Sharlyn J. Lauby's Blog, page 172

SHRM’s Best Kept Secret: the SHRM Foundation

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) is my professional association. I support other professional organizations, but my first HR job was as a generalist so SHRM was the first professional association I joined. Every employer I’ve ever worked for supported my membership in SHRM and allowed me to attend SHRM professional development events. They also supported me being a SHRM volunteer leader.

It wasn’t until I became a volunteer leader that I learned about the SHRM Foundation. That’s why I think of it as a best kept secret. The SHRM Foundation supports our role as human resources professionals through research, thought-leadership and awards. And frankly, we can all use good information to make our jobs easier. So I reached out to Beth McFarland, CAE to share a little more with you about what the Foundation does to help us in our daily jobs. Beth is the director of foundation programs with the SHRM Foundation and I’ve had the pleasure of working with her for years.

Beth, can you share with readers some background about the SHRM Foundation (i.e., what it does, how long it’s been around, etc.)

[Beth] The SHRM Foundation was created by SHRM in 1966, so we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary next year. Our main mission is really research and education. We support students and professionals in their lifelong learning by awarding more than $150,000 in education and certification scholarships annually.

In addition, we develop educational materials for HR professionals and students, and fund original rigorous research to advance the knowledge base of the HR profession. To help educate HR professionals on the trends impacting the workplace, we introduced a major multi-year thought leadership initiative in 2013.

As a special expertise panel member, I know a little about the thought leadership initiative you’re talking about. Tell us more about the project.

[Beth] We believe that understanding the fundamental changes impacting the world of work is the first step to preparing for them—and ultimately leveraging them for competitive advantage. That’s why we launched a multi-phase initiative to identify and analyze critical trends likely to affect the workplace in the next 5-10 years. Through a rigorous process of surveys, expert-panel discussions and analysis conducted in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), we identified three key themes and have been focusing our program of work on a different theme each year.

In 2015, our focus is Engaging and Integrating a Global Workforce. We have released a report, written by the EIU that explains this theme in more detail. Later this year we’ll be releasing infographics and video interviews to help people learn more about this topic. Members of the SHRM expert panels are now working to identify specific ways these trends will impact the workplace and what HR can do now to prepare. Their final report will be released this fall. Visit our Digital Hub to learn more about SHRM Foundation thought leadership.  

One of my go-to resources is the “ Effective Practice Guidelines ” series. Relevant information I can use every day. What other types of “thought leadership” are produced by the SHRM Foundation?

Thanks for highlighting those. What’s great about the Effective Practice Guidelines (or ‘EPGs’ as we call them) is that they provide a quick overview of each topic along with practical, specific guidelines for success—and it’s all based on solid research. We create these in an easy-to-use format that really works well for busy HR professionals.

In addition to our EPGs, we also publish shorter executive briefings— which are great to share with other leaders and line managers in your organization—and a series of educational DVDs that show strategic HR in action. We’re proud to report that, in addition to workplaces, these resources are now used in hundreds of college classrooms as well. And excerpts from the EPGs are often included in HR textbooks.

This year, the SHRM Foundation provided awards to individuals who have never attended the annual conference before. And the SHRM Foundation provides other types of scholarships, awards and research grants to professionals. How can someone learn more about these programs?

[Beth] Easy! Visit our website at shrmfoundation.org and select ‘Scholarships & Awards’ from the top menu. This provides an overview of the different awards available to each group: SHRM members, students/advisors and researchers. The ‘overview’ page provides a brief description of each award along with the application deadline. Click on any award for more information and to access the online application. For information about research grants, choose the ‘Research’ tab at the top of the page.

How is the work of the SHRM Foundation funded?

[Beth] The SHRM Foundation funds its work with gifts from individuals, companies, organizations, sponsors, SHRM chapters and SHRM state councils. In 2013 and 2014, the Foundation’s annual campaign raised more than $1 million. Because of the generous financial and in-kind support received from SHRM to cover operating expenses, all other funds raised through the annual campaign go directly into programs, including scholarships, educational products, research and thought leadership.

Last question, do I have to be a SHRM member or contribute to the SHRM Foundation to use their complimentary resources?

[Beth] No, as a public charity, the SHRM Foundation makes all of its resources available free to the public–both SHRM members and non-members– on its website. Hard copies of the most recent products are also available by request from the Foundation.

My thanks to Beth for sharing her knowledge with us. While Beth did point out that the SHRM Foundation resources are free to anyone, keep in mind that they would not be able to create these resources without our support. So if you do find the resources useful, consider making a tax-deductible donation at shrmfoundation.org/donate.

I’m always looking for well-prepared information about the future of work. I can tell you from personal experience, the SHRM Foundation creates quality research and information that you can use in your strategic planning, operational goal setting and business meetings.

Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby

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Getting Your Manager to Recognize Good Work – Ask #HR Bartender

I got this question via Twitter a while ago and it’s stuck with me. It’s a tough question but one I’m asked a lot in my training sessions.

Why does an employee have to fight for his/her good performance to be recognized but bad ones are over emphasized?

I get it. An employee feels like their good work is never recognized. And to add insult to injury, they feel the mediocre or poor performance of others isn’t noticed at all. I don’t want to make excuses because there are managers out there who forget to recognize excellent performance.

But I will say that you shouldn’t make assumptions that managers are oblivious to the performance of their team. Sometimes managers are coaching employees but it’s not public knowledge. Or managers are trying to figure out how to manage someone’s performance because it’s difficult. Again, no excuses. The best and, in my opinion, the only way to approach this situation is to not focus on other people.

Focus on your performance. You will go “cray cray” if you try to fight for your performance by comparing yourself to someone else. Compare your performance to the company standard. Either you meet (or exceed) the standard or you don’t.
Don’t “fight” for recognition. The best way to have your work recognized is by discussing your results. And by making sure your boss knows how you like to be recognized. I’m amazed at the number of employees who assume that their manager somehow knows (maybe by osmosis?) the best way to convey sincere recognition to them.

Note to managers who are reading this post: If you don’t know the best way to recognize your team – ask them! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with saying, “I want to recognize your work in a way that’s meaningful to you. Aside from money – because we all want that – what’s the best way to positively recognize your work?”

Employees want to be recognized for their work in a way that’s meaningful for them. A surefire way to disengage employees is to recognize them in a way that embarrasses them. Creating employee engagement includes finding ways to deliver positive feedback in the employee’s preferred style.

Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby

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Everything #HR Needs to Know About User Experience (UX)

One of the words I’m trying to banish from my vocabulary is “easy.” Easy means something different to everyone. What’s easy to you could be difficult to me and vice versa. Easy implies “no-brainer” and that’s not always the case. Especially when it comes to describing technology.

That’s why – when it comes to technology – I like to think of things as being intuitive (versus easy). Intuitive means having the ability to understand or know something without the use of reason. Making technology intuitive isn’t easy. It’s actually very complex.

At Ultimate Software’s Connections Conference a couple of years ago, I had the chance to hear about what is involved in the development of the user experience. I’ve always known user experience was important – it’s something we use every day in software, apps, games, etc. but I had no idea what went into creating it. So I reached out to Martin Hartshorne, senior vice president of products at Ultimate Software, to see if he would share his expertise. Thank goodness he said yes.

Martin, can you briefly describe what user experience (UX) involves?

[Martin] User experience, or UX, is about designing experiences for the user. By bringing contemporary design principles and state-of-the-art usability engineering techniques into the design process, you can deliver experiences that are simple, effective and enjoyable. A great UX enables people to perform the task at hand successfully, while also providing an overall compelling UX.

How does UX compare to user interface (UI)?

[Martin] User experience, or UX, is often confused with user interface, or UI. The UI refers to the visual appeal of the solution. UX is about much more than just aesthetics, it’s about how well a solution works. Rooted in design engineering disciplines, UX is a careful mixture of art and science that focuses on using objective metrics from real end-users to help drive design decisions.

I certainly don’t want to add any confusion but I recently read an article on CX (customer experience). Is that the same thing as UX? Why or why not?

[Martin] User experience and customer experience are not the same thing, but they are related. User experience is a part of the customer experience, which encompasses all touch points a business has with a customer. A good user experience can positively impact the customer experience the same way a bad user experience can negatively impact the customer experience.

Is UX subjective? Are there parts of UX that can be measured?

[Martin] UX is focused on using objective metrics including both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods. Usability testing is a good example of UX research activities that involves measuring how easily people complete certain tasks and identifying where the designs can be improved.

There’s also eye tracking studies that track people’s eyeball movements as they interact with different designs, card sorting exercises that determine how users conceptually group information together, cognitive walkthroughs which measure how people complete a task from start to finish, and repertory grid studies that measure people’s preferences for one particular UI over another. Ethnography is probably one of the most important UX research activities as it serves as the foundation for initiating nearly every key design engineering effort. It involves observing how end users complete tasks and really tries to understand how people work in certain environments.

Why should human resources understand UX?

