a Lack of Connection with Hourly Employees
Any company’s HR department can be much more than a necessary nuisance! In fact, HR departments can make fiscal contributions to their companies through: 1. cost containment, 2. productivity improvement, and 3. actual profit generation – HR CAN MAKE YOU MONEY!
Evren Esen, SHRM-SCP
Director, Workforce Analytics, SHRM
Business literature is filled with all the reasons performance reviews just don’t work, but maybe part of the issue is that we aren’t addressing the real needs of the employees. Yes, they appreciate a positive comment from their manager. Employees do want an annual or semi-annual sit down to talk about your view of their performance and to set goals for the next year. They want to know where the company is going and how they fit into the big picture.
I’m blogging again this year for SHRM at the National show aka #SHRM16. Once again, I’ve spent the entire event networking, which means I’ve only attended one session so far – a labor law overview by Chad Richter from Jackson Lewis.
Knowledge has been gained, connections have been made, and plenty of food/drinks have been consumed by student and young professional members at the SHRM 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition.
What you need to know about social security
A very special live episode of Drive Thru HR hosted by Michael where he talks to representatives from the Social Security Administration, sharing useful information about social security for individuals and HR professionals.
Today I attended two packed sessions on the FLSA and its impact on companies. One session dealt with nonprofits and the second dealt with the FLSA overtime rules in general.
Nonprofits
Like a Stephen Strasburg fastball, you just can’t hit all the pitches thrown your way during the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition. Perhaps it’s an overeager HR professional looking for their next (or first!) opportunity in the industry. Or it might be a pushy salesperson in the Exposition Hall trying to sign you up for a demo of the latest and greatest HR Tech.
I have LOVED the #SHRM16 conference and it has really forced me to get out and meet some fantastic people - both ones that I've had the opportunity to connect with online and also some completely new friends.
On June 22, @shrmnextchat chatted with @LynettePSilva of Globoforce about The Value of Employee Recognition.
In case you missed this excellent chat filled with great tips and advice for employee recognition programs, you can see all the tweets here:
There is more talk at this year’s SHRM Annual Conference about recruiting difficulties than there has been during my previous visits to this conference.
We 1st heard about this from the perspective of Mike Rowe. He pointed out that we have 2.8 million unfilled jobs yet have record amounts of student debt piling up. Was his conclusion that we are training people for jobs that they don’t want or don’t exist anymore correct?
One thing is for certain is that building your personal brand is a long game. It takes time. It's also in my opinion a professional necessity especially in this day and age. With the age of the internet. The opportunity and ability to really establish yourself as a professional in human resources and recruiting exists whether you are looking for global branding or building a presence in the local community.
I had the opportunity to talk randomly with a number of #SHRM16 attendees and ask them one question.
The question is based on Steve Wonder's "I Wish."
I asked people what they wished were different about their day to day HR jobs. Here are the top 5 top answers I heard.
1. I Wish I Had More Time with the People (Outside of Emergencies)
Recognize This! – We all have the ability to create more human workplaces for ourselves and those around us, simply by saying thank you.
Our search for the best swag—the “stuff we all get”—at the Society for Human Resource Management 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition netted a lot of contenders.
We skipped the standard buttons, stress balls and earbuds and went for the innovative, cute and delicious.
Read about the nominees:
Ahhh, Washington, D.C. The last time I spent a good amount of time in this city was about 27 years ago, so it's nice to be back in a great city attending the annual SHRM conference. The multiple landscapes have changed since I've been in D.C....geographical, political, and yes, even the world of work. The official theme of this year's SHRM conference is "Breakthrough," a sentiment that some attendees may feel is long overdue. Personally, I like the theme.
Day 2 (and the first full day) of SHRM 2016 had me jumping around in various directions. Here are some highlights…
Power Posing
Since officially starting my business in 2011, I set out to be a voice for small business HR. When I say small business HR, I’m not necessarily talking about HR Departments of One. I do include them in this group; but, primarily, I’m focusing even smaller, as in 125 employees or less. Often these businesses do not have one dedicated HR person. They have an Office Manager or CFO handling their HR along with many other tasks.
