Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Lorrie Coffey

  • Can I Get Your Attention?

    Can I Get Your Attention?

    I’m the mother of three boys. Two teenagers and one about to hit that “preteen” stage. Most days I want to bang my head against the wall. I feel like I need a support group for moms of teens. I miss when they were little and hung on my every word. Now I’m lucky if I can get them to take the earbuds out long enough to hear anything I say. 

    We recently went on vacation and I forced them to put their phones away and engage in conversation with me. That request got me dirty looks and eye rolls. Then we started playing twenty questions on our four-hour drive to our destination, which led to lots of laughs, some light-hearted banter, and even some great conversation. And the best part, they even ASKED to play again on our way home a few days later and voluntarily put their phones away! 

    I will readily admit that I hate technology. I think that while it’s a necessary evil and has definitely advanced our society and most of the tasks we do daily, it has also created a disconnect between us as people. We struggle in every aspect of our lives just to get someone’s attention, to get them to look up from their phones, computers, video games, or whatever screen they are glued to. According to a 2016 Nielsen study, adults spend over ten (10) hours per day staring at a screen! 

    A Careerbuilder study showed that 55% of participants surveyed said that their cell phone was their #1 distractor at work, followed closely by the internet and social media (both of which can be accessed on a cell phone). Is allowing employees to have cell phones on their person during work hours costing your organization, both in productivity and in lost customers? In just the last few weeks I can count multiple times when I went to a retailer or fast food restaurant and had to wait because the employee was distracted by their cell phone. 

    This inability to give and receive undivided attention extends into leadership as well. In his blog post Attentiveness (One of the Overlooked Leadership Skills), Jason Barger talks about the distracting times we live in, the expectation to always be multi-tasking, and valuing the individual moments. Those leadership skills that are most valued are those that tie back to leaders who give their undivided attention, who truly listen, and who show interest. 

    Steven Madenberg’s compares our lack of attention to how Charlie Brown and the gang always heard their teacher, Mrs. Donovan (who knew she had a name?!) in his blog post Leaders and the Gift of Undivided Attention. How often do we walk away from a conversation and realize we only heard half of it because we were distracted?

    I recently had a manager come to me upset that during a candidate interview another manager on the panel was visibly texting on his cell phone. We talked through coaching that manager on appropriate interview etiquette. A couple of weeks ago while eating lunch at Panera I heard the gentleman at the booth behind me talking on the phone. He was conducting a phone interview and ended up having to end the call because he was distracted by the lunch crowd in Panera. He didn’t set himself up in a position to be able to provide that candidate with his undivided attention and as a result, may have given the candidate a bad impression of the organization. 

    Think back over the last few weeks, what are some situations in which you realize you were distracted? What could you have done differently to ensure that you were giving your undivided attention? 

  • Why Counter Offers Upon Resignation Rarely Work

    Why Counter Offers Upon Resignation Rarely Work

    Your top employee or best manager just walked into your office holding that dreaded piece of paper. You know, the one with the words “thank you for this great opportunity, I respectfully resign my position” typed neatly on it.  

    As you read it, your mind starts brainstorming “what can I do to get them to stay?!” You can’t lose them, they’re the best of the best. You’ll never be able to find someone with their skill set and knowledge of the organization. You’ll spend months training their replacement just to get them up to speed. You’ve invested so much into them, how can they quit?

    And then without hesitation, the words “would you reconsider if I put a counteroffer together for you?” comes out of your mouth. They graciously say “sure” but in their mind, they’re thinking there’s nothing you can offer them to stay. It’s too little, too late. 

    And in reality, in most cases it is. Yet, in many industries, counteroffers are becoming increasingly common. 

    What does a counter offer really say to an employee? 

    1. You weren’t worth my time then, but you are now. You didn’t take the time to gauge their satisfaction with their job when it would have counted. Instead, you assumed they were happy with their position in your organization, with your head stuck in the sand, until they abruptly informed you that they were not happy in the form of their resignation. And suddenly trying to make them happy has become a priority, where ten minutes prior it wasn’t even on your radar. 
    2. It will cost me less to retain you than to replace you. It’s estimated that replacing an employee costs between 100-300% of their annual salary. That includes recruitment, onboarding, and training. By proposing a counteroffer you’re telling the employee that you’d rather pay them more to stay than to have to put out the money to replace them. It’s cost-effective. That tells the employee they aren’t what’s important to you, the cost savings are. 
    3. I’ll offer you more money to stay in a job you’re obviously not happy in. Counteroffers most often include incentives in the form of a higher salary, extra vacation time, and other perks that aren’t available to the general employee population. What they too often don’t include is training opportunities, strategic plans for advancement, or any other resolution that would improve the work situation the employee aims to change by leaving. Three of the top reasons employees leave is the work they are doing, no room for advancement, or their leadership. Offering them financial incentive to stay won’t impact those things. 

