Going to the Portland Recruiting Roadshow?
If you are going to the Portland Recruiting Roadshow tomorrow, I will be there. I would describe what I will look like but I haven’t arranged my outfit for the day. If any HR/Recruiter people are going to be there who regularly (or irregularly) read this blog, I’d love to hang out and make fun of the presentations. Or you could sit over in the corner and just stare at me and wonder “Hey, is that the guy from that blog?”
Announcing the Launch of HRM Today
Today marks a new beginning. A revolution. A change in everything you’ve ever though. A brand new…
Sorry, I was channeling Steve Jobs there.
HRMToday.com, a new blog specifically aimed at Human Resources professionals, launches today. And since I really suck at doing press type releases, I’ll just go ahead and do this on the fly.
“But hey Lance, don’t you already have an HR blog?”
Yes I do but HRM Today is different and not just “different as in the same thing but instead of being painted red, it is painted crimson.”
- In case you haven’t noticed, YourHRGuy.com was really designed as a resource for job seekers and employees to understand HR. The underlying assumption is that people are interested in knowing a perspective from the HR side. Generally that is the case for a majority of readers.
- In that time though, I’ve been very lucky to pick up loyal readership from HR professionals all over the world. I throw these people a bone once in a while talking about issues that are near and dear to our collective hearts.
- I wanted a place that speaks to those professionals exclusively and also allows other HR professionals to either cross-promote their HR focused content or use it as a blog for themselves (even anonymously if they like).
So yes, different in that content will be HR focused and that it will be open to anyone who wants to promote their own HR focused content (either through cross-posting or using it as a blog). The only restrictions I want is that the content actually be HR focused, no spam at all and minimal jargon. That last one is only a preference though.
Head over to HRMToday.com and check it out. If you are interested in contributing, sign up and if you are interested in watching the community grow, you can subscribe to the RSS feed or get once daily e-mail updates.
VP Making Less Than Subordinate?
It happens. Or so says the mailbag:
I have a situation discovered inadvertently through my boss. I am a VP within the company. An individual was offered to move from another city out to our location to help replace and lend expertise due to several exiting reps. This individual was assigned to my area and reported to me as part of the team. Unbeknownst to me, the individual was offered over 15% more in annual salary as well as incentive increases to offset the income lapse from what was earned at the original office. When I found out, I brought up the disparity to the exec only to be told I would need to pick up the team success to see a possible adjustment to my income. There is much more responsibility and accountability in my role compared to the other individual. HR has been approached and the response was to speak with the persons who put this in place. Been there and done that. What to do?
I have already talked about making less than your subordinate so I won’t try to hit too many of those points again.
As an HR guy, I’d love for people to bury their head in the sand about pay. After all, if we could live in a vacuum and figure out what we’d like to make for the work we’re doing and we are happy about this, what does it matter? The problem with that is it is unrealistic to expect people to act this way. If you’re the boss, you want to be paid more (even if your salary if perfectly sufficient). If you were unhappy with your pay, it would have been better to address it without making the comparisons. After all, there are a few legitimate reasons why a subordinate may make more that I addressed in my last post about subordinate compensation. One of those reasons is one you brought up: market conditions. If you have an employee you want to attract from another market, oftentimes you are going to apply that pay to attract them. That may include making them more highly paid than the boss.
If you are getting brick walled by HR and your boss, you’re not getting anywhere. You have a couple options: start looking for better paid positions or earn your money through making improvements in your department.
To me at least, the most fascinating aspect about this whole question is that it doesn’t mention the performance of the person hired or if the company makes a great ROI on the employee. If you are the VP of Sales and this person makes a ton of money for the company and happens to get paid more than you: great! You have a great person on your team making your numbers look good. Your prosperity rises and falls with your employees and not the other way around.
Your Blog Sucks
I hate to break it to you but your blog sucks. In other words, the reason you aren’t getting readers is because I know the answers and you do not. Even the most popular blogs on the internet aren’t getting it done because they suck too. I don’t know what the people who are reading those popular blogs are thinking. Perhaps they are insane.
I am going to give steps so easy to follow, even my readers will pick up on them. Here is how to write a kick ass blog:
- A Title That Will Tick Everyone Off - In the blogosphere, everyone judges your book by its cover so it better be one that gets your attention. The best way to get attention is to take something that many people believe and say they are incredibly stupid for believing it. Another way is telling people why they aren’t as smart as you.
- Content Isn’t Important - Having strong opinions and letting everyone know how smart you are for having them is the only thing that is important. Instead of focusing on content, focus on highlighting words with bolds, italics and underlines to prove your point: you believe something and it is 100% correct.
- Assume Your Audience is Dumb - Repeat things several times if necessary. Remember, these people are reading your blog for the enlightenment that you provide and using too big of words will scare them off. Use simple words that they can understand and explain core concepts that everyone should already know just in case. You never know with some of these people.
- Use Lists to Beat Your Point Out of Thin Air - There is no limit to your list but you should never have less than three points. In fact, longer is better. Try to argue against a hundred point list. You may find holes in 20 of the arguments but that still leaves 80 arguments unrefuted. “Nice try you door knob! Let me know when you refute all 100!”
- Don’t Use Sources to Back Your Point Up - You’re better than the sources you would cite anyway. For bonus points, use the ultimate sources to back up your points if you must: yourself and the blogs that agree with you. Make sure to make the links as hard as possible to follow so that nobody will check them out (see, I just cheated those last few links).
- Make Sure to Vilify People That Dare Disagree With You - Who has the blog? That’s right, you do. So now act like it! Make sure to mention the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald also disagreed with you in your original post. Anytime somebody tries to bring up a point against your post, make sure to mention the fact that they are siding with the person that shot Kennedy. Who do you believe: the guy who sides with a known assassin or the guy who is thoroughly against presidential assassination? Bulletproof I tell you!
- Encourage People to Comment That Agree With You - Make sure to recognize every comment in support of your point with a strong “THANK YOU! Finally someone gets it!!11″ You only need a couple of these per post to convince you that at least some of your readers aren’t complete morons. Thankfully, because it is the internet, chances are someone will find a way to agree with you no matter what you actually say.
- Never Admit Defeat - It is unlikely that you’ll be bested but should it ever happen, you could do a couple of things. You could continue to admit that you are right in face of whatever evidence the person besting you is presenting. It may not win the argument but it will drive that person crazy enough to make it feel like you’ve won. Another one is deleting the post. After all, it is your blog.
- A Conclusion That Bails You Out - A way to avoid defeat is to simply have a squishy conclusion that you can point to that says the opposite of what your entire post implied (or even stated outright if you’re doing it right). For instance, if you have spent the entire time arguing that nobody knows how to write a blog that doesn’t suck, you can bail yourself out by ending with “While a majority of blogs out there do suck, there are some really great one’s out there that follow all of these principles routinely. It is nice to know that some people know what they are doing.”
So while a majority of blogs out there do suck, there are some really great one’s out there that follow all of these principles routinely. It is nice to know that some people know what they are doing.
Two Weeks Notice Gone Wrong
From the mailbag:
In Jan my wife decided that she would take a position in another part of the country and I would be leaving my employer or seeking a transfer to a different location. I sought out advice from the director of sales (exec mgmt) on how to proceed on the local mgmt level. He advised me to notify local mgmt of my situation and continue working without any change. The information was well received from local mgmt and they had no issue at that time.
About 1 month ago the local mgr took me into his office (with a witness) and said that for “budget reasons” he needed to know when I was leaving so he could plan his next fiscal year. I replied that I should be gone by July first, whether it was a transfer or going to another employer (not competition).
Last week he took me into his office (with a witness) and said that effective today we are going to take your 2 week notice and pay you for the next two weeks. Could you please gather your personal belongings and give me your office key? End of conversation!
I have spoke to HR and they have advised me that they would now like to pay me through June 30 and have me sign a release. HR said that by telling them that I was leaving on July 1, I was giving a resignation.
Any ideas on how to proceed?
This is a fun scenario. I am going to throw down the disclaimer that I am not a lawyer so blah blah blah… I am going to take it from two standpoint’s: what they should have done and what they have to do.
What they have to do under law is absolutely nothing assuming a couple of conditions are satisfied:
- You don’t have a policy or contract
- You aren’t in a union with protections
- You aren’t in some state with a unique law about notice
Now I am just going to assume that 2 and 3 aren’t on the table and address number 1. Now you may say you don’t have a contract or a policy doesn’t protect you but if local management accepts your resignation for July 1st without objection and your performance or conduct is not at issue (which is what it sounds like), they could have entered into a verbal contract with you.
From an HR standpoint, I would say that’s where management made the boo boo. By accepting your resignation date and then reneging on what they said they would do, they broke a verbal contract with you.
Now what they should have done whenever they said they were letting you go is give you your entire compensation through July 1. I would not advise people pay notice period unless they feel like it will be a distraction. Otherwise, the employee should be allowed to work through the end of the period.
Here is the kicker: HR wants you to give away your rights for correcting something that was their bad to begin with. Not that requiring a signed release is a bad thing (and I would likely do the same), it is just that in this scenario, the employee is the one with the upper hand. If I were in that scenario, I would say that I would sign a waiver that covers this specific issue. I’d rather not take it up to claims court (but I would if it came down to it) but I’d rather not give up any rights to get what I deserve. If it came out later that there was a pay discrepancy or maybe a discrimination issue that you were involved in, I’d want to keep those rights fully available.
Again, that’s what I would do. I would never sign something that gave away my rights but you may be happy enough with that outcome to just take it. That being said, there are options for recovering including claims and even hiring an attorney if you felt like it. And I would say that before anything, you at least pay for a consultation with an employment law specialist and see if you have any legal rights past the one I mentioned.
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About
Your HR Guy is a Human Resources Generalist practicing in the field. But don't let that fool you, this isn't a boring blog. I seek relevance and humor in a place we will spend much of our lives. Everything from workplace issues, job seeking and terrible bosses. Read more...
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