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- My colleague in executive compensation recommended www.Salary.com and I have to agree that the customer support was very good with this company. They provide the smaller organization with the option of purchasing database for a smaller period of time, for instance, a month instead of six months or a year.
- In the past, I have also used www.payscale.com. The database is user friendly, but I found it to be more expensive and it required a longer subscription period. Here is a sample report on City Manager’s pay: City Manager Pay
- Another site that I have introduced to clients and they have gone on to use quite successfully on their own, is the Economic Research Institute, at www.erieri.com . This site is worth visiting even if you don’t subscribe as it contains a plethora of current economic data that is critical when making compensation decisions, such as a cost of living index and an index on changes in salary structures. It is a fairly expensive service but rigorous and once you establish a report and data template (which a consultant can help you with) it is extremely easy to use and can provide excellent real time pay data.
- Measures of EE can be synonymous with measures of job satisfaction, including organizational commitment, psychological empowerment and job involvement.
- An engaged person is often described by some combination of the following words:
- Enthusiastic, passionate, committed, willing to invest in the organization, pro-active, persistent, consistent, attentive, alert, inspired, proud, determined, strong and active.
- An engaged employee goes beyond what is typical or ordinarily expected and gives attention to a wider range of tasks than is typical or usual, and displays a positive emotional state directed toward the organization.[ii]
- At root, LR is the exchange of positions, demands or arguments on behalf of a group of employees.
- LR includes advocacy on behalf of a group to obtain the most favorable outcomes.
- Traditionally in LR the “adversarial” winner takes all; but more recently understood as “mutual gains” or mutual problem solving.[iii]
- Progressive LR models encompass creativity, dialogue and investment in personal relationships to extend mutual understanding of what is at stake.
- Create realistic goals and expectations.
- Get top level support.
- Separate the LMP from the collective bargaining relationship.
- Choose the right structure and the best people.
- Address discrete issues one at a time.
- Conduct meetings in ways that work.
- represent employee health care concerns,
- negotiate favorable rates and coverages with insurance providers,
- provide cost effective and comprehensive coverage for the City’s taxpayers and the employees, and
- communicate with work units about key health care issues.
- A decline in sick leave usage,
- Containment of health care premiums (they have experienced 1/3 of the average premium rate increases in the Cincinnati region), and
- drop in average annual medical claims.
- Public Works
- Fire
- Police
- Non-union, non-management employees
- Management (appointed by City Manager)
- networking must be a face to face proposition;
- your status depends on what school you went to and what company you work for;
- business proposals require hours of sit down meetings and lots of paper;
- you must keep business and personal realms separate;
- you must belong to associations to access information, and you must pay a premium to belong;
- business is primarily about “who you know”;
- You should expect to drive or fly for hours to attend routine meetings.
- we build our networks across geographical boundaries without face-to-face contact (although that will always be valuable, it is not required);
- we value merging our personal life passions with our business persona, i.e., bringing the “whole” person to work life;
- we can access information in real time, without reliance on gatekeepers, i.e., associations, news agencies, academic institutions, professional publications;
- experience confers status;
- etiquette tends toward openness and transparency, i.e., all are invited to events and we share what we learn.
- employees find meaningfulness in their jobs and tasks;
- the work climate is a sufficiently safe environment for them to risk their personal self identity; and
- when they are emotionally, physically and cognitively available to put on their best performance
All About Pay
February 3rd, 2010As we begin 2010, most of us are feeling the burden of greater demands at work while at the same time we are less hopeful about improving our compensation package. Many of us are in the difficult position of recommending pay policies that will not be favorably received. What can we do? Stay informed, be as consistent and objective as possible, and look for new ways to motivate and inspire workers.
Does anyone else remember 1983 when the unemployment rate was 10.2%? The rate today has not been seen since 1983. At the time I was a recent college graduate, so my job career began with high unemployment as the “norm”. I took a job that paid well below what others were paid that were hired only a few years ahead of me. Sometimes I don’t think I ever really recovered and perhaps this experience contributed to my preference for working as an independent consultant. Experts say graduates today will likely lag behind others in their compensation for years to come. They will also be more likely to become entrepreneurs. So today, I bring you some resources to keep you up-to-date about compensation issues and wish you much perseverance and steadiness as you traverse the road ahead.
Salary Budget Increases are Less Than Anticipated
The compensation professionals’ main go-to place for salary budget information is the World At Work, and they have recently updated their annual salary budget report. According to their most recent research, actual salary budgets have decreased from 2.8% (anticipated) to 2.5% for 2010. Employers are continuing to conservative in their outlook and this is influencing pay policy and rewards.
Some of the ways that employers are motivating their workforce is to increase training and career development opportunities, non-cash rewards (such as recognition programs), flexibility in leave and other benefit programs, monetary rewards for high performers and other high demand employees.
1.4% Increase in Civilian and Military Pay Proposed for Federal Budget
The President’s budget is proposing a modest increase in pay for civilian and military workers for 2011. This follows a 2% increase for Civilians and a 3.4% for Military in 2010. Although it is early in budget discussions, this suggests a fairly hard line. Read more here
Where do you go for fast compensation data on the market?
Although an in-house custom compensation survey is ideal if you have the time to conduct one, sometimes you need data on only one position, or you need market information fast. If you want to know where compensation professionals go to get up-to-date market data, check out these three sites. All three are fairly easy to use, but each has different strengths.
When do you need to hire a compensation consultant?
