The HR Whisperer

I was listening to the radio the other day on my way home from the ever-present swim team car pool drive (an hour and a half round trip, ugh) and heard the radio jockeys talking about Valentine’s Day and an article on they found on the Internet related to “64  Ways to Say I Love You.” 

Of course, I went to check it out and thought it was great fun – and something that would be worth translating into showing the love for employees or volunteers.

You see, we don’t do that enough.  And its been worse lately as folks are stressing over the lack of jobs and the lack of a decent economy.  Recognizing employees (and each other’s) contributions takes work – strengthening the relationship takes work – and retaining employees takes work.

So, in honor of Valentine’s day, here’s my list of 64 ways to let employees know you care. 

64 Ways to Show Employee Love

1. Be courteous.
2. Encourage physical and mental health.
3. Have fun. 
4. Don’t compare employees to each other.
5. Give your full attention. 
6. Trust. 
7. Truly listen to what the employee is saying (no multi-tasking!).
8. Be respectful.
9. Share some humor.
10. Be interested in the employee’s interests.
11. Be a cheerleader. 
12. Highlight the employee’s accomplishments.
13. Bring in pizza.
14. Ask for input.
15. Let bygones be bygones; embrace the present – and the future. 
16. Accept the fact that nobody’s perfect. 
17. Play hooky together. 
18. Show interest in the whole person, not  just the at-work person.
19. Catch more flies with honey than vinegar – be nice.
20. Apologize. 
21. Live by the Golden Rule.
22. Better yet, the Platinum Rule-do unto others as they like…unto them.
23. Tell the employee you appreciate him or her. 
24. Take a group picture and post it in your office.
25. Encourage risk-taking and from that, learning.
26. Talk about the day.
27. Laugh.  Best de-stressor outside of prescription drugs.
28. Pick your battles.
29. Have a vision and share it with inspiration.
30. Don’t be competitive; it’s a team effort.
31. Forget about labels – everyone is unique and special.
32. Don’t forget about the commonalities, though.
33. Have an ice cream sundae contest.
34. Watch a great teambuilding movie together like Remember the Titans.
35. Write a “you did an outstanding job” note once a week and mean it.
36. Share company war stories or historical (hysterical) tales.
37. Keep your word.
38. Have them plan the work and then work the plan.
39. Go to a seminar together.
40. Encourage them to join a professional association.
41. Bake cookies in the microwave and share.
42. Be a good idea-bouncer-offer.
43. Show your gratitude; you really can’t do the job without them.
44. Consider employees’ perspectives.
45. Respect personal lives and personal time.
46. Praise publically.
47. Correct privately.
48. Be a person that others want to be around.
49. Take pride in the employee’s large accomplishments.
50. Take pride in the employee’s small accomplishments, too.
51. Share a sincere compliment about the employee in front of other people.
52. Make time for the employee.
53. Recognize that everyone makes mistakes.
54. Give $1 lottery ticket, because they are a winner no matter what.
55. Give space when they need it.
56. Communicate a lot.
57. Be honest.
58. Ask for feedback on your leadership style.
59. Do something constructive with that feedback once you get it.
60. Teach tolerance.
61. Reconnect – do a fun team building exercise.
62. Give the benefit of the doubt.
63. Tell them how important they are to the success of the team and of the business.
64. Be a servant leader.

 True leadership does not dominate – it cultivates.
– HR Whisperer

We are getting close to the 30^th anniversary of the Weingarten Rights.  It’s funny that I came across an article in a local newspaper about a Florida appellate court ruling that the Manatee County School Board had no right to prevent a high school teacher (under investigation for inappropriate behavior with a student) to have an attorney present when he was to be interviewed by district investigators.  The ruling came after two similar decisions were already made by an administrative law judge and the Florida Public Employees Relations Committee.

The teacher was fired because the District said, “only dues-paying members of the Manatee Education Association — which represents the district’s teachers — are entitled to legal representation by the union, and that private attorneys could not represent members of the bargaining unit.”    This fellow was not union-represented.

I’m not an attorney and I’m not as up to speed where unions are concerned because I don’t deal with them on a regular basis, but from an HR standpoint the decision to not allow representation just doesn’t make any sense to me.   The school board attorney said he “thinks the court ignored the law,” but I disagree.

According to the U.S. Supreme Court (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc. 420 U.S. 251, 88 LRRM 2689, 1975), employees have rights to union representation at investigatory interviews – these are called the Weingarten Rights.  The State of Florida agrees (Seitz v. Duval Co. Sch. Bd., Fla. PERC Case #8H-CA-764-1015, G.E.R.R. 767:14,1978).  Violation of this law by an organization results in an unfair labor practice.

Now, an investigatory interview happens when a supervisor questions a employee to obtain information that could be used for disciplinary action or when a supervisor asks the employee to defend his or her conduct.  According to Weingarten, the employee has to make the request; it’s not management’s obligation to inform him of this right.  Under the rules management can either stop the questioning until the rep arrives or call off the interview. 

