President’s Pen
by Andrea Davis, SPHR

So far, 2005 is off to a great start for HRACI. If you attended our January program, you walked away with many great ideas for retaining your top talent. Be sure to join us on February 17 as we learn the status of legislative issues important to you as HR professionals and to your organizations.

Planning for the future of HRACI

The board of directors held a strategic-planning workshop in January and left with a renewed energy and focus for the future of HRACI. The focus of our discussions and the foundation for our strategic plan aligns with the Society for Human Resource Management’s mission: serving the HR professional and advancing the HR profession – otherwise known as “STP/ATP”. While committees are still in the process of working on how to best accomplish them, I’d like to share with you our key strategies for 2005-2006:

• Become the recognized voice of HR in the local community
• Reach out to the community by sharing our resources and expertise
• Support and promote SHRM’s efforts and programs
• Leverage technology to better meet member needs and enhance HRACI operations
• Elevate the skills of HR professionals
• Expand and diversify professional development and networking opportunities for our members
• Listen to and understand our members’ needs

As always, if you have any ideas or feedback on the direction of your association, please feel free to contact any board member.

Andrea Davis, SPHR

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During our January meeting, attendees had the opportunity to exchange ideas on how to retain high performing employees. In a roundtable format, HR professionals discussed low and no-cost ways to reward and recognize productive employees, flexible working arrangements and career pathing programs that are available in organizations.

summary of the responses:

Retention

1) What are low and no-cost ways to reward and recognize your productive employees?

a) Designated “special” parking space.

b) Public recognition; wearable reward - lapel pin award –
going above the call of duty.

c) Paid time off.

d) Casual dress down days.

e) Stay interviews – meet with employees and ask questions about what they like and dislike, why do they stay?

f) Give out “Wow” dollars when someone wow’s you.

g) Culture is key - must provide an inclusive nature type of culture.

Retention

1) Please list your top three flexible working arrangements:

a) Working with key employees in their circumstance.

b) Early leave on Friday in met 40 hours in week.

c) Work from home option.

d) Leave early or come in late option.

e) Allow flexibility with vacation time off – do not dictate how to take vacation time.

Retention

1) What types of career pathing programs are available to an organization?

a) Offer career counseling.

b) Enlarge the employee’s current job.

c) Provide opportunity for learning laterally.

d) Compete for seminar/career training.

e) Provide career development guide for each employee –
interactive. Shows you how to learn, grow, and progress.
Contact Jennifer Willis at jenny.willis@dfas.mil with
questions.

What is Career Pathing?
Career Pathing is an organization’s or individual’s process for identifying specific job opportunities with an organization’s structure and the sequential steps in education, skills, and experience building needed to attain specific career goals.

Maintain and Grow a Quality Workforce!

1. What are low and no cost ways to reword and recognize your productive employees?

• Time off (Come in late / leave early / extended lunch, etc.) as a reward
• Parking Spaces
• Top Mgmt. Serve breakfast 2x per year (Some had around Halloween with Sr. Mgmt. Dressing in costumes)
• Dress down days
• EE plaques
• Gift cards
• Free lunches or coupons to lunch places (McDonald’s, Wendy’s, etc.)
• PRAISE
• EE Newsletter
• “Stay Interview”
• HANDWRITTEN note
• Consistent recognition
• Spend time with Mgrs./Leads to insure consistent management
• BRAVO = Peer recognition
• Community events
• Make sure people feel part of “group / culture” at company

2. Top flexible working arrangements:

• Telecommuting
• Company wide 4-day workweek if individual chooses. Dept/Managers figured out coverage. All worked out. Some wanted early, some wanted late. Many worked 10 hr. days.
• “Summer” hours and “Winter” hours. Allowed employees to leave at 3p.m. in summer and 4p.m. in the Winter. Just had to get in their 40 hours. Some came in early; others worked through lunch, etc. Sr. Mgmt. Left too in order to set the tone.
• Flex time with “core” hours
• Time off for children’s events
• Community service during work hours vs. expecting / asking employees to give up time on weekends, etc. (Ex. Company gave 40 hours of community service to each employee to “selected” company charities.)
• Donate to certain cause receive a reward (Ex. Fair Share for United Way, receive day off)
• Allow flexibility in time off (Ex. Allow to take in ½ hour increments, etc.)

