Sweeney HR

Claim culture

Alison Sweeney — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 20:09:06 +0000

Can you believe that there are people out there just sitting waiting to claim against a company for their recruitment practices or similar? In fact, some people can be quite infamous for making a living out of doing this and being quite inept and skilled in the ways in which to spot a weakness in a company’s recruitment policies.. This week it was reported that bogus job applicants are actually on the rise and the reasons for this is once again linked to the downturn and credit crunch that we have been hearing so much about. With so many now out of work and eagerly seeking employment this is an area that is more and more under attack. What these people are setting out to do is to catch employers out on discrimination laws and earn themselves money at tribunals.

Hr and legal experts across the country are warning that this is now posing serious threats to firms as the economy slumps further. Employment tribunal judges are telling us that job cuts in the near future will multiply the numbers of fake candidates who apply for one job with two CVs – one containing information about their minority status, such as being Asian or disabled, and the other avoiding it.

Employers who reject the minority application but accept its more mainstream counterpart can be taken to an employment tribunal for recruitment discrimination, resulting in compensation for up to six months’ of prospective work lost.

Nathan Donaldson, partner at law firm Davies Arnold Cooper (DAC), confirmed to me that many employers receive bogus CVs but often discover them only after it’s too late.

“Large employers who get hundreds of CVs for positions are the main targets, and they will get no warning before receiving the claim letter,” he said.

A spokesman for conciliation service Acas said the service had encountered isolated instances but didn’t collect data on it.

So in light of all this dishonesty the best way for a company to take precautions to avoid discrimination pitfalls are summed up as follows,

Use application forms, not CVs, to filter candidates. Set up a database listing all applicants, names addresses and contact numbers.

Document the basis on which applicants are rejected, minute all meetings that involve a selection panel and keep that panel intact throughout the full process.

Put clear deadlines on job ads and clear selection criteria using if possible, desirable as well as essential criteria.

Be aware of all legislations that affect a recruitment process such as equality laws and disability laws and up to date codes of practice. Be vigilant and aware that times are changing, know that there is no longer room for errors in a recruitment process as it can turn out to be a costly affair.

Dos and Don’ts for the Office Christmas Party

Alison Sweeney — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:05:58 +0000

It’s almost here… yes, Christmas… the nights are getting colder, the trees are slowly but surely popping up around town, shops are getting busy and the kids are writing and re-writing those Christmas lists to Santa. So, that can only mean one more thing – yes the office Christmas party!

Now, to some HR professionals the Christmas Dinner Party can conjure up some negative images, but not to me. Thankfully, I’ve never encountered the excited colleague wanting to talk about his new ideas for improving the business, or the ‘secret Santa’ that goes awfully wrong, or the colleague who attempts to down 20 shots in one hour knowing fine rightly they with be coming right back up again in the hours to follow. Some say the annual Christmas party can in fact boost your career if you handle yourself well and get that right opportunity to make yourself known to the bosses, but – more importantly, it can also end it. And, with that warning in mind, here are some very well known and written about dos and don’ts of office Christmas party etiquette aimed at keeping your job, reputation and dignity in one piece.

Do try to attend. Your office party is not an optional event. Even if you despise the thought of spending a whole evening with the people you work with every day, it’s a good idea to make an appearance. It shows that you are part of the team and it really can be good fun and a nice start to the Christmas period.

Don’t dress inappropriately. According to workplace etiquette expert Pamela Holland, men are the worst exponents of inappropriate dressing at the office party she says they should, “ refrain from unbuttoning more than two buttons on their shirts and wearing tightly fitted shirts that show off their muscles”.

Do get introduced to the boss, if you haven’t already. This is a good time to talk to people you wouldn’t normally come across and, of course, the boss. This could help you in the long term in terms of raising your profile. But…

… Don’t over do it with work talk. The office party gives you the chance to get to know people as people not just ‘Gavin from accounts’.

