Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Human Resources

We know HR. Read our Human Resources blog archives for stories and best practices from our work with real clients and personal experiences in the world of HR.

The Speak Out Act – Is More to Come?

Late last year President Biden signed the Speak Out Act into law. This law forbids employers from
including sexual harassment and sexual abuse claims in Non-Disclosure Agreements. What many may
not know is that the Speak Out bill that passed in Congress was a very different version than what was
submitted originally.

The original Speak Out bill mirrored the Silenced No More laws that are currently in place in fourteen
(14) states, with two more considering similar bills. So why is this important information for companies
to know? Take the Washington Silence No More Act as an example, it includes claims of discrimination,
harassment, and wage and hour violations. Washington’s law protects employee’s rights to
communicate these concerns or complaints based on their “reasonable belief” that there is a violation
by the employer. First, the level of “reasonable belief” is not well defined and is a very subjective
measure. Second, it potentially closes the door for employers to settle situations in-house when possible
if employees feel that this law has fully opened the door for litigation. The laws in other states are very
similar and some were based off Washington’s Act.

The original Speak Out bill was similar as well, including language that covered discrimination against
other Title VII characteristics including race, national origin, and age. While the bill was stripped back to
only cover sexual harassment and sexual assault, Biden has stated that he will push for these additional
protections. So, what does this really mean for employers? You need to review your Non-Disclosure
Agreements to ensure that they no longer include sexual harassment and/or sexual abuse. But in
addition to that, you need to consider what other steps you may need to take if a more encompassing
law is passed. Keep in mind the Speak Out Act only prohibits pre-incident agreements, meaning NDA’s or
similar agreements. It does not prohibit an employer from offering, or an employee from accepting, a
post-incident agreement of confidentiality.

March 21, 2023
Who Will You Be in 2023?

The idea that “The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be” has been coming up as a theme in my life these past few months. First in the form of a children’s book by Joanna Gaines, given to my son Wyatt by his Honey. Then, when Mary Ila hired me, and gifted me with a wall hanging that says the phrase. I think the Universe, God, Spirit, may have been conspiring to write that on my heart. Well, jokes on me! It has worked. I often think of the ways my past can serve me in my future. How can I develop professionally?

As a 38 soon to be 39 year old… Just starting out working in my field after taking the road less traveled for many years, I have plenty of dreams/goals for myself. One of those goals was set in my first one-on-one with Mary Ila, where we discussed the Leaders As Career Agents Worksheet. It is to get my SHRM-CP this year. The credential is for people who perform general HR and related duties; or for those pursuing a career in Human Resource Management. There I said it, I put it on paper, so I have to pass, right? Can you sense the apprehension? There have been quite a few years between my departure from Auburn and beginning work in HR. One thing I’ve learned through life experience is that it is never too late to begin again, to be like a phoenix and rise from the ashes.

One of the things that I love the most about working for Horizon Point and with the Team of ladies that I work with is that they practice what they preach. Does the World value values anymore? Well, Horizon Point does in 2023. “We believe continual learning is a key driver in creating passion and productivity in life and in work. To that end, we invest in the personal development of our people because we know that people are a company and community’s greatest asset (People First). We work with clients who believe in continuous learning and take steps towards continual self-improvement in order to maximize their passion and productivity.” Mary Ila invests in us and works hard to ensure that we are equipped with what need to be successful in our field.

How will I embrace who the world needs me to be this year, you ask? I will be working towards goals in my career, but also putting those goals into action in all areas of my life. I want to be a lifelong learner with no fear of failure or beginning again. How do I do that? Through action and my first step was signing up for UNA’s SHRM CP Prep Courses. To find out more about the courses and to join me this semester, click here: https://www.campusce.net/una/course/course.aspx?C=5&pc=5&mc=13&sc=0

January 31, 2023
Celebrate Your Accomplishments

The new year always brings with it conversations of resolutions and setting goals. It’s the chance to look at the year ahead and decide what you want to accomplish in the next twelve months, both personally and professionally. We sit and we write down those goals and we make our checklist. And throughout the year we (hopefully) mark items off that list. But what do you do when you mark an item off that list?

At Horizon Point, we celebrate our accomplishments. Each quarter during our team meeting we go around the table and each team member shares a list of ten things we accomplished during the quarter and then picks one that we want to celebrate and how we want to celebrate it. The how is totally up to us and varies from things like a gift card to a local shop or restaurant to a new pair of running shoes to a book we’ve been wanting to read. For me, my latest accomplishment list included graduating from Tulane Law School with my Master’s in Jurisprudence in Labor and Employment Law, a two-year journey that was both long and fast. Part of my celebration included going out to dinner with the team.

As you go through 2023, I challenge you to create an accomplishment list. It may include items that are on your goals list and you might find that it includes items that are not on your goals list. Just 8-10 things that you accomplished each quarter, and then pick the one that you want to celebrate and how you want to celebrate it. And these accomplishments can be personal or professional.

