If you are having difficulty seeing this mail or images in it, you can view it in your Web browser. Volume 6, Issue 1      In This Issue:   The courtesy of a reply   Show me the green stuff   Beware of battling bios   The easiest commute of all   Nurturing minority executive success   How to make a potential employer fall in love with you   Screening as a front-line defense   Leading indicators on leadership development   Cost-effective team building exercises   Corporate workforce strategies   Net gains   The jobs you can’t do without   Oracles fusion formula   Help Wanted: Mentors   Seven no-nos when asking for a raise   Dying at work   Roche steps up Tamiflu distribution in the U.S.   6 more reasons to exercise in 2006      Employee development at Holder Construction      HRs new breed The Courtesy of a Reply American businesses can't seem to make the time to communicate with unsuccessful job applicants. That's shameful. As an HR person for 25 years now, I'm tired of having to apologize for my profession. Yet I don't find the criticism of me and my colleagues misplaced. It's depressing at times to answer scores of e-mails from job-holders who share stories of bureaucratic, officious, even hateful treatment at the hands of their company's human-resources staff. But as poorly as many HR departments treat employees, their dealings with prospective hires are 1,000 times worse. I thought I had heard it all, until a friend in Silicon Valley wrote me with her story of having made eight -- eight! -- visits to an employer, to interview with people on the management team. After that many interviews, you would expect a phone call if you hadn't gotten the job, wouldn't you? No such luck -- she got no call, no letter, not even a boilerplate e-mail brush-off. No communication whatsoever, after eight visits during which she had made friends with the receptionist and met half the managers. How could a company rationalize that kind of shoddy treatment?... Read the article.  Back to top Show Me the Green Stuff Negotiating a salary can be the trickiest step when jockeying for a position. Here's how to keep yourself in the race. Money makes people act so strangely. Even my kids, who are in elementary school, turn down the $5 bill I offer them for lunch, and insist on an "AJ" -- an Andrew Jackson $20 bill. Mind you, nothing in the school cafeteria costs more than $1.50. But there's social value in flashing that AJ in the lunch line: It impresses the other kids. Job seekers get weird about money, too. They'll invest three or four months in a job search that involves meeting recruiters at odd hours in inconvenient places and sharing their life histories and most treasured references with a potential employer -- only to walk away at the last minute over money. It's a shame to go so far down the road and then see the deal go south. Luckily, there are ways to forestall a last-minute hitch over money: Here are some tips: First, decide on your asking price. One of the annoying aspects of the tango between employer and prospective employee is "who goes first" when it comes to discussing salary. Now, I don't approve of employers requiring the salary history of candidates -- that's the job-seeker's business. Conversely, though, a job seeker should be able to say what compensation he or she wants... Read the article.  Back to top Beware of Battling Bios A workplace fight to prove who has the best credentials makes losers of anyone who takes part. Here's how to steer clear. The business workplace, no less than the most remote Stone Age society, presents incredible opportunities for the junior anthropologist. A budding Margaret Mead can, without much effort, fill notebooks with details on the strange habits, rituals, and norms in the typical business ecosystem. There's the jargon: "Let's put the pedal to the metal." "We're gonna storm the beaches." "Kick *ss and take names." "We'll focus on blocking and tackling." "Let's pull the trigger on this deal." "This is where the rubber meets the road." And so on. For the corporate newcomer, it isn't always clear whether these conversations are related to a business enterprise, a sports arena, a military operation, the shooting range, or an auto race... Read the article.  Back to top The Easiest Commute Of All The ranks of remote workers are swelling as companies see the sense in freeing them. On the edge of Albuquerque lies a mammoth expanse of hills and horizon called Mesa del Sol. This celluloid-worthy, clay-colored plateau sprawls for over 25 square miles. It's the last parcel of its size in North America that is so close to both a central business district and an international airport. When ground broke in October, the unspoiled scrub began giving way to what will eventually become one of the largest planned -- and technologically tricked out -- communities in the nation, a place that will offer 310 sunny days a year in a climate balmier than Colorado's, cooler than Arizona's, and cheaper than either. A place where you can hit the slopes in the morning, tee off after lunch, and then jam in some collaboration with co-workers in India before David Letterman. In other words, a desert idyll for those who want to go off the grid but remain connected, and keep their New Economy-size paychecks while living a New Mexico-priced lifestyle... Read the article.  Back to top Nurturing Minority Executive Success You can leverage the hidden power of minority executives at your company in three ways, according to this excerpt from Harvard Business Review. Shine a light, reimagine inclusion, and finish the job of leadership development. The research data underscore the need to expand and amplify what is meant by inclusion. Companies stand to benefit enormously if they can learn to nurture and support the cultural capital that minority professionals routinely develop outside work. Our research reveals four ways companies can discover and leverage these hidden skills: Companies need to build a greater awareness of the invisible lives of their minority professionals; they need to appreciate and try to lighten the outsize burdens these professionals carry; they must build trust in their ranks by putting teeth into diversity goals and encouraging more latitude in leadership style; and they should finish the job of leadership development begun in minorities' off-hours activities so that those nascent skills can make a difference to workplace performance and competitive strength. [Shine a light] First, greater awareness and appreciation of community work is key. A large number of minority women professionals (45 percent) do not feel that their roles and responsibilities outside the workplace are recognized or understood by their employers. Minority women in larger companies (56 percent), young women of color (50 percent), and Asian women (49 percent) are the most likely to feel that their lives are "invisible" to their employers... Read the article.  Back to top How to Make a Potential Employer Fall in Love With You Do the Right Things Right. Looking for ways to impress a potential employer? Want to make your resume or job application stand out from the pack? In the past few weeks, I've reviewed 485 resumes and applications for 18 different positions. I've interviewed 23 candidates and brought six back for a second, more intense round of interviews. Believe me, I can tell you what rang my chimes. Some of this advice may surprise you. Some may even make you angry because it doesn't seem fair or right to you. I can't guarantee that all employers will agree with me, but why take a chance in this employers' market?... Read the article.  Back to top Screening as a Front-Line Defense Many years ago, industrial psychologist Carl Greenberg was asked by an applicant at a beer distributor for some help in taking a personality test. “Will you tell me what the right answers are?” the applicant asked Greenberg, who now works as vice president of selection and retention for Spherion in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.. Greenberg refused for two reasons. One, complying with such a request is unethical, he says, and two, it’s impossible. “I don’t know what the right answers are.” One of the advantages of personality or behavioral testing is that each company is able to ask questions pertinent to its own cultural needs. Take the hypothetical statement, “I like to keep irregular working hours,” says Greenberg. One company might want a candidate to agree with that statement if 2 a.m. calls to work are in the cadre of possibilities. Another might be looking for job candidates who seek 9-to-5 hours. Vendors and some companies have touted the advantages of pre-hire cultural and behavioral assessments for years, and their results have shown significant savings due to productivity increases and turnover decreases. What is new to the field, however... Read the article.  Back to top Leading Indicators on Leadership Development I've always found it a little amusing to hear "futurists" predict "the great labor shortage of 2015" that will supposedly occur as baby boomers retire. Their fulminations conjure up an image of acres of cubicles sitting empty, of work not getting done. Nonsense. Nature abhors a vacuum and if there are decent paying jobs out there, there will always be people to fill them, whether they are baby boomers who've delayed retirement (or have burned through their 401(k)s in a couple of years) or immigrants from parts of the world where a "baby boom" is happening right now. However, an issue that is worth worrying about is whether companies will have a caliber of leadership that is as good or better than it is now. This issue seems to be somewhat of an obsession for Bridgeville, Pa.-based human resource consulting firm Development Dimensions International. Since 1999, it has been conducting ongoing research on the competencies that define effective leadership, monitoring the evolution of the various roles that leaders play and studying the practices that characterize strong approaches to leadership development. Its most recent survey questioned 4,559 leaders and 944 HR representatives from public and private organizations in 42 countries around the world... Read the article.  Back to top Cost-Effective Team Building Exercises Instead of trying to design a team building exercise where people play games or climb rocks to develop team spirit, explore fun, cost-effective ways to engage your team. Below are three proven team building strategies that embrace community, meaningful dialogue and learning. Studies show that companies that encourage and support their staff to get involved in the community is a great way to motivate employees and increase team spirit. But instead of sending folks out on their own to volunteer, take your team out for a day to support a local group. This builds collaboration and a sense of respect and accomplishment. Taking your team out to volunteer has a direct impact on retention and morale. According to Council on Foundations, employees who participate in community-based efforts through work are more likely to... Read the article.  Back to top Corporate Workforce Strategies While independent professionals do not receive many of the direct benefits of 'typical employment, a new study finds them to be consistently happier and better compensated than their counterparts in full-time positions. The rapid growth of the “IPro” workforce creates new challenges and opportunities for American business, according to Hudson, the company that conducted the survey, and one of the world’s leading recruitment, outsourcing and HR consulting firms. The Lure of Autonomy: A Global Study of Professional Workers finds that unlike full-time professionals, IPros are not as motivated by traditional perks such as employment security, retirement benefits and paid vacations. These workers, who are generally slightly older and more experienced, are considerably more likely to value their workplace autonomy. While 86 percent of these workers were engaged in full-time employment with corporations before they became independent, it has been seven years since the typical IPro held a corporate job. The two groups, however, attach relatively similar levels of importance to achieving a high level of competence and knowledge, work-life balance, interesting work and compensation. “This study is a serious wake-up call for employers because it suggests that they must... Read the article.  Back to top Net Gains Patty McCord has a taste for adventure, and she’s found it at Netflix, where she serves as chief talent officer and was one of the first people hired by founder and CEO Reed Hastings. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company, one of the first to let consumers rent DVDs via the Web for a fixed monthly fee, has seen more than its share of ups and downs. Along the way, McCord has devised compensation and benefits policies that lie slightly outside the norm of most other Silicon Valley employers — including a policy that lets employees take as much (or as little) time off as they want. After struggling a bit to find its identity, Netflix — launched by Hastings in 1998 — settled on a business model that resembles that of online retailer Amazon.com, in which a regional network of distribution hubs allows it to ship products (DVDs, in this case) to customers with as little lag time as possible... Read the article.  Back to top The Jobs You Can't Do Without By identifying positions that directly produce revenue, reach customers or encompass skills that differentiate a company from its rivals, employers can put their resources into areas where they'll have the greatest effect. Pause a moment and name the jobs that your company depends upon to meet its goals for the next year. Would the list include the CEO? The CFO? Perhaps an engineer responsible for a high-potential product? A sales representative who covers a key territory? Edwards Lifesciences Corp. performs this exercise every year. The cardiovascular device maker understands the critical nature of certain jobs, and regularly identifies positions that are absolutely integral to meeting its business strategy. CEO Michael Mussallem says success in the cardiovascular product industry depends as much--if not more--on knowing which jobs are essential to the company as it does on pioneering innovative technology... Read the article.  Back to top Oracle's Fusion Formula The stakes are high as Larry Ellison's company bids to combine the best of features of several product lines, including PeopleSoft and JD Edwards. The planned product line could reshape the HR software landscape--if customers buy in, that is. Oracle bills its upcoming Fusion software as a customer’s dream come true: a melding of the best features of several human resources software products. The company’s major competitor, SAP, suggests Fusion’s promise may prove to be more an elusive fantasy--and an expensive one. Which claim is closer to the truth probably won’t be known until 2007, when Oracle plans to release the initial Fusion applications. But everyone agrees that Oracle chief Larry Ellison has set his sights on an ambitious software goal. "This is as complex as any application people have ever developed," says Katherine Jones, research director of human capital management at Aberdeen Group. The stakes are high for customers, Oracle and its rivals. How well Ellison and crew succeed in merging the PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and existing Oracle product lines could shape the human resources software landscape for years to come... Read the article.  Back to top Help Wanted: Mentors Put Me In Coach Whether you're just starting your career or have reached middle management, anyone can benefit from having mentors. Even CEOs have people they can bounce ideas off, and with whom they can discuss their next career move or how to handle that disgruntled shareholder who wants their heads. If your employer doesn't have a formal mentoring program, you'll have to go it alone and find one for yourself. It could be your boss, a coworker, a person in another department or even someone outside the workplace. "It should be people that have high expectations, understand the business you're in and have great integrity," says Eileen O'Neill Odum, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises (nasdaq: CTCO ). Odum and other executives were part of a panel discussion on mentoring at the Committee of 200 Fall Outreach seminar, "Managing Your Career, Your Brand, Your Life In A Changing World," at New York University's Stern School of Business. Her first mentor? Her boss in the job she landed after college... Read the article.  Back to top Seven No-Nos When Asking For A Raise You want more money. Great. Who doesn't? Asking for a raise requires preparation, skill, timing and a fallback plan. It also demands wrapping your mind around a basic fact many employees miss: A pay increase is based on performance and the market for your skills. "The worst thing you can do is base a request for a raise on personal issues," says Bill Coleman, senior vice president for compensation at Salary.com in Needham, Mass. "Saying, 'I need a raise because I have a gambling problem' is a loser. It's also a bad idea to ask for a raise if the company is having layoffs. Superstars can get a raise because the company must retain its best performers. If you're not sure that you're among the elite, you're not." Build your case for a raise by making a list of your accomplishments in the previous year. If, for example, you've outperformed other sales representatives, have the figures handy to back up your statement. Remind the boss of the new accounts you've landed, or the current customers you've kept from jumping to the competition. Don't be bashful about listing your accomplishments, but don't be boastful, either. Let the numbers tell the story. If you're a manager... Read the article.  Back to top Dying At Work See our list of the Ten Most Dangerous Jobs. The tragic accident that caused the deaths of 12 men at International Coal Group's Sago Mine in West Virginia is a sad reminder of how dangerous the mining occupation is for its workers. In fact, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mining industry has the second-highest fatality rate per 100,000 employees. Only the agriculture industry (which includes forestry, fishing and hunting) has a higher rate of death on the job. In 2004, a total of 5,703 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States, an increase of... Read the article.  Back to top Roche steps up Tamiflu distribution in U.S. Weekly influenza estimates: Who’s got the flu state-by-state Seasonal demand for antiviral drug will be met, drugmaker says. Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday it has stepped up distribution of its Tamiflu flu treatment to wholesalers serving U.S. markets that have reported a high incidence of influenza.Roche said it would continue to meet seasonal demand for the prescription antiviral medicine, also known by the chemical name oseltamivir phosphate, and work with governments to supply stockpiles of the drug in preparation for any potential flu pandemic... Read the article.  Back to top 6 more reasons to exercise in 2006 It's not just about weight loss, as a look back at the year's headlines shows. Once again it's that time when many Americans will resolve to lose weight. Health clubs will run membership specials, hoping to draw in legions of people freshly committed to making 2006 the year they finally shape up and slim down. But if history repeats itself, most people will have fallen off the weight-loss wagon before spring — some even before the Super Bowl. More than half of people who begin exercising drop their program within three to six months, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. We know why... Read the article.  Back to top                                                                                                 Employee Development at Holder Construction Two companies tackle vital employee development in very different ways that suit their business needs. Unlike the leaders of many Silicon Valley start-ups who dream of being acquired by a big player so they can cash out, Richard Mott, CEO of Kyphon Inc., believes his company can emerge as a giant in its own right. In fact, Mott and his board see almost limitless opportunities for growth for the Sunnyvale, Calif., company—but only if it can put workers with the right skills into the right jobs. That may be easier said than done. Kyphon’s skill needs are both specialized and broad. For example, the company has long relied on salespeople (called spine consultants) who are so well trained on its patented device for correcting painful spinal conditions that they can, in turn, teach surgeons what the product is—and how to use it in the operating room. In addition to training employees on these specialized skills, Kyphon also needs to develop workers with a vast array of more commonly found skills—such as operations, accounting and HR. The company has rapidly outgrown its infrastructure and without such skills in place, further growth will be hampered. As a result, employee learning in a number of areas is vital for the organization’s continued growth and success... Read the article.  Back to top HR’s New Breed Coming to an office near you: HR professionals with wide-ranging business skills and a desire for challenging work. Today’s up-and-coming HR professionals, those now in undergraduate and graduate programs, are learning things that weren’t necessarily part of traditional HR—from finance and operations to statistics and strategy. When these newly minted professionals begin their HR careers, what will they expect—and what can employers expect from them? These future professionals expect to use the business training they’re investing in today. They want challenging jobs, not administrative tasks. They believe that the HR function is increasing in importance and that they can help demonstrate HR’s relevance to companies’ bottom lines. And bottom lines are familiar to them because many of them have business experience in fields outside HR. Take Don Miller, for instance... Read the article.  Back to top Forward to a Friend: Do you have a friend that would like to receive HRWatchsm? 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