reading the news
How to Fire Someone (and Have Them Thank You for It)
Suzanne Lukas (aka Evil HR Lady), Inc.

Tucker Max, Co-Founder and CEO of Book In A Box wrote an article last week about firing people and having them thank you for it. That seems like the craziest thing on the planet–no one wants to get fired–and no one likes firing. (Even the most horrible of bosses prefer to get people to resign.) Is Max off his rocker or is he right?
As someone who has been involved in the termination of literally thousands of people, I can say whole-heartedly that what he is saying is not only true but how you should be firing all along.

Survey highlights HR’s election issues
Jack Robinson, Human Resource Executive Online

Aggressive new federal labor standards have attracted headlines in employment law this year. But when it comes to top issues for the upcoming presidential election, HR leaders are looking at the big picture.
An email survey by Human Resource Executive® magazine suggests that matters pending before Congress, such as the so-called Cadillac tax and immigration reform, are of top concern for HR leaders. The survey, conducted July 20-27, drew 631 responses nationwide.

Turning to the presidential race itself, respondents strongly favored Republican nominee Donald Trump as most likely to benefit the HR profession. More than 59 percent chose him over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Comments offered by respondents suggested many worry Clinton would favor more burdensome rules for employers.

The real threat of workplace violence
Norbert Alicea, PropertyCasualty360

According to a recent study from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, of the 160 active shooter incidents that occurred from 2000 to 2013, approximately 80 percent happened in a workplace. Workplace violence, including these shootings, impacts two million Americans each year, causing an average of 700 homicides. In addition to the invaluable cost of human life, the annual economic cost of workplace violence is $121 million.
Outside of the obvious costs, violence in the workplace is a significant occupational hazard for both organizations and their employees, leading to physical and emotional trauma, poor morale, increased health care and workers’ compensation costs, and decreased productivity, among others.

Related: Sept 14 Webinar via Risk & Insurance
Workplace Violence and Active Shooter: Develop a Culture of Preparedness
Learn how to create an emergency response plan and prepare for an Active Shooter incident.

People analytics reveals three things HR may be getting wrong
Henri de Romrée, Bruce Fecheyr-Lippens and Bill Schaninger, McKinsey&Company

More sophisticated analyses of big data are helping companies identify, recruit, and reward the best personnel. The results can run counter to common wisdom.

Diversity efforts fall short unless employees feel that they belong
Pat Wadors, Harvard Business Review

Over the past decade, technology companies and their leaders have launched diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives, hoping to make employees of all backgrounds and experiences feel welcome in our industry.
We failed.
The data shows that, especially in the tech space, we have not moved the needle on the number of women, blacks, or Latinos in our ranks, despite efforts to do so. Why not? What are we missing?

The truth about the gender wage gap
Sarah Kliff, Vox

The survey of thousands of business school graduates showed that men had slightly higher salaries right out of the gate.
Women earned an average salary of $115,000 right out of graduate school, while men earned $130,000. Men also averaged a few more weekly hours and a bit more prior experience as they entered the workforce.
But the most astounding thing happened nine years later: The distance between men and women’s salaries more than doubled
Nine years into their careers, women saw their salaries rise to an average of $250,000 — while men’s salaries averaged out at $400,000. Men were earning 60 percent more than women.

Why Should Employers Take Pregnancy Discrimination and Accommodation Seriously? Here Are More Than 500,000 Reasons Why.
Jeff Nowak, FMLA Insights

Doris worked for the Chipotle restaurant chain. And she was pregnant. After she announced her pregnancy to her supervisor, Doris claimed her boss began monitoring her bathroom breaks (then berated her for taking too long), required her to “announce” her bathroom breaks to others, prohibited her from taking shift breaks, denied access to water, and eventually terminated her employment in front of other employees because she attended a prenatal doctor’s appointment.
I have no idea whether these facts are true, but a jury believed them. And earlier this month, it hammered Chipotle to the tune of $550,000, plus attorneys fees.
Chipotle’s bad day reminds me of another case just like it from this past year.

Listen to your employees, not just your customers
Beth Benjamin, Harvard Business Review

That’s when Callahan’s team took an unusual step: The team created and linked an employee feedback system to its customer feedback system, in order to flag interactions where customers and employees had different perceptions. The linked system consisted of two short surveys — one sent to employees and the other to customers — right after a transaction. The linked system allowed for more insight into customers, and managers could use the information to coach employees, to assess whether they had the right tools and resources, and to identify people with innovative ideas and leadership potential.

The great productivity puzzle
John Cassidy, The New Yorker

In the United States over the past twenty years, however, the tight relationship between productivity growth and wage growth has broken down. Wages have slipped behind productivity. Economists debate why this has happened, and how long the situation might last. (Some point to the rising cost of non-wage benefits, such as health insurance; others to the fact that profits have risen relative to wages.) But none deny that, over the long term, a healthy rate of productivity growth is a prerequisite for a further rise in living standards. Or that an anemic rate of productivity growth is a recipe for stagnation and class conflict.
Which brings me, finally, to the figures released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The new data showed that productivity in the non-farm business sector of the U.S. economy—i.e., most of it—has declined for the third quarter in a row. That’s the longest falling streak since 1979, and, unfortunately, it isn’t merely a statistical blip. Since 2007, the rate of productivity growth has been disappointing. Since 2010, it has been extremely disappointing

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