[Martin] Usability is a major driver of employee engagement and adoption. The easier the technology is, the more it will be used, and the less time is wasted by employees—resulting in a much higher ROI for organizations in terms of performance levels and investment. By understanding how employees are using different solutions, HR is better equipped to tailor them to their specific needs.

As a part of the human resources team, you should care about your employees being happy and engaged because engagement leads to increased loyalty, quality, retention and overall business performance. Designing experiences that help simplify people’s work lives will help renew and increase engagement levels at work.

Employees’ interactions with businesses are not only face to face, but face to interface in many cases. What people want at the end of the day is not just a great looking screen, but something that makes them productive, something that lets them get their jobs done easier, faster, smarter. If you care about productivity, you should care about user experience.

Designing UX that simplifies people’s work lives will increase engagement at work
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Last question, what do you see as the top trends impacting UX? 

[Martin] A great user experience comes from a convergence of engineering factors intended to mix equal parts form, function, and aesthetic into a cohesive design that end-users don’t even notice–it just works. Some of the biggest trends influencing UX design and engineering include:

Service/Experience Design. UX design is becoming more of an integral part of the overall customer experience. HR leaders are putting more emphasis on the experience HR technology delivers to each and every employee as part of the selection process.  

Data Visualization. The explosion of Big Data demands better ways to make sense of it all. Embedded data visualizations will improve how HR and business leaders process and analyze their people data.  

Object Oriented UX. User interface design is moving beyond responsive design of individual screens and moving toward building blocks that are repeated across a site or application. The use of familiar objects across an HR solution will result in increased ease of use and faster delivery of new product enhancements.

My thanks to Martin for sharing his knowledge with us. As human resources professionals, we’re all too familiar with terms like candidate experience and customer experience. With technology playing a greater role in our organizations, we need to understand the importance of user experience. Because the best way to get employees to use the systems being implemented is by using technology that’s intuitive for the user. That not only makes employees more productive, but it creates engagement, retention and improves the bottom-line.

Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby

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Define Your Balance – Friday Distraction

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Kronos , the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. Kronos is telling the story of today’s workforce – one person at a time – in their 1 in 100 million series . The latest features gator wrangler Royce McMullen. You can check it out here . Enjoy the post!)

I’ll admit it. I’m not a big fan of exercising. So when I find an exercise activity that I enjoy, it’s a wonderful thing. For example, I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy walking on my treadmill desk. It’s the perfect way to start the day.

I also enjoy Pilates. In particular, I love Pilates with the jumpboard workout. I never had a trampoline as a kid, so this is my fun time. That’s why I couldn’t help but smile when I saw this Time Well Spent cartoon from our friends at Kronos. It reminded me that finding fun time or “me” time is incredibly important.

Even when we enjoy our work, we have to find time for ourselves. Whether that’s exercise, reading a book, watching a movie or playing a game, we need to have balance. I do realize there’s a great debate taking place about work / life balance and work / life integration. I’ve always felt this was a very personal decision. What works and doesn’t work for me is probably different from what works for other people.

Bottom-line: If we want to have balance, then we have to figure out how to define what balance means to us. And, we have to be able to articulate it so others can support it.

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Healthy Business Competition

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is an excerpt from my book, “ Essential Meeting Blueprints for Managers .” The book is available on Amazon in hard copy and Kindle , in the iTunes store, and directly from the publisher.”

Admittedly, I’m a very competitive person. My father was extremely competitive, and I learned it from him. But over the years, I’ve tried to direct my competitive nature in a healthy way.

As the owner of a small human resources consulting firm, I know there are other owners of small HR consulting firms that offer the same services. When bidding on business, some days I’m selected for the assignment. Other days, another firm is selected. And some days, I partner with another firm to work on a project. That’s because our combined talents are what’s best for us and the client.

In theory, is that other consulting firm a competitor? Sure. But they’re also a potential collaborator. That’s why it’s important to network with your competition.

Should you do your business intelligence and pay attention to what the other firm is doing? Absolutely. My guess is they’re paying attention to you. But that doesn’t mean everything someone else does will be right for your company – and vice versa.

Over the years, I’ve discovered the best way to deal with competition is to point it inward. That creates healthy business competition. When I meet people who are doing really exciting things that inspire me, instead of focusing my energies on squashing them…I use that energy to make myself better. There are two reasons for doing it:

1) I get better at something.

2) I can eventually collaborate with that awesome person.

Obviously, there are moments when the situation calls for one winner for a piece of business. And that’s fine. When it happens, being a gracious winner and/or loser will say volumes about you. Are you allowed to celebrate the win? Of course! And your competition (for lack of a better word) will be happy for you, because now you’re inspiring them to be better.