As a general rule, a consultant is best when you don’t have the time or the in-house expertise to get the job done. Even if you can access and understand the compensation databases on-line, the learning curve is fairly steep and requires intensive focus to create meaningful interpretations of data. If you would like to develop these skills in-house, it is a good idea to hire a consultant who will help you train an in-house staff person on the use of compensation databases.
If you focus on transferring skills in house, a consultant can save you money in the long run. If your need is to produce a compensation study, but the ongoing compensation skills are not essential to the organization, then the consultant can save you money in the short run.
Will our country be able to create enough jobs to meet the rising number of people looking for work?
One of my colleagues in human resources turned me on to an interesting article which examines how long this downturn is likely to last. This is a critical question for business but from an HR perspective requires foresight and thought about future pay strategies.
Hans Wagner, in the Case for Jobless Growth, writes:
The U.S economy is facing a huge challenge to create enough jobs to overcome the unemployment problem that currently exists. If we take the best four years since 1999, the economy generated 8.9 million jobs, slightly over half of what is needed to reach a 5% unemployment rate. If the economy achieves this level of job growth, the unemployment rate will remain over 10% until 2014. The does not count any change in the number of discouraged workers or workers working part time.
Hans points out that within the growth sectors, employers will need employees with higher levels of education and skill, so the challenges for HR in managing increasingly disparate pay levels will be great. Also, it follows that if pay growth is slowed for the less skilled labor force, employers will likely see more union activity.
So thank you Mark for this article reference and here is the link if readers would like to read more.
Coming up….in my next blog post I will address testing and selection tools used for hiring. Although they can be extremely valuable, employers need to carefully consider how and why they use these tools. One recent article, in particular, points out why this a matter of urgency. Read ahead and stay informed on this re-emerging issue.
Civil Rights Division Announces Plan to Target Public Employers
Labor Negotiation vs. Employee Engagement – Do they intersect?
January 28th, 2010
Employee Engagement + Labor Relations
It is not unusual to hear managers say that employee engagement is important to their organization culture, and in the next breath offer a caveat – except for the bargaining unit. The sour tone of labor negotiations has either made management and labor want nothing to do with each other, or, the history of the relationship is simply viewed as “beyond hope”.
In this newsletter, I will briefly look at the roots of the meaning of employee engagement and labor negotiations and propose that they, in fact, can and should intersect. Understanding how they interface within the organization can lead to meaningful and important changes in your management approach.
At root, “engagement” is about a relationship that is built on a germ of trust and respect. Engagement has many shades of meaning, depending on the context. Even in war, we are “engaged”, but in every case, when we are engaged, we bring something of ourselves to the fore; we make a commitment, by word or deed.
“Negotiation”, on the other hand, involves discussion intended to produce agreement, or a coming to terms. Negotiation also has multiple meanings. The word “negotiation” is from the Latin expression, “negotiatus”, past participle of negotiare which means “to carry on business”. When we negotiate, we attempt to dialogue, resolve disputes, produce an agreement, bargain for advantage and satisfy interests.
Can we say, then, that engagement and negotiation are compatible terms? And by extension, that employee engagement and labor negotiations can intersect, or cross over in a meaningful way?
If we encourage a culture of employee engagement, can we also toe the hard line at the negotiation table? If we treat these two ideas as incompatible, and operate with two different sets of values, we are likely to produce an uneasy, uncomfortable work place. And this can lead to dissatisfaction.
So it is important that we get this right. One way to do this is to build a common framework for these two types of engagement. But first, we should examine where re-construction is necessary. If we are going to build a common framework, we will need common ground.
Here are two sets of definitions that are specific to our discussion:
Employee Engagement[i]
Labor Relations:
It appears from this set of definitions, that if employee engagement is the aim of an organization, it follows that some form of progressive model of labor negotiations will be essential if it is going to “cohabit” within the same workplace. Both the union and the employer must look at the framework from which they currently operate, and achieve some understanding as to how that will need to change for mutual benefit.
If you have a traditional top down hierarchy in your organization, you are more likely to have a confrontational, adversarial relationship with your union in response to that environment. [iv]
This is true primarily because in a traditional framework, employees are dependent on their supervisors and managers to tell them what to do and solve their problems. The underlying assumption in the workplace is that employee interests are separate from that of management.
A different framework can be found in a model in which the workplace is viewed as an interdependent community, organized around a common purpose of providing a set of services or programs or products, to a set of stakeholders, with a distinct set of needs, economic and otherwise.[v] If both management and labor perceive the benefits of working toward a common purpose, and are both willing to alter the prevailing assumption that labor and management lack common interests, then a labor-management partnership might be a viable option.
However, labor negotiations, typically, is not the place where mutual in-depth exploration of underlying problems and solutions will take place. The relationship at the table must reflect work that has gone on behind the scenes in some form of a labor management partnership.
Within this new framework, the community must first be guided by a common purpose and a common set of values. This must include a recognition of and commitment to the needs of all stakeholders, internal and external. Labor and management must be seen as part of the same interrelated system. Learning and growth will propel and sustain a culture of employee engagement. A dynamic work environment will have feedback loops so that people know “how they are doing” and will be able to measure progress. Creative energy will be released through collaborative work on problem-solving.
Finally, the rules, boundaries and parameters of the labor negotiation process must be clearly communicated and perceived as fair, even if separate and apart from the normal day to day interactions. In this context, values do not need to be altered, even if the rules have changed and even if it requires being “tough” or toeing the hard line. Bargaining is another aspect of the engagement relationship, and if each side feels a sense of urgency to resolve matters for the whole of the community, the adversarial spirit will be less likely to arise. On the other hand, trust and respect do not exclude being tough. The hard work of negotiation will not be the center point of management labor relationship, but rather, the continuation of sustained efforts to achieve meaningful results.
[i] [i] Macy and Schneider, “The Meaning of Employee Engagement”, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Feb 2008.
[ii] In “A Historical Perspective of Employee Engagement: An Emerging Definition”, Michael Bradley Shuck and Karen K. Wollard, Oct 2009
[iii] Getting to Yes, Roger Fisher and William Ury, 1981, Revised 1991.
[iv] Bodine, Neil. “Rethinking the Workplace”. Center for Collaborative Solutions. www.CCSCenter.org
[v] ibid
Labor Management Partnerships
January 28th, 2010The primary motivation for this article is my quest to help clients achieve better employee engagement in the face of labor negotiations that can sour management employee relations. Although labor management partnerships (LMP’s) are separate from the collective bargaining process, they are instrumental in building relationships and mutual understanding of the challenges facing the organization.
As I sat down recently to write an article about an employee health care committee that has successfully reduced health care costs, in a union environment, I decided I first needed to know more about the state of labor management partnerships today. Just how unusual is it to find a workplace where unionized workers are willing to participate in a committee with a goal to bring down health care costs? Certainly, many of my clients would look at me askew, or at least a bit skeptical if I suggested this was possible. But I propose it is quite possible if the intention is to engage employees in mutual problem solving and workplace improvement.
But, where does one begin?
According to Daniel O’Meara and Adam Taliaferro[i]
The goal of an LMP is to bring employees, managers and union officials together to make full use of each group’s and each individual’s knowledge. An LMP properly created can eliminate waste, improve service or quality of care and improve profitability. Employees, who do the job every day, are able to offer novel resolutions to the problems at hand, allowing managers to move away from directing how work is done and into coaching and mentoring roles.
First, it is good to know what has worked and how a committee or partnership might look. My recollection of working in the field of labor relations in the 80’s was that labor management partnerships flourished. Today, it appears that formal partnerships are less prevalent. Although, in the mid-1990’s, President Clinton gave an executive order for labor management partnership initiatives, the labor community has expressed mixed views on whether these initiatives were good for labor. Another chilling effect on labor management partnerships came with an NLRB ruling in 2001 that found that, well, not ALL labor management committees are illegal, but many are. The ruling, in effect, stated that employers and employees must not engage in anything that looks like bargaining when they are holding labor management committee meetings. More on that here.
Today, one clear example of a thriving LMP can be found in the health care community. Kaiser Permanente has the largest and most comprehensive labor management partnership in the country, and displays their ambitious efforts on-line for others to learn from. But on balance, the references to LMPs are few and the signs are not encouraging. If one is searching for information about how to move in a constructive direction toward labor management cooperation, I can suggest a few helpful resources I relied upon for this blog post:
Labor Management Solutions
http://www.labormanagementsolutions.org/Resources
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
http://www.fmcs.gov/internet/categoryList.asp?categoryID=57
Article by Daniel O’Meara and Adam Taliaferro, of Montgomery McCracken Walker and Rhoads, Six Steps to an Effective Labor Management Partnership
CorpCounsel.com
http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202433126509
Labor management partnerships require both labor and management groups to adopt practices of openness and disclosure. The challenge is to create mutual understanding of the links between financial information and performance. This relates back to the point raised in the previous article about creating feedback loops. Reports, with meaningful data that can be understood by all, can be a vehicle for an effective feedback loop. It can measure progress and create a common framework for understanding how the organization is doing.
Finally, employees may have to take the initiative to affect change in their union ranks in order to bring about changes that are necessary to support a labor management partnership. Management must stay the course and not interfere with employees as they work through the changes needed for their bargaining unit.
O’Meara and Taliaferro, in the article cited above (here) provide an overview of the six steps to an effective Labor Management partnership:
[i] O’Meara and Taliaferro, “Six Steps to Effective Labor Management Partnership”,The Legal Intelligencer, August 2009.
Employees Take the Lead in Health Care – The City of Montgomery, Ohio
January 28th, 2010One example of what can happen when employees, union and non-union, and management work together, can be found in Montgomery Ohio, a small city not far from Cincinnati. Several years ago the City implemented a Health Care Committee that relies upon labor, union and non-union, and management to work together to guide the city health care policy and program. Recently I spent some time talking with Wayne Davis, the Assistant City Manager, about their program.
[Note: The Center for State and Local Government published a case study on the City of Montgomery Ohio, titled Employee Leadership in Health Insurance and Wellness Programs. You can find that link here.
The goal of the committee was to
The results have been
The City of Montgomery has successfully developed a culture of employee engagement that works well with both their union and non-union employees. Early on management recognized the need to make deep structural changes in its organization, and worked with the Commonwealth Centers for High Performance Organizations to develop creative paths to a new way of working together in an environment steeped in local government politics and traditions.
The union environment here consists of the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police), the IAFF (International Association of Firefighters) and AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees). As Wayne puts it, “everyone has skin in the game” meaning everyone has something at stake, and gains and losses are felt by all. The City has spent significant time (over 7 years) and energy working on building this culture which values emotional intelligence, relationship building and keeps the organization vision focused on high performance.
Wayne explains that although it is not easy to alter values within an established hierarchical system, they were able to realize success by essentially creating a parallel organization within the organization, represented by the committee structure, where a different set of rules and values flourishes. In this alternative “team” structure, manifest in the health care committee, title and rank don’t mean anything, and the normal rules governing reporting relationships are suspended in the interest of participation and contribution by everyone on the committee.
