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September 2015

Sep 04
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Accepting Working Mothers is on the Rise

By Employment Resources
workingmotherFor generations, mothers have chosen to defy traditional gender roles and take jobs outside of their homes. Today, up to 61 percent of mothers can be classified as working mothers, and a recent study found that more people than ever are accepting working mothers.

What People Think About Working Mothers

San Diego State University (SDSU) recently analyzed data to see how attitudes toward women and their work and family roles have changed since the 1970’s. The researchers studied data from surveys 600,000 12th graders and adults took between 1976 and 2013.

Based on the data, researchers found that Millennials, people born between 1981 and 1996, accept working mothers at a significantly higher rate than people of the same age in previous generations. In the 1970’s, 59 percent of people surveyed believed the preschool children of working mothers would suffer. That number dropped to 34 percent in the 1990’s and 22 percent in the 2010’s.

Likewise, older adults have also shifted their opinions of working mothers. In 1977, 68 percent of the adults who were surveyed believed that preschool children of working mothers would suffer. Forty-two percent believed the same thing in 1998, and 35 percent believed it in 2012.

What the Survey Means for You

One of the study’s lead authors Dr. Jean M. Twenge, a psychology professor at SDSU, and lead researcher and doctoral student Kristin Donnelly point out that the data reflects how more people today are more willing than ever to accept working mothers. The study’s results also show that more Americans now support men and women holding both the same workplace and child rearing responsibilities.

For hiring personnel and anyone looking for a job, the survey results are hopeful. It means that working mothers are less likely to be discriminated against. It also opens up the possibility for improved workplace benefits for parents who juggle a job and family.

Whether or not you’re a working mother, these research results are good news for you. Talk to your human resources manager about potential changes to your benefits package as you support working mothers.

 

 

Sep 04
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Editors Column – Your Workforce and Mother Nature

By Your Employee Matters

By Don Phin, Esq., V.P. at ThinkHR

DonPhinWhen Mother Nature hits with a fury, is your company prepared to support employees with the right action right away? Whether or not your office is in a region where inclement weather is a frequent threat, having a natural disaster plan and inclement weather policy is not just smart, it’s strategic. It demonstrates that you care about the safety and well-being of your staff and their family members.

Creating a policy isn’t as difficult as one might think. There are no regulations surrounding how to handle staff during inclement weather conditions; it is simply a matter of what the company will do while ensuring wage and hour compliance.

Some companies will permit nonexempt (hourly) employees to use vacation or paid time off (PTO) balances to cover unpaid work days, while other organizations may provide pay in lieu of unpaid work days during office closure days due to inclement weather. While the latter option is less common, it is a commendable benefit offered to the employee when budget permits.

Things to consider when creating an inclement weather policy:

  • The process for determining office closure for full and partial days, such as weather alert, state of emergency notification, level of snow dropped or expected, earthquake magnitude, fire, flooding, hurricane, power outages, etc.
  • A notification system and process for effective communication to and from employees; such as a call tree, text alert, etc.
  • Determination of how the company will manage pay under federal and state wage and hour regulations to ensure employees are compensated fully during natural disasters.Overtime pay and what will be permitted.
  • Leave pay and what options an employee may have, such as using leave accrual to cover any gaps in pay.
  • Productivity, including what roles may work remotely.
  • How to properly handle situations when employees cannot safely travel to work when the office is open.
  • Consideration of how to address circumstances that may arise beyond a standard policy, for example, how to supportemployees with household needs like displacement, home repairs, child care, or medical needs.

Regardless of if your company is in an area that routinely or rarely experiences such incidents, creating and providing your employees with a policy provides an advanced notice what they may expect should a weather or natural disaster issue escalate. Creating a policy to support your workforce prior to Mother Nature’s strike provides peace of mind for both the company and workforce. Don’t fool with Mother Nature, draft your policy now for the long-term future.

Sep 04
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Sorry, But Your Boss Can’t Be Your Disability.

