June 30, 2003

When CEO stands for "Can't Eat Out"
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 1:20 PM -

Unfortunately for the pampered chief executive used to eating at nine-star restaurants, the moment he is incarcerated his dining options dwindle precipitously; in prison, CEO might as well stand for Can't Eat Out. But here's the good news: Adapting to eating in prison after years of living high off the hog -- or, should I say, high off the shareholders -- is not nearly so tough as most convicted CEOs expect it to be. In fact, if you take a step back for a moment, the similarities between expense account dining and prison dining are both numerous and startling.

Read a little more of this slice of corporate humor (though for certain high-profile CEOs we know, this may not be your cup of tea).

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Affirmative-action rulings spare workplace diversity
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 1:12 PM -

The U.S. Supreme Court's June 23 decisions on affirmative action -- one condoning a race-conscious admissions policy used by the University of Michigan Law School and the other rejecting a policy used for incoming undergraduate freshmen -- have advocates of workplace diversity programs breathing a sigh of relief.

Read the piece from CareerJournal.

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EAP provider notes increase in depression
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 10:40 AM -

The sluggish economy and layoffs are boosting depression among workers, says ComPsych Corp., a provider of crisis intervention and employee assistance programs.

Read the "Out in the Field" report from BostonWorks in the Boston Sunday Globe.

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Healthcare costs are rising, AIM reports
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 10:36 AM -

Employers say healthcare costs are still rising.

The 7,500-member Associated Industries of Massachusetts notes that 62 percent of its members have said that premiums for health insurance increased 11 to 20 percent in 2003. Eleven percent said that costs increased between 21 and 30 percent over the past year.

Read the "Out in the Field" report from BostonWorks in the Boston Sunday Globe.

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CEOs set example on work-life balance
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 10:30 AM -

The success of work/life programs depends on the endorsement of the highest echelon of company executives: If it comes from the top, it works.

And at Land O'Lakes Inc., a diversified agricultural and food marketing cooperative based in Arden Hills, Minn., it works. That's because John E. Gherty, its president and chief executive, sets his own example - from the top.

Read the article from BostonWorks in the Boston Sunday Globe.

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June 27, 2003

Personality testing to screen candidates
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 9:33 AM -

From blue collar business to leaders of industry, the use of pyschological testing to screen candidates is growing. From The Seattle Times:

Reasons for the growth vary. Hiring managers, who now get as many as 500 applications for a single opening, use them for screening candidates, since administering the tests is as easy as sending an Internet link to an applicant. Interviewers are afraid to probe candidates' psyches for fear of discrimination charges. A bad hire can cost companies up to five times the person's salary, and a bad fire carries the potential for a wrongful-termination suit. No wonder employers are relying on the relatively neutral measuring stick of an exam.

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June 25, 2003

The leader within
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 2:44 PM -

From Human Resource Executive:

At AstraZeneca U.S., the North American arm of London-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca plc, leaders are getting together to listen to poetry, write personal journals and engage in quiet reflection. It's all part of a new initiative at the company designed to "transform" its executives and high-potential managers into leaders better equipped to guide the firm through a challenging period in the drug industry, which is under extraordinary pressure to maintain profitability amidst a landscape of expiring drug patents, competition from generic drug manufacturers and pressure from the U.S. and foreign governments to hold down prices despite the significant expense of developing new drugs.

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June 23, 2003

What magazines and websites should we read?
Posted by pegasus@jpbutler.com">Jason Butler at 11:06 AM -

Good morning everyone -

I'm working to update my bookmarks, and I want to make sure I'm aware of the good sources of Human Resources information out there. So, I'm asking a favor :-)

Could you please email me (jbutler@bostonworks.com) your best resources for HR-related information? At the end of the week, I'll compile the responses and post them here for everyone to use.

Thanks for your help!
Jason

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The corporate blog is catching on
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 10:18 AM -

This article from the New York Times is one of many recent articles that we have seen written about the immergence of blogs in the workplace. However, this article also takes a look at whether or not these blogs being kept executives is a wise decision. If not careful, trade secrets , opinions that offend, and other unintended information could be published. Maybe you should be consulting your counsel?

For companies and executives, blogs provide a way to talk informally to customers, vendors and employees. But the so-called blogosphere can also be a minefield. Saying the wrong thing or revealing trade secrets could come back to haunt a company. And public companies need to worry about disclosure rules.

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June 20, 2003

How great recruiters get great recruiter equity
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 9:41 AM -

From the ERE:

Why do some recruiters seem to find it easy to make placements and get hiring managers to accept the candidates they send? How do they do it? What special skills or qualities characterize the recruiter who can present two to three candidates that impress the hiring manager so much that they make an offer to one of them?