If you are the leader of a team, try doing this with your team this year. Ask every member of your team to share their accomplishments each quarter. This can be through an accomplishment list like we do at Horizon Point or you can choose your own format. The important thing is to get your employees to take the time to recognize their own accomplishments and to celebrate them. The celebrations don’t have to be something big; it can be a small gesture like a handwritten note congratulating them on their accomplishments for the quarter.

How will you celebrate your accomplishments in 2023?

January 17, 2023
3 Ways to Lead with Grace
We recently selected our next Book of the Year, and while I won’t give away the surprise just yet, I will say that we’re laser focused on grace. We’ve talked a lot this year about Graceful Accountability – the practice of giving grace and expecting high performance – and this week I’d like to share 3 simple ways that we can all lead with grace in our workplaces, in our homes, and in our communities.

1. Practice the GREET model. Originally intended for healthcare providers learning the delicacies of bedside manner, we train on the GREET model across industries to anyone who works in customer service…which turns out to be all of us. We all have a customer, be it an internal colleague, an external buyer, or simply someone we want to become (and stay) our friend. So, here’s what we do:
- Greet – Don’t underestimate the value of a simple “hello”, “good morning”, or “how are you”. People notice.
- Rapport – It’s a cliche that we talk about the weather or sports when making small talk, but sometimes cliches are really important. Building rapport is a way of leading with grace by treating someone like a person first.
- Expectations – Clearly state the purpose of the conversation or meeting. When Mary Ila calls me with questions or guidance on a current project, we spend the first minute or two on Greet and Rapport, and then she’ll say, “Well thanks for calling, I don’t think it will take long, I wanted to talk/ask about ______.”
- Explanation – Often omitted, explanations bring a lot of value. Explaining the why or providing details helps someone feel informed and part of the discussion. This is also where psychological safety (grace) comes into play.
- Thanks – Always, always, always thank someone for their time and input. Even if (especially if) the conversation was difficult or the feedback uncomfortable.
2. Be the bridge. Mary Ila wrote a series earlier this year about meeting Survive and Thrive needs in our workplaces, and she talked about relational needs being the bridge between the two. Fueled by insight from Celeste Headlee, Mary Ila talks about communicating with voice, not just with writing. When was the last time you spoke gratitude for someone instead of sending a thank you email? Are we really creating a bridge to help others cross from Survive to Thrive if we’re not talking to them?

I’m ashamed to admit that right now I cannot remember the last time I spoke gratitude. Of course I say “thank you”, but it’s like a reflex. That’s not gratitude. When it occurs to me to show gratitude, I turn to texts or emails or may even send hand-written postcards and thank you notes by snail mail. I’ve never really liked talking on the phone, and my schedule is too busy to add more get togethers – and this is where I’ve failed in my mission to lead with grace and be the bridge. I’ve put my focus on time and efficiency, not on relationships. I’m working on it, but I have a long way to go. What about you?

3. Set the tone by going first. If you want to help others lead with grace, you have to be the first domino. Be upfront about your own personal work style and preferences, and ask your team to do the same. Leading with grace is about meeting people in the middle, and allowing flexibility for people to be people first. It’s also about showing that you are also a person first, and that you need a little grace sometimes, too.

At the end of the day, the old saying that “you get what you give” rings true. If you give grace, others will give it right back when you need it. How are you leading with grace in this holiday season?
November 29, 2022
Bring Me a Rock

My husband has a great analogy for ineffective communication that goes like this:

It’s like when they say, “Bring me a rock”. You go outside, grab the first rock you see, and take it to them. They say “No, we need a different rock.” You go back outside, grab a different rock, take it back, and they say “No, not that rock. It needs to be gray.” And so on and so forth until you eventually figure out that they wanted a big, round, gray rock from the bottom of the Mississippi River. How were you supposed to know that? If they knew what they wanted, why didn’t they just say it?

When people experience this type of interaction over and over again, they become less trusting and less engaged with the work. They start to feel like nothing they ever do will be the right thing, because it’s never clear what the right thing actually is. It’s a very demotivating work environment where accountability is high and psychological safety is not: the anxiety zone.

We should all be working to find the right balance between accountability and psychological safety. In other words, we can absolutely have high standards of performance and a people-first, inclusive culture. I call this Graceful Accountability.

If you’ve heard me talk about Graceful Accountability, you know I’m serious about it. I’ve seen countless healthy and unhealthy teams over the years, and the difference is almost always the result of either too much “speak up” or too much “do what we tell you to do”. It’s either so relaxed and accepting that results suffer, or it’s so structured and rigid that people suffer. When we practice Graceful Accountability, we reset the balance.

Next time you need someone to bring you a rock, meet them in the middle – figure out what it is you really need and communicate those expectations clearly (accountability), then allow space for questions, discussion, and gratitude (psychological safety).

What are you doing now to find the right balance of accountability and psychological safety?

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Attending the UA HR Conference? Catch Jillian’s session October 27th at 11am. Learn more about #UAHR22 at horizonpointconsulting.com/whatsup.

October 18, 2022