By Your Employee Matters

disabilityIn Michaelin Higgins-Williams V. Sutter Medical Foundation, the plaintiff made the argument that working under her supervisor, and with the HR person, caused her anxiety and stress, a disabling condition protected by California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (which is similar to the ADA). The plaintiff was hired as a clinical assistant to work as a “floater” during patient intake. For 4 years she reported to her supervisor, Norma Perry. In June 2010, she reported to her physician she was stressed because of interactions at work with human resources and her manager. She was diagnosed as having adjustment disorder with anxiety.

Based on this diagnosis, Sutter granted her twelve weeks protected leave under the CFRA and FMLA. Upon her return from that leave, she received a negative performance evaluation and other actions which once again increased her anxiety. As an accommodation, she asked for a transfer to another department and some time off. Sutter granted her the additional time off, but not the transfer request. This charade went on back and forth for several months until she was finally informed that she would not be transferred and would not be provided with additional leave. In total she had been given 5 months of additional leave beyond that required by the FMLA. Her only option was to return to work which she did not do. So she was fired.

Ms. Higgins-Williams sued, claiming a violation of disability accommodation law and retaliation. Fortunately for Sutter, and every other employer, the court ruled in the company’s favor. The court stated “An employee’s inability to work under a particular supervisor because of anxiety and stress related to the supervisor’s standard oversight of an employee’s job performance does not constitute a disability.” While we can hear a collective sigh of relief from employers, the only caveat is the language set forth indicating that the manager engaged in “standard oversight of the employee’s job performance”. The ruling may have been different, however, if the supervisor or manager was a bully, harasser, etc.

Sep 04
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Drug Use by Workers on the Rise

By Your Employee Matters

A report by Quest Diagnostics http://www.questdiagnostics.com/home/physicians/health-trends/drug-testing  should cause employers concern. Drug use by workers is up. The surprising news is it’s not just the states with legalized marijuana laws suffering an increase. States without marijuana use laws are also finding a roughly 5% rise in use. Cocaine and Methamphetamine use are also on the rise. While a lesser percentage of workers use the harder drugs, the percentage of hard drug use has increased faster than marijuana.  A broader survey, SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), mirrors the Quest findings over the general population.
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It’s not just street drug abuse going on. According to SAMSHA, prescription drugs are abused and misused more often than any other drug, except marijuana and alcohol.

What’s an employer to do?

First here are a few great government resources to consider:

SAMSHA– http://www.samhsa.gov/atod and http://www.samhsa.gov/workplace/workplace-programs
DOL Drug Free Workplace Advisor http://www.dol.gov/elaws/drugfree.htm  
National Drug-Free  Workplace Alliance– http://www.ndwa.org/  
OSHA https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/alliances/drug_free/drug_free.html 

An increasing number of businesses across the country are instituting drug-free workplace policies that include workplace drug-testing programs, for a host of reasons. Some institute the policies to comply with federal regulations, customer or contract requirements, or insurance carrier requirements. Others wish to improve safety, minimize the chance of hiring employees who may be users or abusers, deter “recreational” drug use that could lead to addiction, identify current users and abusers and refer them for assistance, or reduce the costs of alcohol and other drug abuse in the workplace. Drug testing is one way to protect the workplace from the negative effects of alcohol and other drug abuse. A drug- and alcohol-testing program can deter employees from coming to work unfit for duty.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), substance abusing employees rarely make good employees. Studies show that, compared with nonsubstance abusers, they are more likely to:

•    Change jobs frequently.
•    Be late to or absent from work.
•    Be less productive employees.
•    Be involved in a workplace accident.
•    File a workers’ compensation claim.

Workplace substance abuse can also have a serious effect on people other than the abuser. Some studies suggest that working alongside a substance abuser can reduce non-abusers’ morale and productivity. It also is common for substance abusing workers involved in workplace accidents to injure other people (rather than themselves), especially if they work in safety-sensitive industries, such as the transportation or construction industry.

SAMHSA also stated that employers who have implemented drug-free workplace programs have important experiences to share:

•    Employers with successful drug-free workplace programs report improvements in morale and productivity and decreases in absenteeism, accidents, downtime, turnover, and theft.
•    Employers with longstanding programs report better health status among, and decreased use of medical benefits by, many employees and family members.
•    Some organizations with drug-free workplace programs qualify for incentives, such as decreased costs for workers’ compensation and other kinds of insurance.
•    Employers find that employees, employee representatives, and unions often welcome drug-free workplace programs. If an employer has no program, employees may wonder why

Sep 04
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Another State Supreme Court Upholds Termination of Employee for Using Medical Marijuana

By Your Employee Matters

By Rick Montgomery, JD, Managing Legal Editor for ThinkHR Corporationmedical-marijuana-and-vaporizers

Every once in a while employers catch a break. In the Colorado Supreme Court case of  Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 2015 CO 44 (2015), the court unanimously ruled that an employer could lawfully terminate an employee who tested positive for marijuana in a random drug test, even though the employee’s use of marijuana was off-duty and prescribed under Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Amendment. With the Coats decision, the Colorado Supreme Court joined courts from California, Montana, Oregon, and Washington which have upheld an employer’s right to hire, discipline, or terminate an employee for marijuana use, even if the employee’s use is accordance with the state’s medical marijuana law.

Here, Brandon Coats (Coats) was an employee of Dish Network who was a quadriplegic suffering from debilitating muscle spasms. Coats had a valid medical marijuana prescription which he used to help control the muscle spasms. Dish Network terminated Coats after a positive drug test for marijuana, even though he was never under the influence of the drug on company premises. Coats sued Dish Network alleging wrongful termination under Colorado’s “lawful activities statute” (Colo. Rev. Stat. §24-34-402.5), which prohibits employers from terminating employees for lawful off-the-clock behavior. The Colorado trial court dismissed the case, ruling that the employer had acted lawfully. In a split decision, the Court of Appeals agreed, reasoning that the employment termination was lawful because marijuana use is illegal under federal law and could not be considered “lawful activity” under Colorado’s “lawful activity statute,” even though it is explicitly legal under the state’s medical marijuana law.

In a unanimous decision, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal. The court reasoned that while Coats’ use of medical marijuana was lawful under Colorado’s medical marijuana law, marijuana is a “Schedule 1 substance” under the federal Controlled Substances Act and its use, even for medicinal purposes, is a federal criminal offense. As a result, Coats’ use of medical marijuana was not “lawful” and he was not protected from termination because of his use of medical marijuana.
Employers should note the decision in Coats. Almost half the states have laws that permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes. These states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. As many have been enacted rather recently, case law in this area is still developing.

Before taking adverse action against an employee who uses medical marijuana, employers should review the medical marijuana law of the state in which the employee is located. Most of the state medical marijuana laws explicitly prohibit the use of marijuana in the workplace and/or provide that employers need not accommodate any form of marijuana use in the workplace. However, a handful of state medical marijuana laws contain antidiscrimination or reasonable accommodation provisions directed at employers (Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, and New York).

ThinkHR will continue to monitor developments in this area.

Sep 04
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4 tips to make content marketing part of the customer journey

By Other

MicrosoftBlog-150826
More and more businesses are realizing that content marketing is a necessary means of communicating with customers. But it’s hard to know what effect content marketing has on the bottom line. To make sure you’re posting the most effective content, make sure it serves a purpose for the customers—giving them relevant information that they need—to keep them coming back to your business.

It’s a never-ending cycle. Miss a beat, and customers may bail. But Jason Miller—the Senior Manager of Content Marketing at LinkedIn, author of Welcome to the Funnel, and a well known thought leader on content marketing—recently shared his content marketing tips with Microsoft for Work. Every business can apply these four tactics right now to see more results from their efforts.

1. “Don’t complicate this stuff.” 

Miller says. “The first thing you want to do is create content that answers your customers’ questions. As professor and author Ann Handley says, ‘Pathologically empathize with your customers.’ Put yourself in their shoes. Our job as marketers is to answer tough questions for our prospects and do it better than anyone else.”
You know your product or service better than anyone else, which means you should be able to explain the benefits to prospective customers better than anyone else. Always keep in mind their needs and approach your products with that in mind.