3. What types of career pathing programs are available to an organization?

• Exempt ee = succession planning
• Mgrs. identified “if person could do job” or listed what other areas they would be good at
• Provided 360 degree feedback
• Career Pathing with sister companies
• Federal Government has an IDP (Individual Development Plan) for each employee
• Technical, Career and Competency development areas
• Required in supervisor development plans to insure buy-in, etc.
  

Retention Resources

Websites:

The Brennan Group
http://www.keepingthebest.ca/retaining/index.html

Great Place To Work Institute, Inc.
http://www.greatplacetowork.com/

Spherion, The Rise of the Emergent Workforce™: Are You Prepared?
http://www.spherion.com/recruiting/emergingworkforce/home.jsp

Predictive Index – Bob Wilson & Associates Management Consulting
http://www.bobwilsonconsulting.com

Lead Well Institute
http://leadwell.com/db/1/4/87/

Winning Associates – HR Articles, Forms, Policies, Surveys, and Questions
http://www.ewin.com/articles/career.htm

Books:

New Strategies to Promote Stable Employment and Career Progression, An Introduction to the Employment Retention and Advancement Project, Jacquelyn Anderson, Dan Bloom, Michael Fishman, Karen Gardiner, Melissa Wavelet

Embracing Excellence, Become an Employer of Choice to Attract and Keep the Best Talent, Franklin Ashby, Arthur R. Pell

366 Surefire Ways to Let Your Employees Know They Count, Carol A. Hacker

HR-How to: Employee Retention, Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C.

101 Recognition Secrets, Tools for Motivating and Recognizing Today’s Workforce, Rosalind Jeffries

Click here for a sample Career Pathing and Enhancement form.

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U.S. Executives Predict Health Care Costs, Retention, Productivity and Economic Uncertainty Will Impact Corporate Policies the Most in 2005

(Alexandria, Va., January 6, 2005)—Rising health care costs, employee retention, economic uncertainty and the need to increase productivity top the list of trends that will affect U.S. businesses in 2005, according to a new Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey.

This report included responses from 168 non-human resource (HR) executives, 107 non-HR senior managers, and 310 HR executives, who rate the top management issues for 2005. This survey looks at trends from 2004 and trends to come in 2005. SHRM conducted a similar survey last year.

“ Companies continue to struggle with critical issues, such as health care costs and retention,” said Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, president and CEO of SHRM. “However, executives have begun to realize that effective HR strategy can help their organization keep costs down, improve retention and productivity measures, and, most importantly, help the organization achieve business goals.”
Survey respondents rate the rise in health care costs as their top concern, with 57 percent of respondents reporting health care cost escalation as a top trend affecting policies that impact employees.

Nearly 40 percent of survey respondents said employee retention, economic uncertainty, and the need to increase productivity will be top trends affecting policies that impact employees. As the SHRM Workplace Forecast indicated, economic uncertainty can potentially impact hiring patterns, wages, and promotions as well as new product development and expansion plans.
Other 2005 trends of note include the need to build employee morale, employee recruitment, aligning compensation with corporate values, a growing complexity of legal compliance, demand for flexible work arrangements, and the exportation of U.S. jobs.

Other findings from the survey show that management views the role of HR as an essential component to business strategy and success. In fact, 71 percent say successful delivery of HR is very important to overall company success. In addition, 92 percent of executives report employee alignment is very or somewhat important to organization’s business goals.

Eighty percent of survey respondents completely or somewhat agree that the role of HR can help organizations control costs and increase retention. Seventy-seven percent agree HR can help increase productivity, 69 percent agree that HR can identify future business leaders, and 64 percent agree that HR can act as a trusted advisor and key player in helping organizations achieve their business goals.

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The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 190,000 individual members, the Society’s mission is both to serve human resource management professionals and to advance the profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org.

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Donna Butler

Kim Spencer