Read all about recruiter equity.

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June 19, 2003

Open-door management
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 9:14 AM -

From INC magazine:

It seems like a recipe for anarchy: At TechTarget, a Needham, Mass., interactive media company, all 210 employees are free to come and go as they please. There are no set policies mandating working hours or detailing sick, personal, or vacation days. More productive between midnight and 4 a.m.? No problem. Ditto if you need a day off to take your kid to camp.

Read the entire article.

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June 16, 2003

25 trends that will change HR
Posted by pegasus@jpbutler.com">Jason Butler at 9:44 AM -

Workforce Magazine gives us 25 trends for HR professionals to follow as they change the way you do business.

Workforce-management decisions aren’t made with crystal balls. What they do demand is a clear sense of the landscape on the far horizon. As a human resources executive, you probably know what health care will cost your company next year.

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June 13, 2003

A case for integrating fun with work
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 10:27 AM -

We all can use a little more fun at work. Not only does it make the day go by faster but fun and levity add to productivity and good mental health.

You and I spend more time at work than at any other single activity. Yet, often our work experience is not fun because we suffer the lack of integration of fun and work. When fun and work are successfully integrated, case studies show that both the process and the resultant product are improved.
It is my premise that fun and work naturally go together. That fun works and that work pays off better when it is fun. The integration of fun and work isn't about what you do, it's about who you're being when you're doing your work. Fun isn't the prize - it's the work.

Read the entire article.

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June 11, 2003

The importance of sales force alignment
Posted by pegasus@jpbutler.com">Jason Butler at 10:01 AM -

Business Week takes a crack at explaining why certain sales forces structures work and others don't. Hint: It's all about the money. If what you say doesn't match what you pay, you'll soon have a mess on your hands.

Regardless of what management says, salespeople are only human and, as a general rule, will do whatever their pay plans make the most rewarding. "Your actions speak so loudly that I can't hear a word you're saying," says a venerable piece of wisdom -- and a compensation plan speaks louder than just about anything.

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June 10, 2003

Supreme Court sides with workers on discrimination suits
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 12:10 PM -

From yesterday's New York Times, a report on an important workplace case:

A unanimous Supreme Court made it significantly easier today for workers to win discrimination suits against their employers in cases where race, sex, religion or national origin is one factor among others in a dismissal or other adverse job action.

Such cases of "mixed motive" — a legitimate reason combined with an improper, discriminatory one — are so common as to be the norm in the world of employment discrimination litigation.

Read the entire piece.

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Small ISV's, you need developers not programmers
Posted by pegasus@jpbutler.com">Jason Butler at 10:54 AM -

Eric Sink, founder of a small software firm, discusses the difference between developers and programmers, and why, if you are staffing a small firm, you can't get away with hiring folks who only sling code.

For the purpose of this article, a "programmer" is someone who does nothing but code new features and [if you're lucky] fix bugs. They don't write specs. They don't write automated test cases. They don't help keep the automated build system up to date. They don't help customers work out tough problems. They don't help write documentation. They don't help with testing. They don't even read code. All they do is write new code. In a small ISV, you don't want any of these people in your company.

Instead of "programmers" (people that specialize in writing code), what you need are "developers" (people who will contribute in multiple ways to make the product successful).

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College grads beware: Many using credit checks to vet job candidates
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 10:22 AM -

From Knight Ridder:

College graduates who fall behind in repaying their college loans and other debts may find themselves jobless, as well. The reason: Many employers are now using credit checks to vet job applicants.

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June 9, 2003

Tread carefully when checking on prospective employees
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 11:27 AM -

The Globe writes about falisfying on one's resume and how it may be increasing (see today's blog from Doug). But be careful when you are looking into a candidates background. Here is some information that will help you navigate the tricky waters of reference and background checking...

On one hand, employers can be held liable for negligent-hiring claims and other actions if they fail to sufficiently check out the paper trail that applicants bring with them. But there are dangers, too, in being overly zealous by delving into an applicant's background or, for a worker's former employer, by sharing information about that employee's performance with other employers.

Read the entire article.

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Stay on your toes
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 11:00 AM -

From this week's BostonWorks in the Boston Sunday Globe, some material that suggests staffing and hiring managers keep alert:

A lead article about job seekers looking for an edge in a tough market makes clear - to a shockingly large group - that crossing the honesty line in a job search can have dire consequences:

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 88 percent of respondents to a 1998 reference checking survey said candidates occasionally falsified past titles.

