CDHRA March 2005 Newsletter
	Happy St. Patrick's Day

ND Soldiers Returning to Civilian Jobs
SHRM Online Highlights
SHRM Interactive
On the Web
Professional Certification
Eating Healthy
Learning on the Job
Basic Work Competencies
Your Supporting Cast
Do the Right Thing
How Did They Do That?
Quotes
Optimist or Pessimist?
Injury and Illness Rates
Quantify Your Goals
Team Building Tips
Before You Decide

SHRM Online Highlights.

For the latest HR information, resources and reference material, visit www.shrm.org.
NOTE: SHRM membership may be a requirement for access to these articles.

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SHRM Interactive

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On the Web

For more news and updates on these and other stories, see the online version of HR News visit www.shrm.org/hrnews.

Changes to Permanent Foreign Labor Certification Effective March 28 Effective March 28, new Department of Labor regulations require employers to demonstrate that there are no willing and qualified Americans available for hire before filling applications with the government to use aliens for permanent employment tin the United States.

Groups Say Proposed USERRA Rules Need Additional Work The Department of Labor was starting from scratch when it proposed the first regulations under the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act in September. Judging from comments filed by interested parties, the recipe still needs some work. [ More ]

Pension Benefit Advisory Council Calls for Better Fee Disclosure HR professionals and employees deserve better disclosure of fees charged on retirement savings and investments, a federal advisory council reported to the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration. [ More ]

Incentive Programs Fall Short With Employees, Survey Finds Organizations need to work on their incentive and award programs: An online poll of 1,002 employees across the United States found that 55 percent were unhappy with their companies' incentive programs.

GAO Urges Better Job Assistance For the Disabled The U.S. Government Accountability Office is urging nth Department of Labor to develop a long-term plan to ensure the so-called one-stop shops for employment services in the States provide adequate access for and services to people with disabilities.

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Professional Certification. Exam testing windows for the PHR/SPHR exams are:

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Eating Healthy. If you are what you eat, what are you?

March is National Nutrition Month, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the first step to a healthier life is to include 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables in your family’s daily diet.

What’s a serving?

• 3/4 cup or 6 ounces of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice
• 1/2 cup raw, cooked, canned, or frozen fruit or vegetables
• 1/2 cup cooked, canned, or frozen peas or beans
• 1 cup raw, leafy vegetables
• 1 medium size fruit
• 1/4 cup dried fruit

Nutritionists also say it’s easier than you think to eat healthier. For example:

• For breakfast–add a favorite fruit to cereal or yogurt and drink 100% juice.
• For lunch–pack a pita full of chopped veggies, have a salad, sip vegetable soup, or fill a baggie with cut fruits or veggies to munch on.
• For snacks–fill ice cube trays with 100% juice, stick in toothpicks, and enjoy mini-popsicles.
• For dinner–serve two vegetables and a salad along with your main course.

You can even start a healthy competition in your family by tracking everyone’s fruit and vegetable consumption for a week.

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Learning on the Job. How to get the most from training.

Training gives you a chance to gain the skills and information you need to do a great job. That’s why it’s important to get the most from every training session.

Here’s what to look for:

• Objective of the session. The objective states the purpose of the training and is usually presented right at the beginning of the session.
• Training goals. The trainer usually lists several training goals. These are the things you should know by the end of the session.
• Training points. These are either the steps involved in performing the skill or the main issues related to the information. If the trainer doesn’t provide you with a handout of these points, write them down.
• Opportunity to practice. If a training session’s purpose is to teach a skill, then you need time during the session to practice the skill while the trainer watches and gives feedback. Take advantage of this opportunity to make sure
  you understand exactly what you are supposed to do and how to do it.
• Chance to ask questions. Every training session should also allow time for questions. Never leave a session confused about any points or with questions about what you were supposed to learn.
• Explanation of how to transfer skills to the job. The whole point of training is to use what you learn in your job. Make sure you understand how to use the skills or information you learn in your work.
• Review of key points. Finally, every training session needs to end with a re-
  view of the objective, goals, and training points.