That’s what competition is all about. It’s a balancing game. It’s about knowing the difference between situations that only allow for “winners and losers” versus opportunities to create a “win-win.” If you play your cards wrong, it can alienate people. And when you need collaborators, none will be around.

But, if you play the cards right, you can “win” beyond your wildest dreams. That means having a network that includes healthy business competition. And, isn’t winning what competition is all about anyway?

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Proposed 2015 DOL Overtime Rule Changes: Primary Duty Test

As you know, on July 6, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its proposed changes to the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the Act, to be exempt (from overtime), an employee must meet 3 requirements:

The employee must be paid a minimum weekly salary;
The employee must be paid on a salary rather than on an hourly basis. This means that only certain deductions are permitted from the employee’s pay for time not worked and no deductions are allowed based on the quality or quantity of work; and
The employee’s primary duty must be exempt in nature.

To help us sort out the proposed changes, I’ve asked Jonathan Segal, a partner with the law firm Duane Morris LLP to share his knowledge. Last week, Jonathan talked about the proposed changes to the minimum weekly salary requirement (#1 of the 3 requirements above). You can check out that post here. No changes have been proposed, as of yet, with regard to the salary basis test (#2 of the 3 requirements). But there has been some conversation about the last requirement, known as the primary duty test. So, I’ve asked Jonathan to give us the scoop.

I’m thankful that Jonathan is so willing to take the time to do this. He does have a full-time job that I’m sure keeps him busy. Please remember that his comments should not be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to any specific factual situations. If you have detailed questions, they should be addressed directly with your friendly neighborhood labor attorney.

Jonathan, what is the primary duty test under the FLSA?

[Jonathan] Primary duty means the job’s ‘principal, main, major or most important function.’ It is a qualitative rather than a quantitative test, as is the case in California, where an employee can be exempt only if he/she spends more than 50 percent of his/her time performing exempt duties.

Under current federal law, an employee can be exempt even if he/she spends 50 percent or less of their time performing exempt duties, if such duties are the reason for their job. That could change. The DOL did not propose any changes but asked lots of questions about the primary duty test, indicating considerable concern that employees may be exempt but a relatively small portion of their time may be spent on exempt duties. The questions they seek input on include, but are not limited to:

What, if any, changes should be made to the duties tests?
Should employees be required to spend a minimum amount of time performing work that is their primary duty in order to qualify for exemption? If so, what should that minimum amount be?
Should the DOL look to the State of California’s law (requiring that more than 50 percent of an employee’s time is spent exclusively on work that is the employee’s primary duty) as a model?
Is some other threshold that is less than 50 percent of an employee’s time worked a better indicator of the realities of the workplace today?

What will the DOL do with the feedback it receives?

[Jonathan] That’s the great unknown. There are a number of options, but here are three approaches the DOL could take to the primary duty test for starters:

Leave the primary duty test alone.
Propose regulations that implement a quantitative test (similar to California.)
Implement final regulations that implement a quantitative test (like California.)

If the DOL were to follow Option #3, there would be challenges that proposed regulations must come first under the Administrative Procedures Act. While the argument has considerable merit, it could fail on the ground that the public was put on notice and has had an opportunity to respond.

I know you’re planning to share with readers how they can get involved. It is extremely important that employers respond on this very important issue. Can you imagine trying to gauge for each position the percentage of exempt work?! That’s already a nightmare for my California employers. It would become a nightmare for all employers! And, it’s not just the front end work. It is the inevitable back end litigation challenges.

Because quantitative requirements are easier to attack, they all but invite litigation. The dollars to defend the litigation have to come from somewhere so a potential adverse consequence of a major change in this area is that employers may need to reserve for litigation money that had been reserved for its employees in terms of compensation and benefits.

Are there any additional changes to the primary duty test that employers should be concerned about?

[Jonathan] Yes, the DOL asked a series of disturbing questions specific to the concurrent duties test for exempt employees. More specifically, the DOL asked:

Is the concurrent duties regulation for executive employees (allowing the performance of both exempt and nonexempt duties concurrently) working appropriately or does it need to be modified to avoid sweeping nonexempt employees into the exemption?
Alternatively, should there be a limitation on the amount of nonexempt work?
To what extent are exempt lower-level executive employees performing nonexempt work?

I think we can all see the direction the DOL wants to go. Whether they get there may depend on the comments they receive.

The current DOL regulation for executives (supervisors and above) recognizes that these individuals often do exempt and non-exempt work at the same time. This is particularly true in retail and in hospitality. For example, in retail stores, managers often supervise employees and stock shelves or perform other more menial tasks at the same time. This currently can count as exempt work toward the (qualitative) primary duty.

