My Recipe for an Engaged Workforce

Employee engagement is like that thing that kids have which we all wish we could bottle up and sell to make our millions. It’s that unexplainable energy and drive that is evident in their behavior. How do I connect children’s energy and employee engagement in my brain you may be wondering? Well, wonder no more, I’ll tell you. I am always amazed at how my children can spend 5 hours running around a zoo and still have the energy to go play at the park and play for a few more hours when they get home. I wish I could bottle that energy up and sell it to the world. 

I have come across employees in my years in HR that have similar energy in the workplace. You wonder how they can do X for 8 hours and still be smiling and full of life at the end of the day. Maybe they are in sales and despite 100 rejections, they keep their game face on and keep smiling and do their best on every customer interaction every time which leads to the next 100 sales. How can they stay so positive? Or for a person working in a labor-intensive or physically or mentally demanding job, how do they still do their best all day and even in the proverbial 11th hour?

Here is my theory, observation, and a subsequent recipe for an engaged employee… Start with good leadership, throw in a dash of continued support and encouragement, whisk away all negative feedback and pour in positive reinforcement, and combine that with a person who is both willing to do the job and qualified to do it. This is your recipe for an engaged and happy workforce. Granted, some employees will defy logic and be happy and engaged even with the worst manager and the worst working conditions, and I wish I knew how to find more of those folks. However, we can help employees to be engaged and thriving in the workforce with my recipe.

I know it sounds easy enough, but how do you get all those ingredients to work together? Training your managers to lead and not micro-manage is an important first step. I highly recommend that every manager read ‘Whale Done!” by Ken Blanchard, Thad Lacinak, Chuck Tompkins, & Jim Ballard. It is a great book about the power of positive reinforcement in relationships. It’s a short and easy read with some great insights. Positive reinforcement is an important tool to help employees feel empowered and encouraged to do the right things at work without the shame and resentment that is often brought about from negative reinforcement.

No matter how much positive reinforcement you provide an employee, if they are not qualified or trained to do a job, they are not likely to succeed or at least not to thrive. It is important to make sure that you have the right employee in the right job. To be fully engaged at work, an employee needs to be in a position that they have the ability to thrive in. If they struggle to understand core concepts and what is expected, they are not likely to really be tuned in and using their strengths to make improvements to efficiencies and to tackle tough assignments.

Is your workforce engaged and doing their best? If so, great! You are doing something right! If not, start by working with your staff to ensure they are getting the support and encouragement they need from management to tackle the challenges they face every day.

A Paperwork Nightmare, The Dreaded I-9 Audit

Okay, for all you HR pros out there reading this... this is not a news flash.  The I-9 has got to be THE one form that has more mistakes than any other regularly completed employment form, and as some large employers like Abercrombie & Fitch can attest to (now over one million dollars lighter in the pocket book)... it can come with a LOT of fines and penalties if not done correctly.  This is true EVEN IF you are hiring only legal authorized workers... the technical errors can have a big financial impact if you are on the wrong side of an audit.

So, what should you do about it? Make sure you are dotting your i's and crossing your t's (as the expression goes) before the immigration officers comes to check on it for you...  Do your own internal audit! 

If you've never done an internal I-9 audit before, let me offer a little tried and true wisdom for you.  One key bit of info to remember is the required time keeping guidelines.  An employer MUST RETAIN the I-9 for EITHER 3 years from the date of hire OR 1 year from the date of termination, whichever is LATER.  Why is this important to you in your audit?  It is important because if you have errors on an I-9 that you still have on file which should have already been destroyed, you can still be penalized for it!  So why keep that liability laying around? Shred it and discard it! 

Remember also that when you get a notice from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)  or DOL (Department of Labor), you have only THREE DAYS to comply.  If you are not keeping your I-9s separate from your employee folders, bring a tent to work and prepare to camp out if you get an audit notice!  You WILL be eating and sleeping there until you get every last I-9 pulled for the audit.  It's best to keep these separate, such as in a 3 ring binder in alphabetical order for all active employees which you would then move to an inactive employee folder upon termination. 

