H1N1 and me

I've been in and out of the office for a week now. My 4 year old son had some sort of virus that gave him a high fever and kept him laying on the couch watching cartoons the entire time. Call it H1N1 or flu or whatever, it doesn't really matter. This was my first real experience with an unplanned absence as an employee with responsibilities.

There is never a really good time for an expected absence, but I'll just say that there is rarely a worse time. My Company is at the end of our dental, disability and flex spending open enrollment. There is follow up, form issues, payroll changes and verifying data from our benefits partners. Not to mention the rest of my job! And, it needs to get done this week.

Below are a few things that helped me get it all done with very little inconvenience to my customers, our employees.

1. Working half days. Our policy is that if an exempt employee works at least a half day, you have worked the day. This policy encouraged me to split the day off with my husband - morning shift for me, afternoon shift for him. Otherwise, I would have taken more days off because I have more days available than my husband. Working a half day also allowed me to keep a close eye on my son, which was really important.

2. Communication. It's so easy to communicate. My Company phone allows me to check and send emails when I am out of the office. I was able to keep my boss updated on the status of my son and let him know when to expect me the following day. I read and deleted all non-essential emails so that I could focus on priorities when I returned. My SmartPhone is a benefit that the Company provides to me and boy did I take advantage of this benefit while out of the office.

3. Flexibility. Hours worked are not as important as getting the job done at my Company (see point 1 for reference.) I was able to schedule and interview canddiates, make an offer, and accept an offer from a candidate while at home. I gave candidates my cell and home phone number to contact me with any questions since my schedule was inconsistent. I took reading material and paperwork home to review so that my valuable time in the office was as productive as possible.

4. A Laptop. You can't work with just a SmartPhone. We have designated a spare laptop that can easily be modified and given to any employee who can reasonably do their job from home in an emergency, including me. A spare laptop sounds so simple, but it's been a great resource to offer our employees who want and are able to take care of their job and responsibilities.

Flu season has just started, so I would love to hear about the creative ways that you are keeping your workers productive during absences. What else can we do?

Halloween, HR style

I love Halloween. It's my second favorite holiday, just behind Christmas. Dressing up and chocolate are just plain fun. Unfortunately, blogs about Halloween and HR can be frightening! There have been a few blog posts recently, mostly legal bloggers to be fair, about Halloween dress policies. Seriously? If that's your biggest concern, your Company doesn't need you.

Laurie Ruettimann @punkrockhr has a great post about HR and Halloween. Laurie's take is that Halloween is fun, but don't get HR involved in the party planning. I totally agree that I'm not busting out a spreadsheet to avoid duplicate brownies, but I disagree that HR can't be involved. Halloween and other corporate events can help with team building and building culture without a lot of "party planning" time wasted by your HRSuperstar. I've done three things that have been well-received and positively impacted the company with little planning time.

1. Office Trick or Treating: Email a pumpkin picture to employees, department, friends, etc... Ask interested participants to cut the pumpkin and put it on their door or cubicle entrance. Ask participants to Bring bags of candy and a pumpkin on a specific day to drop into each participant's bucket at a designated time. (Bonus = you now have candy to distribute on Halloween if you don't want to eat it yourself!)

2. "Boo" Game. The "Boo" game is the Halloween version of "Secret Santa". Secretly leave candy and other fun Halloween stuff with the boo poem for your coworkers. It only takes one to get it started and you can get everything that you need at Walgreens for less than $10.



3. Pumpkin Decorating Contest. At my former org, a department would provide each employee with a tiny pumpkin to decorate. I looked forward to voting for my favorite pumpkin every year. The winner recieved a prized "blue ribbon". We tried this last year at my company with a twist. We divided into departmental teams and gave employees a large pumpkin to decorate. Here are the "rules": Each team will receive a pumpkin to decorate creatively. You can carve, paint, use adhesive, or display your pumpkin in any other creative way. On October 30, we will have a potluck Halloween party and display all pumpkins. Feel free to wear a costume! Granted, we are a creative company, but the pumpkins were awesome. (These pumpkins were created by our employees!) It was easy to implement and had a great result. Some team-building occurred and we had a little fun too. My biggest takeaway was that we have really talented employees and need to find other ways to tap into these resources. My biggest challenge: how is my team going to top this? I need ideas people! Share them in the comments section - please!