If the concurrent duty test is abolished, there may be smaller stores, for example, with no exempt supervisors. This result becomes even more likely if the California approach is adopted. Supervisors can walk and chew gum at the same time. For the same reason, the concurrent duty exemption must remain and comments in support of it are essential.

How do the proposed changes we discussed in the last post (to the minimum salary) relate to the questions being asked about the primary duty requirement?

[Jonathan] That is really the million dollar question. It is extremely difficult to plan when the DOL may have shared with us only part of what it is proposing to do. I am sorry to be jaded but the questions may be ambush proposals that would allow the DOL to issue final regulations on the primary duty without making specific proposals first.

Let’s assume, for example, that an employer has a group of employees that are in the gray zone under the current primary duty test. The employer wants to take a defensible risk and keep the employees as exempt so it raises their minimum salary now or in the near future.

Then let’s say sometime down the road, the DOL proposes or implements the California or another quantitative approach to the primary duty. Now, the employer is going to have to convert the employees to hourly (no longer gray) and pay time and one-half on a higher base rate.

Someone once erroneously said patience is a virtue. But we all are going to need patience until we see what the final regulations include (or don’t include).

Here’s what #HR needs to know about the proposed 2015 overtime rule changes
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You’ve been so great to share this with us. One last question, Is there anything else employers should be doing right now?

[Jonathan] Absolutely. You can bet those who want a higher minimum salary and a quantitative approach will be submitting comments. Those who create jobs, employers, are well advised to do the same. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is doing a great deal of effective work in terms of advocacy. I am really exited your last post in this series is with Mike Aitken, SHRM’s vice president of government affairs. His knowledge and strategic thinking is second to none, in my book.

A HUGE thanks to Jonathan for sharing his knowledge on this legislation. If you’re interested in keeping up with this topic, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Jonathan_HR_Law or read his blog at Duane Morris.

As Jonathan mentioned, in our final post of the series, I want to talk about what you can do to influence the conversation. So, stay tuned. As business professionals, we can impact what is happening. It’s our time to make a difference.

Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby

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Who Owns Your Social Brand – Ask #HR Bartender

Back in 1997, Tom Peters wrote an article for Fast Company magazine titled “The Brand Called You”. It’s a good read and was the first time I recall hearing about personal branding. The logic being that companies build their business on brand reputation; individuals need to do the same.

In today’s technology driven world that means individuals have to consider their activities on social media as part of their brand. I’d like to think by now we all understand this.

A while ago, I was doing some training at a company where they had hired someone with 750,000 Twitter followers. It was part of the reason the employee was hired. The employee hadn’t bought the Twitter following. They had just worked very hard to get them and keep them engaged. It made me wonder – who owns those Twitter followers? And the bigger question of who owns your social brand?

So, I asked our friend Heather Bussing if she would share her expertise. Lucky for us, she said yes! Heather is an employment attorney and regular contributor at HR Examiner. She’s shared her expertise with us before. This post is one of my favorites. As always, please remember that Heather’s comments should not be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to any specific factual situations. If you have detailed questions, they should be addressed directly with your friendly neighborhood labor attorney.

Heather, there’s a lot of talk about the importance of building a personal brand. In today’s business world that includes building a social brand. From a legal perspective, does an individual “own” their social brand?

[Heather] Your personal brand is generally your presence online and in the world. It includes your posts on social media, your personal blog, and the things that are easily find-outable about you. There are many approaches to thinking about ’brand,’ but the idea is to create a positive association when people see or mention you, and to develop a reputation that highlights your best work.

Who owns your personal brand depends on how you develop it, who signed up for the social accounts, whether you were paid to do the work, and whether you signed any agreements about it.

Generally, if you sign up for a social media account and it’s in your name, then you ’own’ it.  You own the content you create, the things you do there, and you have control over your connections. Different platforms have different rules about whether you can download that information, whether you can copy it, and how you can use it outside of the platform.

The fundamental legal principal is ‘if you control it, it’s yours.’

(Editor’s Note: Please remember to refer to a social platform’s Terms of Service (TOS) for details.)

Let’s add a layer of complexity to this – if a person is employed by a company – does that change who owns the brand? What if the employee uses their company exposure to grow their social brand?

[Heather] Maybe. It depends on who controls the accounts, whether the employee is being paid to post there, and whether the account is affiliated with the company.

If an employee is being paid to use their own account for work, then the employer could end up owning the account, despite the fact that it’s in the employee’s name. Generally employers own the product of their employee’s work when the employees are paid to do it, especially when the employee uses company time and computers to perform the work. This is the work for hire doctrine.

When an employee is using their personal accounts to promote the employer’s brand or product, and that is part of the job, both sides are going to want the contacts and content when the employer and employee part ways. This is particularly true for recruiters who often develop relationships online with potential candidates.

The social media account terms and services won’t cover who owns what’s between the person who signed up for the account and a third party who benefits from it. So both employees and employers want to think through what happens when they part, and how to handle it.  Having an agreement before there is a problem saves everyone time, money, and emotional distress.

What about individuals who are working as freelancers, consultants, contractors, etc.?

[Heather] Freelancers and independent contractors are also subject to the work for hire doctrine—generally if you pay for something to be created, the person who pays for the work will own it. But this can be affected by the terms of service for the individual accounts and any agreement between the company and the person providing the work.

Again, figuring it out ahead of time is the way to go.

If I’m a job seeker today, and I’ve built a social brand, should I address that during the interview process? And if the answer is yes, when is the best time and manner to do that? 

[Heather] It depends on the job. If the work will involve the employee using their personal accounts for work, then definitely bring it up and figure out how both sides can have copies of all the content and contacts developed during the employment. The employee will want to make sure that they retain the password, access to, and control over any individual account in their name. The employer will want to have a complete copy of everything, along with the rights to use that information outside the account when the employee leaves.

I would bring up the issue after there is an offer. If you raise it before then, you risk being more concerned about your social media presence than the job.

If the job does not involve using a personal account for work, then there’s really nothing to bring up.

If I mention my social brand, am I opening myself up to the company wanting to check it out (and possibly make employment decisions based on it)?

[Heather] Most recruiters and companies will look at what is out there about you online anyway. Employment decisions are made based on what they find all the time, and you many never know it. The big exception is if the employer uses a third party to do a background check; then under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, they have to give you notice and let you know whether something they found online was a factor in not hiring you.

Last question – you’re very good at offering practical advice. What are the 1-2 things I need to remember when it comes to the legal responsibilities of my social brand?

[Heather] Whenever an employee is using personal social media accounts for work, both the employer and employee will want a written agreement that covers the following issues:

The extent to which the employer has authority over what the employee posts on the account and whether any review or approval is required before things get posted. Be careful of NLRB protected, concerted activity issues here, as well as employer liability and employee discipline for the employee’s off-duty posts. See 8 Reasons Social Media Policies Backfire, and Social Media’s Real Legal Issues for more information.


Who gets what when the relationship ends. The best approach is for the employee to retain all personal accounts, but the employer gets a copy of the content and the contact lists and a license to continue to use it after the employee leaves. The employee may also want a copy of the content and contacts she develops on the employer’s accounts, which may be great or not, depending on the position and concerns about how the information might be used later.


Understand whether what you want to agree to will violate the social media platform’s terms of service. For example, LinkedIn is extremely fussy about what you can copy from their website (nothing) and how you can use it (you can’t), but Facebook allows the user to download everything there as a pdf and use specific content you create elsewhere.

A HUGE thanks to Heather for sharing her knowledge with us. Please be sure to check out her work on HR Examiner. It’s very good reading.

Individuals need to be aware of the brand they are building for themselves and not be afraid to protect it. We’re often reluctant to admit we have an extensive network or that we have influence, like we’re bragging.  Our credibility is part of our personal and social brand. That’s worth standing up for and making sure clear expectations are established regarding ownership. Retaining proper control over your social brand is in the best interest of the candidate and the company.

Image from fabulous Key West by Sharlyn Lauby

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Get Ready For the Brain Drain [infographic] – Friday Distraction

Pew Research recently reported that Millennials now surpass Gen Xers as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. The oldest Gen Xers are turning 50. (I know, can you believe it?!) And, the Baby Boomer workforce continues to shrink as they move into retirement. The result? Baby Boomer Brain Drain!

That’s why we have to think knowledge management (KM). It’s the process of capturing, distributing and effectively using the information and resources throughout an organization’s workforce. Knowledge management isn’t just for large organizations. As today’s infographic from MBA@UNC points out – Baby Boomers own more than 4M companies. Someday a Millennial is going to buy that company from a Boomer. And they will want that knowledge.

If you’re looking for a way to start a discussion about knowledge management in your organization, the Association for Talent Development (ATD) offers the book, “Knowledge Management Basics”. I really liked the sample forms in the book that offer ways to list knowledge sources and confirm knowledge transfer. It’s something any organization could use as creative inspiration for their own KM process.

We talk a lot about winning talent wars and the importance of finding the best candidates. Part of the formula for success is giving those employees the tools they need to excel on the job. One of the most important tools we can give employees is called knowledge.

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Would You Provide Your W-2 to Get a Job

Organizations are starting to ask candidates for their W-2’s as part of the hiring process. Career Sherpa has a really interesting post about it over on her blog. You can check it out here.

When I first read the article, I thought “Well, I can see asking for or providing a W-2 if it’s necessary to prove employment.” For example, some industries have very rigorous background screening processes for an employee to get a badge, etc. The W-2 served as proof of employment. That was the case when I worked for an airline. But then I remembered that we didn’t start asking for the information until the candidate already had an offer in hand.

Then it appeared obvious that the reason companies are asking for W-2’s is money (i.e., proof of income). My first reaction is, what an employee made in the past shouldn’t matter. It’s about their knowledge, skills and abilities in relation to the job they are being offered.

But I’m not a compensation expert. So I asked Ann Bares, managing partner with Altura Consulting Group and contributor to the Compensation Force and Compensation Café blogs, if she would share her expertise. Lucky for us, she said yes.

Ann, is the notion of supplying your W-2 as income verification a new development?

[Ann] I’m guessing that the question is coming up because of the attention now being directed at salary negotiations, and the fact that the entire negotiation process (including the request for, verification and consideration of current income) is coming under fire for its adverse impact on women and minorities. With this angle in mind, requests that a job candidate supply their W-2 as income verification can be seen as a way to perpetuate past discrimination/disadvantages in salary negotiation rather than simply offering a salary that is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

(Editor’s Note: Check out Ann’s Compensation Café article on this topic here. It’s a great read.)

What factors go into the decision of how much to pay an employee?

[Ann] In most companies (where work is organized into ‘jobs’ and compensated that way), there are two levels of consideration that go into salary determination.

The job that is being performed. The job itself (independent of the person who holds or will hold that job) is evaluated and assigned a range of salary opportunity based on the value of the key accountabilities/contribution and the skills and knowledge required.


Once the salary range for the job has been determined, then there is a second decision to be made – the salary level (within that range) that is appropriate for the individual(s) who accepts and performs that job.

Does income verification have a role in the two-level decision making process you’ve described?

[Ann] Based on my experience and understanding, the question of income verification does not come up (typically at least) in determination #1 above, but does in determination #2, particularly in the recruitment and assessment of a potential job candidate. Here’s where someone in the recruiting space would have more insight than a compensation specialist, but I believe that current income level is often one piece of information that is requested and taken into consideration as part of the salary negotiation process.

A HUGE thanks to Ann for sharing her expertise with us. I do hope you’ll check out her blogs – lots of great information. Compensation is a complex topic and the more we can learn about it, the better off we will be – because we need to understand money. Not just how much we get paid but how the company arrives that that number.

Now that we’re much more educated about the topic, it still raises the question, “What should you do if someone asks for your W-2?” I totally agree with Career Sherpa’s assessment. If you provide it, you could be limiting your income potential. If you don’t, you could be eliminating yourself from consideration.

Ultimately, you have to decide how you feel about working for a company that asks you to provide your W-2. That is what will guide your decision.

Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby

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Proposed 2015 DOL Overtime Rule Change: What #HR Needs to Know

On July 6, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its proposed changes to the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The overtime rule changes are significant and fall into two categories: salary basis and primary duties test. Today we’re going to cover the salary basis part of the proposal. We’ll address the primary duties test in a separate post.

To help organizations sort this out, I’ve asked Jonathan Segal, a partner with the firm Duane Morris LLP to share his knowledge about the overtime rule changes. I’m grateful that Jonathan is so willing to take the time to do this. Please remember that Jonathan’s comments should not be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to any specific factual situations. If you have detailed questions, they should be addressed directly with your friendly neighborhood labor attorney. 

Jonathan, let’s start with a little refresher. Currently, what are the requirements for an employee to be exempt under one of the FLSA’s white collar exemptions (such as, administrative, professional and executive)?

[Jonathan] An employee must meet three (3) requirements:

The employee must be paid a minimum weekly salary;
The employee must be paid on a salary rather than on an hourly basis. This means that only certain deductions are permitted from the employee’s pay for time not worked and no deductions are permitted based on the quality or quantity of work; and
The employee’s primary duty must be exempt in nature.

The DOL proposed changes are to #1. They have asked questions about #3 (which we will address in another post) and left #2 alone (at least for now).

What are the changes being proposed to the minimum salary?

