Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Work

Beyond Work is our line of resources for people and community leaders looking for something new and innovative outside, be it a new job, career change, or personal development outside of work.

  • The Economics of Union Activity

    The Economics of Union Activity

    Supply and Demand. The first lesson of Economics, or at least I remember it that way. The most important lesson of economics as I remember it. 

    Maybe I’m remembering it wrong, but I think the issues of the supply and demand of labor need to be reinforced when we think about anything and everything that is going on in our world. And one of those things is union activity. 

    The issues at Starbuck, Amazon, UPS… the list goes on and on about union organization and in the media seems on the surface to be about wages, benefits, and the overall treatment of workers. As Jillian pointed out in our last post,  People want to be valued and listened to.  They need to feel like they have some sense of control over their lives, and that includes at work.  Many employers don’t offer that.  When people don’t have this at work, they aren’t happy. 

    But none of that matters from a union sense if only one person feels that way. Many people have to feel that way. And when many people feel that way and there aren’t enough people to go around to fill the demand for labor, they have power.  Or in union terms, they have “collective bargaining” power. 

    And right now, there aren’t enough people to go around to fill jobs in many industries both in terms of the actual number of human beings available and or in terms of a desire to work in certain jobs or industries. And it is only going to get worse. 

    Typically, this issue of supply and demand for labor is measured by the number of job openings compared to the number of available workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there have been more job openings compared to unemployed people since May 2021.  In January 2023, there were almost twice as many job openings as there were unemployed people in the United States according to this BLS data. 

    This challenge is not unique to the United States. Boston Consulting Group’s The Global Workforce Crisis- $10 Trillion at Risk  highlights the differences in labor supply and demand by country (both Germany and Japan are experiencing particularly acute issues with labor supply).  Whereas some countries are currently experiencing a higher level of supply than demand, the piece emphasizes that by 2030 most countries will experience labor shortages.  BCG postulates that this issue could result in $10 Trillion in GDP not created. 

    So, when there is more of a demand for labor than there is supply, employers better pay attention. We would hope they don’t have to pay attention because they are treating people like people. But when they aren’t, the most important law of economics will bite you.  Workers will all leave and go someplace else, because someone else needs them, because there are more jobs than people available to fill them. 

    We can be distracted by the media saying artificial intelligence (AI) is going to take over all our jobs, but the data doesn’t show this. We may need to retool ourselves for the jobs of the future, and that may be where employers need to be focused to not only help with labor supply issues but also to employee engagement issues. Both impact union activity. 

    What are you doing to impact labor supply and union activity? 

  • Could You Pass a Labor Relations Class?

    Could You Pass a Labor Relations Class?

    School is starting back, and that means I’m collecting the latest news on union activity – good, bad, and ugly – for a college-level labor relations course I’m teaching. Each of us at Horizon Point has a unique perspective on the union landscape through our work with various clients and projects, which we’ll be sharing in a series over the next few weeks. 

    I’m kicking us off with a look at union activity right here in our North Alabama region, featuring a snippet from the 2023 Wage & Benefit Survey. When asked if any employees are represented by a union, only 3% of participating companies said yes:

    All of these companies are in the manufacturing industry. Is that surprising? Why or why not? (I won’t grade you on it!)

    In the same wage survey, we ask questions about pay practices, compensation, and benefits – these factors contribute to employee satisfaction and whether or not they’ll seek unionization. You may have noticed that big names like Amazon, Starbucks, and UPS have been making news for employee union activity and the sometimes less-than-stellar response from corporate leadership. Workplaces are more advanced than ever before, but sometimes labor practices don’t keep up.

    SHRM recently published “The Evolution of HR and Labor Relations” for the Summer 2023 edition of HR Magazine. The biggest takeaway for me? The last sentence: 

    “The worker of today isn’t so different from the worker of yesterday in terms of their core human needs,” [Steve] Bernstein says. “What people really want in the workplace is to be listened to, to have access to decision-making and to be in a position to at least influence their workplace.”  

    Stick with us over the next few weeks as we explore further the changing (and stagnant) trends around labor relations and why it matters for YOU.

  • Application Process 2023

    Application Process 2023

    Should you Change your Application Process to make it easier for Candidates?

    A couple of years ago, we worked with a client who was having difficulty filling positions. They were using all the right avenues to get the word out to potential candidates, but the pipeline was not working. After surveying several candidates, we discovered the issue was with their extensive application process. It was lengthy and ultimately deterred candidates from completing their application. Fortunately, we helped them streamline by removing some of the steps to apply.

    Recently, a close family member applied for a position online and had the opposite experience. During a conversation, he shared that it was the “easiest process” he’d had while applying for jobs. He was asked two questions and had the option to upload a resume. Within a week, he was called in for an interview.

    In Alabama, the current unemployment rate is 2.2%. Which means, most everyone who wants to work is already working. This makes it tough for companies who are looking to expand their workforce. Making the application process easier for candidates is one way they can attract future employees. A few weeks ago, I was in a café that had “mini applications” placed throughout their dining area. I immediately took a picture, thinking of our clients & how we can help them increase their applicant pool.