Conference wraps up tomorrow afternoon, but there's still plenty to see and do! So what can you look forward to today? Here's a quick list!
Day 2 of #SHRM16 is underway, and I'm hearing a lot of good things and seeing some fun takeaways via social media for all levels of HR professionals.
Although I hit two great concurrent sessions today and a very interesting keynote address I will talk about them at another time. I wanted to highlight some of the vendors I have visited. I look for some of the smaller vendors, not exclusively, but generally some that have an interesting product or service.
Ultimate Software
The 2016 edition of the Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference and Expo is well underway.
I'm here at SHRM16 milling about with thousands of other Human Resource Professionals. I was on a walk last night, proudly wearing my SHRM16 Blogger t-shirt, and stepped into a joint to get some water. An employee of the store, referring to my shirt, asked, "What is SHRM?" which led to a discussion about HR.
I’m blessed again this year to be attending the SHRM Annual Conference. Yesterday, I spoke with a friend who I haven’t seen at a SHRM event in a while. I asked him about what he was most looking forward to, and he had a quick response for me: the people.
Yes, the content is good.
Yes, the general sessions are motivating.
The evolving workplace is the reoccurring theme we are hearing at the #SHRM16 conference. Issues like workplace flexibility, health insurance or overtime. Most, if not all, issues that are arising in the 21st century workplace are HR issues. How we deal with them is where the rubber meets the road.
When was the last time your employer recognized you for a job well-done?
When was the last time your supervisor said “Thank you”?
How did it make you feel when you received the recognition?
How do you feel when you don’t?
Creating a culture of appreciation at your organization can have an enormous impact on talent management, engagement and retention.
Years and years ago, I decided I wanted to get certified. This was no small deal. I had been raised in state government, and NONE of my peers or supervisors were certified; nor did any of them, as far as I could tell, see the value in it.
It's happening - now, people are arriving for #SHRM16. Pre-conferences events are underway on Saturday. The journey has begun for many. But, what is all of the buzz, the excitement, the hype? I have been asked by so many folks, "So, what is the big deal about this conference?" I am not really sure how to answer this.
Why Are We So Bad At Detecting Liars?
The 2016 SHRM conference started with a great set of keynote that followed Hank Jackson’s opening remarks.
Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's holding that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. It seems obvious to all of us today, but it was not at the time the EEOC took the position. It was not until SCOTUS said the EEOC was right that the EEOC's enforcement position became the law of the land.
I lived in Southern California for my high school and college years. In college, I studied comparative animal psychology—primates in particular. As a result, I was very familiar with the San Diego Zoo. I have probably been at least 15 times, and consider it to be one of the premier zoos I have ever been to. Sadly, it has been 20 years since my last visit.
Cornelia Springer, Director of Certification Services at SHRM, is excited to welcome #SHRM16 attendees to Washington DC! If this is your first time in DC and don’t know where to start exploring, she is happy to point you in the direction of what she loves most about the place she calls home.
I am very fortunate to be a father. I mean that. This is something that I wanted to become at some point in my life. I am also very fortunate to have grown up surrounded by an extended family where I saw strong fatherhood models both from their personal example and how they loved their spouse and their children.
As another SHRM Annual conference looms in my immediate future, I find myself looking forward to several things during this time in Washington DC.
Years ago, I was a member of my local SHRM Chapter and was helping our current president recruit for new Board Members. On one particular year, the Diversity Chair position was vacant and so I offered to help recruit for that position.
We are excited to announce that we have created the first ever #SHRM16 Geofilter on Snapchat!
What is a Geofilter?
According to the “bible of the internet,” otherwise known as Google, the definition of a “story” is a description, either true or imagined, of a connected series of events. Don’t you love a good story? I know I do. In the social media realm, a story can be told via a series of posts, tweets or images. One of the coolest things about Snapchat is its “My Story” feature.
It started with a lamp... a logo-ed lamp....
The guys who used to sell class rings out of the trunks of their cars began imprinting corporate logos to belt buckles as a side business. If you performed well, you got a trophy, literally. People appreciated the recognition! My Dad still has every logo-ed ash tray his company gave him.... even though he never smoked a single cigarette his entire life.
