A
FREE eZINE FROM TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC.
RECRUIT,
INSPIRE & RETAIN JULY, 2000
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COOL
INFO CONTAINED IN THIS ISSUE: Wage-Hour Investigation - Oh, No! * Who’s
Wearing Fun Meters? * Rate Your Organization’s Training Program * You
Know You’ve Been in Corporate America Too Long When... * What Do Workers
of the Future Want? * Five Signs Your Staff Needs Tech Training * Tool Box
* How Training Systems Helps Clients Pinpoint Specific Training Needs and
Outcomes! * Chris Jackson gets band director job after learning how to
interview behaviorally! * Tips to Retain Generation Xers * Upcoming
Conferences - Mark Your Calendars! /////////////////////////////////////
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You can put the Training Systems, Inc. web site on your Windows taskbar!
Just right click a blank area of your taskbar and select Toolbars/New
Toolbar from the drop down menu. In the new Toolbar box, enter
http://www.trainingsys.com.
It’s that simple! Then you can have immediate access to great
recruiting, inspiring, training & retaining tips, ideas &
resources! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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A
WAGE-HOUR INVESTIGATION -- OH, NO! by Fred Atterbury
There’s
an investigator here from the Wage and Hour Division to see you.
Those
fearful words from an employee to a business owner usually start a journey
into the vast unknown. The journey can be as pleasant as a fishing trip on
a small lake or as dangerous as being on a rowboat in the Atlantic.
Let’s
begin our examination of a Wage-Hour investigation by answering the often
asked question, "WHY ME?" How is your business weeded out from all the
others as a target of a Federal investigation?
There
are two principal ways: 1. when someone makes a complaint
2. simply by chance. In
part it’s the "luck of the draw when your business is picked somewhat at
random. This could be based on an industry survey, an investigation of one
location that expands to others within an organization, random selection,
etc. These, however, are not the most likely reasons.
More
often than not, an investigation occurs because someone makes a complaint.
The person complaining is usually a former employee of yours that has
provided a statement to the government indicating your company is not
complying with the Federal Wage and Hour requirements as contained in the
Fair Labor Standards Act.
Business
owners and their managers should realize that even though a complaint is
made by one employee, the common practice of the Wage and Hour Division is
to investigate the entire business for the previous two years. This
investigation will involve all employee pay and time records during that
two year period, not just those pertaining to the employee that
complained.
So
beware, one irate former employee can subject your business to a
full-scale investigation by the U.S. Government covering all employees
that have worked for you in the past two years! It can be an extremely
tedious, time-consuming, and expensive process.
A
few important tips: never permit a Wage-Hour investigator into your
business without an appointment. When an appointment is scheduled, monitor
what is taking place if your manager or someone else handles questions or
is asked to display or disclose business records or other information. It
is usually advisable to have a qualified professional representing your
business with the investigator during this period of time.
During
the initial contact with the Federal investigator, ask for credentials and
follow up with direct questions on what the investigation will involve and
what documents will be requested. Your dealings with the investigator
should be polite and business-like, but you should remain constantly
alert.
Do
not offer any records or information that are not specifically requested.
You would be surprised to discover how many owners, and/or managers,
actually help uncover wage-hour violations of their businesses through
casual conversation and/or providing documents not actually requested by
the government investigator.
Among
documents that you will be directed to produce will be complete payroll
and time records for the past two years, as well as I-9 Immigration Forms
for all of your employees. These items, and others, will be thoroughly
inspected for violations of Federal standards including, Minimum Wage,
Record Keeping, Child Labor, and Overtime requirements.
At
this point, you’re not home free, because after the documents noted
above have been examined, the investigator will conduct interviews of your
employees. The purpose of these interviews is to verify the correctness of
your records and to uncover any additional violations not readily
identifiable from the records. What types of tales do you think your
employees would weave if given the opportunity to talk to an investigator
from the Federal government?
Finally,
the investigator will meet with you and explain the results of the
investigation. you will be notified of the violations being charged
against your business and the financial penalties applicable. Keep in mind
that although the investigator is a trained, knowledgeable, and
experienced individual, he or she can make mistakes. Check and
double-check any claimed violations yourself, or have a professional
representing you do it.
Remember
that the job of Federal employees that conduct these investigations is to
discover violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act at your business. How
far do you want to go in helping that investigator find violations?
Fred
Atterbury is a recognized authority on the Federal Wage & Hour Laws.
Fred can be reached at 407-671-6218 or mail to: FRED@GMWF.NET
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WHO’S
WEARING FUN METERS?
*
Another trainer got a Training Systems Fun Meter from a participant
in her training and then ordered them to use in future training.
**********************************
???????????????????????????????????
?WHAT
WOULD YOU DO? How Well Is Your Organization Training Working?
Give
your organization points in each of the three categories:
APPROACH:
leadership, with employee input, uses analysis of the organizational
future, along with human performance data and training system data to
continually create, monitor, and adjust training plans to accomplish
organizational goals.
No
Plan-0 points; Tactical Only-5 points; Some Strategic-15 points; Strategic
and Tactical-30 points; Strategic/Tactical/Refinement-50 points
DEPLOYMENT:
employees (executives, managers, and workers) practice their role in the
development, implementation, and evaluation of training in support of
organizational goals.
No
One Practices (0%)-0 points; Some Practice (1-25%)-5 points; Many Practice
(26-50%)-15 points; Most Practice (51-90%)-30 points; All Practice
(91-100%)-50 points
RESULTS:
measurement systems are in place to capture data on the design,
development, implementation, impact, and evaluation of training
interventions in support of organizational goals.
No
Measures-0 points; Short Term Only-5 points; Some Long Term-15 points;
Long/Short Term-30 points; Long/Short Term and Refinement-50 points
Total
your points in each category. You’re shooting for 50 points in each
category.
APPROACH:
______ points DEPLOYMENT: _____ points RESULTS: _____ points
E-mail
us by sending mail to:
TSI@trainingsys.com
and tell us what ideas you have to increase your points and we’ll
include it in the next Recruit, Inspire and Retain.
???????????????????????????????????
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU
LOVE OUR POSTERS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE...
You
know you’ve been in Corporate America too long when... ...you ask the
waiter what the restaurant’s core competencies are. ...you write
executive summaries on your love letters. ...you think that it’s
actually efficient to write a ten page presentation with 6 other people
you don’t know. ...you believe you never have any problems in your life,
just "issues" and "improvement opportunities". ...you start to feel sorry
for Dilbert’s boss. ...you believe the best tables and graphs take an
hour to comprehend. ...you give constructive feedback to your dog.
New
words to increase your vocabulary PHONESIA: the affliction of dialing a
phone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer.
TELECRASTINATION: the act of always letting the phone ring at least twice
before you pick it up, even when you’re only six inches away. IGNISECOND:
the moment when your hand has closed your locked car door and
your brain screams, "The keys are in there!"
Third
graders finish well-known proverbs: *Strike while the.........bug is
close. *Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry
and................you have to blow your nose. *If you lie down with dogs,
you’ll..............stink in the morning. *An idle mind
is...............the best way to relax. *A penny saved
is...............not much. *When the blind leadeth the blind...........get
out of the way. *Two’s company, three’s..............the Musketeers.
Do
the digits in a Social Security number have any particular meaning? Yes,
the first three digits indicate the state of residence of the holder at
the time the number was issued. The remaining digits have no special
meaning.
Workplace
Injuries at New Low The U.S. workplace injury and illness rate for private
industry declined to 7.1 cases for each 100 workers in 1997 from 7.4 in
1996. The rate was the lowest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began
reporting the data in the early 1970s.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have
a recruitment, inspiration, training, or retention idea or question? Mail
to:
rir@trainingsys.com
and we’ll post your idea or question (and the answer) in Answers &
Ideas on recruiting, inspiring, training, & retaining great employees
at
http://www.trainingsys.com
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COOL
RECRUITMENT TIPS
Eight
factors that workers of the future look for in offers of employment 1.
Performance Based Compensation. The amount of compensation must be
competitive with the marketplace but should not be limited by any factor
other than performance employees who work harder and better will be
rewarded proportionately. 2. Flexible Schedules. As long as they are
meeting goals and deadlines, people want to know that they will have some
control over their own schedules. The more control, the better. 3.
Flexible Location. Again, as long as they are meeting goals and deadlines,
people want to know that they’ll have some control over where they work.
This includes the power to define and personalize one’s own workspace.
4. Marketable Skills. People are looking for formal and informal training
opportunities and want to be assured that they will be building skills and
knowledge faster than they become obsolete. 5. Access to Decision-Makers.
People in today’s workforce want access right away instead of waiting
until they climb the ladder to build relationships with important leaders,
managers, clients, customers, vendors, or co-workers. 6. Personal Credit
for Results Achieved. Today’s talent wants to put their own names on the
tangible results they produce, instead of working hard to make somebody
else look good. 7. A Clear Area of Responsibility. People want to know
that they will have 100% control of something, anything, so they can use
that area of responsibility as their personal proving ground. 8. The
Chance for Creative Expression. People want to have a clear picture of all
the guidelines and parameters that will constrain their creativity so they
can imagine the terrain in which they will have freedom to do things their
own way.
adapted
from Bruce Tulgan, author of Winning the Talent Wars, to be published in
2001
Get
more tips on recruiting great employees by clicking
http://www.trainingsys.com
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TRAIN
SO THEY’LL LEARN
Five
Signs Your Staff Needs Tech Training 1. You’re eyeing a software
upgrade. Even a one-day introduction to the new software is helpful. 2.
You want to jump-start productivity. Technology can make companies vastly
more efficient, but only if employees are willing to use it. 3. You’re
lost in cyberspace. If your company isn’t using the Internet to buy,
sell, communicate, or recruit, you could be flirting with extinction. 4.
Your turnover is high. If your current employees are responsible for
training new employees on the job, ALL your employees will know is the
bare minimum it takes to do their jobs, and frustration will be high. 5.
Do-it-yourself doesn’t get done. If you know enough about technology to
train others, but don’t have the time or know how to help people learn,
you need an outside training company.
adapted
from Small Business Computing, December 1999
Get
more tips on training from
http://www.trainingsys.com
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TOOL
BOX:
Resources to Help You Recruit, Inspire & Retain Employees
Creating
Highly Interactive Training Quickly & Effectively by
Carolyn B. Thompson A great
new book that gives you the step-by-step process for putting together
group and self-study training with all the methods you need! Full of
examples illustrating how each piece should look, and photos of actual
training. Call 800-469-3560 or visit
http://www.trainingsys.com
to order. *** The American Society for Training and Development at
http://www.astd.org
Department
of Education at
http://www.ed.gov
International
Association of Facilitators at
http://hsb.baylor.edu/html/fuller/iaf/
American
Compensation Association at
http://www.acaonline.org
Employee
Benefits Research Institute at
http://www.ebri.org
Society
for Human Resources Management at http://www.shrm.org
Center
for the Study of Human Resources at
http://www.utexas.edu/research/cshr
ESL
Idiom Page, provides definitions for common English expressions at http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/idioms.cgi
Grammar
Queen, a good source for personalized grammar help at
http://www.grammarqueen.com
Math
Baseball at
http://www.funbrain.com/math/
Scientific
Calculator at http://www.agri.upm.edu.my/jst/js-scien.html
***
Career Values Card Sort Kit An easy and fun device that allows your
employees or potential employees to let you know their values in just five
minutes. Each card lists a variable of work satisfaction, such as time
freedom, precision work, power, technical competence and public contact.
This kit also includes guidelines for managers/team leaders and
facilitators, instruction for the individual user, five Supplementary
Activities for further career values clarification, and an overview of
values and their role in job task decision making. Call 800-469-3560 for
prices and to order.
Motivated
Skills Card Sort Kit The quick and easy way to identify the motivated
skills that are central to personal and career satisfaction and success.
The employees, or potential employees, use the cards to assess their
proficiency and motivation in 48 transferable skill areas. This kit
includes an instruction manual for managers and facilitators, instructions
for the individual user, a series of Supplementary Activities for further
clarification of one’s motivated skills and achievement patterns, and an
overview of achievement motivation and its role in job task decision
making. Call 800-469-3560 for prices and to order.
Link
to hundreds of other great tools and resources at Training Systems Links
at
http://www.trainingsys.com
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
HOW
TRAINING SYSTEMS HELPS CLIENTS PINPOINT SPECIFIC TRAINING NEEDS AND
OUTCOMES!
We
learn the answers to the following areas before beginning the training
design process:
1.
Determine the desired outcome of training and how the organization will
measure achievement at each level below: REACTION (learner satisfaction
with the training) PLANNED ACTIONS (what learners plan to do with their
new Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes) ACTUAL LEARNING
(achievement/changes in learners’ Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes)
APPLICATION OF LEARNING (achievement of learner objectives on-the-job)
ORGANIZATION RESULTS (achievement of organization objectives) RETURN ON
INVESTMENT (compares Organization Results in $ to expenditures on the
training)
2.
What gave the company the idea they needed training/performance
improvement?
3.
Is training the fastest/least expensive way to achieve these results?
4.
What’s the learners’ motivation to perform these skills/behaviors?
5.
What is the current skill/behavior?
6.What’s
keeping the learners from achieving Actual Learning and Application of
Learning?
7.
How do the learners learn best?
8.
What existing documents already exist in your company that will help us
learn about the organization and jobs (i.e. existing documents like job
description, marketing information, work examples, examples of situations
that illustrate the info/skill to be learned)?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IDEAS TO INSPIRE
Turn
Slow Starters Into Productive Workers The impulse to procrastinate is hard
enough to overcome in yourself, but how can you help to conquer it in
others? If you work with a procrastinator, you may find your own efforts
paralyzed by his or her inability to get things done or started. Here are
some tips: * Seek commitment, not compliance. Ask whether the employee can
put together a rough draft by Wednesday, instead of demanding a report by
Friday. If you include your workers in setting deadlines and making
decisions, they’ll feel more involved in and committed to the project. *
Negotiate specific deadlines. Work with your employee to set concrete,
realistic goals and deadlines. Sit down regularly to discuss progress,
ensure that the project is on schedule, and give feedback. * Focus on the
beginning, not the end. Procrastinators frequently delay starting a
project because they’re afraid the end product won’t be good enough.
Emphasize that getting started, even if you have a rough outline, is more
useful than delaying the job until conditions are perfect. * Praise their
efforts often. Some people procrastinate because they’re afraid of
making mistakes. They respond well to praise. Offer encouragement for even
small steps forward, and help workers to recognize and enjoy their own
success. * Keep your criticism constructive. Think of criticism as
guidance, instead of letting the employee think you’re launching a
personal attack. * Set a good example. Teach yourself to prioritize your
projects, plan in advance, and perform your own tasks promptly, instead of
expecting your staff to work efficiently if you waste time yourself.
adapted
from Working Smart
Get
more tips on inspiring your employees by clicking
http://www.trainingsys.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
===================================
SUCCESS
STORY
Chris
Jackson Gets Band Director Job After Learning How to Interview
Behaviorally! OK, so he had a
great resume to start with, but according to Chris, the interviewing
process went more smoothly and the various interviewers all responded
exactly like Training Systems told him they would with the behavioral
approach to being interviewed that he practiced with Training Systems.
Basic
tips we worked with Chris on: * tell stories: instead of saying "I
enhanced the band program", say, "We held 3 clinics with brass players who
learned...". This allows the interviewer (since we all think in pictures)
to be right there in the clinics with you. No matter if the interviewer
has ever done the job, they now can visualize you doing something
specific. * We always hear about not leaning on their desk - Chris is a
big guy and so in order to not look like he’s leaning on the desk,
he’d have to put his chair further away (a little thing, but Chris said
it made a big difference!). * Keep your hands ready for talking (instead
of folded or in your pocket). Your face is much more enthusiastic when
your hands are moving.
Congrats,
Chris!
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RETAIN
THE BEST
Retain
Generation Xers (born between 1960-1980) by: * having flexibility in as
many areas as possible * providing coaching/support instead of supervision
* making work fun (they will if you won’t!) * "walk the talk" or they
won’t * give specific feedback regularly on what they’re doing well
and poorly
***
What
Do Your Employees Cost? The average employee costs far more to his/her
organization than is generally imagined. Added to his/her wages are the
costs of recruitment, training, allowances, ongoing expenses, costs of
administering and resourcing, maintenance of equipment and resources
he/she uses, worker’s compensation and other insurance, leave bonuses,
long-service leave, sick pay, special leave, etc. The list, depending on
the person, the organization, and other variables such as union support
and workplace or productivity bargaining, could go on. This means that on
an average wage, each employee can cost an organization double his/her
wages, OR UPWARDS OF $60,000, PER ANNUM over and above his/her wages.
This
is a lot of money in anyone’s language. If these figures are correct,
and a lot of experts tend to think that they are, then each person costs
his/her organization at least twice as much as he/she is being paid just
for being there. No wonder some people view "downsizing" as the only way
to save money when economic times are tough.
from
Competency-Based Training by Phil Rutherford
Get
more tips on retaining great employees by clicking
http://www.trainingsys.com
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You
can put the Training Systems, Inc. web site on your Windows taskbar! Just
right click a blank area of your taskbar and select Toolbars/New Toolbar
from the drop down menu. In the new Toolbar box, enter
http://www.trainingsys.com.
It’s that simple! Then you can have immediate access to great
recruiting, inspiring, training & retaining tips, ideas &
resources!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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PLACES
TO GO, THINGS TO DO
September
20-22, 2000 ASTD TechKnowledge 2000 in Indianapolis, IN. Call 800-628-2783
or visit
http://www.astd.org
for information.
September
25-27, 2000 OnLine Learning 2000 Conference and Exposition at Denver
Convention Complex in Denver, CO. Call Kim Grant at 612-340-4981 or visit http://www.onlinelearning2000.com
for more information.
October
2-6, 2000 The Basics of Human Resources Management at the University
of Wisconsin Center for Continuing Education in Milwaukee, WI. Ca.
ll 800-222-3623 for information.
January
3-6, 2001 Learning Brain Expo 2001 in San Diego, CA. Visit
http://www.thebrainstore.com
for information.
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**Be
sure to forward Recruit, Inspire & Retain to others, and remember, you
can check archives by keyword at our web site
http://www.trainingsys.com.
**We’ll
be back next month with more great tips, ideas, success stories, and
information to help you recruit, inspire, training & retain great
employees!
**Visit
us at
http://www.trainingsys.com
soon!