Make the most of every training session by paying attention to the objectives and goals, absorbing and understanding the training points, practicing the new skill, and asking questions to make sure you know how to apply this skill or that information to your job!

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Basic Work Competencies for the 21st Century.

According to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, we need five basic work abilities to be successful in the 21st century.

1. Resources. Identify, organize, plan, and allocate resources such as time, money, materials, and people.
   
2. Interpersonal. Work with others and:
   — Participate as a team member and contribute to group efforts.
   — Work to satisfy customer expectations.
   — Exercise leadership and communicate ideas to persuade others.
   — Negotiate mutually satisfactory agreements.
   — Work well with men and women from diverse backgrounds.
   
3. Information. Recognize relevant job information and know how to:
   — Acquire and evaluate it.
   — Organize and maintain it.
   — Interpret and communicate it.
   — Use computers to process it.
   
4. Systems. Operate effectively with workplace systems and:
   — Know how social, organizational, and technological systems work.
   — Monitor and correct system performance.
   — Suggest ways to improve systems.
   
5. Technology. Work with a variety of technologies and:
   — Select appropriate procedures, tools, or equipment.
   — Apply technology to a task and understand proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment.
   — Maintain and troubleshoot equipment, and prevent, identify, and solve problems with equipment used on the job.

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Your Supporting Cast. A dozen skills that help you perform like a star.

Every job has specific required skills. A machine operator has to know how to operate the machine. An assembler must be able to assemble parts. A data processor must be able to type.

In addition to these starring skills, there’s a supporting cast of skills everyone needs to do a good job. They include the ability to:

1. Think creatively and generate new ideas.
2. Evaluate alternatives and make good decisions.
3. Recognize problems and come up with a plan of action to solve them.
4. Organize and process symbols, pictures, graphs, and other information.
5. Use efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
6. Understand underlying relationships and apply that understanding to your job.
7. Act responsibly.
8. Persevere toward goals.
9. Maintain a positive, self-confident attitude and believe in yourself.
10. Demonstrate understanding, friendliness, adaptability, and empathy toward co-workers and others with whom you come in contact on the job.
11. Manage yourself and your time, monitor your progress toward goals, and exhibit self-control.
12. Make ethical choices and exhibit a high standard of personal integrity.

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Do the Right Thing.

There are many occasions on the job when you may be tempted to do the most convenient thing rather than the right thing. For example, you might forgo a safety precaution to save time or do a less-than- perfect job because you don’t feel like putting in the effort to do it right, and you figure nobody’s going to notice anyway.

Maybe nobody will notice that time. But sooner or later, taking the easy way out is going to come back to hurt you. So always do the right thing.

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How Did They Do That?

Here are two problem-solving exercises:

Problem 1: You’ve probably seen a ship in a bottle. How do they get the ship into the bottle? Clearly, the ship is too big to fit through the bottle neck.

[ Click Here ] for the solution to problem 1.

Problem 2: Mexicans sometimes sell a bottle of tequila with a worm in the bottom. You might ask why they do that, but there’s no question about how they do it. A worm fits easily through the bottle neck. But that’s not the case with a
pear brandy made in France, which has a full-grown pear nestling in the bottom of the bottle. There’s no way to put a
pear through the narrow bottle neck. So how do they do it?

[ Click Here ] for the solution to problem 2.

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Quotes.

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. — Lou Holtz

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I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. — Martha Washington

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Optimist or Pessimist? Is your glass half empty or half full?

March is National Optimism Month. Optimism is defined as an inclination to anticipate the best outcome for actions and events. Studies show that optimists are more successful, better able to cope with stress, and healthier than pessimists.
Here’s a story about the difference between optimists and pessimists:

A couple had two sons: One was a total optimist, the other a complete pessimist. The parents thought both their sons’ attitudes needed some adjustment if the boys were to lead well-balanced lives. So they took the kids to a psychiatrist, who recommended giving the pessimist a new bike for Christmas and the optimist a box of dog droppings.

The parents were surprised by the doctor’s recommendation but decided to follow his advice. When the pessimist saw his present, he said, Oh, great! I’ll probably fall off and break a leg.

When the optimist saw his present, a big grin spread across his face. Gee, thanks! he said. His parents were mystified. Why are you thanking us, son? they asked. We gave you dog droppings for Christmas!

Sure, replied the boy, but with all this poop, there’s got to be a puppy hidden around here somewhere.

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Solution to Problem 1:

The ships you see in a bottle are generally built outside the bottle. The masts and sails are made with hinges so that they can lie flat in order to fit through the neck of the bottle. Once the ship is inside, a string is pulled to raise the masts and sails. Sometimes the ships are constructed entirely within the bottle, piece by piece. Each piece is inserted through the neck of the bottle and glued in place.

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Injury and Illness Rates. Statistics reveal many workers getting hurt.

Here are some interesting facts about workplace safety and health from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• There were 1.4 million cases of workplace injury or illness serious enough to require the worker to take at least one day off from work in one recent year.
• Injuries and illnesses to workers aged 20 to 44 accounted for 64 percent of all workers injured in that year.
• Workers over the age of 65 had the lowest percentage of injuries and illness at 1.7 percent.
• Employees with 1 to 5 years of service with their employers accounted for 37 percent of all lost workdays, whereas workers with more experience (more than 5 years of service) constituted only 29 percent of total cases.
• Truck drivers experienced the most injuries and illnesses with 112,200 requiring days away from work.
• Employees who work with sick people, such as nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants, had a total of 79,000 lost workdays.
• General laborers in non-construction jobs also had a high rate of injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work, coming in with a total of 76,600 for the year.
• Maintenance workers had 42,000 injuries and illnesses resulting in lost workdays, about the same number as constructions workers.

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Quantify Your Goals.

When you set performance goals for your- self, be specific. Express them in terms of an exact number or a maximum/minimum range of desired performance. For example:

• “I will reduce my error rate by 10 percent this month.”
• “I will increase my productivity by 5 units a day.”
• “I will return customers’ calls within a maximum of 4 hours.”
• “I will spend at least 30 minutes working on my special project today.”

With objective goals like this, you know exactly when you’ve achieved them—or when you haven’t. This makes your target easier to see—and easier to hit.

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Team building Tips. How to pick the best teammates.

To assemble a winning work team, look for people who are:

• Skilled and knowledgeable. They need to know what they’re doing—or be able to be trained quickly and easily. Otherwise they may not be able to pull their weight, and that could put stress on the rest of the team.
• Hardworking. The workload needs to be shared fairly among team members. Everyone contributes and puts in a full day’s work and more, when necessary.
• Easy to work with. Good teammates are cooperative, honest, and willing. They have a positive attitude and get along well with other people.
• Completely reliable. They keep their promises. They show up for meetings. When you assign them a task, you know it'll get done.
• Good communicators. They know how to express their thoughts and ideas clearly as well as how to listen to teammates ideas.
• Success-oriented. For a winning team, pick teammates who want to win.
• Creative problem-solvers. Teammates need to like challenges and be ready and able to take on—and to solve—whatever problems come their way.

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Solution to Problem 2:

The solution to the pear-in-a-bottle problem is really quite simple, but not ordinary. They grow the pear in the bottle! They stick the tip of the branch into the bottle while the young pear is still small enough to fit through the neck.

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Before You Decide. Lay a good foundation for your choice.

To make effective decisions on the job take these four essential steps:

1. Begin by determining if this is really a decision for you to make. It could be a decision somebody else has to make, such as a supervisor or co-worker. Or perhaps you need to make the decision with somebody else.
   
2. If the decision is indeed yours to make, consider when the decision must be made. Does it have to be right now or could you make it later and give yourself more time? In general, the more time you have to think through your options, the better decision you’ll make.
   
3. Identify the key issue or issues that will influence your decision. Are there cost or time limits to take into account? Are there quality or safety standards that will affect the choice you make?
   
4. Ask yourself why—and how—the decision is important. It might be important because it affects your job performance or work schedule. Or it may have an impact on others, such as co-workers or customers.

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