HRA | We Know People

While economic uncertainty may tempt some organizations to retreat from human resource initiatives, our clients know that sound people management is even more important in these times, when it is essential that everyone contributes to the ongoing success of the organization. Those who will succeed when better times return are those who are positioned well now, and that means strong, sound management practices for all your assets, including your people. If you couldn't afford a costly error in good times, how much more important is it to follow sound business and people management practices when markets are tighter and more competitive. This month, we bring you articles on sound compensation, accommodation and computing practices.

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Safe Computing Practices = Saving Time and Money

By Michael Cunningham

laptop

It's late at night, you are finishing up a letter for a client and it happens. Your computer freezes up, refuses to let you do anything, or gives you the "blue screen of death" that makes every computer owner's blood run cold. You've had a crash.

How long it takes to recover your electronic documents, letters, billing information, and client data -- or whether it is even possible to recover this information -- depends upon whether you follow safe computing practices.

Data retention is one of those topics that only becomes important when it is too late. Yet, data retention is a vital aspect of computing. Backing up your data should be as important as virus protection. (Please don’t tell me you don’t have virus protection, or that you conduct telework without a firewall! Well, okay, you can tell me, but then we need to take immediate steps to get appropriate protection in place.)

While data retention can refer to many things including document storage (such as filing cabinets) and physical paper file destroy dates, this article considers protecting digital files, including email.

Data loss can arise from dramatic circumstances such as a fire destroying your office, or something more mundane like an employee accidently deleting the files. Indeed, without a proper retention process in place, an aging computer is a time bomb that will take your data with it. In fact, your computer need not be old to be at risk of failure. (One of my colleagues recently experienced a computer crash on a two month old laptop, and lost all her vacation photos).

What are the implications of your computer’s hard drive failing? It depends. If your organization has a back up process in place, a hard drive failure is most likely just an inconvenience. However if you do not have a file server, or a backup system, most likely you have lost all your data: months, or even years of financial information, client files and correspondence.

Data loss can be caused by:

human error such as accidentally deleting a file, or
a virus affecting the boot record of a computer causing the computer not to start or turn on; or
a hardware failure, such as where a connection breaks or a motherboard burns out.

What would it mean to your organization to lose the documents and spreadsheets, maybe clients files/orders and the emails were stored on that computer? How many hours, or days of lost productivity would be involved?

While some small organizations are running file servers, and perhaps even an email server, these are the exception. Many small organizations run stand alone computers, sharing an internet connection and a printer or two. They may have a shared drive that is hosted on a workstation. The documents and electronic files created in the computer are not the only items vulnerable in such a set up: email can also be lost in a system crash.

Many small organizations have their email set up as pop3 connection (the same as your home computer) which means that the computer removes the email from your service provider and downloads it to the computer. Pop3 connections are great for home use, however for organizations it means email only resides in the computer. If the computer dies, so does the email.

So what can small offices do to protect themselves and their clients from data loss? I have observed that most small organizations are backing up their financial data on a regular basis, but not other forms of data. Most will initially try to backup all their data but don't do so consistently. For example, many businesses have a plan requiring an office assistant to back up (or copy) a computer’s data to a portable hard drive or DVD/CD on Fridays. However, in practice, when people get busy, the backup doesn’t happen and when I get called in to help, we discover that it has been months since it was last done.

The solution doesn’t need to cost a lot. Data retention can be as simple as a backup data to a CD, or to a magnetic tape backup of a file server. The key is to ensure that the back up practice is consistent and data is stored in a safe place (preferably not on the premises, in case of fire or vandalism).

At HRA, we currently run a file and email server, this means that all files and emails are being stored on one machine. Every night we have an automated process run that backs up (copies) of all our data to a different magnetic tape each night. This allows us to store the tapes off site and we are able to go back and retrieve data if needed. In the unlikely event of a fire, or any other major disaster we can be back up and running with full data in a matter of hours.