Of course, with the sensitive nature of I-9s and the information they contain, these binders need to be kept in a secured office not accessible to any unauthorized personnel.  If you are not already doing this... as a part of your internal audit project, I recommend pulling them now to avoid the future headache when your official audit comes knocking (just assume it will because frankly, the government is over budget and looking for revenue... I-9 errors can bring in a lot of dollars from fines.  Don't let your employer be one of those footing the government's bills from errors that you can prevent or correct.)  I find it helpful to keep an Excel spreadsheet with the formulas all built into my template which calculates the discard date for me.  Let me know if you need the formulas for this.

This is just the first in a series of blogs I'll be writing on this topic... if I included it all in this post, you would be up all night reading it (even if you started at 2am).  So... come back for more helpful I-9 tips very soon!

Gotta love the Swag

One great thing about a conference like the Oklahoma Human Resource conference is all the great swag from vendors! The recruiter in me just loves hearing their "pitches" and seeing what they bring to the table in terms of knowledge and service. The vendors at OKHR2011 where great!

There were definitely a few favorites for me at this event. 
TFCU (Tinker Federal Credit Union) is pretty high ranking with their awesome leather-like bound tabbed accordion folder. I am REALLY gonna love it when I continue with some audits I have to do in the office next week. <3

More than the swag they offered, the FMLA trivia with Phillips Murrah Attorney & Counselors at Law really intrigued me. I even tried to stump Director Byrona Maule... but she KNOWS HER STUFF! For you HR pros reading this right now, did YOU know that the 1,250 hours worked rule does not have to be worked within just the last 12 months, but within the last SEVEN (yes you read that right, 7) years!!! So for example, if an employee has only worked for you for the last 9 months, but you see that they have worked 1,250 hours... you better not deny them just yet! Do a little more digging to make sure the employee isn't a rehire. If the employee worked for you 5 years ago for 4 or 5 months, then BAM... they're FMLA eligible because that tenure combines to satisfy the 12 months
of employment rule, and they met the 1,250 hours worked rule. Obviously you have to make sure that FMLA applies to your company based on size and the leave itself is for a qualifying FMLA related reason... but you get the picture... that 7 year history piece throws a kink in things. Not only did I not stump Byrona with this tidbit of info, but she was able to give me a little history on the issue and why it came to be... like I said before, she knows her stuff, and I was impressed. Not to mention the nice shiny stainless steel coffee cup she lured me in with... overall... great vendor!

Now, saving the best for last, my FAVORITE swag of the whole convention by far had to be the "Appreciateologist Starter Kit" by O.C. Tanner! It is AWESOME! I just love love loved The Thinkinator button! Hands down, this kit topped my favorite swag list because it is soooo important! I am a huge advocate for employee appreciation. A little goes a long ways too. A little thank you for a job well done, or a little note to say you appreciate someone can really impact their week and increase their productivity. So, if you need a little help in that department... check out www.octanner.com

Many thanks to all the great vendors from the OK HR 2011 event!

HR Champions

It is great to be able to champion a cause that you believe in whether that be saving a rainforest (a noble and global cause) or mentoring and developing others to assist them in transitioning to the right career path (a worthy cause on a smaller and more local scale).

I know that HR is not the most glamorous career choice, and if it gets you famous it may be for the wrong reasons (like a class action lawsuit from poor HR management practices... Wal-Mart comes to mind right now as they are in current headlines.)

However, it is a career that can be rewarding not just financially but with a great intrinsic value. For someone in a leadership role in HR, there is a serious power to influence people management philosophies in the organization. If done right, then HR can truly add value to an organization through realizing the value in its most fundamental resource, PEOPLE! Retaining workers can have a huge impact on the bottom line which speaks to the CEOs of the world. What is even more valuable than that, is the ability to develop people within the organization to BECOME the CEOs of the world! This CAN happen, but often is not the focus of employers.

I love the story recently highlighted on ABC’s ‘World News with Diane Sawyer’ where Diane interviewed McDonald’s President Jan Fields who worked her way up from an entry level crew leader position to where she is today at the executive table. This is a beautiful example of utilizing people’s talent within the organization. Unlike many executives, this “MickyDs” President has a true understanding of what it takes to run the business from the front line perspective all the way up through the management hierarchy. This allows her to understand the needs of the customers as well as the employees so that she can make better strategic improvements in the organization and its processes. I think Jan hit the nail on the head when she said, “Our restaurant employees are the foundation of our business. They are the men and women who interact with our customers every day, enhance the McDonald’s experience, and continue to help make our business strong… a McJob is one with career growth and endless possibilities.” – Jan Fields, President, McDonald’s USA.

For anyone who is as passionate about people development as I am, I hope to see you at the 2011 Oklahoma State HR Conference coming up in May where keynote speakers will talk in depth about people management skills and best practices. If you haven’t yet registered, there is still time to do so. Read more about the event at www.okhrconference.com. If you can’t make it, check back here after the event has started for my favorite highlights. As a member of this year’s blog squad, I will be providing real-time updates from keynotes and sessions using social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and my blog.

Don't be a Jimbo!

In the world of Human Resources, there are not many television shows geared to our profession, especially not reality television shows since so much of HR is very confidiential and sensitive. I have to say though, I’m excited to see the new Undercover Boss reality show on CBS! In many cases I think it will be a wake-up call for the corporate world on what the front line workers really deal with as “executive orders” are handed down.

That just made me think of what it would be like for the President to go “undercover” to see how his “executive orders” effect us out in the “real world”, but I doubt that episode would ever air because he wouldn’t want to face those realities. (I’m done abusing the quotations now. ) Much to my surprise, I am apparantly not the only one who has had thought about this because I just googled ‘Obama Undercover Boss’ and found this great picture by Daniel Kurtzman, a political humorist on about.com.

I find it quite humurous that both of the CEOs that appeared in the first two episodes ultimately got fired from one of the jobs in their own company. It puts into prospective the high demand on some of the lowest paying jobs in the organization. I wish that all executive level managers would spend a day in the shoes of those they manage so they could be better managers. I would just love to see Jimbo slap on a skinny Hooters T-shirt and skimpy shorts and try to do half of what those Hooters girls do. Maybe he would then have a bit more respect for them. I loved that Mr. Brooks, the Hooters CEO, said he would let his daughters work at Hooters, but not for Jimbo. Although many people are surprised that Hooters didn’t just immediately fire Jimbo, I have to give them some credit there. Although sometimes, immediate termination is necessary, in most cases (MOST but NOT all) every employee has redeemable qualities. For the most part, employees want to do a good job, and unfortunately sometimes they lose their way through the maze and get lost in the weeds. It can happen to some of the most well intentioned managers. A friend of mine who runs the Blogging4Jobs.com site, just posted an insightful blog about different management styles, many of which I have dealt with in my career (and I bet many of you have too.)

For those of you that have worked for a Jimbo, I’m sorry. For those of you that tend to BE a Jimbo, wake up! The key to being a successful manager first lies in your approach with employees. If an employee does not respect you, then they won’t work well for you. The BEST way to gain respect is to give respect. This is not a new concept… it’s THE GOLDEN RULE! Treat others the way you want to be treated. It is a simple and timeless truth. Whether that be during a team building excercize, a meeting, training, daily work or even corrective discussions. Although in management there will be times when an employee must be reprimanded or corrected, that can be done tactfully and in a way that is NOT demeaning. Corrective discussions should be handled constructively to BUILD up the employee, not tear them down. Focus on their best attritubutes and help them to overcome their shortcomings by using their strengths. When managers do this, they build a strong team of dedicated workers who appreciate their guidance, direction and leadership.