insightfullyshae

Option 1: Labor Unions

1. Conduct an internet search on the pros and cons of labor unions with regards to:
   • Employees- better work conditions, improved access to benefits particularly to women and people of minority communities. Union pushes also have had states increase minimum wage by 19% of higher than national average. They are not free and come with more work restrictions.
   • Employers- unions cost money “some unions dues on six figures salaries for leaders and luxurious headquarters”. Unions increased productivity which leads to less likely employees expressing intent to leave their jobs.
2. If you know someone who is or has been a union member, talk with them and summarize their experience (positive or negative).
   • What did they say? My aunt is a union member, and she expressed much gratitude toward her union. She was able to fight a wrongful write up early in her career due to her union backing. She said without her union support she would have probably been wrongfully terminated due to the seriousness of the write up.
   • What stood out to you? What stood out to me was knowing the seriousness of the situation and knowing it could have resulted in her being wrongfully terminated or wrote up and faced possibly more micro retaliation than she was already experiencing. She was also able to renegotiate her contract due after the situation and it worked out for the best in her situation.
3. Based on what you learned in this week’s materials, how does that contrast with what you found in your own research or interview? I think it was very similar to what I learned in researching or interviewing with what I learned in the course this week. Contract negotiations, union structures, and capabilities. I think what I found different was the striking aspects of unions. I learned that this is a very common thing within unions and many employers typically do not get the upper hand in these strikes which is why they do their best to negotiate with the union before things like a strike occur.
4. What are some of your key takeaways about labor unions from this whole process?
   Unions are powerful and are very purposeful. Through my research and interview I learned labor unions have played a major role in securing basic worker rights and increasing wages. They have also been a prominent factor in creating workplace safety. Without unions many industries safety requirements would not exist. They truly help set a standard that benefits its members and nonmembers within work environments.
5. Would you want to join a union? Why or why not? I would be open to joining a union, most people I know have had great experiences with being a union member and I think many employees benefit from unions. Many employers have protection from certain state laws like “at will” states but if there is a union, and employees are backed by it, it makes it difficult to just terminate people “wrongfully or at will” without having some sort of protocols or consequences for them.
6. If not, what would make you consider joining or supporting a unionization effort in the future? I would consider it because I see the union as an extra layer of employee rights protection outside of standard HR policies and law.

When it comes to coping i know i tend to try multiple things to help the situation improve. According to the test I have a strong tendency to take action. This I know because i am not the type of person to sit in a situation that is not benefiting me or helping me to grow into my best self, so I do my best to improve my situation instead of letting it get the best of me. Some the test pointe out that i have started noticing more recently, is I have trouble with accepting things that are uncontrollable. I know that is accurate because lately I have been seeing that within myself. That bring me to the next thing the test mentioned is I am self aware, because of this i am often aware of my limitations which is why the need to “fix” things can lead to frustration with me at times because of my need to want to control and fix the problem.

I think a personal growth opportunity for me is reflect on times when stepping back or emotionally processing a situation might be more effective and will help me be more adaptive. I think because i struggle with that, this is something i can work on to get better at, especially in situations that are out of my control. When it comes to my career and managing stress I can do better at not address my stressor my actively seeking solutions which could in hind sight add more stress to the situation than helping relieve stress. As I am currently in HR and plan to have a law career in the future it is important for me to properly balance my stress due to my career choices being more high level stress jobs.

After doing my research and also looking into my own company approach at helping their employees manage stress I’ve found things such as EAP programs, more work life balance by committing to hybrid or remote work opportunities, and workout facilities. All things my company have adapted and i think many of these programs have made great impacts on the employees at my job. Many people will go work out mid day, in the morning, or right after work. They utilize our EAP programs and attend many of the wellness and mental health training and information sessions we host every quarter. Many people that attend utilize the resources being offered within the sessions.

I myself have been in a situation where compensation has been a key factor in decreased effort and also ultimately led to my decision to leave a role. I think compensation is an important factor in any role you take. Often times the standard person does not work just to work, we work for self fulfillment yes but also we work to be able to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. I was in a situation where I took a role and was being fairly compensated for that role but within 5 months into the role, the company loss a headcount and they shifted that work load to me.

I am a team player and have never had an issue with stepping up to the plate and helping out the team where i can, but compensation became an issue when because I was given more workload, so i was essentially doing my desk and another desk work load, I was able to handle both workloads but I was not hired to do that second role so I felt it was only fair that i am compensated for doing two desk and doing them really well. I spoke with my manager at the time regarding this several times and asked to be fairly compensated and I was not.

Me not being fairly compensated made me feel as if I was not being valued and my work ethic was being unappreciated so, the trickle down affect kicked in where, because I was getting the lack of response and the lack of an increase but continuing to take on more, I ultimately begin to decrease my efforts with the second desk work load, that did not work so, I begin to lose interest in the company and management all together. With the lack of value and underappreciation I thought it was best for me to leave the company all together so within two months of me withdrawing my work efforts I found a better job opportunity and that new role was the role that essentially jump started my career and because of that role I was able to continue to learn and grow within my industry and career path. I think that experience was a huge learning and growth curve in my career and looking back it was the push that got me out of my comfort zone and helped grow my career even though at the time it was not a great feeling or experience.

A training that has been beneficial for me was a training I took for my current job. I had to take a rig training. This training was helpful for me because I was new to this company and this industry but not to my role. Being in a new role is one thing, but when it’s a new industry, it can make the new role more stressful. This is something I encountered in my current role. I was new to the oil and energy industry but not to recruiting. While recruiting for different roles, I kept thinking I wished I had more insight into the roles but could not find beneficial resources until I came across this training they referred to as “rig training,” and I signed up for the training.

The rig training was so beneficial in many ways. It helped me improve the development of my skills, it led to my career advancement within the company, and overall, it boosted my confidence within my role. This training gave me further insight and knowledge into many of the skillsets and qualifications needed within many of the roles I recruited for; this was beneficial for me because it helped me to be able to search better in my sourcing efforts, it helped with on sight recruiting, it also made me feel more confident in knowing the business of the industry I worked in. During this training, I had to do an 8-hour course that went over lots of information; once I passed the test at the end of the training, I was scheduled to do Rig visits. Going out to the rigs was also beneficial because then I began to learn more about the day-to-day for the employees in different roles on the rigs. This was extremely helpful to me. The training deepened my knowledge of my industry and the roles I recruited for; it later helped to advance my career with the company because from recruiting I was able to get a role in HR where I had more hands-on interactions with employees and company relations which I felt confident going into because I was confident and more knowledge of the business that I was helping to support.

I’m not new to attending the job or career development training; for the most part, training has benefited me in some ways. However, I have experienced training in previous roles that were not so great in providing relatable training for the role I supported. However, it was an overall general scope of training that was not helpful. I think what set the rigging training apart from most training I’ve done is it was a full day of training that involved shared stories, demonstrations, open floor group discussions, small group discussions, training tests, and rig visits to be able to visually apply the knowledge learned.

In a previous interview, I found that while I would have have engaging and enjoyable conversations with the hiring manager, I think that interview highlighted some key issues in terms of interview effectives,. One major thing that stood out to me was the lack structure which in my opinion impacts reliability to a point to which the interview process may not be organized and this made me feel like the company may operate the same way. During the interview interview the conversation was engaging but constantly veered off topic, and i had to steer it back to more of the job related matters. This sort of informal and unstructured style of interviewing leads to inconsistent assessments of candidates because there is no standardized criteria to base the candidates on.

In terms of validity, which often times refer to the how well the interview can predict things like future job performance, the interview fell short in this section of the process as well. The manager asked a few questions about my qualifications, experiences, and some other competencies that can be relevant to the role, but majority of the interview was spent on discussing personal things about me and the interviewer and overall just general conversation. This lack of focus on job relevant behaviors and skills completely undermined the manager’s ability to assess whether I was actually a good fit for the role. Now that I’ve had recruiting roles, I now know how it feels to be the interviewer so if i could offer any tips for effectiveness in interviewing id say:

1. Structure your interviews- this helps with consistency with questions and this enhances the reliability and credibility for the interviewer an the company.
2. Ensure interviewers are well-informed about the role they are hiring for, to avoid seeming less credible to the candidate and also this will help them ask the proper questions needed to see if the candidate will align with the role.