There is also case law from 2000 supporting the practice of nonunion worker representation at investigatory interviews or meetings that could result in disciplinary action.  As a matter of fact, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that nonunion employees have the right to a representative during an interview that might reasonably lead to disciplinary action. In a close decision issued July 10, 2000 (Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast Ohio, 331 NLRB No. 92), the Labor Board found that the so-called Weingarten rights of unionized employees also apply to employees not represented by a union.

The NLRB goes on to say that the right to representation comes from the right of employees to engage in activities for the purposes of mutual aid and protection under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Act defines this right as involving employee activity, thus precluding a request for representation by an outside attorney, government agent, or union official.

This is where things get sticky.

From what I’ve read about the case, the teacher did request representation and was denied.

Other news reports say the school district really fired the teacher for gross insubordination, misconduct and policy violations because he did not cooperate with the investigation, not because of the allegations against him.  So, what was he really fired for – denying the interview without representation or for policy violation?

I’m not suggesting that suspension or termination is inappropriate given the serious nature of the allegations against this teacher.  What I am suggesting is that the school district was wrong on preventing the teacher from having representation with him and could have prevented this mess to begin with.

What do you think?

This was originally published in HR Florida Review’s Fall 2008 edition.  I thought I’d share it here as it contains some great tips for training multi-generational adult learners.  By focusing on needs, we can focus on behavior.  And changing behavior is what training is all about, right?

You need to implement a training program to introduce a new system. Everybody has to get trained. This should be easy to do, right? After all, the training should be pretty straightforward.

But…it’s a typical Thursday at 8 a.m., the first day of training. You’ve got 30 people staring at you, waiting for the magic. There are four generations present and each one is thinking something different. “Oh no, I’m going to have to learn another system!” “I don’t need to learn anything!” “This is gonna be sooooooo boring!” “Dude; what a waste of my time!” Thank goodness for the Starbucks coffee and bagels you had the foresight to order for the day.

As prepared as you may be, if you don’t take into account the different generations sitting in front of you, your training will be doomed. Each of the four generations takes in information differently and processes it from a unique perspective. This means that if your training doesn’t speak to generational differences and needs, you might not get the ROI you’re expecting.

With four generations in the training game, how can you reach all of them at the same time with the same content? Aside from the different generations, people also learn in different ways. It’s critical that training be flexible and use diverse methodologies.

So, what can you do? Put the training into the Gens’ hands: the following training strategies will work well across all the generations.

Respect experience. Ask participants to share their past experiences. This is especially fun for the Matures and Boomers; they have a ton of knowledge they’re dying to share with their younger colleagues. Besides, they probably have some interesting stories to tell that will liven up the training!

Involve participants. Get the trainees involved by using experiential-type training. Use games and simulations to keep things interesting. All trainees, regardless of generation, will learn better and faster if they are actively involved.

Use coaches. Employ the “each one, teach one” concept by pairing participants with different generational partners. Each person will be accountable for ensuring that his or her partner is learning. It takes the stress off if there is someone available to support the learning on a more comfortable one-on-one basis.

Vary audiovisuals. Take advantage of the multitude of audio-visual tools and techniques available today. Enhance the training by using interactive computer-based simulations, multimedia case studies or synchronized slide presentations. Use pictures to help tell your training story. As the old saying goes, “a picture’s worth a thousand words” no matter what the generation.

Provide visibility. Let different people be spokespersons for small group work. Gen X and Gen Y may need the practice and many of them like to be up in front of the group. While public speaking may be #1 on the top ten things we hate the most list, it is an essential business skill. Understand that while some hate it, some do love it, so a little structured visibility can be a good thing for any Gen.

Give plenty of opportunity for discussion. Use discussion as a learning tool. Having participants talk about the subject matter and challenge one another provides for a great learning experience, especially for those who prefer an auditory learning style. Besides, knowing that the four generations will have four different perspectives on the subject, it will make for a fascinating conversation!

Try peer-to-peer training. Have the participants conduct the training instead of the trainer. Not only does it allow for creativity, but it helps participants “own” their learning, get prepared and improve their attention to the subject matter. Have a contest between groups with prizes. The more fun it is, the better people will learn no matter what the generation.

Utilize case studies. Try to find examples in your own organization that can be used to help participants apply the information being learned in a real-time situation. Case studies are particularly useful for helping younger trainees synthesize information – that is, take what they have learned in class and apply it to a problem that they may not have yet experienced in the workplace.

Deploy just-in-time training. Think about the learning needs of your multigenerational workplace and provide the training at the right place at the right time. Focus on what the trainee needs to know and let them have at it at their own place and time. Providing training in different media, such as internet- or computer-based, allows participants to learn at their own pace. Many companies are now utilizing internal television networks to provide just-in-time training. They can sign up for what they need, when they need it.

Allow opportunity for feedback. Receiving plenty of feedback is a must. While Matures may want to receive feedback in a particular time and place, Boomers are more apt to feel they are not getting enough. Gen Xers and Gen Y want to hear it immediately and honestly so they will know they are on the right track. Regardless of the generation, everyone wants to know how they are doing. Tell them and help them use that information to improve their knowledge or skill.

Use some of these strategies and you’ll be well on your way to playing the generational training game and realize a greater return on that training investment.