Guest Article: RCSA 2016 Excellence in Candidate Care Winner: Cox Purtell by Ross Clennett

At the RCSA Gala Ball on 26 May, Cox Purtell was announced as the winner of the RCSA (Aus) 2016 Excellence in Candidate Care Award.   This week Cox Purtell Managing Director, James Purtell, took time out of his day to answer a few of my questions about Cox Purtell's approach to candidate care.   Ross: Congratulations on your win, James. Firstly, can you give me a bit
Article source:Ross Clennett - RCSA 2016 Excellence in Candidate Care Winner: Cox Purtell»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Snark is Not a Leadership Skill by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

Snark - "Biting, cruel humor or wit, commonly used to attack someone or something."

Snark and Credibility
I'll be honest with you. I love jokes...not only playing them on people, but also being on the receiving end of a good prank. Good ones use a combination of fun, creativity and a clear signal that the balance between humor and cruelty will never crossed.

Quite honestly I think they can show the human side of leadership, particularly if we demonstrate that we don't mind being on the receiving end of a well-intended and harmless prank. I would much rather have the team feel comfortable teasing me vs. them worrying if my teasing has some sort of underlying message (even though it never does.)

Never lose an opportunity to show the "real you" with your team.

Snark and Losing All Respect
The flip side of course is when the fun morphs into simple cruelty. We've all made mistakes and crossed the line, but that's not what I'm talking about. 

The decision to brand oneself as the one who always takes things a little too far is for stand-up comedians.

It is never a legitimate strategy for leaders.

Ever.

Candidly the underlying issues that seem to drive these behaviors are typically based on low self-esteem and some sort of inferiority complex. 

I've seen it many times in my career. It has nothing to do with how bright or accomplished the aggressor is; in fact many are quite good at their jobs.

Sadly though, they allow their insecurities to shine brightly as they use snark as a weapon.

How About You
Which leadership style have you chosen? Do you look for opportunities to show that you are human along with the rest of your team? Or, is your self-talk machine blaring so loudly you don't realize you are inadvertently hurting those around you?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Snark is Not a Leadership Skill»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Hand Me My AR-15, the British Are Coming...Oh, Wait by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

The gun control issue is so polarizing in the United States, that I almost decided against sharing this post. However, judging from the flood of comments I received when I hinted at writing on this topic, it speaks to the need for the dialogue to continue.

This is not a comprehensive policy proposal; rather, it is a message about one component of the bizarre place we find ourselves in...regardless of which side of the "debate" you fall.

-----------------------------------------------

I am pro-gun ownership. 

Let me make that crystal clear. I am pro-gun ownership.

From target practice, to hunting, to feeding one's family or to protection in extreme circumstances, guns are a valuable part of our society.

Our forefathers sent a powerful message about guns and freedom as well...IN 1776!

In Case You Missed It, We Won the Revolutionary War
The message the Founding Fathers sent to all Americans was that we could fight real tyranny (think King George III...aka a foreign power occupying America) and gain our independence. The bravery of those patriots, both men and women is absolutely astonishing. 

But the world is a very different place today than it was in colonial times. Our government (regardless of how much the crazies want to claim that it will happen) is not going to turn America into a police state and invade our homes.

It's not going to...so please stop talking about defending yourself from...ourselves.

Machine Guns Are For The Armed Forces
One of the things that surprises me most about the gun control debate (if you can call the choke hold the NRA has on Congress a "debate") is the belief that ordinary citizens need high powered machine guns.

Seriously? It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetically embarrassing for those that believe we need that sort of firepower laying around our homes. 

Before any of you head out to do a drive-by and exert your Second Amendment rights, check out this and this or this from the New York Times. Guess what? We're number one in the world! 

In gun deaths. Please save the "guns don't kill people excuse"...the other civilized nations of the world don't have the guns we do, and shockingly they have far fewer deaths.


Coincidence? Um, of course not.

How About You
Do you think our forefathers would have been excited to have each and every farmer load up with a row of cannon outside their barns? 

The rabid gun advocates should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. 

Although, I feel sorry for them. They have lost their way...they actually believe we have "control" over the millions of guns in America, and it's just an enforcement issue. 

I wonder who they trust to "control" things, or at least have a meaningful discussion about the many layers of this issue? It appears, no discussion is the preferred option.

SMH.

What do you think?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.


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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Hand Me My AR-15, the British Are Coming...Oh, Wait»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Manners Matter at Work by Jennifer Miller

Far from being an outdated, quaint throwback, manners are still in vogue at work. “Please” and “thank you” go a long way towards greasing the cogs of social interaction in the workplace. You might be skeptical of my claim, given our country’s current election cycle. But look past the soundbites of the 24/7 news cycle, and you’ll find that people want to work for leaders who are civil.

Believe me, people are watching how their leaders treat others. If you think a rude brush-off doesn’t matter, or that “they’ll get over it,” you’re sorely mistaken.  There’s a very real, measurable impact on employee productivity when there’s incivility in the workplace. Georgetown University associate professor of management Christine Porath has studied the effects of workplace incivility for many years. She has found that people reduce their work effort—by a significant amount—when their leaders treat them rudely.