Overall an effective interview is an interview that is structured, focused, fair and informative for both the candidate and the interviewer, while being friendly and approachable helps to break the ice and ease nerves it should not distract from the main purpose of the interview which is effectively evaluating competency for the role.

Job descriptions are very vital to the recruitment and selection process. They are the first thing that a potential employee will associate with the company. It’s part of the companies Brand, its important that job descriptions have clearly outline the key responsibilities of the role, list most necessary qualifications and also give a brief scope of the role. Like Jill Bidwell mentions in the Job Worth doing Article “Job descriptions is the mother of all HR processes”(Jill Bidwell) because the job description is what creates your talent pool of future employees. If you have the Job description that are properly done and get the message out for the quality of candidate you want, you will attract the right talent who in returns properly runs and expand a company. That’s why clarity and accuracy are probably the most difficult thing about creating a good quality job description.

I say accuracy is one of the biggest challenges with job descriptions because roles often evolve over time. If you’re still using the same job description even after the role has changed, you’re more likely to attract unqualified candidates. Just because the description may have brought in great talent in the past doesn’t mean it still fits the current needs of the position. As roles shift, so do the responsibilities and qualifications so the job description needs to shift as well. When it evolves with the role, the candidate pool may get smaller, but the quality of applicants increases.

This is important because if job descriptions don’t stay up to date, companies end up spending more money on “training and development” (Kathryn, 2013). You’re hiring people who aren’t truly prepared for the job, and that means more time and resources spent trying to get them there. But if job descriptions are reviewed and maintained for accuracy, companies are more likely to attract qualified candidates who need less training. It can be hard to keep descriptions accurate without a system in place, but it’s worth the effort to make sure you’re attracting the right people from the start.

Source:

1. Jill Bidwell, PHR, a senior HR generalist at Sauer-Danfoss in Ames
2. Tyler, Kathryn. “Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions.” HR Magazine, 1 Jan. 2013.[https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/hr-magazine/job-worth-update-descriptions]

When searching for a job, most of us want to find a place that offers competitive pay and benefits that make the work experience enjoyable. After reviewing the 2020 Fortune Best Companies list, I noticed a few companies stood out because of employee feedback and factors such as employee tenure. Take Wegmans, for example. As a retail company operating in one of the most challenging industries—retail and hospitality—it is impressive to see how well they perform. Having worked in entry-level and higher-level roles in this industry, I can attest that it is known for high turnover rates. However, Wegmans stands out, with 31% of its employees staying for two to five years and an impressive 91% of employees reporting they enjoy working there.

Companies like Workday and Cisco, which also operate in customer-facing industries, have excellent employee retention rates, with 93% and 94% of their employees saying their companies are great places to work. These companies share common traits: high retention rates and diverse workforces, including employees from multiple generations such as Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers. From this week’s learning materials, I have come to understand that a good frontline manager is crucial to their team’s success. This week’s readings challenge the traditional “Golden Rule” (Buckingham & Coffman, 2016, p. 2), suggesting that effective managers attract top talent.

The companies listed on the 2020 Fortune list excel at building strong teams. I was reminded of a popular quote circulated in Forbes and other professional blogs stating, “Good people don’t leave bad jobs; they leave bad bosses” (Kelly, 2019). This is often the key to improving “sales, profit, growth, retention, and customer satisfaction” (Buckingham & Coffman, 2016, p. 4). After reflecting on this week’s reading and lectures, I can csay Michael’s management style resonates with me. It’s a style that I thrive in and would love to adopt in my approach to managing a team.

This week’s materials really shed light on HR management and recruitment functions. While great managers attract top talent, finding this talent in today’s competitive job market is no easy task. Our focus wasn’t just on HR functions like recruitment and selection but also on diverse management styles and how successful managers tailor their approaches to meet the needs of their teams, doing away with standardized management styles.

Sources:
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. 2016 edition.
Kelly, J. (2019). “People Don’t Leave Bad Jobs, They Leave Bad Bosses: Here’s How To Be A Better Manager To Maintain And Motivate Your Team.” Forbes.