    How can you streamline your hiring process? Consider what steps you can remove from the process all together. Save the paperwork for new hire orientation! Let us know if we can help.

  • Re-thinking Pre-Employment Screenings

    Re-thinking Pre-Employment Screenings

    I recently attended the first Reentry Leader Conference held in Birmingham along with Mary Ila and Emily. It was a great opportunity to hear from leaders around the state on what employers can do to help those who are justice involved become gainfully employed. As part of the conference, we heard success stories from employers who had programs to employ those coming out of the system.

    As employers struggle to find talent due to the extremely low unemployment rate, as Governor Ivey stated last week, we need to move to focus attention on the labor participation rate and getting people into the workforce who currently are not. Those who are justice involved make up a large percentage of those individuals.

    So I challenge organizations to rethink their use of background checks. I have worked with many clients who don’t fully know why they use background checks and worse yet, don’t have a definitive answer as to what disqualifies a candidate. So how can your organization rethink this and become a second chance employer?

    1. Ask yourself why you use background checks. The first question I ask clients is WHY. Why do they use background checks in their pre-hire process. Is there a business need to conduct background checks, are they in an industry where hiring someone with a criminal history could put clients at risk (i.e. healthcare), is it due to contract requirements or security clearances, or is there some other business reason that justifies the need.
    2. If you need to run background checks, what disqualifies a candidate? The first part of this question is how long should your lookback be? This will be dependent on why you need to run background checks, but you need to establish a reasonable lookback period based on those business needs. The second part of this is creating a list of what types of offenses will disqualify a candidate and what’s the justification for adding that offense to the list. For example, any type of violent offense may be justifiable, but past drug offenses may not be.
    3. Consider what positions you run background checks on. Keep in mind that if you need to run background checks for a justifiable business need, you do not have to run them on all new hires. You can run them only on positions that meet that justifiable business need as long as you are able to justify that decision and that you are consistent in running them regardless of the candidate.
    4. Reevaluate. Reevaluate your process every three to five years or as your business needs change.

    I also challenge you to use the steps outlined above to rethink your drug testing policy. If you currently run drug tests pre-employment, ask yourself what the business justification is for that, as well as if you still include marijuana in the results. I have worked with many clients over the last few years who have rethought their need to run pre-employment drug tests. If you are in a safety sensitive industry, you should still be conducting pre-employment drug screens. But if you’re not in a safety sensitive industry, ask yourself why you need to run them, why you care if employees are engaging in drug use on their own time as long as they are not coming to work under the influence.

    How many candidates could you have hired in the last year if your background and drug testing policies were adjusted to reflect your true business needs?

  • Second Chances

    Second Chances

    Who among us has not needed a second chance in life? Have you been extended that grace? In my life I have been given chance after chance and have needed that opportunity to fail and to learn from those failures. When prisoners are released they are told that they cannot carry a fire arm and will not be eligible to vote but most times are not warned of the invisible barriers that exist in finding a job, housing or transportation. For example, you are good enough to buy a car but you cannot sell cars for a career. You must obtain housing but most will not rent to you due to your criminal record. 

    On June 29th Lorrie, Mary Ila and I attended the first Reentry Leader Conference in Birmingham at the Hyatt Regency Wynfrey. As a subject that is near and dear to my heart, I was excited to hear about ways to help employers afford people a second chance. We have so much untapped talent and potential in Alabama and in the world. Studies show that 77% of our population is justice involved, that’s 32% more than the percentage of people who have college degrees. Depending on state, there are between 2-4 open jobs for every one person available to take that job in the industrial sector. Connecting those jobs to reentrants is critical. Of the 9.7 million reentry each year, only 8% can find employment.

    This is where Reentrycenters.com comes in. They equip participants with must haves such as affordable housing, food, transportation to appointments and counseling and most importantly good jobs. They even offer a free mobile bank for reentrants. Local Auto plants like Mercedes near the Reentry centers employ these workers. 

    During the 2nd chance employer Leader Session, Donny Jones from West Alabama Works shared about Building Hope West Alabama. Their passion is to “provide hope, help, and opportunity to people that are justice involved.” This program “connects justice-inolved individuals with meaningful jobs, as well as the job skills and educational credentials they need for long-term success.” Schnellke is one of the employers hiring people who are justice involved. They believe that everyone deserves a second chance.

    Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb was the keynote speaker. She became judge at 25 and now runs RedemptionEarned.org. It is an effort to help worthy incarcerated adults to become productive citizens. Alabama has one of the highest percentages of the aging population incarcerated. Out of the 4002 total parole hearings in 2022 only 409 were granted parole.Their mission is “to identify, assist, and represent worthy individuals who have spent decades behind bars, demonstrated they are transformed, and earned parole or work release.”

    At Horizon Point we have a people first mindset. We believe that people are a company and community’s greatest asset. As one of the ladies speaking put it, which one of us has not made a mistake that needed forgiveness? How can your organization help to give “people” an opportunity after they have been held accountable for their actions? Afterall, don’t we all need a second chance?

    Need inspiration? Read more from The Point Blog here: