CDHRA OCTOBER 2005 Newsletter
	Happy Halloween!

CDHRA News
SHRM Online - Highlights
SHRM Interactive - Webcast Series
On the Web - HR News
New, Better, Best
The Case Of The Smashed Pickles
The Case Of The Unasked Question
Change Is For The Old?
Make Halloween Safe
Effective Teamwork
Fight Workplace Crime
Diversity Awareness
The“Right” Way To Mouse
How To Be A Leader
Time Management
Fire Prevention Week
Service Excellence
Your Role in Quality
Quotes

CDHRA News.

CDHRA Board Meeting - The fourth quarter CDHRA board meeting will be held on Thursday, November 3, 2005, beginning at 8:30am at the ND Deptartment of Transportation (608 East Boulevard Avenue) Room #330.  I would like to extend a special invitation to our newest board member Mindi Steckler, Workforce ReadinesscChair, and our 2006 candidates/chairpersons - Bob Evans, Melissa Jorgenson, and Corrie Mayher.  Welcome, we are glad to have you join CDHRA's leadership team!

Please email Jeanne Masseth any ideas/items for the agenda.  The focus of this meeting will be our 2006 goals, budget, and possible program ideas.

New Member Orientation - The Membership Committee would like to extend an invitation to all new members, executive officers, and committee chairpersons to attend the New Member Orientation on Tuesday, November 1, 2005. Orientation will be held at the North Dakota State Capitol in the Fort Totten Room,7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Breakfast will be provided. The room is located in the west wing of the capitol and can be accessed through the west door.  Parking is available in the west parking lot off of 4th Street.  The Fort Totten Room is located in the half circle off of the main hallway and will be on the left. The room name is above the doorway.

Please RSVP your attendance by contacting Frances Zuther or 328-3268 by October 28, 2005.

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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.

Hurricane Katrina

How to Help - and Get Help SHRM has compiled a list of national and local resources that can help employers and employees get their lives back on track. [ More ]

Navigating Troubled Waters Crisis like Hurricane Katrina can create a variety of challenges for employees and employers alike. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Getting Workers Paid Employers rely on HR technology to ensure that employees get the resources they need to rebuild their lives. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Leading During Crisis Manager's critical roles in uncertain times include managing, motivating, and leading employees in a radically changed work environment. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

On The Net Online job boards help evacuees find work in times of trouble. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Planning For Disaster Employers applied the lessons learned in the aftermath of September 11th to deal with the crisis of Katrina.[ More ] (SHRM Members)

Compensation

Looking to '06 Base salary increases in 2006 won't be much lower than they were this year. But, they wont be much higher either. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Benefits Drain Take-Home Pay Particularly for small employers, the rising cost of employee benefits is having a negative impact on employee take-home pay. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Outsourcing

M&A's Impact HR outsourcing is rarely given enough consideration before a company goes through a merger or acquisition. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Strategic Value Companies outsourcing HR functions have more choices and an increasingly flexible, creative and comprehensive menu of services. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Benefits

Tea Time Complimentary coffee and tea in the workplace can create a positive buzz. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Integrating Pay And 401(k)s Emerging companies hope to reap the business-integration benefits traditionally realized by larger employers. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Global HR

China Emerges As HR Outsourcing Force More China-based organizations are providing outsourced HR services to the worldwide market. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Offshoring Pros And Cons In a new SHRM survey, HR sees the value of moving certain jobs out of the United States, but worries about the impact. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Recruiting

Getting To The Planning Stage Despite the need for workforce planning, too few organizations engage in bona fide forecasting. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Schools Push For Math, Science Grads U.S. business groups want to spur interest in pursuing degrees in math and science fields. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Diversity

Glass Ceiling: Getting Thicker? The rates at which women are advancing in the business community slowed between 2004 and 2005. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Interacting With The ADA The courts want employers to engage in "good faith" interactive processes when it comes to making an accommodation under the ADA. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Measurements

Calculating Cost-Per-Hire Address one of the limitations of the cost-per-hire metric by calculating the costs of hiring at multiple employee levels. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Consultants

Career Services Go Beyond Resumes Times have never been better for consultants working in career coaching or counseling.[ More ] (SHRM Members)

Technology

Right To Privacy? Employers must balance their concerns about enforcing workplace policies with a respect for employee's privacy. [ More ] (SHRM Members)

Five For HR

Ethics Ethics: Who's Minding The Store? Ethics In Today's Workplace An HR Perspective Corporate Compasses Sample Policy: Business Ethics [ More ] (SHRM Members)

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SHRM Interactive.

