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HR Focus
TMHRA archives HTML versions of previous newsletters. I am writing this after just attending the Employment Law Seminar in Plano at the Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Center. The seminar was a rousing success. I worried that attendance might slip with an event scheduled this late in the budget year. We had over 185 participants register for the seminar, many more than expected. Special thanks go to Bettye Lynn and her law firm of Lynn Pham Moore & Ross, PC. Their firm supplied the majority of the speakers for the event. Neil Reichenberg, Executive Director of IPMA-HR, was also a presenter. This was our first personal contact with him since TMHRA became an official chapter of IPMA-HR. Our new relationship with IPMA-HR seems to be proceeding very smoothly. Remember, now participants at TMHRA sponsored events can receive certification points for IPMA-HR certification. Forms for this use are available at the registration desk at each event. I would also like to congratulate those who have been elected to serve on next year’s TMHRA Executive Board. The results of the election were canvassed by the Board and are listed below in a related article. I also want to thank those who were not elected but were willing to be nominated for an office. I find the willingness to participate is one of the strengths of our Association. I look forward to serving on the Board this next year as the Past President. I hope to see many of you again at the TML Annual Conference in Corpus Christi. Charmelle Garrett, HR Director in Victoria, has done an outstanding job with programs this year and has lined up a very interesting program for TMHRA at the conference. Barry Robinson October 27-29, 2004 Affiliates Day is scheduled for Thursday, October 28, 2004. This year’s topics include “Preparing Today’s Resources for Tomorrow’s Challenges,” a legislative update by TMRS, and “Trends in City Manager Recruiting” by Chris Hartung. November 19 TMLI is offering this workshop to update city officials and human resources professionals of existing laws and recent legislation that affect your cities when dealing with HR Issues. From hiring the right candidate for a key position by understanding and following the appropriate steps and laws in the hiring process; to finding out what you can and can’t say to the media when a key staff employee has been fired. TMLI Continuing Education credits will be offered. Register today and allow our expert facilitators to expand your knowledge base of HR issues. MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!!! Employment Law Seminar This year’s Employment Law Seminar was a great success with over 185 participants enrolled to attend. President Barry Robinson welcomed the group to the seminar and introduced our first speaker, Lu Pham. Lu gave us an informative presentation entitled “EEOC Update and Discrimination in the Workplace.” Lu reviewed “interesting” cases from various cities, such as the City of Fort Worth and the Town of Flower Mound. Julia Gannaway, Associate Attorney with Lynn Pham Moore & Ross, discussed e-mail/internet & privacy in the workplace. In this presentation she informed participants of two important aspects as it relates to her topic:
Julia recommends that all city employees know that the city owns the computer, the office, and everything in it. Did you know that in the public sector we can put a tracker on a city vehicle because there is not an expectation of privacy? Because of the possibility of harassment complaints, it is recommended that employers pay close attention to jokes that are sent via e-mail, or better yet have a policy which prohibits jokes to be sent via e-mail. The talk was very enlightening. Bettye Lynn utilized an innovative approach to the topic entitled “After the Discharge: How to Deal with the Media and Other Inquiries.” She recruited Lu Pham and Barry Robinson to portray an “investigative reporter” trying to get to the bottom of the “highly favored” Chief’s termination and a Mr. “the buck stops here” City Manager. The skit/presentation cleverly illustrated what not to do in such volatile situations. After lunch the participants received a burst of energy from George Hyde, Associate Attorney, Denton, Navarro, Rocha & Bernal, when he presented practical considerations in the employee/employer relationship. George’s presentation was loaded with humor as well as great information to use during our daily dealings with employee relations, such as:
The basis of George’s presentation centered on R-E-S-P-E-C-T, as sung by Aretha Franklin during his presentation!!! The audience enjoyed it. Maureen Moore was unable to join us at the seminar, so Julie Ross graciously presented investigating employee complaints and responding to unemployment claims to the group. 2004-2005 TMHRA ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS On Wednesday, September 15, 2004, your TMHRA Board of Directors canvassed the 2004 election, and the results are as follows: Your TMHRA President is Lauren Safranek, City of Frisco; Vice President is Melanie Caballero, City of Bryan; Secretary/Treasurer is George Mones, City of Mesquite; Trustees include Alison Froehlich-Smith, City of Baytown; Charmelle Garrett City of Victoria; Bonita Hall, City of Longview; Jane Mehrens, City of Brenham; Laura Morrow, City of Allen; and Scott Snider, City of Lubbock. Your TML Board Representative is Janet Melançon of the City of Waco, and your Past President is Barry Robinson of the City of Greenville. Congratulations to all of those elected! TMHRA is grateful for the continued support of our sponsors. The sponsorships allow us to keep all events reasonably priced and affordable for all members. Thank you to the following sponsors for their support and contributions through the year: AIG Valic ARTICLES OF INTEREST aka NEWS YOU SHOULD USE
WHO TAKES CARE OF HR? In our city, as is probably the case in most cities, the human resources department is called upon to assist employees and their families when crisis situations affect them. Because we have the most information about benefits and resources, we are available to provide help and comfort in times of real need. But who takes care of the HR department when such crises befall those employees? Sometimes we don’t think about tragedy striking us personally and, like the insurance salesman who failed to purchase life insurance, we don’t have any plans in place to help our families and coworkers cope with a sudden illness or injury. And because the caregiver suddenly needs care, fellow employees don’t know how to go about providing what we need. When our daughter died of injuries from an auto accident ten years ago, many of my coworkers were reluctant to stop by the office, and that hurt. As one person said, “I don’t know what to say to you.” Well, I didn’t know what to say to me either. While I doubt that a full-scale written plan to deal with personal tragedy is necessary, perhaps a few items of preparation might help ease the situation for you and your family:
So be a little selfish and put yourself first for a while. You’ll thank yourself for it later.
Four Generations—Many Questions Ever wonder why, when you are trying to supervise 20-year-old employees, they look at you as if you have just dropped in from another planet? Or the 60 year old who just doesn’t understand why the 30 year old wants family time? As a Human Resources person we will all be challenged with how to manage and/or coach supervisors how to deal with the four generations in today’s workplace. This article is intended to give you some ideas on where, generally speaking, each generation is coming from—so to speak! As you know, there are currently four generations in the workplace:
Each generation brings a different mindset to the job, so listed below are some factors to keep in mind. People of influence: Key words to remember: What they have witnessed: Work environment: Traditionalist: Build a legacy, lifetime career with one employer or at least in the same field. Their reward is a job well done. Challenge them with a checkup on their career path! Baby Boomer: Competitive, wants to build a stellar career, needs a challenging career path, provide them with opportunities that will vault them to the next level. Rewards are money, title, recognition, “corner office.” This group is having a change in attitude and recently started changing to jobs that are more satisfying and fulfilling. Gen X: Build a portable career with skills and experience they can take with them. Greatest fear is becoming stagnant, and they make a conscious effort to change jobs. If they feel coached and trained and are building a career portfolio, they are more likely to stay. Rewards are freedom and relaxed dress code! Gen Y: Like to build parallel career. They multitask, so cross-training is a great retention tool. Rewards are work that has meaning, ability to work in teams, participate in work decisions, and want to know what the work actually does for the customer. Recruitment tool is your web page, and they expect instant results when an application is completed. In my opinion, some of our greatest challenges will be in coaching supervisors on how to handle management issues that arise from the different generations. As a governmental entity, we are going to be challenged to process applications quicker and make job offers faster if we expect to hire the newer generation. As Traditionalists and Baby Boomers stay in the job market longer, we are also going to be challenged to make sure they have a meaningful career path, one of which is making sure they mentor our newer employees—what a great wealth of experience they will have to share. And on the flip side, we are going to have to be tolerant of the questions and expectations that the younger generations will have in the work place. They don’t like the “chain of command” systems and the “need to know only basis.” They want to understand the organization they have chosen to embrace. This article was not intended to answer your questions–only peak your interest. There are several good books on the market and some seminars that you can attend. I hope you will grow in this area—I find it fascinating!
A NEW CULTURE – P.R.I.D.E. RECOGNITION AND REWARDS PROGRAM One of the most difficult areas that managers have to deal with is in communicating an employee’s value to them. As part of a strategic planning review meeting in November 2002, our department heads were tasked with developing a list of core organizational values. One group felt that we needed values that employees could actually remember, and P.R.I.D.E. was born. “Serving with P.R.I.D.E.” reflects the organizational values of …
In January, a focus group of employees throughout the organization was formed because we wanted to determine how employees would respond to this concept. Would they feel this was a viable reflection of what we wanted our culture to be, or would they just look at P.R.I.D.E. as a “program of the month”? Much to our surprise, the employee group not only said employees would buy into the core values, they began to come up with ideas on how to implement and communicate a full-fledged program. Within three months, we had a policy, budget, plans for quarterly rallies, logo designs, truck decals, and t-shirts. Our inaugural rally was a roaring success! The group felt that we needed a multi-pronged approach to a rewards and recognition program utilizing our P.R.I.D.E. values. Departments were divided into manageably-sized groups (larger departments were split and smaller departments combined) to make sure everyone had a fair shot at higher level awards. Immediate recognition is given through On the Spot awards. This is a candy-gram given to any employee who has been spotted showing P.R.I.D.E., and can be given by any employee in the organization. Our City Council members have also rewarded employees they have spotted showing P.R.I.D.E. You Showed P.R.I.D.E. awards are given monthly to individuals chosen from that month’s “On the Spot” winners. These awards are delivered to our winners amid much fanfare by our P.R.I.D.E. Patrol! Award winners have their choice of a home movie pack (containing gift card, drinks, and munchies) or a gift certificate to a local theatre, each valued at $15.00. Dinner with P.R.I.D.E. is a quarterly award that consists of a $20 gift certificate to a local restaurant, given to one employee chosen from “On the Spot/You Showed P.R.I.D.E.” winners. This award is presented at the quarterly rallies. Day of P.R.I.D.E. This day off with pay award is given to three outstanding individuals semi-annually. Employees are nominated on a special form, and any employee is eligible to receive this award. A more stringent selection process is used, with department groups combined, to recommend one nominee from their area. A committee consisting of three department heads then makes the final selection of up to three winners. Employees are also honored at our annual Employee Awards Banquet. Five award winners are chosen, reflecting each of our organizational values – People First, Respect, Integrity, Deliver, and Excel. These employees receive a trophy and are recognized in the “Employee Hall of P.R.I.D.E.” exhibit for the entire year. The winners then comprise a recommendation committee, who go through a selection process, then make recommendations for winners to the City Manager. To date, 75% of our employees have received “On the Spot” awards. Productivity has increased, and the program has done wonders for morale, as all of our employees enjoy being recognized for showing P.R.I.D.E. values! Quarterly rallies serve to get the word out about P.R.I.D.E. They each differ, from skits to speakers, but the core values are always stressed and the time is always used to recognize employee efforts. Additionally, the City Manager lets all in attendance know of their value to the organization. The City Council Chambers are always packed, and some of our City Council Members have attended as well. Of course, no rally is complete without food of some sort! We have had wings, burgers, pizza, and ice cream. This year we decided to go with a year-long theme, Building Blocks of P.R.I.D.E. The Council Chambers were designated as a “hard hat area”, and each attendee was issued a “hard hat” as they entered. The P.R.I.D.E. Melodrama Theatre presented a short skit, and then all employees went outside to “Build Burgers with P.R.I.D.E.” We conducted a recent rally in conjunction with “City of Allen Employee Appreciation Week.” Each day employees received something letting them know how much they were appreciated. Monday was Blow Pop Day, with a tag that said “Customer Service is ‘Popping’ at the City of Allen.” Tuesday was “Red Hot with Respect” Day, and employees received a small package with red hots, atomic fireballs, and Peppermints. Wednesday was the rally. Thursday, employees received a bag of candy and small toys, with the saying “Special ‘Delivery’ to You, our Special Employee,” and Friday, we delivered Natatorium pool passes with a card that read “The City of Allen is keeping quality customer service in ‘Excellent’ Shape.” The Human Resources Department as well as P.R.I.D.E. committee members have received several comments and e-mails from employees expressing gratitude that the City appreciates them. This program has proven to be an excellent way to communicate respect and appreciation to our workforce, as well as a great way to get the word out on the City’s customer service focus. One of the most interesting outcomes is that it has allowed our employees to know each other better. With rapid growth, everywhere you look, you see new people. The P.R.I.D.E. Program has opened new venues for communication with employees and has resulted in an added closeness among our workforce. P.R.I.D.E. has permeated our entire culture, and will continue to affect all future programming, including visioning, training, mentoring, and employee initiatives. This is YOUR newsletter and we want to ensure it provides you with a valuable source of information from TMHRA. If you have any ideas, articles, or information you would like to see included in future newsletters, please submit them to the Newsletter Committee.
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©2010 Texas
Municipal Human Resources Association, 1821 Rutherford Lane, Suite 400, Austin,
TX 78754;
512-231-7400; (fax) 512-231-7494; tmhra@tml.org
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