[Jonathan] Currently, the minimum salary is $455 per week for most white collar positions. No minimum salary is required under federal law for some positions, such as medical doctors. Note: a minimum salary may be required under state or local law, even where not required under federal law.

Under the proposed regulations, the minimum salary will be equal to the 40th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried employees as determined by the DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. That amount is projected to be $970 per week in the first quarter of 2016, more than double the current minimum salary.

Plus, the minimum salary will be indexed ‘to guard against the erosion’ of the salary threshold. The DOL has suggested two options for indexing, inviting comment on the different approaches. Option one would be to increase the minimum salary so that it remains at the 40th percentile. The second option would be inflationary increases.

What do you think the rationale is for proposing automatic adjustments to the minimum salary?

[Jonathan] The reason for the proposed automatic adjustment is, as the DOL has said, to ‘guard against the erosion’ of the minimum salary requirement. Although the proposed increase itself is quite substantial, to be fair, the reality is that the minimum salary from 2004 is extremely low relative to today’s labor market.

On the other hand, the proposed automatic adjustments may be too much for some employers too afford. The DOL sometimes does not appreciate fully how businesses work. If the number is too high, an employer simply may convert the employee from exempt to non-exempt and not permit overtime.

The DOL has suggested that the employee still ‘wins’ even if  this occurs, because they may have more time off. The DOL entirely misses the employee relations aspect of this change.

Most employees are dedicated, hardworking and take pride in their jobs. Some are upset when they feel their value is reduced because they are reclassified as non-exempt. When some employees were reclassified in 2004, the last time the regulations were modified, we saw this phenomenon take place in many workplaces.

Rather than automatic increases, I would hope the DOL would consider periodically proposing increases. That’s why submitting comments to the proposed regulations is so important. None of us knows what the future will bring. What if there had been an automatic minimum salary increase in 2009 at the height of the Great Recession?

Why should employers care about the proposed changes to highly compensated employees (HCE)?

[Jonathan] It is important to remember the highly compensated employee is not a separate exemption. Instead, if an employee is a highly compensated employee, under the current regulations, it is easier for him or her to meet the primary duty test.

Currently, the minimum salary for a highly compensated employee is $100,000 / year. The proposed change would increase the minimum salary to the 90th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time salaried workers. Under current statistics, that would be $122,148 annually.

This is a considerably smaller increase than the increase in the minimum salary: approximately 22 percent compared to more than 100 percent. Of course, the DOL has proposed that this amount be subject to automatic adjustments, too.

How important will this increase be? Well, I hate to sound like a lawyer, but ‘it depends.’ It depends on what happens to the primary duty test, because the higher level of compensation is relevant only to meeting the primary duty test. More on this issue in the next post in this series on the DOL’s proposed changes.

What is the impact of the proposed changes on state or local laws?

[Jonathan] It is important to keep in mind that employees always get whichever is better for them under federal, state or local law. So no matter what the DOL does or does not do, employers still must check to see if there are any areas where state or local law imposes additional requirements or restrictions.

Here’s what #HR needs to know about the proposed 2015 overtime rule changes
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What should employers be doing now in light on this action?

[Jonathan] It is really hard for the employer community to plan until we know what the DOL will do with the primary duty test. If the DOL implements or proposes changes to the primary duty test so that it is quantitative rather than qualitative, then employers are going to need to re-evaluate an even larger universe of positions.

More specifically, the DOL has asked whether it should adopt the California approach—the employee must spend more than 50% of his or her time performing exempt duties. If the DOL were to adopt this approach, I am not sure it will mean more money for employees. There actually could be less money available after employers pay lawyers to defend the inevitable flood of legal challenges that a percentage requirement all but invites

For now, employers should focus only on cost issues associated with the proposed minimum salary increase. Employers will need to assess whether they can pay the minimum salary to employees below the minimum knowing that the minimum will keep increasing.

In this regard, it is important to note the final number could be the proposed number or it could be lower or even higher. Let’s not forget that back in 2004 the final number for highly compensated employees was higher than initially proposed by the DOL.

But, even if an employer can make the necessary minimum salary increase, whether it should may depend on what happens with the primary duty requirement. That’s why this is so frustrating—we don’t know whether and what changes the DOL will propose, if any, with regard to the primary duty requirement, the subject of our next blog post.

My thanks to Jonathan for sharing his knowledge on the overtime rule changes. If you’re interested in keeping up with this topic, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Jonathan_HR_Law or read his blog at Duane Morris. As he mentioned, we have another post in the works on the primary duties test. Stay tuned for more on this important change.

Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby

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