SHRM Webcast Series
Employee Shared Services [ More ] (SHRM Members)
Measuring Staffing Department Performance [ More ] (SHRM Members)
State and Federal Overtime Laws [ More ] (SHRM Members)
Generational Differences in Global Workplaces [ More ] (SHRM Members)
Employment Law In California [ More ] (SHRM Members)
Your HR Technology IQ [ More ] (SHRM Members)
HR Careers in Outsourcing [ More ] (SHRM Members)

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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.

H-1B Visa Applications For Next Fiscal Year Teach Limit The number of applications filed for H-1B visas for fiscal 2006 reached the legal limit two months before the year started, said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Cost of Employer-Provided Benefits Is Cutting Into Wages Benefits are consuming a larger share of compensation because of their rising cost, and employers are dipping into workers' pay to afford the benefits they offer employees.

HR Faces Fallout From Latest Rift In U.S. Labor Movement Observers differ on whether a faction's push to reform the labor movement will weaken organized labor. In the short term, expect a jump in organizing and more creative approaches in collective bargaining and management relations.

New EEOC Guidance Addresses Cancer As A Disability To help root out discrimination against working adults who have cancer and those with a history of the disease, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a new publication on the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to people with cancer.

Research Finds 'Motherhood Penalty' In Employment Process Women with children are at a significant disadvantage compared to women without children and compared to just about everybody else in the hiring process.

HSA Premiums Drop15 Percent From 2004 Premiums for portable, tax-advantaged health savings accounts have gotten a little more affordable. Plans purchased in 2005 cost an average of $29 per month or $348 per year less since they became available in 2004.

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New, Better, Best. Focus on continuous quality improvement.

October is National Quality Month, which makes this a good time to focus on improving the quality of our products and services. Our goal is continuous quality improvement, because if we continually come up with new and better ways to serve customers, they will continue to think of us as the best company in a competitive market.

Here’s what we can do to ensure continuous quality improvement:

Identify customer needs and expectations. This is the first step in the quality improvement process. What do our customers want from us? What keeps them coming back?

Measure current satisfaction. We need to know how satisfied our customers are with our current efforts. How are we doing compared with the competition?

Propose quality improvements. We need everyone’s input about ways to improve our products and services. We encourage your quality improvement ideas and suggestions. After all, who knows your job better than you?

Review suggestions. We will review all suggestions carefully, bringing in all our experts from each department to evaluate quality improvement ideas.

Organize improvement plans. Using available resources, we’ll take the best ideas for satisfying customers and develop an action plan to improve quality. We need everyone’s cooperation to make these quality changes work.

Verify that changes have improved customer satisfaction. After our improvements have been in place for a designated time, we will remeasure customer satisfaction to determine whether our changes were an improvement.

Extend improvements to other areas. Once we’ve found a way that works, we will extend these successful improvements to other areas of our operation.

You play a crucial role in each one of these steps. Please participate in our continuous improvement process to find new and better ways to be the best for our customers.

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The Case Of The Smashed Pickles.

When you make quality improvements in your job, make sure that the changes don’t have a negative impact on another aspect of your job. Consultant and author Dr. Gordon W. Fuller provides an example of why this step is so important.

A certain pickle manufacturer received several complaints about smashed pickles in its jars. The company investigated and found an assembly line employee who used a rubber mallet to push down pickles that extended above the jar rims.

Why did he do this? Because the company investigated another quality control problem involving poorly sealed jars and resolved that problem with the mallet method. Their jars were now properly sealed.

Unfortunately, nobody realized that the solution to one problem caused another.

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The Case Of The Unasked Question.

When a company came up with a new formula for its products, the employee in charge of weighing ingredients was retrained to make new measurements. Unfortunately, he didn’t fully understand the changes but was too embarrassed to ask his supervisor to explain how to recalibrate the scales again.

After a couple of days of poor production runs, the problem was tracked down to this employee and the question he didn’t ask. When you don't understand directions or you need more information about a change - don't forget to ask the question.

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Change Is For The Old?

Do you think older or younger workers are more open to workplace change? The answer may surprise you. According to a study by Dr. Tracey Rizzuto at Louisiana State University, older workers are actually more willing to learn new systems and are more satisfied with change.

Rizzuto credits this attitude about change to older workers’ loyalty to their co-workers and organizations. If the changes were perceived as beneficial to everyone, senior workers were more positive about them than younger workers.

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Make Halloween Safe This Year.

Are your kids already planning their costumes and mapping the most productive trick-or-treat routes? Though Halloween is one of the most popular holidays, it is also fraught with risks.

Protect your kids with these do’s and don’ts:

• Do teach them to stay away from candles.
• Do make sure your witch or goblin carries a flashlight and wears reflective clothing.
• Don’t let them wear long costumes that drag on the ground and trip them.
• Don’t buy costumes with masks. They can obstruct vision. Use makeup instead.
• Don’t let children trick or treat alone. Accompany the younger ones yourself, and make sure older kids are part of a group.

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Effective Teamwork. How To Create Consensus.

Effective teamwork requires consensus. Consensus simply means general agreement. It reflects group solidarity in thinking and/or feeling on an issue. It is inclusive and acknowledges the views of all members of the group.

Here are the five basic building blocks for creating consensus:

1. Define the decision to be made or the problem to be solved. Get everyone focused on the same issue.
2. Establish ground rules for the discussion. Rules ensure that all points of view are voiced and considered. Encourage 100 percent participation and discourage premature criticism or domination of the discussion by a few.
3. Get the honest views of all group members. Don’t take silence as agreement. Draw out the views of quiet or previously critical members.
4. Seek consensus. Don’t accept agreement too quickly. Make sure people are agreeing for the right reasons, not because they feel pressured or want to “just get it over with.”
5. Create a final statement summarizing the group’s decision. Each member should be able to recognize a key point that was important to him or her in the summary statement. This recognition strengthens member commitment and confirms their acceptance of the decision.

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Fight Workplace Crime. Help Keep Your Workplace Secure.

October is National Crime Prevention Month. Use this time to renew your commitment to security actions, such as these:

• Always follow security regulations and encourage co-workers to follow them. Our rules are designed to protect you and the facility from crime, vandalism, and violence.
• Protect your valuables. Lock up anything you don’t want to lose.
• Don’t discuss company affairs off the job. You might provide criminals with information that could help them breach company security.
• Protect computer passwords and other security codes. Don’t share this information with any unauthorized individuals.
• Report strangers in restricted areas of the facility. If you feel comfortable doing so, ask them whom they’re looking for and escort them to the person.
• Secure doors and windows that are intended to be locked.
• Report burned-out lights indoors and outdoors.
• Be careful coming and going from the workplace. Be alert and cautious in parking lots, on public transportation, and on the street — especially after dark.
• Carry a mobile phone if your job takes you on the road so that you can get help in an emergency.

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Diversity Awareness.

October is Diversity Awareness Month. As our workplace becomes increasingly diverse, let’s create an environment in which we all feel safe to discuss diversity issues and resolve problems. Here’s how:

• Respect differences — any differences.
• Never assume stereotypes about specific groups of people.
• Learn from the variety of co-workers’ experiences.
• Look at co-workers’ abilities, not their disabilities.
• Don’t go along with insensitive comments. Speak up.
• Think inclusively — never exclusively.

By working together we can achieve our goal of a respectful and dignified work environment for everyone.

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The“Right” Way To Mouse.

If you are a right-handed computer user experiencing hand or wrist pain from too much mouse-clicking, move your mouse to the left side of the keyboard, suggests ergonomics consultant Sharon Taylor of ErgoSum Consulting.

According to Taylor, reaching beyond the number of keys on the right side of the keyboard moves the elbow away from the body and forces the neck and shoulder muscles to be continuously active. She acknowledges that the change may feel awkward at first, but promises that most people adapt within about 2 weeks.

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How To Be A Leader. Develop Good Leadership Skills.

To be a leader you need to develop these important leadership skills.

First, you need to understand how leading is different from doing. Leadership is about inspiring others to complete a job to the best of their abilities. Leaders work through others. A leader’s job is to plan, deploy, and direct.

Second, leaders need to delegate, which means letting go and trusting. Effective leaders do not try to control every detail. As General George Patton once told one of his officers, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

Third, leaders must be organized. Since leaders often multitask, they need to keep track of everything on their plate.

Fourth, leaders must have excellent people skills. They need to handle all kinds of people and teams effectively.

Fifth, leaders need to communicate effectively. They need to ensure that people always understand their directions and guidance.

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Time Management. How to be More Efficient.

Be more efficient by setting goals and making wise decisions. When Setting Goals:

• Determine the desired result. What exactly do you need to achieve?
• Develop short-term objectives. These are the steps you must take to arrive at your goal. State them clearly and organize them in a realistic sequence.
• Adjust your objectives. If conditions change, redefine your goals.

Effective time management also involves decision-making at work. You will get more work done in less time if you can make quick and accurate decisions. When Making Work Decisions:

• Gather all the facts and figures you need to make an informed decision.
• Consider the consequences of each option.
• Discuss the decision with your supervisor or an experienced co-worker whose opinion you respect.
• Choose the best available option and make your decision.
• Revise your decision if things don’t work out as anticipated.

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Fire Prevention Week.

October 9 to 15 is Fire Prevention Week.

Take a minute now to review these steps for preventing workplace fires:

• Store chemicals in tightly closed containers.
• Read labels and MSDSs for the fire hazards of the chemicals you use.
• Keep flammable and combustible materials away from ignition sources.
• Keep incompatible chemicals away from each other.
• Check containers regularly for damage or leaks.
• Clean spills of flammable liquids right away, and dispose of cleanup materials properly.
• Make sure cords and plugs are in good condition before you use electrical equipment.
• Don’t overload electrical circuits.
• Keep hot equipment away from combustible materials.
• Shut down electrical equipment that smokes or sparks.
• Smoke only in designated areas.
• Extinguish cigarettes and matches completely in designated containers.
• Handle compressed gas cylinders with care and keep them away from heat.
• Keep your work area free of trash, combustible scrap materials, and other debris.
• Place oily rags in metal containers with lids.
• Keep machines free of dust and grease.
• Report fire hazards you can’t correct.

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Service Excellence. Test Your Customer Service Smarts.

Test your customer service knowledge by taking this short quiz. Just circle T for true or F for false and then check your answers below.
1.	Customer service is more important when dealing with consumers than business clients.	T	F
2.	It costs twice as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep a current one.	T	F
3.	The company defines customer needs.	T	F
4.	Satisfied customers tell more people about their experience than dissatisfied customers.	T	F
5.	Customers appreciate a genuine effort to handle a problem even when it can’t be solved completely to their satisfaction.	T	F
6.	Repeat customers expect less from our company than new customers.	T	F
7.	The best way to give top service is to put yourself in customers’ shoes.	T	F
Answers: False. Good service is equally important to business customers. False. It can cost as much as five times more to attract a new customer. False. Customers define their own needs. False. Dissatisfied customers generally tell many more people about their bad experience. True. False. Repeat customers may expect even more service in return for their loyalty. True. Always treat customers as you would like to be treated.

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Your Role in Quality. Keep Quality Standards High.

Without the hard work of you and your co-workers, our organization would never succeed. You are the key ingredient in the quality of our company’s products and services. Help us maintain and improve quality standards by taking these steps:

1. Plan. Before you start any job, take the time to figure out exactly what you need to do and how you must do it to meet quality standards.
2. Anticipate. Before you begin working, think about what could go wrong and cause a quality-related problem. Identify solutions and prepare to implement them if a problem arises.
3. Ask. Ask your supervisor to explain anything you’re not sure about.
4. Pay attention. While you work, concentrate on the job at hand. Don’t get distracted. Don’t allow your mind to wander.
5. Get the information you need. Make sure your information is accurate and up to date.
6. Use the right materials and equipment. Use the right resources to produce the best quality result.

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Quotes:

“On Halloween, the parents sent their kids out looking like me.”
Rodney Dangerfield, (1921-2004)

“Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others.
It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed.”
Mwai Kibaki

“I am definitely going to take a course on time management . . . .
just as soon as I can work it into my schedule.”
Louis E. Boone