Do drink in moderation. Excessive drinking is the number one cause of office party ‘incidents’. Remember, because the wine is free you do not have to down it in one….it is a marathon not a sprint and it is likely that you will have a long evening ahead of you. Stick to your limit, drink slowly or alternate between alcohol and water and of course dancing, please, please, resist the temptation to down vodka shots or flaming zambuca or you may end up losing more than your inhibitions!

Don’t make a move on a colleague. After a few hours and a few beers even Barbara from credit control can look like a goddess. A poll by Tickbox.net commissioned by Quatro Wilkjnson Sword revealed that 41% of workers admit to having a sexual liaison with a co-worker at an office party. But, before you make a bee-line for the person you’ve had your eye on all year, do yourself a favour, stay put and think, ‘Is this a good idea?’ ‘Probably not’, is the likely answer. What’s more, in a survey conducted by ContractorUK 13% of female workers who have had a pass made on them by a male co-worker end up lodging an official complaints about their colleagues’ conduct.

Do watch your language. Remember the reason why you are at the Christmas party in the first place is because you have a job. Avoid saying things you wouldn’t say on a normal office day. A former (note use of the word ‘former’) colleague of mine told our CEO that his speech was “crap” and he could do his job blindfolded. Consequently, the Christmas card from the boss contained his P-45. And, for ****’s sake, don’t swear!

Don’t leave too soon. Tequila slammers with the girls from HR may be more appealing than your department’s party. But, unless you have made a holy show of yourself, stay for at least a couple of hours even if it is the most boring party ever. After all, it’s your boss that you need to impress when it comes to getting a promotion.

Above all, enjoy the party. Strive to be remembered for the right reasons and not for your lustful antics or David Brent dancing. And, in the words of the great man himself from “The Office”, when asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied: “Simply, as, the man who put a smile on the face of all who he met.”

Is faster always better?

Alison Sweeney — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:43:49 +0000

After reading the recession watch section of this business supplement last week by Patrick Forrester, who discusses his belief that ‘ensuring a company is efficient as possible is key to surviving in a difficult climate.’ I wondered… does becoming more efficient or productive involve more than the focus on increasing our workload that he discusses?

You see there are times in my life and career when I look back and say ‘yes, I could have done that differently’ or perhaps been more efficient especially when I compare what I did then to the amount of balls that are juggled now. Perhaps if I’d just got just my act together in my twenties or early thirties, I could have easily done everything in about a third of the time. In fact, looking back I could begin to think, God, what a slacker I was. Or was I? Well, it seems I’m not alone in pondering over this one. According to a press release from Knox D’Arcy (KDA), a performance improvement consultancy “68 per cent of the working day of junior staff in the public-sector last year was ‘lost’ on average.”

And it’s not just public-sector staff. We are told that private-sector staff are only productive “on average 44 per cent of the time”.

So what are these reports and Patrick Forster really saying, when in the latter case, Forester indicates that he is an advocate of splitting up the workload of those who have left the company and sharing that workload with the remaining staff, he says, ‘…Yes it increases somebody else’s workload but its not the case that they are coming in early or leaving late. It’s simply the case that people become more efficient.’

First, there could be an implication there that we’ve all been a bit useless on the posts we’ve held prior to the downturn and coasted along blissfully unaware of the awful economic change that was about to shake us. Second, that public-sector staff are more useless than private (their words not mine). And Last, and by no means least, if you want to increase your work-force’s productivity as these surveys and articles suggest, you will most likely need to seek some advice on how to go about this by employing a performance improvement consultancy firm such as, oh, I don’t know, maybe like the performance improvement consultancy quoted above.

So I suppose the question is, how on earth are these figures calculated? From the limited information the press release gives it seems the case studies are based on “live observations to measure the time actually required to process a given quantity of work – and then compared that with the staff time available”.