Another piece addresses differing views about the role of HR in the hiring process and whether seekers should go around the department, and the attendant risks and rewards if they do.

From "Out in the Field", Towers Perrin reports that "most employees are motivated to see their employers succeed, particularly during the current economic downturn."

Read all this week's BostonWorks stories.

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June 6, 2003

Employers say diversity boosts the bottom line
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 10:01 AM -

From the CareerJournal and the BNA:

Amid the economic slump, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) fears and war in Iraq, the recent U.S. Supreme Court session that focused on enrollment policies at the University of Michigan might have escaped your notice.

The case is viewed as a test of affirmative action, and it has many employers worried. In fact, dozens of companies filed legal briefs in support of the school, hoping to keep the court from issuing a ruling that might hinder their work-force diversity efforts.

In court papers and interviews, employer representatives say diversity improves recruiting and retention, product development and marketing, relationships among employees and outside partners, and global expansion options. A diverse workplace, they say, is one where all employees feel free to offer ideas and insights about better ways to do things.

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June 5, 2003

Heading toward hiring?
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 1:47 PM -

From a piece in yesterday's Christian Science Monitor, "Outlook brightens for job market":

If [the] findings reported Tuesday by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago outplacement firm, come to pass, it could set the stage for a more robust recovery next year.

"At some point, business can't keep its expansion plans on hold," says Reesa Staten, director of research at Robert Half International, a Menlo Park, Calif., recruiting and temporary agency. "As they anticipate a recovery, they don't want to be caught by surprise with increased workloads and demands."

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Getting teenage girls interested in business careers
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 10:30 AM -

After a study conducted by Simmons College School of Management found that girls are less likely to be interested in careers in business, some women executives are on a mission to change their minds. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A vast majority of girls also would rather have a career, with 80 percent expecting to work full time as adults. However, when asked to list career choices, only 9 percent of girls listed business careers as their first choice.
...But for girls, the issue goes deeper. Teen girls not only have little interest in business careers, but are less confident about their knowledge of business, math and decision-making skills, and are less likely to want to be the boss.

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June 4, 2003

Success stories of 5 HR Professionals
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 10:44 AM -

Here is a good story from this month's HR Magazine that profiles 5 senior executives, how they made it to the top and how their HR experience played an important role in getting there.

Proving that HR management experience also is valuable business experience, many human resource executives are finding that an HR background is helping them move into the highest echelons of corporate management. These individuals offer an encouraging example of what’s possible for others in the profession. They also offer a unique perspective on HR, both from the inside and the outside.

Read the entire story.

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June 3, 2003

Racial bias in hiring
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 10:39 AM -

Research highlights from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business:

From July 2001 to May 2002, Bertrand and Mullainathan sent fictitious resumes in response to 1,300 help-wanted ads listed in the Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune. They used the callback rate for interviews to measure the success of each resume. Approximately 5,000 resumes were sent for positions in sales, administrative support, clerical services, and customer service. Jobs ranged from a cashier at a store to the manager of sales at a large firm.

The authors find that applicants with white-sounding names are 50 percent more likely to get called for an initial interview than applicants with African-American-sounding names. Applicants with white names need to send about 10 resumes to get one callback, whereas applicants with African-American names need to send about 15 resumes to achieve the same result.

Read all of the highlights.

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June 2, 2003

IT gains, plus study of minority women in the workplace
Posted by deisenhart@bostonworks.com">Douglas Eisenhart at 4:19 PM -

From BostonWorks in the Boston Sunday Globe this week, our round-up of employment stats and trends, "Out in the Field", reports that IT executives predict job gains in the 3d quarter - can it be true? finally? - and a new study by Working Mother magazine traces minority women and best practices in the workplace.

Read all this week's BostonWorks stories.

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Boston's changing its image.
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 11:25 AM -

One of the many challenges we face when recruiting diverse professionals is the perception among diverse groups that Boston is a racially intolerant city. Because of this perception, diverse professionals do not have Boston on top of mind when looking to relocate or when looking to further their careers. Mayor Menino and the business community are taking the opportunity to change this image through a strategic set of initiatives around the major national and global events that Boston will be hosting within the coming years.

One visible example of that is the work being done to create a directory of local vendors that will include an array of minority-owned businesses and suppliers. Because many minority firms face obstacles getting the certification and bonding necessary to bid for large contracts, Menino should encourage partnerships between them and white businesses. This would help level the playing field and give minority businesses a better chance to benefit from the $102.6 million convention delegates and visitors are expected to pour into the city's economy. That money could help create jobs and provide a much-needed economic boost to minority communities.

Read the entire article from today's Globe.

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