Times have changed, not as rapidly as one would have expected, but times have changed.
#SHRM16 in Washington D.C. is just around the corner. Without a doubt it’s going to be another fantastic HR conference. It’ll be my 3rd (Atlanta 2012 and Chicago 2013), and after taking a 2-year hiatus I am back with a vengeance as the only Canadian member of the conference blog team. I did hear a rumor that a Molson beer fridge will be available in the blogger’s lounge for Canadian bloggers.
So, we are only a few days away from #SHRM2016… This time I asked the very same questions previously answered by P&G HR VP to Craig Briscoe, HR VP of Dell.
Meredith Nethercutt, a Senior Associate for Member Advocacy at SHRM, has a fun and exciting list of recommendations for #SHRM16 attendees, too!
Snapchat is currently the hottest social media app out there. Teens are no longer the only demographic to be drawn in by Snapchat’s creative and playful features. News agencies, major brands, Gen Xers and, yes, even my mom are using it now, too!
One of the easiest ways to begin to build your Snapchat community is by following people you already know. To do so, simply:
We all are well aware of the tragic massacre in Orlando less than a week ago.
In social media, the print media and public discussions, we hear a lot about:
Dear SHRM Members,
On behalf of all of us here at SHRM, I want to share our deepest sympathies for the victims, families and loved ones whose lives have been so tragically and profoundly impacted by Sunday’s nightclub shooting in Orlando. Words cannot fully express our sorrow. As President Obama has said this was an attack on all Americans.
SHRM has deep ties to the Orlando community as we’ve been fortunate to develop personal relationships with many amazing people - well-beyond our many SHRM members.
On June 15, @shrmnextchat chatted with the #SHRM16Blogger Team, SHRM staff and conference attendees about preparing for the 2016 SHRM Annual Conference.
In case you missed this amazing chat filled with great tips and advice for conference attendees, you can read all the tweets here:
Everyone Matters
Time kills all deals. That’s a fact that is certainly true for companies trying to hire great people. But the length of hiring process can be somewhat mitigated by good communication at every stage.
Having some trouble writing out your to-do list for #SHRM16? Kristine Hofmann, a Business Operations Specialist at SHRM, has got you covered.
Bettina Deynes, VP of Human Resources & Diversity, has a great list of foodie restaurant recommendations that will make your #SHRM16 trip a memorable – and tasty– one!
DC is home to many popular restaurants that offer a wide variety of culinary options. Lucky for you, Bettina has taken full advantage and is pleased to share her personal favorites with you.
There are but a few days until the Big Show opens up in Washington D.C. If you are attending, you better have your plan assembled very soon if not already. Boys and girls this is bigger than a trip to Disney World. There are so many attractions, if you don’t have a plan, you are going to spend a lot of time staring at shiny objects. If you are in HR you have heard the old line, Plan your work, work your plan.
After some consideration, these are the reasons I have come up with as to why people would attend the SHRM Annual Conference.
I thought that as an official #SHRM16 Blogger I would share my personal agenda for the conference next week. I do this because I am not the stereotypical conference attendee or blogger. I am an “old guy” in HR. I sponsor myself. I don’t have corporate backing for my attendance, other than my conference fee is taken care of in return for tweeting and blogging.
After enduring several years of declines in government spending, the Washington, D.C. region is once again benefiting from stability in the federal budget. But the area’s economy is also now less reliant on Capitol Hill, as evidenced by recent job gains in the private sector.
Ashlee Smith, the Director of Development for the SHRM Foundation, wants to make sure that you get the full DC experience while you’re at #SHRM16. From monuments to jazz music, here’s Ashlee’s full list of recommendations for #SHRM16 attendees.
Why is Steve Browne so geeked?
I had the pleasure of interviewing my friend, Steve Browne. Actually, we just talked. All quotes are Steve’s.
I wanted to learn more about the man who will be speaking on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 2:15 p.m. His topic: “MEGA SESSION HR on Purpose! Five Ways to Own, Lead and Integrate HR Throughout Your Organization.”
On Monday morning after the opening keynote by Amy Cuddy, SHRM is offering up a plethora of sessions (the 10:45 a.m. slot). You will find me in room 207 and I will be attending T Minus 90 days and Counting to the General Election.
The annual SHRM national conference is only days away now! As you get prepared to join us for #SHRM16, don’t forget to pack your favorite social media tool to bring along with you.
The annual SHRM conference starts in just 6 days. I’m blogging for SHRM again this year.
“This ability to inform and identify trends is probably the best reason to visit the marketplace. “ ~ #SHRM16 Blogger Mike Haberman
I was talking with a friend the other night about what a challenge it is for HR professionals to stay up-to-date on all the changing rules and regulations that the Obama administration is throwing at us in their final days.
We still haven’t completely figured out ACA, and now we get to deal with even more hot steaming bowls of ….agency alphabet soup. DOL and the OT rule….NLRB and PCA…. OLMS and the LMRDA. What?
That’s Not How We Do It Here!: A Story about How Organizations Rise and Fall—and Can Rise Again (Portfolio/Penguin Random House, 2016), by authors John Kotter and Hol
Many of us on the Social Media team have been talking about our breakthrough moments in #HR. I have read many of them and found them to interesting and entertaining. So now my insecurities kick in here, is my story as interesting, as good, as captivating as others? I doubt it, but I will chime in on the theme of Breakthrough moments.
By Irene Saccoccio and Alfredo Padilla, Jr
SHRM16!! It's right around the corner!
Are you going? If so, have you thought about how you're going to go about it?
I know that seems odd but trust me on this one, if you're going to a national conference of this size, you need to think about it before you arrive.
Over the years, I wrote a few posts about SHRM National: a few of my favorites to help you prepare are as follows:
Many people know Karl Ahlrichs after seeing him speak at local, state, and national SHRM events. For all but 2 of the last 20 years, Karl has been a fixture at SHRM Annual Conferences and returns to Washington DC (his favorite conference city!) to present two (2) sessions this year. During a recent meeting in his hometown of Indianapolis, we sat down to talk about his time as a SHRM speaker and some highlights of his sessions.
No matter how you might try to fight against it, or pretend it isn't a "thing," social media is here to stay. It's changing the way we buy, the way we keep in touch with our friends, the way we get our news, and now - how companies hire and engage their employees. So, what are the in's and out's of social media use that business owners and HR professionals need to know about?
#SHRM16 is right around the corner and it's high time you start thinking about what types of sessions you want to attend.
Many of you are lucky enough to live and work in a location in which there is a strong and active local SHRM Chapter that offers consistent HR educational courses. Many more of you are lucky enough to travel to smaller or niche conferences when you need to fill that noggin of yours with some good information.
The SHRM national convention will be held in Washington, D.C. this month from June 19 – 22. I am once again attending as an official blogger. This is now my fifth year in that role, and it has been fun. I learn a lot, especially in the marketplace. And, that is why I am planning on visiting the vendors at #SHRM16. If you are going, I recommend you do the same.
People think I am crazy
On June 8, @shrmnextchat chatted with Dan Cross (@CrossOverHR) about Advice for the Next Generation of HR.
In case you missed this inspring and insightful chat packed with great advice from other HR professionals, you can see all the tweets here:
The annual SHRM conference is almost upon us, and by now you should be starting to think about the sessions that you’d like to attend, the vendors in the expo hall you’ll need to visit, and of course you can’t forget about catching up with some friends and colleagues.
Sounds like you might need a "map".
I'm so excited to share this post with you! I recently had a call with Sara Shinneman, SHRM-SCP & Deborah Rocco with Interaction Associates (Check out their site, I found a ton of great blog posts on the issue and some white papers) on their presentation they will be giving at #SHRM16 called "Bridging the Gender Gap: A New Approach to Shattering the Glass Ceiling."
Knowledgeable. Captivating. Authentic. Husband. Father. Teacher.
Jeff Ranen’s inbox filled up fast when a new California law opened the door to holding company executives personally liable for wage and hour violations. “I got a lot of panicked e-mails from clients,” said Ranen, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith.