Our solution may not be the right fit for smaller organizations. (Although I believe the investment in the software and hardware pays for itself.) There are some great solutions on the market suited for all budgets. The options include portable hard drives, DVD’s, or magnetic tape storage devices or service providers that offer hosted solutions. I'm happy to advise clients on solutions for their office needs; it's a lot easier than helping them when their system has crashed and they have no backup.

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Retention Now?!

Light No Time Like The Present
By Constance Robinson

What a difference a few months make. Last summer, the media was running stories about employers desperate for workers; now there are stories of workers desperate for jobs. Given the swing in labour supply fortunes, concerns regarding employee retention may have moved off the priority list. However, the underlying demographic fact of aging Boomers is not going away -- the economic downturn is merely offering employers a temporary respite from the 'war for talent'.

Rather than waiting for the labour supply to be pinched again, now is the time for employers to consider their retention practices.

Get it right from the start

Orientation
Training & Development
Engagement
Labour Supports
Compensation

Maintain your High Standards: When the going gets tough, you need to stay strong. Hiring people you know you really don't want isn't doing anyone any favors:

It means more work for you managing them;
It means more work for your good employees; and
It may drive away good employees, or sour them.

Avoid binge hiring
Binge hiring or mass hirings is an expensive, inefficient means of selecting your employees. Hiring a bunch of people you don’t expect to succeed is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophesy. You will treat them that way, and they'll sense it. Furthermore, the ones who stay with you may be the ones no one else would hire away. This is not the workforce you want .

Instead, you want to accelerate the screening process, by helping employees self-screen. This is one of the tactics the Disney properties use. Before employees even fill out the application form, they are shown a video of what it is to be a member of the Disney team, the dress code, the service expectations, and the work to be done – a lot of people end up not filling out the application form – but those who do are making a declaration that they know and understand the basics of what is expected of them – and that commitment to you is an important ingredient in employee engagement and employee retention.

Set Clear Expectations
A corollary to this point is to be straight-forward about the work to be done. Employees need to know from the outset what they are commiting to when they sign on: duties, tasks, and opportunities for advancement (realistically explained).

Brand your workplace
Branding your organization as the best place to work will reward you well when the economy improves and labour shortages reach critical levels. Branding now helps you attract and retain talent both now and into the future, which in turn improves your productivity now and into the future.

Invest in Orientation, Training & Development
These are ongoing processes that speak to how you value your employees and your commitment to them. New entrants to the workforce (Generation Y or Millenials) are looking for opportunities to build their portfolio of skills. By offering training you are not only meeting their need, but also improving the quality of your workforce. But training isn't only for the new employees. Supervisors and managers also need continuing education and opportunities to improve their people management skills. Many are promoted for their technical expertise, and so organizations need to equip these individuals with the necessary managerial and supervisory skills to succeed.

Engagement
Engagement is key to retaining good employees. If their needs are being met in their current organization, they are less likely to be scanning the papers or websites to determine if the grass might be greener somewhere else. A key component of successfully engaging your workforce is communicating with them, listening to them, and being prepared to be responsive.

Compensation
Of course, compensation is a component of an organization's retention strategy. It must be consistent with the message that the organization values their employees. Determining what is an appropriate compensation package is the subject of the next article, so read on...

This is an opportunity
The softer economy and hence less competition for workers will lessen the pressure of people voluntarily exiting your organization. So now it is the time to:

Solidify organization’s people management plans;
Leverage the corporate knowledge of the senior employees;
Look deep into the organization to develop your people; and,
Invest in training and development before mentors leave.

If you aren't sure where to start, HRA can help.

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Fair Compensation

Fair Pay in the Workplace: Aligning Workplace Compensation

By Lindsay Sinyerd

Pay is one of those things that can make or break an organization. Just ask those individuals who leave their job in hopes of finding something better. In a 2006 Gallup poll, 22% of respondents cited pay and benefits as their reason for voluntarily changing jobs. It was the second most popular response given, after lack of opportunity for advancement (32%). While the same study indicated that many employees (17%) leave their supervisor rather than their job, employees also need to feel that they are being fairly compensated.

