Article Review
www.theHRSpecialist.com December 8, 2014 • The HR Weekly 3
STAFF
Vol. 2, No. 49 Printed in the United States.
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HR pros often have to help man-agers build effective project teams. It’s usually obvious who should be on a team; less clear is who makes a lousy team member. Here are five problem personality types that can turn a harmonious, winning team into a dysfunctional cage fight of clashing egos and insecurities.
The good news: There are strategies to turn team chaos into collegiality.
The independents They like to work alone and receive credit for their individual efforts. If they work hard, it is for the rewards they value.
Strategy: Flattery often works. Show them that the concept of team- work actually increases their influ- ence—their expertise will be essential for meeting team goals.
The unmotivated In a team environment, unmotivated workers can hide in plain sight, qui- etly lowering group performance and generating conflict and resentment among others who must pick up the slack.
Strategy: Peer pressure can be extremely effective in encouraging an employee to start pulling his or her weight on the team.
Poor communicators They don’t listen, never make sug- gestions and react defensively to constructive criticism. They refuse to ask questions when they don’t under- stand something.
Strategy: A dose of self-confidence helps. Many poor communicators are simply insecure, afraid to say some- thing that may make them look fool- ish. Let them know mistakes are OK.
Anti-socials The most effective teamwork takes place when team members feel posi- tively toward one another and value the contributions of other players. Of course, not every team member will automatically like, trust and respect other teammates.
Strategy: Understand that some employees will never be able to fit into a team framework. If you can’t turn around these employees with training, they may have to go.
Prima donnas In sports, these are the hot dogs, more interested in their own statistics than in team achievements. Their counterparts in the workplace have all the skills necessary to make big con- tributions to the team. They believe there is an “i” in “team.” Unchecked,
they will poison the best of teams. Strategy: Make it clear to prima
donnas that they will not be allowed to work on their own.
They are members of a team and their performance will be measured on how much they contribute to team goals.
3 teamwork myths The truth about good teams Myth 1: If employees get along well, they are practicing good teamwork. Reality: Congeniality should never be confused with productive collaboration. team members should be able to dis- agree without embarrassment. Myth 2: Outstanding employees always make exceptional team members. Reality: they often don’t. their expertise can wind up undermining team suc- cess if they approach the work selfishly. Coaches of successful sports teams understand that some people who are great players are terrible team members. Myth 3: Good employees will eventually become good team members. Reality: hardened attitudes and long experience of doing things their way will not prepare veteran employees for a successful team experience. however, with patience and understanding, they can become valuable contributors.
H R E s s e n t i a l s 5 personality types that sabotage teams—and what to do about them
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ecialis t.com
April 15 , 2013
• The HR Weekl
y 1
In the p
ast few years,
recess ion-
weary emplo
yers ha ve bee
n askin g
emplo yees to
take o n mor
e work , and
to com plete i
t in les s time
.
But is there
a lega l tippi
ng po int
to the amou
nt of w ork th
at can be
assign ed to
an em ployee
?
As rec ent co
urt ca ses ha
ve sho wn,
you m ay be
tempt ing fat
e—and a
Fair L abor S
tandar ds Act
(FLSA )
class-a ction
lawsui t—if y
our m anag-
ers are dema
nding so mu
ch pro duc-
tivity f rom h
ourly emplo
yees th at
they c an’t re
asonab ly get
everyt hing
done i n the
time y ou allo
w.
In the se case
s, non exemp
t
emplo yees sa
y they felt co
mpelle d by
their b osses (
and th e work
load) to
come in earl
y or st ay late
to me et the
“unre asonab
le” wo rk req
uirem ents.
Such off-the
-clock work
has be en
the sp ark tha
t has l it thou
sands of
costly lawsui
t for u npaid
overtim e.
Examp le: Sev
eral em ployee
s at a
Verizo n Wire
less ca ll cent
er sued ,
claimin g they
weren ’t paid
for w ork
they p erform
ed bef ore an
d after their
shifts. They c
laimed that,
before log-
ging in to the
call ce nter sy
stem e ach
morni ng, th
ey spe nt tim
e chec king
email and pr
eparin g for t
he call s that
would soon
begin. Then
they r everse
d
the pr ocess a
t the e nd of
each s hift.
Is it illega l to assig
n ‘too mu ch’ work?
SNAPSHO T
www.t heHRSp
ecialis t.com
(800) 54 3-2055
Take you r employe
e handbo ok online
: 8 tips
Is your e
mploy ee han
dbook still a
n
actual book?