Why do I blog?

HRGumbo wrote a fantastic blog today about blogging - "Your Grandma Trusts Me". He shared a few great tips about finding and trusting bloggers because, even with FTC regulations, you cannot believe everything that you read online. At the end, he asks the question: Why do you blog? I started writing my response, but my response was just too long, which could violate some unwritten rule of blogging that I am not aware of yet.

So, HRGumbo, here are my top five reasons for blogging.

1. Personal Branding. I started blogging at the urging of a fellow HR blogger, @Cincyrecruiter, to develop my brand. I was mentored by a "HR Sucks" HR Director and don't ever want to be a policy pusher. I live in the grey and want to add measurable value to a business. But, there is no way that you can determine that from a resume when you are 1 in a 1000. You have to meet or hear me. Blogging allows me to share my voice and develop my brand.

2. I ALWAYS have an opinion and something to say. Yep, I'm one of those people who always comments on blogs. I always want to chime in. I also know that comments help your blog in some techy way, so if I like something and have an opinion, I'll share it.

3. I enjoy writing. In my professional HR life, I've written manuals, poems, songs, memos, policies, letters, forms, emails, etc... I write in a conversational tone that can be easily understood and am good at "spinning" and finding a way to say yes in writing. I demonstrate my personality through my writing.

4. I like to share ideas. I am a HR department of one. I've been in a HR department of 20. I miss intellectual conversations about HR issues and trends. I miss having a sounding board and debating. Blogging allows me to share ideas with people that I know and people that I don't know, which is so cool.

5. Press Passes. I admit it. I'm jealous of @Cincyrecruiter. She has had "The Year that Jennifer McClure was Able to Raise Her Game By Attending Some Awesome Conferences". She attended SHRM 09, ERE's Fall Expo, Ohio SHRM, ERE's Social Recruiting Summit and will attend a few more. She invited me to tag along with her to an event or two, but I just could not afford it. She has been able to swing it through Press Passes and blogging about events. I followed her on twitter and really felt like I was missing out not attending. So, I want to go to a conference for free too. Just one. I'm not greedy- yet.

A big Thank You to HRGumbo for starting this conversation about blogging. I'm sure that there are many professionals considering blogging. Maybe we will motivate someone to get started!

Job seekers: Make your transition marketable

Robin Throckmorton, President at StrategicHR Inc, Rex Lee, VP of HR at Reading Rock, and I were panelists at a local Career Transitioning Ministry meeting last night. The attendees were impressive mid-career level professionals, including two Phd Chemists and a VP of Finance from a large bank. Their questions were about cover letters, resumes and interviews - pretty standard questions from professionals who have not interviewed for a job in a few years. But, one question, from a chemist, struck me. Her department was eliminated and has been out of work for 10 months. She was asked in a job interview "What have you been doing for the past 10 months?". That's a really fair question for a recruiter to ask. The candidate was wondering if being out of work (in a very specialized field) looked bad. The panel agreed that the perception of being out of work has changed and it is no longer a huge surprise to see a candidate out of work for a year, espcially in her very specialized field.

The more that I thought about this question, the more of an opportunity it became to stand out from the crowd. What if the chemist's answer was that she was volunteering at a VA lab. Or at a local high school tutoring students in chemistry. I don't know about you, but I would have been impressed. So, I ask the job seekers, what are you doing during your transition to stand out? Here are five ways to make your transition marketable:

1. Get involved in a local professional chapter. When I was looking for my next HR/Recruiting position, I joined our local SHRM chapter. But, I took it a step further and joined the Recruiting and Staffing Committee because I wanted to learn more about my passion and connect with people with similar interests. (That's where I met @Cincyrecruiter and several other amazing HR professionals.) So I was reaching out to make connections, not as Bonita the job seeker, but as Bonita the Recruiting and Staffing Committee representative. This works for local and national organizations as long as you join a committee where you can get exposure to other members or potential members.

2. Join a cause that you are passionate about. My dad loved Muscle Cars and was a member of the Mopar Club of Cincinnati. If he was out of work, I would recommend that he organize events for the club, be a judge for an event, or work the registration table so that he could meet other members and share his story. Other ideas include your local church committees, sports leagues, girl scouts or community organizations. Choose a cause and get involved.

3. Read. There are so many great books out there, but who really has time to read them these days? If you are transitioning, it's a great time to read business books or books related to your profession and market it on your linkedin profile. Recruiters who check you out will see that you have been keeping up with trends and learning and is a great talking point during your interview.

4. Learn about social media. It's difficult to keep up with new trends while working full time and having a personal life. If you are in transition, there is no better time to check it out! Find out who the leaders are in your profession and follow them on twitter and read their blogs. You will be able to have a discussion about the latest trends and will probably teach the hiring manager a thing or two about utilizing social media in your profession.

5. Obtain certifications. You see required certifications in job postings. Apply for government money and get one that will benefit your career. I have a friend who has been a stay at home mother for a few years and actually obtained a few certifications related to project management while on leave. Wow. That tells me that she is as dedicated to her professional career as she is to her personal life. I want someone like that to work for me.

A transition is an opportunity. Use it to stand out from the crowd!

Sample Flu Guidelines

I received the following flu guideslines from an employee whose spouse works at another Company. I like it because it sets clear expectations for Managers AND employees and it gives employees the opportunity to stay home to care for a family member who is ill without negative consequences. It's not easy to make the call to stay home when you are sick while your work is piling up. Kudos to the HR Superstars who make this just a little easier.

If an employee is sick with a fever(100 degrees F or above), do not come to work. Please remain at home until the fever is below 100 degrees for 24 hours. The fever should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications. Managers, if an employee comes to work and has flu like symptoms (fever-flushed appearance and cough or sore throat) they should be sent home and remain home until they have not had a fever(100 degrees or above) for 24 hours. If a person, that is living in the same household of an employee, has H1N1, the employee should notify their manager and stay at home for a period of 24 hours to see if they develop flu like symptoms. If the employee is able to work at home during this time, then it can be arranged. If they do not develop flu like symptoms in 24 hours, they are able to return to work. In both circumstances, the manager should notify HR Compliance of the incident.

Networking Challenge!

My friend, CB, is a HR Superstar. She was the Dir of Training for a huge hospital system and rocked. She coached the CEOs, created dialogue and measurably improved performance for many employees. After the systems and processes were in place, she was ready for a new challenge. She joined a large biomed company that was expanding rapidly. She had two direct reports in Australia and England. (How cool is that?) Then, the economy declined rapidly, budgets were cut and she was on the street (or, actually at the pool since it was summer). I asked CB what she wanted to do. She is passionate about development, enjoyed working at the healthcare system and wants to move somewhere warm. So I kept my eyes open. Then came The Job (insert heavenly music here). It was a posting that I saw on a linkedin HR group's job board. The position was similar to CB's most successful position, but a larger organization and somewhere warm. Perfect. I replied privately to the recruiter to check out CB's profile because she is a HR Superstar. He checked her out, gave me his number and asked CB to call him. After a few weeks of interviews, I got the call. CB accepted the position and is moving across the country! It was an amazing feeling! And, all that I did was connect a qualified candidate to a savvy recruiter.

CB's story is not unique. We all know a few great people who are out of work - let's do something about it! My challenge to all of the HR pros and recruiters out there is to help someone go back to work. Connect with people, listen to their story and connect with them other people if they are not a potential fit with your organization. HR Superstars meet great people every day. My challenge to you is to just help one of them find The Job and get back to work.