When engaged in the team, the focus is on working together to complete a task while sharing commitment to values. He notes that the “values” question is raised whenever needed to keep the team focused. For example, every idea is scrutinized for its benefit to the whole organization, not just one part, and the team holds itself responsible for not just coming up with an idea, but creating a realistic plan for what it would take to make it happen. Although consensus building is valued, the team will base outcomes on majority rule when necessary.
The team is made up of five people, one from each of the following groups:
The team is given parameters to work within and has the authority to create recommendations that are then carried to City Council. Although the City Manager or the Council has the authority to reject these, they have not because over time the team has earned a reputation for building value and also saving the City money.
One of the significant steps along the way involved educating the team about the budget so that decisions could be based on meaningful data. This also raised the level of accountability for all involved to produce improved outcomes.
Interesting, and an important lesson from this case study, is that in the beginning, Wayne modeled the role of facilitator and led the agenda setting process, but over time, as responsibilities were delegated to various members, the team become more involved in the agenda setting. So, the transfer of skills allowed the team to function with shared leadership. A key component of successful teams is the recognition of individual skills and learning from group members, as in this case, where the whole team became skilled at facilitating topics, setting goals and creating a plan for implementation.
Some additional areas of interest: each team member attends training twice a year to learn new skills and knowledge. They meet once a month, and are all active in gathering feedback through surveys or informal interviews. One important role of the committee is to keep people informed and presentations are prepared and delivered by a minimum of three members of the committee to various parts of the organization. Another skill that has emerged from the committee involves drafting legislation for Council. This has allowed the City Manager to step back from the direct ownership of the product and produced a greater degree of acceptance by the organization.
Overall, management has not allowed what has always been to dictate what might be, and has remained committed to the effort, despite challenges and naysayers. When asked about the labor contracts, Wayne indicated that the contracts contain language that effectively supports labor participation in the committee. He did not seem concerned about abridging management rights or indicate that this represented any great concession on the part of labor or management. In particular, I was impressed by his final thoughts. He said with respect to the union, they value discussing things as adults, and each side being heard.
Welcome to 2010!
January 5th, 2010I know you are busy, which is why I am going to start you off this year with a quick sampling of some recent stories of interest in the HR world. If you want to read more, just click and go to the source!
Is Text Messaging Private in the Workplace?
Does a police officer have a reasonable expectation of privacy when he text messages using a department issued pager? The United States Supreme Court has decided to take the case. Read more on this…….WorldofWork Blog
Yammer, you might want to try it.
Yammer? What’s that? Just when you thought you had a grip on social media, a new outlet bursts upon the scene. This one is anticipated by many to be the next big one, and it could be part of your workplace strategies. Instead of the Twitter question, “What’s happening?” Yammer asks the question, “What are you working on?” Instead of being open to the universe, it is designed for employees in a single organization. Imagine having a dashboard of sorts on your computer screen, a stream of “yaps” that tell you what others in the organization are working on throughout the day. Think about the possibilities. It has the potential to be a great communication and collaboration tool. Instant messaging that is transparent to all and keeps people informed about who is working on what. And it is free. Check it out here
More on Social Media
Jon Hyman, at the Ohio Employment Law Blog, gets it right when he sums up the top ten law stories of 2009 with social media in first place. He provides a series of law articles that discuss the risks associated with social media and what you might need to include in your personnel policies.
Read more at the The Ohio Employment Law Blog
Employees are on the move.
Right Management surveyed more than 900 workers in North America and asked: Do you plan to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves in 2010?
A whopping 60% said they intend to leave, and another 21% said, maybe, they are networking to consider other opportunities.
Have employees had enough? What does this portend? Read more here
Salary Budgets, Still Unsettled.
In the words of Ann Bares, a fellow compensation consultant, we are on our way to a new normalcy.
She reports on a recent study by Towers, Perrin that finds that most salary budgets will be unfrozen in the coming year, but that companies are planning to spend with greater care, using more differentiation in distributing the limited salary dollars they will have available. You can read more at her blog compforce
When does lunch constitute work time?
It never hurts to brush up on the FLSA overtime rules, especially today when the filings with Wage Hour are at an all time high. The Overtime Advisor reminds us of the DOL rules governing employees who work through lunch. Read More Here
Another FLSA story that brings home the point that it is harder to exempt employees than you think!
According to a story on MSNBC, a United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia says first-level managers for Bell South are not exempt because they are on the lowest rung of the managerial ladder and have only minimal supervision. Read More Here
If you need an employee to recertify FMLA Leave, be sure to follow the rules.
Finally, another excellent blog post by Jon Hyman that is a more technical summary of do’s and don’ts regarding recertifying FMLA leave. Read More Here
Next time I will write about a city in Ohio that made bold changes to its health care programs which brought about significant savings by engaging its employees. And yes, they have unions!
New Year, New Decade, New Conventions
December 31st, 2009
Networks across geographical boundaries
As I plan for my business in 2010, I think about what has changed during the last decade in the way business is conducted. I think about the generation of young people who are embarking on their own business for the first time and the tremendous advantages the current environment offers them. We are in a time of change that is so dramatic that without reservation I can say, they have more to teach me about doing business than I do them. That is to say, everything has changed.
I am reminded of a young Winston Churchill who participated in a cavalry charge at Omdurman in 1898. By 1914, he was Lord of the Admiralty, presiding a highly mechanized war fleet in World War I. Just two decades later, Churchill led a country in a World War that concluded with an atomic bomb. If nothing else, his leadership skills included an amazing ability to adapt and incorporate change into his world view.
Similarly, we are faced with unprecedented change in the way we do business. Personally, the past year alone has brought monumental changes because of the recession. Like many of us, I have had to think about moving out of my comfort zone of face-to-face business and into uncharted territories of social media and business solutions via technology. Like it or not, opportunities are out there, but are part of a vast network that can be experienced as chaotic and overwhelming.
If you came into your own in the last decade, this may simply be what you know, in which case you have an opportunity to lead the rest of us. What for us is new, for you is simply convention.
Ten years ago we would have taught you about our conventions, and said…
While all of the above is still present today, particularly in the corporate world, no one can dispute that the deep impact of the recession coupled with the urgency spurred by the world of technology and social media has changed all the rules. Just as in the time of rapid change in Churchill’s life, those who scramble and adapt today are going to lead the way in the future.
Young people entering business today will expedite the rapid change and those of us who entered the business world in the last century will see our ideas of doing business fade away or become vestiges, just as life in the late 1800’s underwent radical transformation by the second decade of the 1900’s.
New conventions, i.e., the fixed customs of today, are too numerous to count, but in my mind the most important include:
If we can wrap our brains around this new way of thinking and acting (new for those of us who came into our own in the past century) we will be able to add value to the new age with our wisdom and life experience. If we refuse to let go of the old ways, we will not only miss the excitement of the current age, we will forfeit our own legacy.
A Few Favorite Questions
December 19th, 2009
Friends Consult
When dogs bite and bees sting, we bring to mind our favorite things, but when things get stuck, or stale, what we need are a few good questions to evoke the spirit of engagement.
Over the years of working with people, I have found a few questions to be nearly fool proof. While the goal is to get something going, to move in a new direction, or to clarify, the point is to engage and to encourage others to bring more of their self to the matter at hand. Whether we are managing or consulting, we intend to put an idea into motion with the participation of others. For that, we need to energize others in both heart and mind.
So here goes, these are a few of my favorite questions, just in time for holiday gatherings. May your holidays abound with good cheer and meaningful conversation around the table.
1. Tell me about a time when….
2. What does it look like when [that] is happening?
3. Would you say things are better, worse, or about the same?
4. What is the most difficult aspect of what you do?
5. Why is that important?
6. What has been your experience with [that]?
7. What is the heart of the matter for you?
8. What makes this hard for you to discuss?
9. What is your concern?
10. What would help you move forward? What would hold you back?
GINA and Genetic Diseases OOTC (Out of the Closet)
November 24th, 2009
HDSA Golf Outing
Last Saturday, November 21st, the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) became effective. Careful and thoughtful attention to how you consider this new law in your workplace can make a huge difference in lives of your employees and can also make you less vulnerable to EEOC complaints and lawsuits. Under the law, employers may not ask for the results of genetic tests or discriminate in hiring, firing and promotion based on the results of genetic tests. It also prohibits discrimination by individual and group health insurance providers based on genetic test results. If the intent of the law is realized, more individuals will be tested and treated for genetic diseases, and this will likely spur complaints of discrimination in the workplace. So it is important to be ready and willing to respond to the inevitable situation that will arise at your workplace.
Wellness programs are a strong player in your response strategy. Encourage employees to be well and be prepared to support them with employee assistance programs that provide counseling in the event they learn they have a genetic disease. Rely on professionals connected to you through your ancillary health programs. If your provider does not offer support in this area, let them know you are going to shop around.
Be aware that the difference between ADA and GINA is that in the latter, a person may learn they have the gene for a genetic disease, but will not know how long it will be before the symptoms begin to manifest. In addition, it might be useful as an employer to know that ethical protocols exist within the medical field that require counseling about available channels of support if in fact the genetic test comes back positive. If you learn that an employee has received bad news, you can encourage them to seek support through the channels offered them during the genetic testing process.
The hard part, of course, arises when you begin to notice that job performance has been compromised. My advice is to keep channels of communication open with the employee so you can learn as much as possible about what to expect. While you do not want to know the details of medical or genetic tests, you want them to keep you informed about any limitations that may arise, such as driving, or even processing information in the same way that they once did. You can encourage an advocate to meet with you (for instance, a social worker from a group associated with the particular disease) for the purpose of charting out a course for the employee. For instance, if you can map out ahead of time, the prospects of keeping the employee on in a less demanding job, at a lower pay rate, or what the employee can expect at the point at which the job can no longer be performed, you have offered the employee a degree of control and ability to predict the future. Keep in mind that many employees will eventually be transitioned onto Social Security Disability, but it takes time and you are doing a huge service by allowing them time to transition. Long term disability insurance may also come into play.
If the worst happens, and the employee files a complaint, this may be due to insensitivity on the part of the employer, or it may be that the employee has not yet come to grips with their medical condition. Keep in mind that part of the process, as in any loss, is denial, and for some it is simply harder than for others. So it may not be the fault of the employer, and if you have exercised a reasonable effort to not discriminate, try to remember the investigation process will be much less terrifying than what the employee is going through.
I know something about this as I come from a family with the genetically inherited Huntington’s Disease and recently went through the dreaded testing process. Although I came out negative, this was a life defining experience. This is a rare and terrifying disease (but they all are). Charles Sabine, the former NBC Correspondent, who while covering war, was abducted by terrorists, tortured, and had a gun held to his head for hours, said that his terrorist experience could not hold a candle to the terror of learning his genetic fate. His story was told this past Monday on NPR [here].
Last, but not least, there are of course….new posters! If you have not yet secured yours, you might want to check out this site.
Leadership Strategies in Your Health Care Program
November 23rd, 2009Notes from Presentation by Nancy Hess, N.J. Hess Associates, to 2009 Annual Municipal Health Care Benefits Seminar, sponsored by the The Benecon Group, Inc . 11/13/2009
Carthage existed from about 9th Century BC to the 2nd Century BC. Although highly advanced, (one wonders if anything new has really been invented since that time) it was a stratified society, with relatively few in the ruling class and a large lower class. Perhaps their greatest downfall was that they largely relied upon foreign mercenaries. One of their most famous leaders was Hannibal who fought the Romans and although he beat them in the Punic Wars, he could never successfully lay siege and the Romans eventually sailed to Carthage so that Hannibal had to make a hasty retreat to defend Carthage.
Change is upon us and we may feel at times as if we are in the midst of our own Punic Wars.
Whatever our perspective, we can agree that much is at stake: people care about health benefits and the real challenge is to provide benefits that meet the needs of employees and promote wellness. Research findings conclude that health benefits are very important in attracting and retaining employees, so, the last thing we should be thinking about is cutting back benefits, but the current environment leaves us no choice but to re-think our benefit programs.
In an October 2009 Watson Wyatt Study titled, The Effect of the Economic crisis on HR programs, 72% of the respondents stated that they expect to make permanent increases to the percentage of health care costs paid to employees. We know change is coming, but how do we as leaders shape the outcomes?
This morning I will talk about how to approach change, and in particular, how change can offer opportunities to lead the organization in positive directions.
I recently returned from an overseas trip where I had an opportunity to share dinner conversation with people from many different countries. I learned a little bit about how others perceive our struggles in this country. So one night I asked them to talk about their health care from their various perspectives, and everyone became quite animated and wanted to share their experiences. I would say we were “engaged”. Then, in the flow of conversation, the topic of health care reform came up. Suddenly, you could feel the tension of a charged wire. Some wanted change, others did not want change and the air was filled with misunderstandings with what was good or bad about the health care policies of a particular country. I got the point: health care, within a political context, is not good dinner conversation. You can talk about personal experience, the “I” conversation, but not the political
views, which is the “c” conversation. The “C” stands for CHANGE.
At the heart of the matter, “I” conversations bring about engagement (i.e., what does this mean to you?) “C” conversations set off a whole chain of unpleasant reactions (i.e., what should be different?) As I recently learned in Bari, Italy, “I” and “C” conversations take place in cafes, at the market, and here, on the steps of the church.
Leadership is about changing the way people think and act, and so naturally, it involves “C” conversations, but it can’t be accomplished without “I” conversations.
As a consultant, I often hear managers tell me they do not have 6 months or 1 year to work on a program that will significantly impact how employees perceive their work and rewards. When I suggest that is not possible, and either turn down the work, or they find another consultant who promises them to do it in a short time, I often learn later that the program was never implemented because, the managers grumble, it was a hard sell.
I had dinner with a very successful consultant recently, and when she found out that I help organizations with pay and performance, she shook her head, and said “never! When you go in and have to tell people how much their jobs are worth, they will never ask you back!” Another consultant once said, when I told her what I did, “ugh, I could never do that, you get in there and roll around in the muck with them.”
Change is a difficult process. It simply cannot be railroaded through. We are at a major crossroads today with pay and benefits. What are we going to do about it? How can we think and act in a way that ensures a future we want and moves toward a vision we seek?
We are going to talk about two kinds of strategies for change: Business Case (Directive approach) and Engagement (Collaborative approach). You will need both.
First, let’s frame the question we want to explore:
We are going to make changes to our health care program, but we are not sure which direction to go. So we ask,
With respect to health care, what do employees care most about?
When we dissect this question, we first ask what assumptions undergird this statement. First, the question is framed around employees, and not some other stakeholder, like citizens, or elected officials. Health care exists because of employees. If we focus on any other stakeholder, we will have wasted our time. Our assumption, then, is that health care exists because it is a moral and ethical obligation and because it helps the organization attract and retain competent staff.
Secondly, when we dissect this question, we recognize an “I” conversation. And another way to think of the “I” conversation, is that it is always about values. Healthcare conversations are always personal. They are about something people care deeply about.
So, we begin our look at changing health care programs by acknowledging the fundamental purpose of why they exist, and that we are talking about changing something that is deeply personal.
RECENT FINDINGS
* A Met Life 2009 Open Enrollment Poll found that 1 in 4 employees do not pay attention to benefit changes because it is too overwhelming and too technical.
* Another finding is that 8 in 10 employees say health benefits are important when making an employment decision.
* Perceived dissatisfaction with health benefits leads to lower levels of performance.
* Health care benefits influence loyalty during times of downturn.
PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS
We know….
Cognitive Dissonance is that uncomfortable feeling we get when we try to hold two contradictory ideas simultaneously. For instance, if we say we are making changes to improve benefits, while simultaneously increasing employee costs, there is going to be an uncomfortable gap between those two ideas. If employees maintain that they love their job, while at the same time they are increasingly concerned out their health care benefits, they experience an uncomfortable feeling arising from the inconsistency. They may resolve this by changing their perception about their job.
Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, or Two Factor Theory, was developed by Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist who found that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction acted independently of each other. Two Factor Theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction.