Turni ng you
r hand -
book i nto an
electr onic d
ocume nt can
cut co sts, ma
ke upd ating e
asier a nd
give em ployee
s a con venien
t place to
access policie
s.
Going electr
onic is n’t tec
hnical ly
difficu lt. But
the p rocess
involv es
more than s
imply transfe
rring w ritten
docum ents to
a data base o
r inter nal
websit e.
Use th e follo
wing g uidelin
es to
help p rotect
your o rganiz
ation a gainst
legal t rouble
when transi
tionin g your
handb ook fr
om tra dition
al pap er to
an elec tronic
versio n:
1. Put ackno
wledg ment
upfron t.
Forma t your
electr onic h
andbo ok so
that em ployee
s can’t avoid
access ing
the dis claime
r and acknow
ledgm ent
forms before
readin g the
web ve rsion
of the docum
ent.
2. Req uire em
ployee s to lo
g in
using their p
asswor ds to a
ccess i t. You
don’t want o
utside rs to a
ccess c om-
pany p olicies
.
3. Inc lude li
nks in the h
andbo ok
that co nnect
the po licies a
nd inf or-
mation to co
mmon ly used
forms or
docum ents, s
uch as benef
its, he alth
plan su mmari
es and IRS f
orms.
4. Inc lude H
R ema il and
tele-
phone conta
cts. U pdate
as nee ded.
Continu ed on p
age 2
Continu ed on p
age 2
Interne
t-use d isorder
: An
ADA-p rotecte
d disab ility?
This sp ring’s e
dition o f the DS
M-5, th e
official psychia
trist’s d iagnost
ic manu al,
include s “Inter
net Use Disord
er” for the
first tim e. It’s n
ot listed as a cl
inical d is-
order y et, but
one tha t will re
quire m ore
researc h to see
if it rise s to tha
t level.
If Intern et addic
tion is d eclared
a psy-
chiatric disorde
r, emplo yees w
ho suffe r
from it may be
protec ted by t
he
ADA, re quiring
you to accomm
odate
their co nditions
. Read more a
t www .
theHRS peciali
st.com/ Interne
tADA.
Know y our sta
te’s law on
require d empl
oyee br eaks
The fed
eral Fai r Labor
Standa rds
Act doe sn’t req
uire you to prov
ide
employ ees wit
h lunch or coff
ee brea ks.
Howev er, 40 s
tates do have la
ws cov er-
ing mea l and re
st brea ks. Find
a com-
plete lis t of sta
te brea k laws
at www .
theHRS peciali
st.com/ breakla
ws.
Your H R caree
r:
It pays to spec
ialize
Compe nsation
for em ployees
in HR
special ties (be
nefits, t raining
, etc.) r uns
about 2 0% high
er than pay for
HR gen -
eralist p ositions
, says a recent
nationa l
report. Compe
nsation also ris
es for H R
jobs in larger o
rganiza tions an
d in lar ger
cities. P lus, mo
re HR p rofessio
nals are
earning incenti
ves as their jo
bs beco me
more s trategic
. Read the full
report a t
www.t heHRS
peciali st.com/
HRsala ries.
What’s N ews ...
Inside
Dateline D.C.: Hea
lth care, Facebook
, benefits ....... 2
Monthly Mentor s
upplemen t ..............
................ .....3-6
HR ‘How To’: Certi
fying inte rmittent F
MLA leav e .... 7
Ask the A ttorney: F
MLA, tim e sheets .
................ ....... 8
Your Care er: Draft
a ‘career annual r
eport’ ..... ....... .8
April 15 , 2013
• Vol. 1, No.
1
Trusted insight
s and a dvice f
rom Th e HR Sp
ecialist
Accord ing to U
.S. emp loyers,
in whic h quart
er do e mploye
es
most fr equent
ly call in sick
?
Source : Caree
rBuilde r surve
y
Handbo ok chec
kup: Re sources
7 most comm
on han dbook
errors,
www.th eHRSp
ecialist .com/h
andboo k-
errors
• Self -audit
for han dbooks
, www.
theHRS pecialis
t.com/h andboo
kaudit
Checkl ist: Wh
at to in clude i
n hand -
books, www.t
heHRS pecialis
t.com/
handbo okchec
klist
Januar
y – Ma rch
Octob er – De
cembe r
July – Septem
ber April –
June
23% 34%
13%3 0%
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