Whether in multilingual neighborhoods or on college campuses filled with people from all walks of life, many of us have experienced aspects of diversity in our everyday lives. So what makes diversity so complex? It’s that we all have different definitions or interpretations of the concept. While some of us don’t think we are biased at all, we all operate with both unconscious and conscious biases that impact the decisions we make about others.
This is the third post I have written about some of the upcoming breakout sessions at the SHRM16 Annual Conference.
Today I am excited to tell you about a session on Manager Onboarding. The person presenting this session is a good friend of mine (full disclosure here) and her name is Sharlyn Lauby. If you have ever delved into HR Blogs you might know her as the HRBartender.
With SHRM 16 rapidly approaching, articles have been written on keynotes, concurrent speakers, networking and even what to wear or not wear. One area that is been overlooked is one of my (and many others) high points to any Annual Conference and that is the SHRM Store.
Ready or not—here they come! Graduates of the Class of 2016 are ready to enter the workforce and will be preparing to start their careers over the next several months.
I am publishing this as a #SHRM16 post because it involves a fellow HR blogger, in fact someone that was considered the NUMBER ONE HR blogger in the world. According to one source, his blog Cheezhead was getting 50,000 unique visitors per month in 2010. As comparison, mine gets about 16,000 in 2016. He was a big deal. Since that time, Joel has moved on to a number of ventures. His LinkedIn profile reads like that of a serial entrepreneur.
Companies with high levels of employee engagement consistently outperform their competitors, earning 147 percent more per share on the stock market than companies with low engagement scores, according to Gallup research. Yet employee surveys continue to show a dismal lack of engagement in the workforce, with more than 70 percent of U.S. workers—and nearly 90 percent worldwide—reporting that they are disengaged in their jobs.
According to recent research from the National Business Group on Health and Fidelity Employer Survey, 84 percent of employers plan to continue or expand their employee wellness programs in the next three to five years. Great news, right? Wellness programs are growing!
Most observers agree that job seekers from the Class of 2016 are facing better conditions than their peers from the past few years. Sustained labor market growth and a steadily expanding economy are chief among the reasons for this optimism, but the good news nonetheless comes with caveats, as detailed in a number of recent reports.
How is your organization keeping up with changes in the workplace? No matter our company size, industry or location, we cannot escape the forces that are dramatically reshaping work.
One of the many pleasures of being on the Blogging Team for #SHRM16 is the opportunity to talk to interesting people. As I perused the speaker list I came across the topic Aligning Learning and HR to Deliver Maximum Business Impact. Given the emphasis that SHRM puts on the HR competency of Business Acumen I knew that I wanted to interview the speaker to find out what his presentation was all about.
On June 1, @shrmnextchat chatted with Blake McCammon (@rblake) about How HR Can Master College Recruiting.
In case you missed this fun and informative chat, you can read all the tweets here:
Is Uber’s recognition of the Independent Driver’s Guild (IDG) in New York a step in the right direction or an evil red herring? It depends, of course, on which lawyer you ask.
One the one hand, lawyers for the IDG say the agreement with Uber will guarantee drivers monthly meetings to raise concerns, create an appeals process for driver termination decisions and provide legal services and benefits to drivers at discounted rates.
I’m doing something I never do. Seriously. In nearly 10 years of attending the annual SHRM conference pretty regularly, I have never done this before.
Never.
As of the writing of this post, I have actually taken a little time to review the session descriptions for SHRM16 and have earmarked a few I want to attend.
I’m planning ahead.
As HR professionals, I know you have a passion for helping people and addressing the challenges they face.
Your employees who are American citizens living overseas have the right to vote in U.S. elections — from anywhere in the world.
Though voting absentee from outside the U.S. has gotten easier, many voters could still use some help overcoming potential obstacles, including:
#SHRM16 is just around the corner, and I cannot describe how excited I am to reconnect with the best HR pros from across the country in D.C. this summer. As I study the schedule of speakers and topics this year, I can’t help but revisit the theme of the conference: Breakthrough Moments. I think the theme is appropriate, and it has me thinking back on some of the breakthrough moments I’ve already had in my career.
Dear 
1) To Connect