The presence of one set of job characteristics or incentives lead to worker satisfaction at work, while another and separate set of job characteristics lead to dissatisfaction at work.
Hence, we might conclude that perceived dissatisfaction with benefits will result in low morale, low performance, even though exceptional levels of benefits are not necessarily motivating. In fact, the factors that lead to satisfaction have more to do with factors like achievement, recognition and meaningful work.
The theory behind Maslow’s Hierarchy is also relevant to our discussion because employees who do not have basic safety and psychological needs met (in other words feel threatened by loss of benefits) will not be able to engage at the higher levels functioning that require confidence and involve achievement, problem solving, and more importantly acceptance of new facts and information.
SO, BACK TO OUR QUESTION…
With respect to health care benefits – what do employees care most about?
They care about being satisfied and feeling comfortable with respect to their basic needs being met. But we also know that when people talk about something they care about, they are charged with energy.
So here is another relevant finding from research:
People do not always make decisions based on rational thinking, particularly when it is about value-related concerns.
For this reason, as leaders, we must appeal to both the head and the heart if we are going to get people to accept change.
STRATEGIES
With all of this in mind, we can now look at strategies that will help us achieve change in the way our employees think and feel about their health benefits.
Failed approaches we may have tried:
Gnashing of Teeth (frustration) [PICTURE]
Conquer or Die (anger and survival of the fittest)[PICTURE]
Woe is Me (Self Pity) [PICTURE]
OOOOMMM…Something will emerge (Denial) [PICTURE]
King Arthur’s Court ..Seek Ye the Holy Grail… (Perfectionism!) [PICTURE]
All of these strategies are part of our arsenal and may work part of the time, but we need a more complete approach to the larger process of change if we want to demonstrate leadership that affects positive change on the organization.
We will need to keep two kinds of approaches in mind to get where we want to go:
First, we need to build a business case for change. Second, we need to engage people. We want to engage people because we want to engage the heart. If we are going to create the energy and will for change, we need momentum.
MORE FINDINGS
Employee Benefit news, in a November lead article talks about research on the effects the recession has had on employee engagement. The finding from a joint survey by WorldatWork and Watson Wyatt was that employee engagement levels within the past year fell nearly 10% overall and 23% for top performers among 1,300 full-time workers at 235 large U.S.
The researchers suggest a need for rethinking benefit and compensation strategies, and where voluntary benefits come into play, the challenge is to broaden choice without making it seem like another takeaway.
Additionally, 41% believe that pay and benefit changes made have had a negative effect on work quality and customer service, while 36% of top performers say their company’s situation has worsened and the number who would recommend others take jobs at their company has declined by nearly 20%.
Still More findings….
Employees will rate the importance of their health benefits higher if they are aware of options and if they have choices.
They also rate the importance of health benefits higher if …
..their income is lower,
..if they are unionized,
..if change is imminent and
..if they are in the public sector.
These findings were cited in the 2009 summer issue of Public Personnel Management. This article explores the relationship between health benefits and employee satisfaction and cites research by Professor Marcia Micelli of Ohio State University who has been working on research that looks at employee satisfaction with the quantity of benefits versus employee satisfaction with the quality of benefits.
One of the major findings of this article is that public sector organization have more favorable opinions than the private sector organizations in regards to health benefits being very important for improving the morale and satisfaction of employees , improving employee health, increasing productivity and performance, and attracting and retaining employees.
If this is true, does this not make a case for taking the time to engage employees in the question of what is most important to them? Organizations are what we shape them to be and our conversations determine what gets noticed and which challenges and opportunities people will pay attention to.
Change is im
minent!
Venice is a city vulnerable to sudden changes due to rain. Rain signals that change is imminent and people don hip boots and set down walking platforms, so that life may go on. We read the signals of change in our environment and must develop the strategies that we can employ, so that for our organizations as well, life may go on.
SO, BACK TO OUR STRATEGIES
First, we consider what we mean by “building a business case”. This approach to change can be described as…
* Programatic
* Linear
* Actionable, a la John Kotter style (author of Leading Change)
|
¬Low importance High importance ® |
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Certainty
Uncertainty ¯ |
3 Low importance/High certainty
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1 High importance/High certainty |
| 4 Low importance/Low certainty | 2 High importance/low certainty | |
When we are building a business case, we are essentially building context and developing shared understanding of the reasons for undergoing change.
Some examples of activities that help to build a business case:
1) SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
2) Urgency and Certainty Grid (see below)
3) Why –What- How Conversations;
4) Guiding coalitions with vision;
5) Analysis of programs, protocols, policies.
Second, we consider what we mean by “engagement”. This approach can be described as…
* Emergent
* Organic
* “Ready to ride the lead horse”
| [Sidebar]Personal engagement happens when employees bring their personal self-identity to the performance of tasks in their work role identity.
This is most likely to occur when three things happen: -William A. Kahn, Ph.D. (Boston University School of Management) in 1990.
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Some examples of activities that help to build engagement:
1) Ask the question, “What do people care most about?”
2) Involve employee groups in a process of learning.
3) Involve the gatekeepers, i.e., whole family.
4) Bring other stakeholders to the table, i.e., key organization leaders, consultants, labor representatives.
5) Appeal to self esteem; appeal to spirit.
6) Look at thoughts, aspirations, needs, desire, fears – all within the context of realities.
7) Create a psychological safe atmosphere to discuss these things.
8) Realize that resistance is a necessary part of the process of change.
Lawrence Miller, Author of American Spirit, Visions of New Corporate Culture said that the mass of people within our society, or our organizations, are not primarily motivated by what is rational. It is the emotion, the appeal to self esteem, the spirit that is the prime mover.