One way of achieving this is to have a compensation plan in place that assures employees they are being treated fairly. What is fair? Usually this concept involves pay relativities and whether employee pay is fair compared to their individual contribution to the organization, to other employees within the organization, and to the market. If not, employees may soon be perusing the Classified ads looking for a new job.

Fair pay involves every level of the organization to ensure that employees are:

compensated fairly for their individual contribution to the job (individual fairness);
compensated fairly relative to the contributions of other employees at their workplace (internal fairness); and
compensated fairly relative to the pay for similar jobs found in the market (external fairness).

Creating policies on individual, internal and external fairness provides the foundation on which a company’s pay systems are built. Without fair pay systems, employees may feel they are undervalued and unappreciated, which could potentially lead to their departure. Fair pay directly impacts employee morale, satisfaction, organizational culture, productivity, retention, and competitive advantage, among other workplace factors. It is therefore imperative for employers to understand how to achieve fair pay in their workplace.

Individual Fairness: Rewarding Individual Effort
Individual fairness focuses on an employee’s contribution to the organization. It is based on a number of variables, including:

Labour market supply and demand for the particular position, i.e., whether it’s a “hot” or “cold” job, or somewhere in between
The organization’s current pay policies
The incumbent’s knowledge and skill, responsibilities and working conditions

The employee must feel that their pay is in line with their efforts at work. Although an employee’s satisfaction depends on a whole list of workplace factors, if they feel their pay doesn’t match their time and effort, their performance will suffer. When an employee is dissatisfied, their frustration can appear in a number of places, all detrimental to the organization. Before they even think of quitting, dissatisfied employees often cut back on the quality and quantity of their work, and they could also sabotage the work of others, bully co-workers, and even steal and vandalize. In 2007, a Gallup poll indicated that 18% of respondents were “actively disengaged” at work, and were undermining what other employees were trying to accomplish. From this survey, Gallup estimates that the lower productivity of disengaged, or dissatisfied, employees costs the American economy approximately $382 billion annually.

Employers can start by considering the average wage the market is paying for the specified position and then consider how the work tasks at their organization may differ, in terms of responsibility and complexity. Based on the average wage for the position in the market and the unique characteristics of that position at a particular company, an employer can come up with a relatively equitable wage. Individual fairness can then be maintained by conducting regular performance appraisals and keeping the job description up-to-date. If the organization offers merit increases, the performance appraisal can be used to evaluate the individual’s performance in an objective manner based on the responsibilities for the position. This way, employees are compensated fairly for the work done and individual fairness can be maintained.

Internal Equity: Aligning Employee Wages

Fair wages help organizations stay competitive in securing the best and brightest talent. According to a 2008 Gallup poll, 51% of respondents felt they were underpaid at their job.

Internal equity is the practice of maintaining compensation fairness among the positions within the organization. Analysis of the internal pay structure ensures fair wages among the positions found in an organization; however, employers are often resistant to invest in this internal analysis as it is quite complex and requires compensation expertise. But without internal equity, workers may feel that the pay they receive for their efforts is not fair relative to the efforts and pay of their co-workers. If an employee perceives that their pay is inequitable, the quality and quantity of their work will most likely suffer, and this perception could lead to their voluntary departure. Similarly, if the organization is not offering fair pay in relation to the market (i.e. if external equity doesn’t exist) employees typically won’t stick around.

Internal equity is fair pay in proportion to the relative value of each position within a single organization. The relationships developed through internal equity form the foundation for a pay structure that supports productivity, is fair to employees, and directs employee behaviour toward business objectives. Basically, internal equity is a win-win situation for employers and their employees. A company’s internal pay structure directly impacts how employees perceive their pay relative to what others in the workplace are making, or what they think they are making. After comparing themselves to others, employees may think internal wages are fair, or they may believe other employees are making more without putting forth an equal effort. To ward off hostility based on perceived internal inequity, an employer must compare jobs within the organization based on their relative contribution to the business’ objectives, which requires internal analysis.

An analysis of workplace compensation practices includes contrasting all positions to develop an equitable pay structure that takes into account each position’s contribution relative to all others. In order to compare jobs, employers must first begin with an evaluation of each position through analysis of the job description and organizational chart, and interviews with the incumbent and superiors. The job evaluation helps employers determine how one job stacks up against others in terms of contribution. Typically, job analysis involves a thorough evaluation of a job’s compensable factors, such as knowledge and skill, accountability and working conditions. Each compensable factor is assigned a range of possible values, determined by the particular company’s requirements. Every position is evaluated and scored on each compensable factor. Some scores may be weighted more heavily based on their importance to the company. What works for one company may not be appropriate for another.

When a new employee is hired, they are placed in the pay plan according to their experience and skills and will move through the steps based on their individual performance and service with the employer. This way each position is evaluated based on its relative value to the business and can be compared as such, without inequity. However, this is a complicated analysis as many positions are quite dissimilar and complex. This critical process requires the expertise of a professional who specializes in compensation planning and analysis. Professionals at HRA provide compensation planning and analysis services. As there are numerous, and many times very complicated, steps in the internal analysis process, it is necessary to consult a compensation expert to ensure a correct and objective outcome.

External Equity: Competitive Wages Are Key

Competitive advantage is paramount in a company’s survival. More than ever, that advantage is the organization's people. That’s why external equity is so important. Wages that attract and retain talented employees could mean an organization’s survival in a competitive labour market. Loosing an exceptional employee to a competitor over compensation is a huge blow. External equity, providing a competitive level of compensation for the same work in the market, is a practice that businesses must embrace.

Fair wages relative to the appropriate labour market can be achieved through planning and research. HRA provides compensation expertise, including administration of a market survey that reveals useful and reliable market data for various specified positions. Following the establishment of an internal pay structure, with the groupings of positions into pay levels as discussed above, certain positions are selected from each level to use as benchmarks when comparing wages to the market. This way the benchmarked positions can be the focus of the comparison, cutting down on the excessive time and effort necessary to compare every position to the market.

As is the case with internal equity, external equity analysis is a highly complex endeavor. The comparisons made between the benchmarked positions and those in the market must be planned and carried out carefully. Although the market position may have the same title as the benchmarked position, this doesn’t mean the two jobs are on par. Many times two positions with the same title can be quite different . That’s why it’s important to analyze and understand detailed job descriptions to ensure a good match between an organization’s benchmarked positions and those found on the outside.

Surveys conducted and published by professional associations may be available free-of-charge or can be purchased to obtain data for certain positions found in the specified industry. Once a company receives the average wages for the positions they want to compare, they can then determine whether they have a competitive advantage. However, without knowing the specific differences between an organization’s benchmarked jobs and those listed in the survey, accuracy is questionable. In addition, understanding the methodology behind external surveys is important when considering differences in compensable factors, job location (for cost of living adjustment) and other characteristics that go into pay discrepancies. Without careful planning and understanding of the collected data, the results may not be reliable and could even prove counterproductive to the original objective of external equity.

Total Compensation and Rewards: Money Isn’t Everything

Although wages are an important consideration for employees (or potential employees) a lot more goes into an individual’s decision to join, stay with or leave a company. Even if compensation is equitable in terms of individual contribution, internal alignment and external competitiveness, some employees may still perceive that their pay is unfair. In this case, explanation of the pay system can be an effective means of clarification. Pay is sometimes so secretive that people may not feel as if they are being paid fairly even if they actually are. An explanation of the breakdown of an employee’s total compensation and total rewards may open their eyes.

Total compensation includes the monetary rewards offered to employees in exchange for their contribution in the workplace, including base pay, merit/cost of living increases, pension, vacation, cell phone, and medical and dental benefits, among others. Total rewards also includes these monetary rewards, but goes a step further to take into account all those extra incentives offered, such as work schedule flexibility, great location, performance development opportunities, challenging work, etc. It is helpful to employees to have an awareness of their total compensation and total rewards from time-to-time. It is easy to lose sight of these other valuable forms of compensation when looking only at what goes into the bank each pay.

Recruitment and Total Rewards

For effective recruitment, employers must consider how each applicant’s qualifications, experience, and abilities match those required for the position. However, also important is matching the applicant’s motivations and lifestyle goals to the total rewards offered in the position. If there is not a match between applicant and rewards, the risk of the applicant leaving the company prematurely is increased. In today’s workforce, employees are looking for a relationship with their employer that meets their needs, compensation and otherwise.

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Accommodating Mental Illness

In October 2008, the Canadian Human Rights Commission issued an internal policy relating to the accommodation of mental illness. This has given rise to some questions from our clients about whether they need to develop a policy specifically addressing mental illness accommodations in their organization. Below is an interview with someone who is familiar with the employer obligations regarding accommodating mental health, HRA's Linda Gaudet:

Our organization already accommodates lots of employees with physical limitations. Do we need to do the same thing for the mentally ill?

Absolutely - the legal duty to accommodate applies to all protected grounds under the human rights legislation that applies to your organization. Both mental illness and physical illness are disabilities which require accommodation under these laws.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission has a separate policy for accommodating mental illness. Do we need to create a policy for accommodating mental illness that is different from our policy for accommodating physical disabilities?

Whether or not your organization needs a new, separate policy for mental illness is more a management decision than a legal requirement. What is essential is that employees understand that, like physical disabilities, mental illness is specifically addressed in policy, whether by adapting an existing policy or coming up with a new policy.

The first step for any organization is to review its existing policy carefully to consider whether it adequately addresses the accommodation of mental illness. One of the important points to consider is the fact that the existence of mental illness may prevent an employee from recognizing they are ill. Also, the stigma which still surrounds these types of illness may prevent someone from seeking help or admitting they are ill. This needs to be acknowledged in your policy. Doing so will help those charged with responsibility for accommodation approach these situations properly.

In developing our accommodation policy, can we use the Canadian Human Rights Commission's policy as a template?

Your organization’s policy needs to reflect your organization. For that reason, the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s policy is an excellent guide, but should not be used as a template. It has content that is specific to that organization that may not be applicable to another organization.

The structure of the Commission’s policy is sound and is an excellent starting point for developing a policy. You might consider using it as an outline for the points that need to be addressed. Also, you will need to ensure you include accurate information about your organization’s policy position, resources and approach to accommodation. Factors such as the size of your organization and its type of core business may mean that the accommodation process is significantly different from that of other businesses or organizations, for example.

If we have a policy that covers physical and mental disabilities, is the organization's duty met?

Like any policy, having the words committed to paper is only the first step. The real value in the policy is in its implementation. Make sure that all employees and members of management are familiar with the policy, understand it, and apply it. It is also important to remember that the duty to accommodate extends beyond physical and mental disabilities to other grounds protected by human rights legislation, such as religious observance, family status, and national or ethnic origin. This duty is what gives meaning to human rights protection in the workplace.

Where can we learn more about managing employees with mental health issues?

The Canadian Mental Health Association, Prince Edward Island Division is presenting Complex Issues. Clear Solutions. on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at Murchison Centre, 15-17, St. Pius X Avenue, Charlottetown. The registration fee is $250 per participant for this event.

For more information about this workshop please contact: division@cmha.pe.ca, phone 902 566-3034, or visit our website at www.cmha.pe.ca.

Great West Life also has a very informative website that provides help in better understanding accommodations in the workplace http://www.gwlcentreformentalhealth.com/english/index.asp

Linda will also be happy to help you in developing a policy for your workplace, or assisting in its implementation.

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HRA is going green

Golf Actually, Carol Gabanna and Constance Robinson each delivered presentations to the 9th Annual Altantic Golf Symposium on March 26th on Board Governance and Generation Y respectively.

Given our extended winter, they were delighted to have an opportunity to contemplate warmer weather activities.

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