Check out our latest roundup of HR News, featuring items on the HR role, diversity, temp workers, remote workers, secret recordings and more.Plus, a little humor to lighten your week!
What Do HR Professionals Really Do? Eight Experts Dispel Common Myths
Forbes Human Resources Council
Human resources is often met with a one-dimensional perception. After all, many people’s interactions with HR come down to a small handful of common interactions. It’s difficult to understand what really goes on without witnessing it every day.
We asked members of the Forbes Human Resources Council about what really goes on in HR. The answers given may surprise some, as a human resources professional has a complex job that is not always appreciated the way it should be.
How to get genuine cooperation from difficult people
LaRae Quy, SmartBrief
FBI agents are seldom described as warm and fluffy, but neither are they the snarky, shoot-from-the-hip investigators often depicted on TV and in the movies. The reason is simple: Their goal is to calm down a person to the point where they not only see reason, but also agree to cooperate with an FBI investigation.
Sun Tzu wrote in “The Art of War” about how to win battles without a fight. Many of those strategies could also be applied to modern day life.
You may never cross paths with a criminal or engage in warfare. As entrepreneurs, business owners, or leaders, however, you willl encounter difficult clients, customers, and team members from whom you will need cooperation to do your job.
Here is how to get genuine cooperation from difficult people.
Employees Secretly Record Managers for Litigation
Allen Smith, J.D., SHRM
As smartphones have become common, employees are recording work conversations without employers’ knowledge or permission in preparation for discrimination, sexual harassment and whistle-blower lawsuits. These recorded conversations have included talks with co-workers, meetings with supervisors, and even discussions with HR and executives. State and federal laws limit employers’ ability to prohibit recordings, but the Trump administration has loosened federal restrictions.
Temporary employees have permanent legal rights
Jon Hyman, Workforce
Temporary employees do not leave their legal rights at your door. In fact, they enjoy the same rights as your permanent employees.
Consider, for example, EEOC v. Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, in which an employer recently agreed to pay $65,000 to settle claims brought by a temporary employee that she was subjected to a sexually hostile work environment and fired after repeatedly complaining about it.
Ask these 4 questions before hiring a remote worker
Alexis Bruemmer, Fast Company
I’ve spent the last 10 years working with remote teams, and for eight of those years, that involved managing people across many different time zones. Sure, remote systems don’t work for every person or team, but in my experience, companies have a lot to gain by implementing a remote work policy. In addition to attracting more candidates, you can also use time zones to your advantage to move projects forward around the clock and offer better work/life balance to your employees.
But to reap the benefits, companies need to be prepared to adjust their systems and practices and set up remote workers for success. In my experience, asking these four questions before you hire a remote employee can go a long way.
Managers Play Significant Role in Creating Diverse Teams
Kathy Gurchiek, SHRM
Direct reports often reflect their manager’s ethnicity when those managers have the final say in hiring decisions, a recent 2018 workplace diversity report found.
For example, nearly 44 percent of employees with an Asian manager are Asian, according to Namely, an HR, payroll and benefits platform based in New York City. And while white employees account for the majority of direct reports in most instances, they rank second on teams led by Asian and Hispanic managers. This lack of diversity is not limited to ethnicity: Nearly 80 percent of male employees report to men and more than 50 percent of women report to women. The least common reporting structure is for a male employee to report to a female manager.
“While we’re seeing greater diversity holistically, we still have a long way to go to get past ‘similar as me’ and unconscious bias,” said Debra Squyres, Namely’s chief people officer, during a Society for Human Resource Management #Nextchat discussion on Twitter.
Where Work Pays: Occupations & Earnings across the United States
This interactive chart from the Hamilton Project accompanies an economic analysis, “Where Work Pays: How Does Where You Live Matter for Your Earnings?” Explore pay by occupation, age group and geography.
More HR News: Quick takes
- What to do when your boss takes credit for your work
- Nearly everyone is stressed about work and finances: Fidelity survey
- SC Department of Insurance lets parents bring babies to work, and it’s boosting morale
- Start that FMLA clock running: How to run FMLA leave concurrently with time off due to a work-related injury
- Recruiters: 8 things job seekers want from you [poll results]
- The searing photos that helped end child labor in America
- How HR Leaders Can Win a Seat at the Table
- Strategies for long-distance caregiving
- What’s holding back wages in America?
- 7 strategies to keep your phone from taking over your life
- Be the leader your people want
- 7 critical risks facing nonprofit organizations
- Do you know the temperature of your people?
From the lighter side…
We all face distractions while we work but these wildlife photographers don’t let a few little distractions break their concentration. (Twitter)
How fast are you to react to hazards while driving? Take the how old are your reactions game to find out
Bizarre terminations: Employment law attorney Jeff Nowak says the 10-year old boy in him cannot stop laughing at this reason for an employee termination. (Twitter)
The United States Postal Service employees collaborated to put together an EAP Rap Song. It’s a few years old, but this is the first we’ve seen of it – and it remains relevant!