CLOSING
We know, based on research, that we should not be reducing the quantity or quality of health benefits, but the fact is, we have to change the model in which we are operate.
A 2009 Towers Perrin Health Care Cost survey found that high performing companies will pay 12% less for annual health care premiums by making use of account-based plans and consumer based approaches. High performing companies are also more likely to share costs with employees. But the key finding is that high performing companies report a greater emphasis on employee engagement.
High performing companies are defined as those who:
* manage employer and employee costs
* enhance efficient purchasing of health care services
* enhance employee understanding and engagement
* enhance employee satisfaction, attraction and retention.
High-performing companies in the survey focus primarily on supporting and improving employee health. They also commit to rigorous and continuous management of their health plans and delivery processes.
We also know from a 2009 Best Employers in Canada study that “High engagement goes hand-in-hand with better health and well-being”.
One public sector organization that has focused on employee engagement to improve health care programs is the City of Montgomery Ohio. They have received an award from the Center of State and Local Government Excellence for their effective use of employee groups to raise awareness in the organization about wellness and help employees to become better educated about health care options.
The goal of the committee was to
* represent employee health care concerns,
* negotiate with insurance providers,
* maintain comprehensive coverage, and,
* communicate with work units about key health care issues.
The results have been
* A decline in sick leave usage
* Containment of health care premiums
* Drop in average annual medical claims
BACK TO CARTHAGE
If you visit Carthage today, you will see ruins, but a short distance away you find Sidi Bou Said, a beautiful fishing village that reflects the thriving Tunis culture and reminds us that change, after the wars, can bring about positive outcomes.
Edgar Schein, the eminent organization psychologist, said that when organizations attempt change, they must first create mutual understanding, so joint opportunities can be identified and realized. This is the “I” conversation.
Kurt Lewin, another early researcher and practitioner, said that if you want to understand a system, you must seek to change it. This is the “C” conversation.
These two approaches are a duality; one focuses on a rational path of building a business case, or the “C” conversation, and the second focuses on engagement, or the “I” conversation. This duality expresses hints of the old adage that pessimists are usually right, but behind every great change, you will find an optimist. The pessimists get the facts right, but the optimist is willing to consider the possibilities for the future.
Leadership Through Better Performance Management
October 23rd, 2009
What is critical for success?
Does anyone wonder if my friend Dylan is going to forget this time in his life when he mastered what was critical for success? Performance management involves coaching, discipline and also inspiration. When we take the first step out, others will follow. We set the tone, show the way, model courage in the face of change. Many of you today are thinking about what lies ahead with ever tightening budgets. My clients are talking about strategies to re-structure jobs and reward performance, in essence, to work smarter and maximize potential and capabilities in the work force. Performance management provides a framework for accomplishing change, but it cannot work unless a leader is willing to talk the helm.
Leaders change the way we think and act. Performance management is part of the skill set of a leader. When we talk about a system, as in performance management system, we are talking about a perspective that takes in the whole of the organization. It is not just something you do once in a year, it is a way to thinking about how to build success into the organization.
The first step in building a performance management system is identifying critical job competencies. When I worked with the County of Lancaster on this, the management team came up with what they thought was a comprehensive list of critical core competencies. Timi Kirchner, then the County Administrator, recently recalled to me how she remembers that a focus group took a look and came back with something much more complete, descriptive and even more challenging then the management team. I have seen this in many other organizations too, which is why I recommend engaging your employees in this question:
What is critical for success?
Great questions
Next, profile your high performers using the list of critical competencies. Gather stories and examples of behaviors that demonstrate these competencies. You can also use these questions to gather information from employees during an annual performance review, or ask these questions during an employment interview to see if the candidate fits in with your organization.
¨ Tell me about three challenges you faced in this past year. How did you deal with these challenges?
¨ What competencies do you think were critical to the outcomes?
¨ What did you learn about your strengths and what competency are you most interested in developing in the future?
Develop a dictionary
You can also develop a dictionary of critical competencies for your organization. You may want to start with an existing dictionary (one is available at www. njhessassociates.com on the resource page) and then customize it using data from your own organization.
Job Descriptions
You also want to develop job descriptions to document actual work duties and a list of competencies, including knowledge skills and abilities required for the job. Use a methodology that is structured and systematic so you can defend your job descriptions if need be. For instance, be sure to
¨ Use structured questionnaires
¨ Interview to confirm and gather additional data
¨ Allow for comments from supervisor and employee.
Create Clear Performance Goals
Two types of goals are common and important in the performance evaluation process:
¨ Job goals relate to organization mission, goals and strategies.
¨ Development goals relate to competencies.
Lucca is my neighbor’s dog, and she also reminds me of what it means to be a natural performer. But she does not perform without clear direction. The minute I change my focus away from her, she begins to lose interest as well. So, focused and intentional direction, and communication of clear expectations is imperative!
Do’s and Don’ts
Finally, a few do’s and don’ts
¨ DO create a policy and procedure that outlines the process for an annual review. It can be…
¨ Short and sweet with a focus on review of job and development goals(an example can be found at www.njhessassociates.com)
¨ Or , it can be more extensive with a focus on competency development where employee and supervisor review job performance from the context of a competency profile created for their job.
¨ DON’T confuse your performance program with your disciplinary policy.
¨ DO include an appeals policy.
¨ DO practice documentation of reviews.
¨ DO have someone review all evaluations for consistency and integrity.
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