Boomer managers and younger employees
1/1/2008
The MTSG View
On
business, the workplace and employee relations
January, 2008
Pop Quiz: HR
and the Older Worker
Q A
worker who is nearing retirement age is refused a job as a resource assistant
for the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) forestry department The job
demands research skills specific to the forestry industry and the ability to
produce specialized statistical reports
This
worker doesn't have much directly relatable experience, but he has a lengthy
work history that highlights his ability to take on new tasks As a bank
employee he's developed word-processing skills and he can conduct and compile
complex credit analysis and account-profitability analysis
If the
USDA refuses to hire the worker, will he have a valid age discrimination claim?
A It's unlikely
since a federal court in New
Hampshire ruled recently that the USDA wasn't
required to lessen its job standards so this worker, who had some relatable skills, could handle the
workload
The Age
Discrimination in Employment Act, which governed the worker's claim, states
that to prove age-based discrimination, a worker must show that 1) he or she
was at least 40 years old at the time the alleged discriminatory act took
place, 2) he or she was qualified for the position, 3) he or she was not
selected for the position, and 4) the prospective employer did not apply an
age-neutrality standard with regard to all applicants
The
USDA argued that the evidence demonstrated that the worker was not, in fact,
qualified for the forestry position The court agreed, dismissing the case and
ruling that the worker's showing that he had a high-level of cognitive ability
wasn't enough to demonstrate that he was qualified for this particular
position
The story
may have been had a different ending if the worker could have shown how the
skills he acquired in the banking industry would transfer to the forestry
field Still, the case illustrates the importance of drafting job descriptions
that articulate not only the general skills that are necessary for a particular
position, but also the specific training and areas of expertise that the ideal
candidate will possess
The Workplace
A,B,Cs for Generation Y
Baby
Boomer business managers or HR directors may not always connect with the
younger members of Generation Y, but they know they need them Today's economy
is so tech driven and populated by entrepreneurial thinkers - two very common
traits among Gen Y'ers, according to a recent report by Deloitte Consulting -
that companies need them to succeed The good news, according to Deloitte, is
that members of the workforce born since 1976 also tend to thrive in a team
environment where innovation, resourcefulness, and collaboration are crucial
To create
a workplace where Gen Y'ers can thrive - and maximize their value to your
company - figure out how you can utilize their tech savvy, fast-paced style Take
an active role in their professional development by finding out what types of skills
they want to develop and matching them up with employees in your organization
who can serve as mentors for honing those skills To thwart on-the-job boredom,
give Gen Y workers the authority to manage some of their own projects and
deadlines
Sharpen
your in-house technology in ways that Gen Y workers find more natural Use an
instant messenger program for peer-to-peer communication They're free to
download, relatively easy to set up and use, and provide a quicker response
time than traditional email Also, consider investing in a Blackberry or other
wireless device from which workers can retrieve data and communicate
effectively 24/7
What are
you offering in your compensation package? How about a non-traditional
investment options such as a Roth 401(k), where employees can invest post-tax
money into their retirement accounts? Because the deposited money will not be
subject to a tax upon withdrawal at retirement, this may be a more attractive
option to younger workers whose financial goals and investment strategies may
be more aggressive than those of older workers
Finally,
keep an open mind with regard to requests for work schedules that don't fit the
9 to 5 mold and for a more relaxed work environment By offering telecommuting
options and a dress-down policy, you may be able to entice top performers into
working for you
The Right Way
to Screen Jobseekers
Recently,
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a fact sheet
explaining the acceptable ways in which employers may use cognitive tests,
personality tests, medical exams, credit checks, and criminal background checks
to sift through applicants for hire and employees for promotion Such tests can
be useful tools toward determining an applicant's overall aptitude for a position
But the EEOC explained that using these tests could land employers in
hot water if not applied correctly
Suppose an employer has an exam to
measure the mechanical aptitude of job applicants If it includes questions
that judge verbal, numerical and spatial reasoning, but an evaluation of those
skills isn't needed to measure mechanical aptitude, then the test could have an
unfair impact on a class of workers The employer would need to come up with another test that has a less
discriminatory impact on that class of workers
Strength
tests must be related to the job and consistent with the employer's business
necessity, the EEOC determined If a test disproportionately excludes women,
for example, it may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 If an
applicant requires a special accommodation to take the test because of a
disability, the employer should provide a reasonable accommodation
Among
the EEOC's recommendations:
- Don't
administer tests that score an applicant on the basis of a protected
trait, such as age, disability, color, national origin, sex, or religion
- Only
use tests that are legitimately applicable to the positions for which
applicants are applying
- If
a selection procedure screens out a class of applicants possessing a
protected trait, determine whether there is an equally effective selection
procedure that will have a less adverse impact on this group and use the
alternative test as necessary
- When
updating job requirements, make corresponding updates to test specifications
or selection procedures
- Make
sure that all managers are instructed on how to administer the tests and
on how to interpret their results
Download the EEOC's fact sheet
http://wwweeocgov/policy/docs/factemployment_procedureshtml
We've fallen
and We Can't Get Up!
The
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are among the
country's
leading measures of home prices The indices are designed to track the
price
path of a typical single-family home in metropolitan areas such as
Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York and
Seattle In
October, the most recent month that figures are available, the study's
composite index of 10 cities fell 67 percent compared to October of
2006, the
largest decline for a single month in the more than 20 years that the
indices
have been tabulated The 20-city composite dropped 61 percent Cities
served
by the MTSG family of staffing firms suffered some of the most - and
least -
severe declines of home prices compared to 12 months earlier
Atlanta
|
-07
|
Boston
|
-36
|
Miami
|
-124
|
Washington, DC
|
-7
|
10-City
Composite
|
-67
|
See the
full report at (here) C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local
Settings\Temp\pdfdownload\pdfdownload-20071127\CSHomePrice_Release_122622pdf
The HR View of Bobby
Petrino
When Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby
Petrino quit on his team last month with three games remaining, sports
fans
around the country castigated him for lack of loyalty, walking out on
his
contract and flatlining on the integrity chart But his decision to
take an
offer from the University of Arkansas - where there was an urgency to
hire a
new football coach - resembles instances in business when someone is
given 24
hours to accept a job offer or lose it That's the view of Kris Dunn,
an HR
manager who blogs at the HR Capitalist (http://wwwhrcapitalistcom/2007/12/this-offer-letthtml)
As Dunn says, job offers "set to self-destruct" can cause people to make bad
decisions That won't buy Petrino any slack in Falcon country, but it's
something for HR people to keep in mind