I attended Porath’s breakout session, “Civility: Do We Have Time to be Nice at Work?” at the 2016 WorkHuman conference. She presented fascinating information regarding workplace incivility, including these statistics:

People who experience incivility in the workplace:

• Are 5 times less likely to notice details
• Perform 17% worse on cognitive tests
• Take longer to make and record decisions
• Make more errors

There are other reasons to stop being a jerk at work, as I write in my latest Smartbrief article. Porath’s research finds that what people want most from their leaders is respect. They want this more than even the often-cited recognition and appreciation.

So just like your mama taught you: manners matter. Simple courtesies like waiting your turn, saying you’re sorry and listening to others can have a big impact on your leadership effectiveness.

 

Copyright: sabinezia / 123RF Stock Photo

Article source:Jennifer Miller - Manners Matter at Work»

Guest Article: Is charging temps/contractors a 'payroll admin fee' a new low for our industry? by Ross Clennett

I seem to be very late to the story on this one. Early last year, people2people Shared Services Manager, Lisa Johnson had this issue raised with her in the comments section of her people2people blog Is your recruiter ripping you off? and subsequently Lisa wrote a follow up blog later in the year Who Wins When a Recruitment Agency Charges Temps an Admin Fee? specifically about the apparent
Article source:Ross Clennett - Is charging temps/contractors a 'payroll admin fee' a new low for our industry?»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Soar! by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

There is a unique responsibility that comes with a leadership job. It's more than just representing your company well, and working hard (much of it behind the scenes that most simply can not appreciate.) 

It's a responsibility that has to do with how we treat people. I know that sounds like an overused phrase, except there's a catch.

Many leaders...formal and informal alike...treat their colleagues and team members quite wretchedly. 

Yes Sir, Yes Ma'am, Yes Sir, Yes Ma'am
Before you completely dismiss this post, consider those around you. Think about the team members who are keeping their heads down...who are remaining quiet...who seem reserved "all of a sudden" or are quick to agree with everything the "leader" has to say.

Maybe there is something happening that you're not aware of yet.

It seems that something odd happens when people are offered the privilege to serve in a leadership role. They suddenly lose the perspective they once had when they were starting their careers, and now believe they can act without any consequences. 

That is a flawed assumption.

The Most Important Thing
It turns out that the most important thing that happens in any organization comes down to how the leaders treat the people. Whether it is employees, volunteers, vendor partners, interns or students shadowing as part of their academic curriculum, the people are the number one priority.

After many years in human resources leadership mired in policy and procedure manuals, I have learned a couple of very important things:
- people matter
- our job as leaders is to encourage, support, mentor and develop
- our ultimate goal should be for our people to soar

How About You
If I were to ask the people who interact with you everyday, would they tell me that you help them soar? Or, might I hear something different?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Soar!»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Want to End Harassment? It’s a Culture Thing (#SHRM16) by Ben

In case you missed it, there was a SHRM Conference Daily post this week with a very interesting headline. In short, the EEOC said that training doesn’t reduce discrimination. The logic behind the commentary had a few holes that I want to point out really quick, but I want to spend the majority of the time today helping you to understand what actually works for eliminating harassment. Here’s the synopsis:

The biggest finding of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace may be what it failed to find—namely, any evidence that the past 30 years of corporate training has had any effect on preventing workplace harassment. “That was a jaw-dropping moment for us,” said EEOC Commissioner Victoria A. Lipnic in a Sunday Session at the Society for Human Resource Management 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition.

Two quick notes that need clarification:

• There are 90,000 harassment claims, so training doesn’t work. What kind of training was used? How many of those complaints actually were legitimate harassment issues?
• 90% of harassment is never reported. That means that hundreds of thousands of workers in the US are harassed every year. I don’t buy it. Working with a jerk or someone that is not always pleasant doesn’t equal harassment, but many people miscategorize it that way all the time.

How to Completely Eliminate Harassment

Want to absolutely crush harassment at your organization? It requires a culture that encourages ethical treatment of others. It requires a company that values not only individuality, but the fundamentals of respect and appreciation for others.

Think about it. We’ve all worked with people that simply didn’t respect others around them. Those people are the ones that often bring about harassment, because they do not have the respect for their peers and coworkers that is necessary for good working relationships.

So, we need to create organizations that are uncomfortable for those kinds of people. We need to make it unpleasant to be disrespectful by addressing it as a performance issue. We need to create an environment where those kinds of behaviors demand a swift and unpleasant response instead of sweeping them under the rug, brushing them off, etc. Harassment is serious, and not just in a “oh boy, we’re going to get sued for that one” kind of way. It can cost you great, productive employees and drive away the talent that your organization needs.

So, it may be no small feat, but crushing harassment is a worthy goal. Start today. Build a culture of respect and appreciation. Take issues seriously and address them promptly. Then you can reap the benefits of a collaborative, harassment-free workplace.

Article source:Ben - Want to End Harassment? It’s a Culture Thing (#SHRM16)»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR