SHRM-Atlanta

Please join us tomorrow, Tuesday, July 19, for the SHRM-Atlanta Buckhead GEM Meeting at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.  Enjoy some great networking, and learn “21st Century Social Contracts: How Much Discretionary Effort Can Your Leadership Team Earn?”  Plus, you can earn 1 HRCI credit hour!

Registration will close at 8am on Tuesday morning so register today!

Topic Details:
In prior decades, a social contract existed between management and employees, who understood: “Punch the clock every day and we’ll take care of you. You’ll have a weekly income, insurance, a paid vacation, and a generous pension.”  The competitive, chaotic global marketplace and increased technology, coupled with economic downturns, abolished that social contract forever.  What does the new 21st century social contract look like? How much discretionary effort can you expect employees to give? What will employers have to do to earn that discretionary effort?  Come join us for this exciting session!

Speaker: Karla Branda, CEO, Workplace Power Institute

Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 (11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.)

Location:
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
3285 Peachtree Road, NE
Embassy Suites Buckhead
Atlanta, GA 30305

Agenda:
11:00 a.m. – Networking/Announcements/Lunch
11:40 a.m. – Speaker Presentation

Registration: Click This Link!

Please join us on Tuesday, May 17 for the SHRM-Atlanta Buckhead GEM Meeting, sponsored by Saint Leo University, at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.  Enjoy some great networking, and learn “The Top 10 Wage Payment Mistakes That Companies Make … That Create Huge $$$ Legal Exposure!”  Plus, you can earn 1 general HRCI credit!

Topic Details:
Employers continue to face an epidemic of lawsuits concerning wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  This session will provide an update on the DOL’s rigorous enforcement plan and audit strategy.  Attendees will obtain practical advice in key areas aimed at decreasing potential wage payment liabilities, including: exempt/non-exempt determinations; classifying workers as independent contractors; when deductions may be taken from exempt employees; reducing “off-the-clock” exposure; how to handle pay issues regarding travel time, on call time, training time, etc.  Don’t miss this informative session!

Speakers:  Lauren Zeldin & Greg Hare of Ogletree Deakins Law Firm

This meeting is part of our legislative community.  Our communities come together with the purpose of discussing various areas of specialty in and around HR.  Communities are woven into all of our programming at GEMs, Chapter Meetings and Conferences.  Download our roadmap of learning to see where each community will be featured throughout 2011.

Date of the Buckhead GEM: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 | 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Location:  Ruth’s Chris Steak House | 3285 Peachtree Road, NE | Embassy Suites Buckhead | Atlanta, GA 30305

Agenda:
11:00 a.m. – Networking/Announcements/Lunch
11:40 a.m. – Speaker Presentation

Registration: Click This Link!

If you haven’t already, you can join the Buckhead subgroup or the legislative community within the SHRM-Atlanta LinkedIn group.

Could it be that your organization is prevented from moving forward because of a lack of communication? If so, could it be that the lack of communication is born out of a desire to respect authority? Like many young Americans, I was taught that we are to respect those in authority. I still believe this. However, I now know “showing respect” doesn’t mean I idly keep silent and allow someone to blindly fail. For example, take the 1982 Air Florida plane crash outside Washington, DC.

The cold January crash provides a poignant illustration of how the errors of teamwork and communication can have devastating results. On takeoff, the 737 came down directly on top of the 14th Street Bridge, crushing four cars and killing 5 people. Of the 79 people on board, only four passengers and one Flight Attendant were pulled alive from the frigid waters of the Potomac River. These are the horrid facts, but why did this accident happen?

There are very few tragedies that grab our attention like plane crashes. Thankfully, commercial airline crashes are rare occurrences. Yet, when they happen they are unforgettable. “The kinds of errors that cause plane crashes are invariably errors of teamwork and communication,” writes Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers.  He continues, “One pilot knows something important and somehow doesn’t tell the other pilot.”This is what happened with the Air Florida crash.

The primary error Gladwell points out with the Air Florida crash revolves around “mitigated speech,” which, “refers to any attempt to downplay or sugarcoat the meaning of what is being said.”  Mitigated speech is communication that lacks confidence and authority. Mitigated speech is weak talk. Mitigated speech is talk that hints. Mitigated speech, regardless of the magnitude of the situation, is an attempt to communicate without a sense of urgency. Mitigated speech is deficient in clarity. Consider these examples of mitigated speech.

A mother may say to her toddler, “I would like for you to get out of the car.” This is mitigated speech because it is only a hint to the child to get out of the car. The child could understand the statement to be nothing more than a suggestion. Unmitigated speech would be, “Lydia, get out of the car right now!”  In the latter statement, there is no doubt what the mother is communicating to Lydia.

A basketball coach may send in a player with 35 seconds to go in the game. He could say, “Jay, if Reynolds gets the ball it might be a good idea to foul him.” That would be mitigated speech.  Jay, could reason that he doesn’t want to get charged with a foul and so let Reynolds move up the court unabated. The coach would have a far greater chance of getting his desired results if he was clear in his directive: “Jay, as soon as Reynolds touches that ball foul him and send him to the foul line.”

In the Air Florida crash the First Officer knew that the plane had a dangerous amount of ice on the wings. Four times, the First Officer spoke to the Captain about the danger. Yet, all four times, he used mitigated speech. Listen to the four statements:

“‘Look how the ice is just hanging on his, ah, back there, see that?”

“See all those icicles on the back there and everything?”

“Boy, this is a, this is a losing battle here on trying to de-ice those things, it [gives] you a false feeling of security, that’s all it does.”

Finally, after being cleared for takeoff, the First Officer gives his fourth statement: “Let’s check those [wing] tops again, since we’ve been sitting here a while.”

Sadly, the last words the First Officer says before the plane plummets into the river is “Larry, we’re going down, Larry.”

In researching this accident, and other airline tragedies, Gladwell makes a startling assertion. “Crashes have been far more likely to happen when the captain is in the flying seat.” He continues, “Planes are safer when the least experienced pilot is flying.”  Why would he make such a claim? “Because,” he writes, “it means the second pilot isn’t going to be afraid to speak up.” If the roles would have been reversed in the Air Florida cockpit, the Captain wouldn’t have hesitated to demand that the plane stay on the ground. Yet, because of the respect for the Captain’s authority and experience, the First Officer was reluctant to forcefully communicate his concerns. That reluctance cost 79 people their lives.

While they may not get the attention of a plane crash, the errors of teamwork and communication in our teams can have devastating effects on our success as organizations. In organizations, it is critical that co-workers, fellow board members and teammates exhibit mutual respect and trust. Yet, respect and trust cannot lull us into spineless silence or mitigated communication. Rather, the reverse is true. Mature respect and genuine trust opens the door to honest communication. Organizations improve by listening to the ideas and concerns of everyone on the team.

While the results of mitigated speech in one organization may not lead to the loss of lives, the losses can matter. An unwillingness to speak-up could be the difference between a vital employee staying or leaving to work for a competitor. A reluctance to share insight could lead to losing a key client. Sharing an idea via a hint, instead of a confident assertion, could lead to a missed opportunity for growth.

In our employee benefits firm the Account Managers–also known as Benefit Specialists—are the primary guardians of the relationship with our clients. They are charged with serving as the trusted advisor for the client, assisting them in making the best possible decisions with their benefits package. However, working in tandem with the Account Manager is a team of support staff serving as liaisons with insurance carriers, resolving the claim and billing issues of the client’s employees, and implementing technology solutions. This support team is encouraged to share their ideas on any way to improve processes and strengthen relationships. We know they have unique perspectives that only those in their position can see. Our success often depends on their willingness to boldly disclose their ideas and observations.

This type of open and bold communication can only take place in environments where trust and honest listening is valued. Our company President, Account Managers and COO encourage our team members to speak up. We welcome new ideas and innovation.

The Air Florida crash was a tragic event that led to critical changes in the training of pilots. Today, the First Officer is more likely to leap over mitigated speech and say something more like, “Larry, stop. We can’t fly with this much ice on the wings. Tell the ATC we can’t go.” The lessons have been learned in aviation; may they also be learned in your organization.

IDEAS FOR TEAM BUILDING DISCUSSION:

1. Introduce the discussion by asking the question, “If you were to get on a commercial airplane today and were given the option of having the most experienced or the least experienced pilot flying the plane, which would you choose?
2. Share the story of the Air Florida crash.
3. Team Leaders share commitment to provide an organizational atmosphere that welcomes innovation and constructive conflict.
4. To help the team understand “mitigated speech” ask them to share examples—real or imaginary—of mitigated speech outside of the team, (home, among friends, government, sports, etc.).
5. Ask team members to share examples, from the past, of when they should have exhibited more boldness and clarity in their communication on the team. Have them answer the questions, “Why didn’t you speak up?” “How should you have communicated your message?”
6. Finally, ask, “For the good of the team and our success as an organization, what should you communicate now?”

.

This post provide guest blogger Jack W. Bruce, Jr., PHR.  Jack as Chief Operating Officer at BIS Benefits, (Alpharetta, GA), provides general oversight in Finance, HR, Operations, Team Building & Strategic Management for this employee benefits firm. His role is to continually lead the firm by proactively enhancing the service, communications, human resource assistance, and technology for the benefit of their clients. Jack has earned a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) designation and serves as VP of GEMs for SHRM-Atlanta. You can connect with Jack on Twitter (@jackwbruce) & on LinkedIn or follow his blog, Jack in the Team Box.

I never had the aspiration to be a parking attendant, yet I do want to be more like a fictitious parking attendant I was introduced to recently. I shared his story with our staff.

I am responsible for leading the staff meetings at our office.  A short time ago I turned to YouTube for the short film, Validation, to begin one of our monthly meetings. This 16 minute film is about a parking attendant who goes well beyond validating parking tickets—he validates the individual. This fable accurately tells the story of how our encouraging words can not only brighten someone’s day, but change their life.

The day after I showed the film to our staff, one of our employees shared with me how she had successfully applied the lesson learned with her daughter.  I, too, have found myself thinking about the value of an encouraging word. Yet, I’m not a natural encourager. I think one my gifts is seeing what needs to be fixed and trying to find a solution to fix it. I find it much easier to notice what is wrong, not what is right.

However, if I am completely honest, I would admit that I have been thinking about how important it is to me that I receive words of encouragement. I think we are all this way.  Sure, personality test will reveal that some of us are motivated more, than others, by encouraging words. Yet, all of us need encouragement. We want affirmation. We want to know that others value us. We want to be validated.

Validation can come from many sources such as a grade on a test, a new client, increased profit or revenue, the highest score, a second date, or the championship ring. Yet, for most of us the most meaningful validations come in the form of words from those who matter the most to us.  We want to be validated by parents—and our children. We want to hear our boss validate our efforts on the job. We want to receive validation from coworkers.  We crave the affirming validation from our spouse.

Our Creator created us with the need for validation. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing,” I Thessalonians 5:11). Taking the time to validate someone is the one of the most meaningful gifts we can give.

The gift of validation, however, needs to be genuine. I once worked with someone who was extremely genuine with correction, but fake when he offered encouragement. Often, he would say something encouraging in order to pave the way for the correction he wanted to give. His affirmations began to sound more and more hollow—they lost their punch. In order for validation to be genuine it must be real and offered with no hidden agenda.

As for me, I am now making a new effort to notice the good in those around me—and then affirm the good by sharing genuine words of affirmation. As for you, I hope you will validate this blog by joining me in affirming those who cross our paths and work in our organizations.

This post provide guest blogger Jack W. Bruce, Jr., PHR is C.O.O. for BIS Benefits and serves as VP of GEMs for SHRM-Atlanta. You can connect with Jack on Twitter (@jackwbruce) & on LinkedIn.

Please join us next week, on March 15, for the SHRM-Atlanta Buckhead GEM Meeting at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.  Enjoy some great networking, and learn “What Employers Should Know About the EEOC.”  Plus, you can earn 1 HRCI credit hour!

Topic Details: The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of that person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. In promoting equal employment opportunity in the workplace, and through its investigative and litigation efforts, the EEOC strives to eradicate all forms of employment discrimination.   With the advent of new laws, regulations, recent court decisions, and nationwide initiatives, it is important that employers understand the EEOC’s mission, enforcement mechanisms, and its objectives for the future.

Speaker: James Cerwinski, EEOC Trial Attorney
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 (11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.)

Location:
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
3285 Peachtree Road, NE
Embassy Suites Buckhead
Atlanta, GA 30305

Agenda:
11:00 a.m. – Networking/Announcements/Lunch
11:40 a.m. – Speaker Presentation

Registration: Click This Link!

Did you know it might be advantageous for those of us in Human Resources to occasionally be in a bad mood? This is a conclusion I came to shortly after reading The Emotionally Intelligent Manager by David R. Caruso & Peter Salovey.  Negative moods, I discovered, can be productive—particularly for those who are engaged in deductive reasoning problems, such as checking financial statements for errors or developing HR policies for our organizations. Positive moods, they contend, are more helpful for inductive problem solving where generating new and interesting ideas is needed. According to this line of thought it would be best to be in a positive mood if you are working on a new plan to reward employees and to be in a negative mood if you are reviewing the newly developed plan.

This is just one of the practical nuggets about emotions Caruso & Salovey share in their book. They build the book around four emotional skills:

1.    Read People: Identifying Emotions
2.    Get in the Mood: Using Emotions
3.    Predict the Emotional Future: Understanding Emotions
4.    Do It with Feeling: Managing Emotions

One of the recurring themes throughout the book is the difference between “emotions” and “moods.” Moods, in the simplest definition, are “emotions” that last a long time.  Bad moods tend to have a negative impact on us, such as breaking down our resistance to temptation, moving us toward aggression and leading us toward increased procrastination. However, a sad mood can also help us formulate better-quality persuasive messages and arguments and assist us with detail-type work such as compiling a financial report.

Happy moods can be very productive because they can result in more creative solutions, thinking outside the box and the generation of new ideas. Furthermore, people with positive moods tend to be able to focus on the possibilities and see the big picture. A downside of happy moods, however, is that they often result in a greater number of problem-solving errors. This is one reason why negative moods or sadness can be good for an organization at the right time. Caruso and Salovey illustrate this by suggesting if a group is about to “seal the deal” that the group’s leader intentionally bring the mood of the group down a notch or two so that the group will be more apt to honestly consider the details and implications of the deal that may have been ignored during an upbeat brainstorming session.

In HR we are constantly dealing with people—it is Human Resources. Therefore, how we manage our emotions during our interactions will often dictate our success or failure. However, contrary to what many may believe about emotional intelligence, (EQ), it is not void of anger and the expression of emotion. While they state that displays of emotions, even positive emotions like joy, are often considered to be unprofessional, emotions are natural, normal, healthy and required for effective leadership.  EQ is the ability to feel, recognize and manage emotions. Caruso & Salovey do, however, put some distance between emotions and moods.

“Acting with our emotions is usually the smart choice,” they write, “acting out with our moods isn’t usually a good idea.” They contend that managers must learn to manage their emotions and help to manage the emotions of others. Using Franklin Roosevelt’s statement, “It is necessary for the President to be the nation’s number one actor,” they assert that the emotionally intelligent manager must display some acting skills in order to direct, guide and influence the direction of others. The manager, in these instances, learns how to re-create the emotions necessary for the moment. She also learns how to “put sadness aside” and move forward in leadership by getting in the right mood.

Additional antidotes for the lack of EQ include writing about our emotions and regular exercise.

Emotions, either happy or sad, are not necessarily good or bad; there are appropriate times for both. The key is to recognize our emotion, be honest with ourself and others and learn to manage our emotions.

This post provide guest blogger Jack W. Bruce, Jr., PHR is C.O.O. for BIS Benefits and serves as VP of GEMs for SHRM-Atlanta. You can connect with Jack on Twitter (@jackwbruce) & on LinkedIn.

Some of you may have heard that the PEGs (Professional Emphasis Groups) were changing.  However, what you may not have heard but wondered was what happened to the PEGs after the beginning of the year.  The truth is the PEGs have been re-designed and these changes are the result of six months of hard work on the part of our Committee members, Chairs, Meeting Expectations staff, and Executive Leadership.  Ultimately, the program is much richer and will be a part of the larger “Road Map” to be delivered to our members early next month.  This “Road Map” will provide an outline for the year in support of all our members to follow as they create their individual development plans for 2011.

The name for the PEGs has changed.  The new name is now called “Communities”.  Instead of just focusing on providing our members with quality meetings in conjunction with the chapter meetings, the groups will still focus on quality but will now focus on building communities for each specialty in ways that meet the changing needs of our members.

Another major difference is in the number of meetings.  Previously, the PEGs/Communities were meeting prior to the chapter meetings.   Unfortunately, this meant that only four communities could meet before each chapter meeting, which ultimately meant that each one would only be able to provide programming for the membership on an average of 3-4 times per year.  Our communities had so much more to offer the chapter.  Although they will still have the occasional opportunity to meet and provide programs before some of our chapter meetings in the future, they will now partner with the GEMs (Geographic Emphasis Meetings) to provide specific programming all across the city.  In addition, the Communities will offer webinars, blogging about changes in each of their areas and offering networking events just to name a few.  Our world has changed with regards to the amount of things that are pulling our members in many different directions.  Therefore, we are changing the way we do things in order to assist our members in keeping up with the world around us and we are doing it in ways that better meet their needs for flexibility and the use of technology.  In fact, all of our communities will be taking on a larger role as we weave their programming throughout everything we do as a chapter.

We currently have six communities including Global, Legislative, Total Rewards, Employee Relations, Recruiting Practices, and OD and Training.  Later this year, you will see the newest Community (Business Acumen) make its’ debut!   Lisa Stephens of ELI Inc. and Chris Collier of Southern Co., are the CO-VP’s of the Communities and are  working hard to bring you these changes and a whole lot more.

Stay tuned for new updates being rolled out over the coming weeks and months.  In the meantime, please visit our Communities webpage for more detailed information on each of our Communities.

Update provided by:

Patricia Kellner, MS HRM, SPHR | EVP of Programming for SHRM-Atlanta
Hooters of America, LLC | Director of Human Resources