Seems dubious to this HR Manager, I mean, how do you set out to calculate the time “actually required”?
So I think being more efficient or productive involves much more than just processing quantities of work and informing a work force that they now need to become more efficient. Organisations have always and will always survive and thrive because their staff do things over and beyond their immediate task such as helping other colleagues, being patient with difficult customers and going beyond the call of duty. And yes if a company strives to be innovative and possibly finds better ways of doing things that’s good. But remember these extras that we contribute may take longer but through the eyes of those (like myself) who advocate that our customer must always come first, that little bit of extra time taken is vital. Also, like myself in my twenties making mistakes may have taken time but surely was an essential part of my work-based learning experience.
I suppose what I am saying is we need to be careful as employers and employees to treat advice that is given in times of a recession carefully, digest diligently the ‘advice’ given by those who have over-night become ‘experts’ in the discussion on how to ride out the recession when they are also promoting their own services.

Trying to grab headlines to promote your services is understandable- advisory services is a business after all. But publicising research in this way could paint public-sector workers as being lazy when compared with their private-sector counterparts and this is an un-just and unfair judgment.

I’m sure many of us can be more efficient and managed more effectively. It’s hard to argue with that. But, remember the human aspects involved when upping a workload on those who may not be naturally capable yet perhaps worried about loosing their job, while hearing the excuse that it’s all because of the ‘down-turn’.

I did my own little time and motion study while writing this column, and it’s not good news. Comparing the time required to research it then write it to the time I actually spent on it, dealing with other issues in between such as three year old twins who want to play and an older child who needs help with her homework, my utilisation rate was less than 18 per cent, oops…even though I was giving 100 per cent. Perhaps it’s time to call in the performance improvement consultant!!

Hide not your talents

Alison Sweeney — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:56:09 +0000

A friend of mine who performs an excellent job working as an Image Consultant said to me a few days ago, “Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sun-dial in the shade?” She was listening carefully to something I said about the amount of people who would admit to me that they find it difficult to enter a room full of strangers and make that first important impression. They say the difficulty lies in trying not to sound like someone who has been badly advised before an interview to dazzle the panel in the first five minutes with all their qualifications and conquests to date, but most times come across as sounding arrogant.

The dazzling of the panel I don’t believe is the problem; I quite like to hear how the interviewee or stranger has arrived at where they are now…it’s the delivery of the conquests that usually takes a hit, resounding in a clear lack of confidence in the individual who most times seems to doubt, mid-flow, the reason why they started to tell the panel/stranger about their past qualifications and experiences in the first place.

My friend was quoting from Benjamin Franklin and not only did I find myself using the quote in conversation later that day, but she really got me thinking about the knack that is required in finding that balance when we introduce ourselves to strangers. As a child I was always told it’s not good to boast too much but it’s not good to be shy either, yet after having waded my way through 50 or so CV’s lately for a position that I am trying to fill in America, I couldn’t believe the extreme, that American applicants go to, to sell themselves on paper in some cases even verging on the ridiculous!

My friend’s use of her quote tells me that self-confidence comes from being able to express who you are through your image, voice, values, beliefs, persona and overall presentation of self. She says strong and direct communication and belief in yourself emanates your confidence to your listener. She says we should believe that people will admire us and as a result they will. All easier said than done for those of us who are not masters at projecting the correct image in a natural manor and- unlike our colleagues in the States who have it drilled into them that perception is projection.

So do we have it wrong, those of us who have talked to someone who is seemingly arrogant or overly opinionated and thought ‘oh, my God I’m glad I’m not like that’, when really we (the quieter folk) are making the mistake by not oozing confidence. Some believe when we meet a person for the first time and find them overpowering, we are actually seeing a bit of ourselves in them.

My solution is this, definitely do not hide your talents, my nine year old is an example of that as she takes every opportunity to impress my friends and family with the recent song she has written. Easy for a child of course with less inhabitations but should be easy for adults too if we are confident in our approach. Don’t overpower your audience but let them know a little bit about you that will no doubt relax them into telling you a bit about them.

This advice applies to all walks of life, not only to those who are pushed into rooms full of strangers and told to mingle, or those who are interviewing for that all-important job, but talents as Franklin asserts comes in all shapes and forms, the worst thing we can do is hide them.