    So how can you proactively keep your top employees from slipping you that piece of paper? 

    Start by assessing your key talent through a people review. This should include their strengths and areas of improvement as well as their risk for leaving the organization and a succession plan if they do. Then sit down with them and have a conversation, or what we in HR sometimes call a stay interview. Find out what their career goals are and see how that matches up with the succession plan you designed. A succession plan won’t work if you haven’t taken into consideration where your employees want to be in three to five years within your organization. During that stay interview also ask them what they like about working for the company, what their pain points in their position are, and give them the opportunity to share their ideas. And finally, assess your wages on a regular basis. Are you lagging in your industry with regards to wages? If so, what can you do to improve that? 

    What steps has your organization taken to ensure that your key employees don’t walk out the door and leave you in a panic? 

  • Taking the Guess Work Out of 1099s

    Taking the Guess Work Out of 1099s

    In fifteen years as an HR practitioner, there’s one question I can probably pinpoint as the most asked question I have gotten over the years.

    “Why can’t I just classify them as an independent contractor?”

    It’s estimated that by 2020 40% of the US workforce will be freelancers or temp employees, up from 30% in 2006. With that number growing, it’s even more important for organizations to understand the independent contractor classification and when it can be used. The penalties for misclassifying employees as independent contractors can include back payment of taxes, interest owed to employees for wages not paid, fines, and even criminal or civil charges. It’s a costly mistake, and yet it’s one I see way too often.

    Here are just a couple questions I’ve answered in the last few weeks alone:

    1. “I have a candidate that would like to be classified as a 1099, can I do that?” Simply put, no, you cannot classify someone as an independent contractor just because that’s how they prefer to be classified.
    2. “We have a candidate that we want to bring on as an employee, but we’d like them to complete a trial period. Can we classify them as an independent contractor during that trial period and then hire them as an employee at the end of that period if they are a good fit for the position?” No, you cannot temporarily bring someone on as an independent contractor to see if they’re a good fit for your company if you’re otherwise going to treat them as you would any other employee. You can certainly have a probationary or trial period during which time you evaluate them and they get to evaluate the company, but you have to pay them as you would any other employee.

    So when can an organization pay someone as an independent contractor? Here are a few questions to ask yourself about the assignment:

    1. How will the work be assigned and completed? Will regular direction be given or will an overall scope of work be provided? Who will dictate the work schedule? Where will the work be completed? If there will be regular direction given or delegation of tasks to which specific deadlines are set and the company dictates when and where the work is to be performed, chances are they should not be classified as an independent contractor. If an overall scope of work is agreed upon and they determine their own work schedule and where the work is completed, then move on to the next question.
    2. Who will provide the necessary resources to complete the work? Will the company provide necessary equipment such as computers, phones, etc.? If the company will be providing the necessary resources and equipment, there is a strong chance the position does not qualify as an independent contractor. There are some exceptions to this, for example, they provide their own computer, but the company provides them with access to software programs required to complete the work.
    3. How will they be compensated for the work completed? If they are paid as any other employee of the company, chances are they should not be classified as an independent contractor. If they are paid a set contract amount, even if paid in equal intervals such as monthly, or they provide an invoice for work completed that is then paid through accounts payable, it is possible that they are in fact an independent contractor.

    For more detailed information on evaluating the independent contractor classification, you can go to the IRS website. Many years ago the IRS designed a 20-Factor Test for Independent Contractors. They no longer support the test on their website, but it’s still floating around out there and I still recommend it to clients as the best source for helping to determine 1099 status. The information on the IRS website is not as clearly defined in my opinion as the test is.

    I recommend that if your organization currently has independent contractors, you check their status against the 20-Factor test. If the position does not meet the requirements of the test, proactively take action to remedy the error and classify them correctly as an employee and ensure that they are afforded all of the benefits that an employee receives.

  • If You’re Not Onboard, Get Off the Ship!

    If You’re Not Onboard, Get Off the Ship!

    The best piece of advice I heard at the recent SHRM19 National Conference came from Cy Wakeman’s session “Business Readiness: Ensuring Our Teams are Ready for What’s Next.”

    As a consultant, I spend a great deal of my time helping organizations navigate change, from determining what change is needed to creating the roadmap of how to accomplish the change to how to get employee buy-in. The hardest part is often getting employees on board, helping them understand the need for change and addressing their resistance.

    The current change management process caters too much to the individual employee when it should focus more on the overall business need for change. Leaders spend a great deal of time sitting on the sidelines with those few employees on the bench trying to convince them why they need to get in the game with everyone else. They allow the minority of employees who want to resist the change to stall the process or to even quash it.