2. Make content relevant. 

“We don’t need more content,” Miller says, “We need more relevant content. Is what we write going to answer a question? Is there a need for the content we’re writing? Is it going to drive an action or result? Does it hold the customer’s hand on the journey?”

Anyone can write a blog or social media post, but to meet the needs of your customers, that blog or social post needs to give them information they can use. The content of your posts is the key to successful content marketing. Make sure each post is addressing a question your customers have or might have in the future, or helps them overcome a challenge they’re experiencing. Content is more important than quantity.

3. Budget for content marketing. 

“If you don’t have a budget for content marketing in 2015,” Miller says, “you’re missing out on opportunities. If you don’t have a department dedicated to content marketing, you can reach out to an agency for help.”

Content marketing is a powerful tool. So powerful that Miller thinks every company should budget specifically for it. Whether that budget takes the form of someone on the marketing team writing posts on a regular basis or hiring an advertising firm to create content makes no difference, as long as relevant posts are being created and are accessible to customers.

4. Start a blog. 

When asked to identify the one thing a business could do right now to experiment with content marketing, Miller says, “Start with a blog. The original piece of social media. It’s not sexy, but if it has good info and answers relevant topics, that’s great. Then, as that content is indexed by search engines over the course of time, it starts to pay off as the blog shows up in searches. If you write a blog today, you could make an impact within hours. One blog post, one idea, then keep going.”

The blog is the social media rug that ties the room together.

Miller paraphrases The Big Lebowski when he says, “the blog is the social media rug that ties the room together.” By which he means that the blog is the primary location for prospects to find content from your company. If the blog serves a purpose for customers, it’s very likely they will read it, learn more about your company and, hopefully, take the next step.

What are your experiences with content marketing? What blogs have you found particularly useful? Let us know on Facebook orTwitter.

Sep 04
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Word of Mouth: 4 tips to harnessing the power of customers in the digital age

By Other

MicrosoftBlog-150819-1

By Steve Strauss, senior USA TODAY Small Business Columnist

My dad always called himself “the world’s greatest salesman.” Was he? No, probably not.
But what I can say is that he was one of the great marketers.

He started out in the ’60s as an ad man (like a character on Mad Men in the good ways, not the bad) and then opened a small carpet store with a partner. They grew that single store into one of the biggest chains in California at the time. In the end, Dad didn’t like running such a large business, so he sold his share to his partner. He started over and created a giant carpet warehouse that was, again, super-successful. As I said, he was a heck of a marketer.  MicrosoftBlog-150819-2  
One surprising feature of that carpet store was a banner you saw when you sauntered inside: “Our word of mouth advertising starts with you!”
Steve Strauss,senior USA TODAY Small Business Columnist 		  

After all those years – through all the TV ads, Sunday inserts, parking lot sales, grand openings, the whole enchilada—his essential marketing takeaway was that nothing beats word of mouth dvertising. Having someone tell a friend or neighbor about her positive experience with your business can’t be beat. It’s marketing gold.

It is as true today as it was back then-actually more so. Today we live in a world where sharing what you think about a business is almost de rigueur; the difference is that now we’re sharing our opinions online. With access to Yelp, blogs, comments, Twitter, Facebook – what have you – it is easier than ever to spread the word (both good and bad) about a business. So customers are no longer sharing an opinion with one other person but with 1 thousand – or 10 thousand.

Maybe word of mouth isn’t the right term anymore; word of click seems more apt.

   MicrosoftBlog-150819-3  
  Steve Strauss’s father at Carpet World in California  

What do you do before you buy something or go to a new business these days? Of course, you do a search. What have other people said about this business, about this product? What’s the overall tone of the reviews? Why is the average rating so low?

In the social era, how do you get people to share their positive opinions of your business? Let’s make no mistake: in this hyperconnected, 24/7, digital world, online comments and reviews can make or break a business. So how can you get word of click?

Here are a few methods that work:

1. Be great. You will notice that I didn’t say, “be good.” When it is just so easy now for someone to share his or her take, being good isn’t good enough. If you want a customer to write a four-star review about your business, you have to offer a four-star product. You need to go the extra mile. What gets a consumer’s attention is when he or she has some sort of exceptional experience – either positive or negative – with your business.
2. Offer great customer service. Along the same lines, if you really work to make your customers happy, you will. “We give great customer service” has to be more than a motivational message that hangs on a slightly off-kilter poster in the break room.  
3. Make it personal. People like doing business with other people (not a faceless corporate entity), and they’re apt to share their positive experiences online when those experiences involve working with someone they like. To the extent it is possible in your line of business, endeavor to do make every experience a personal one.  
4. Ask. I have a colleague who has amassed more than 100 reviews (almost all good) for his book. That’s a lot. When I asked him how he got so many, he said, “I ask for them. In my e-newsletter, on my site, and in my email correspondence I say, ‘If you have read my book, I sure would appreciate a review.’ And then I give them a link.” That’s a strategy that can work for any of us. Ask, like I am now: if you like this article, please share it via your social media. Thank you!  

Dad really was on to something. Cultivating word of mouth – or word of click – may well be the best thing you can do to grow your business, and it’s a tactic any company of any size in any industry can embrace.

Sep 04
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How Social Media is Changing the Way We Do Customer Service

By Other

MicrosoftBlog-150812Technology has advanced the speed and scale at which consumers can communicate about their brand interactions. As a result, businesses have had to determine how to respond to customers on a personal level in what is now a very public, digital space.

If a person had a poor customer experience at a restaurant a few years ago, they may have warned friends not to eat there or written down their complaints on a comment card. Today many people feel comfortable venting their frustrations to an exponentially larger, public audience: the entire Internet. Many companies are still struggling to identify which grievances necessitate a personal reply, which ones can be left alone, and which complaints require escalation and/or a security response.

We reached out to our Microsoft privacy experts again this week to ask how companies should approach online customer feedback, especially where privacy and security are concerned. In an interview with Microsoft for Work, Marisa Rogers, Global Sales and Marketing Privacy Manager, and Kristi Berry, Senior Privacy Manager weighed in on the issue.

MS4Work: How has privacy changed in the world of digital and social media?

Berry: This is a huge question. Things have changed a lot because of evolving industry trends and evolving attitudes towards technology and social media. In general, people are much more comfortable with these types of data collection and comfortable with this social, digital world. They are more aware and paying much more attention to what’s going on. For us that makes it more and more important to provide the right levels of controls for the customer to manage their privacy.

MS4Work: When customers voice a complaint via social media, they can’t hide. Their name is attached to the comment. Can that ever backfire?

Rogers: There were recent news reports of a man who was boarding a Southwest flight and tweeted about his bad customer service experience with the gate agent real-time. He included the agent’s first name and the gate location where he boarded his plane. It caused him to be removed from the plane and to be interviewed by security officials before he was allowed to go on the flight. Certainly in the public space, people are increasingly using social media to comment both positively and negatively on customer service.

Now, in this particular case, [there was] heightened sensitivity because it had to do with a situation in an airport where someone was complaining about a bad experience. Companies will need to carefully consider how they respond to make sure the response is proportionate to the complaint. There are many examples of companies responding to feedback on social media that are both good and bad.

MS4Work: How can business owners differentiate between comments that necessitate an urgent response and those that can be left alone?

Rogers: In the first place, you have to be prepared to receive the complaints. You should have a plan of action on how you want to address questions or comments that are neutral-to-negative to your business. This may include having some standard answers ready to go and thinking about how to diffuse difficult situations through social media. Remember you can take it offline if it’s more appropriate to address the person’s specific issue.

To learn more about Microsoft’s privacy policies and best practices for your business, visit our Trustworthy Computing site.

Sep 04
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Customer service, technology, collaboration, and agility set to explode in 2015

By Other

MicrosoftBlog-150805This recent infographic examined some of the megatrends on the minds of enterprise leaders. Many of these trends are indicative of larger shifts affecting business at every level, from the small organization to the largest enterprise. We wanted to take a closer look at some of these stats and their implications on businesses—including yours.

The stat: 79% of C-level executives believe they make better and faster tech decisions than IT

The challenge: Across departments, organizations are transforming into a digital business. We’ve already seen the strengthening of CIO and CMO partnerships, which is playing into the fact that 27% of tech budgets are now controlled by departments other than IT. Technology is no longer the sole domain of IT. In fact, a CEO’s digital savvy is the best indicator of business performance. And while this shift to digital makes it more important than ever for decision makers to have a tech-savvy background, it also requires more tact on the part of all leaders to work together. By respecting the domain of IT and their understanding of how technology can benefit business, executives can avoid creating unnecessary tension.

The stat: 70% of CIOs would increase risk to reduce IT costs and accelerate business agility

The challenge: Businesses are realizing that not taking risks is riskier than taking them. For example, in the realm of IT, not considering a cloud solution is riskier for business. The cloud reduces costs and helps streamline business processes by allowing employees to While CIOs want to respond to the ongoing need for efficiency and growth, they are also facing the challenge of harnessing the power of new technologies to aid business mobility and efficiency. Building their digital prowess and leadership skills is key to ensuring they get out ahead of the competition and make the most of technology before competition forces them to play the catchup game.

The stat: 60% of CXOs now look to partners who will have an equal hand in creating business value

The challenge: Decision makers are looking for ways to break down silos and form cross-departmental partnerships within their organizations. By looking at colleagues as allies, employees enable the business to think in new ways, bringing about innovation that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. But CXOs are also finding creative ways to partner with small businesses and startups for their unique sets of resources. External partnerships allow a business to outsource work that’s outside their expertise and focus on bottom-line-impacting projects.

The stat: Three-quarters of decision makers’ top priority is enhancing the customer experience

The challenge: Businesses are moving away from a make/sell business model and rapidly realizing the importance of a sense/respond business model as the expectation for personal, individualized service grows. Customers are the ones that can drive business forward—or into the ground. And the data proves it: outperforming enterprises are 54% more likely to collaborate extensively with their customers. That’s why 7 out of 10 CXOs believe social and digital interactions are the new imperative. Satisfied customers are a top priority for CEOs, in particular. As a whole, businesses need to become more responsive to their customers, taking organizations from being customer-centric to customer-activated.

Do these stats reflect trends you’ve noticed in your own company? Or are your experiences different? Let us know on Facebook orTwitter.

Insights based on Microsoft analysis of third-party research.

Sep 04
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Prevent Workplace Injuries with Regular Site Inspections

By Construction Insurance Bulletin

Construction%20injuryConstruction injuries seem to occur even when the most rigorous safety protocols and policies are developed. One reason is that these policies, while adequately thought out and defined, are not adequately followed or implemented. This results in a worksite environment that can be potentially hazardous to both construction workers and to anyone else who enters it. However, construction supervisors and owners can resolve these safety issues fairly easily by simply making time to conduct more frequent site inspections.

Most Common Construction Hazards

Some of the most common construction safety hazards can easily be identified during a site inspection. Some of these hazards include worn equipment that can fail, tools that are left out of place and pose a tripping hazard and unsafe actions by workers. There are many other hazards that are specific to the industry in which a construction project works, such as chemical storage and usage as well as security measures to prevent unauthorized access to eh construction area.

Conducting an Inspection

Conducting a thorough site safety inspection starts by identifying a regular time and interval to conduct the inspection. Ideally, a site inspection should occur at least once per week if time allows. Inspections are best performed during work hours to identify improper worker actions as well as other safety hazards. However, many construction supervisors may find it beneficial to alternate the times of the inspections so that they can observe different work crews or inspect equipment more thoroughly when it is not in use. Be sure to inspect any storage areas and parking areas as well as the primary construction zone and tools.

Get Employees Engaged in Inspections

Ideally, construction owners should engage their workers in performing their own safety inspections on a daily basis. This includes identifying and reporting any safety issues, deficient equipment or other hazards. Management should make it as easy as possible for workers to report these safety issues. In most cases, direct reporting to a supervisor is effective as is the use of comment boxes that allow workers to drop a note in at any time.

 

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