The out of work sales professional

I went to a Networking Roundtable meeting this morning where there were candidates in transition, one of whom I know professionally. I was chatting with this person when a friend, who is also a recruiter, approached us. I quickly received updateds about my recruiter-friend's family and job status, including positions that he is actively recruiting for overseas. My recruiter-friend introduced himself to candidate-in-transition, an experienced sales professional. What do you think happened?

A. Candidate-in-transition nailed his elevator speech. He knew exactly what he was looking for and charmed us with his charisma and positive attitude about the exciting new career opportunities ahead.

B. Candidate-in-transition turned the table on recruiter-friend and started qualifying the recruiter-friend immediately. The sales process unfolded in front of our eyes!

C. Candidate-in-transition was not sure about the next step in his career - sales or sales management and maybe healthcare or the industry that he came from.

I would love to say A or B, but it was a disappointing C. As a recruiter, I expect for sales professionals to demonstrate their sales process with me. Sell me, qualify me, follow up with me, and close me. Demonstrate your skills because there is no bigger sale than yourself.

5 Ways to Screw Up Open Enrollment

If you check out my bio, you will know that Benefits is not my thing. I enjoy plan design and contribution strategy, but it takes a special person to be passionate about benefits and that special person is not me. Like many small to mid-sized companies, we outsource our benefits administration to a local benefits broker. I've been through many open enrollments as a user at my former Fortune 500 Company and two complete open enrollments as the HR leader. I'll share the top 5 ways to screw up your open enrollment process with the hopes that someone out there will have a better experience on the HR leader side of the process because of my pain!

1. Don't create a timeline. My new rates arrived about two months before the actual open enrollment date. If you want to give your employees two weeks to make a decision and two weeks to update the information before the new plan period begins, open enrollment meetings need to begin one month before the new plan period. So you probably need to meet with your benefits broker BEFORE the new rates arrive. And, don't forget about your employees on disability and COBRA. It takes forever to get responses via snail mail. If you don't create and follow a good timeline, you will enjoy catching up with every employee the day that the forms are due. You will get to know about medical conditions and help them make their last minute decisions because they forgot all about this huge expense coming from their paycheck.

2. Don't plan for a rate increase. Healthcare costs are discussed every day on the news. It should not be a surprise when your rate increases 30% or more for your current coverage. If you haven't started planning for this increase by considering creative benefits options, changing company contributions, or checking out new vendors, you are already behind. The rush to shop around for new rates will not be done effectively unless you have already planned for an increase. The leg work, including a census and company profile, should be done and ready to go when you get your new rates. That means that the open enrollment meeting with your benefits broker needs to happen at least 90 before your new plan begins (see point 1 for reinforcement).

3. Let your benefits broker drive the process. I've been through a number of Project Management courses and consider Project Management one of my strengths. I made the incorrect assumption that the same or similar is true for benefits brokers. Ask for a timeline of the process when you are not even thinking about open enrollment. Clarify expectations on both sides. Just because your benefits broker does this for a living does not mean that you will receive great service throughout the process. They have other customers and your employees are just not as important to them as they are to you. The only way to get through this is to drive the process yourself.

4. Assume that no news is good news. I am an email communicator. I communicate frequently and expect that the person on the other end will do their job and follow up. I have come to the realization that I need to follow up again and again if I want something done to my standards. If you do not receive an email response or confirmation, CALL. (Ok, I'm totally saying this for me.) Don't be afraid to raise your concerns to a manager if you are not getting an acceptable response before it's too late. I have assumed that the person on the other end is doing their part and found out that the person is no longer at the Company. Then, I had to do all of their work myself last minute and it sucked.

5. Don't be creative. Healthcare as we know it is changing. People are naturally concerned about change, especially when it effects their health insurance. Anyone who has introduced a high deductible plan can attest to this. If we don't get creative, companies and employees will not be able to afford status quo healthcare. That's why the government is getting involved. Change in healthcare is good, but don't wait for the government. Push your benefits broker to think outside of the box. If they can't, find a new one that will be creative to give you options that will work for your company and your employees.

Now that my therapy session is over, what is the one thing that you did that was successful during your open enrollment? What would you do differently?