    According to Cy, leadership needs to stop trying to please everyone and focus on those employees who are champions for change and who understand the vision, because they will be the ones who drive change forward. And change is all about ensuring the sustainability of the organization and creating an opportunity for growth. Those resistant will only hold the organization back and will never support the change. Their resistance is driven by their own ego, not what’s in the best interests of the organization.

    So how can organizations effectively navigate change management?

    1. Don’t jump the gun. Change management isn’t a race, it’s not about being the fastest out of the starting gate. Take the time needed upfront to thoroughly assess the need for change, the options for how to make the change, and the impact each option will have on the organization as a whole. Proper planning will lead to proper execution. Making snap decisions too often leads to the need to backtrack, which causes employees to lose faith in leadership’s ability to manage and makes them more resistant to change.
    2. Explain the why then move forward. It’s important to maintain a level of transparency with employees. Explain the why behind the change in terms that all employees can understand and outline how the change will positively impact the organization as a whole. But don’t dwell on it. Once you’ve explained it, move on to the how and when. Don’t let resistant employees continue to question the why this is where change stalls.
    3. Think inside the box. A key point that Cy made was that we’ve been conditioned to “think outside the box” and that method of thinking tends to lead to passing the buck. The tendency when we think outside the box is to think of how we can use others to get things accomplished. She recommends we start thinking inside the box by asking “what can I do” instead of “what can others do”.
    4. Stop trying to please everyone. You will have resistant employees, it’s inevitable. Stop focusing on pleasing them. Organizations change because it’s necessary to continue to thrive and grow. It’s best for the organization as a whole, so stop wasting your energy on that small minority who refuse to get on board, who protest change. They are stalling your organization’s growth and the majority of employees who are supportive of the change are suffering as a result, so is the organization. Those employees have a choice, and Cy put it so eloquently:

    “Stay in joy or go in peace, but you can’t stay in hate.”

     

    For more on change management, you may also enjoy our posts Change Management: Celebrating the Small Victories and 4 Ways to Help Change Happen When Change is Hard

  • Leadership Reminders From my Night in O’Hare

    Leadership Reminders From my Night in O’Hare

    Things don’t always go as planned. 

    After a great week at SHRM19 in Las Vegas, I planned to be back in the comforts of my own home Wednesday night. But thanks to bad weather and a missed connection, I spent the night at Chicago O’Hare Airport. I was exhausted and just wanted to get home. But what could have been a miserable experience turned out to be an adventure. And as I sit here watching the sun come up over Chicago, waiting for my flight home, I’m reminded of a few leadership lessons. 

    1. Be flexible. Things won’t always go as planned. Be willing, and able, to adjust to unexpected changes. Be willing to consider plan B or plan C, and sometimes Plan D. And don’t be surprised if someone else comes up with a better solution. As I stood in line last night waiting to try to get a flight home, I considered my options, which included flying into Nashville and driving almost two hours back to Huntsville. When I finally got up to the ticket counter, the customer service rep came up with a better solution for me, she switched my airline from United to American and was able to get me on an early morning flight and have me home by 10 AM when every United flight wouldn’t have gotten me home until late afternoon. 
    2. Be patient. Try to look at the situation from other perspectives and understand what those involved are trying to accomplish or are enduring. Due to the bad weather, the line at customer service took me almost two hours to get through. I was tired and not looking forward to a night in the airport, but I knew that it was due to circumstances outside of anyone’s control and the Delta customer service reps were working diligently to help fliers find a way to their destinations. Even though I stood in line for so long, the experience was a positive one and I didn’t mind the long wait. (the free fruit snacks and bottled water helped!)
    3. Seek out a mentor or partner. Find someone who has been there and done that who you can learn from, or at the least, someone who is in the same boat that you can walk the walk with. Last night while grounded in Milwaukee I met Allison on the plane. She too attended the SHRM Conference and was trying to get back to Huntsville. We decided to stick together through this adventure and that made it much more bearable, and even fun. And since neither of us has ever found ourselves missing our flight and stuck overnight in an airport, it was nice to have someone else to figure it out with. 
    4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Sometimes you just can’t figure it all out on your own. Others may have information or solutions that you need, you just need to ask. After getting our return flight figured out, walking for what felt like forever to our new terminal gate, and trying to figure out how we were going to get any sleep, we met a very nice housekeeper and asked her how we could get a blanket. She led us to the jackpot! Thanks to her help we found two bags full of fresh blankets and were able to use them to make ourselves “beds” on the floor so that we could get at least a little bit of sleep during the night. 

    You don’t have to be in a leadership role to practice leadership. How do you practice leadership at work or outside of work?