Chapter 10

1. Chapter 10 Managing Careers and Fair Treatment

2. Chapter 10 Outline • The basics of career management • Career development roles • Hr.Net career planning & the web • The employer’s role in career management • Provide career planning workshops and software

3. Chapter 10 Outline (Cont.) • Managing promotions & transfers • Making promotion decisions • Decision 1: Is seniority or competence the rule? • Decision 2: How should we measure competence? • Decision 3: Is the process formal or informal? • Decision 4: Vertical, horizontal, or other? • Handling transfers

4. Chapter 10 Outline (Cont.) • Career management & commitment • Career development programs • Career-oriented appraisals • Career records/job posting systems

5. Chapter 10 Outline (Cont.) • Managing fair treatment • Creating a better environment • Build two-way communications • Speak-up programs • Opinion surveys • Top-down programs • Emphasize fairness in disciplining • Research insight • Manage employee privacy

6. Chapter 10 Outline (Cont.) • Managing dismissals • Grounds for dismissal • High-performance insight • Avoiding wrongful discharge suits • The termination interview • Outplacement counseling • Exit interviews

7. Chapter 10 Outline (Cont.) • Managing dismissals (cont.) • Layoffs and the plant closing law • The plant closing law • Bumping/layoff procedures • Alternatives to layoffs • Adjusting to downsizings and mergers • Retirement • Summary

8. After Studying This Chapter You Should Be Able To: • Discuss the basics of career management • Outline how to manage promotions & transfers • Show how career management influences employee commitment • Explain the three main considerations in managing fair treatment • More effectively manage dismissals

9. Chapter 10Strategic Overview • Needed: • New, competitive strategy • World-class service • Dedicated front-line employees • To share information

10. Company’s needs Employee’s long-term interests Career Management 101 Careers are no longer viewed as an upward linear progression but reinvented constantly as work environments change Human resource activities

11. Career Planning & Development Definition • The deliberate process through which a person becomes aware of personal career-related attributes and the lifelong series of stages that contribute to his or her career fulfillment Career focus chart

12. Career Development Roles: The Individual • Each person must accept responsibility for his or her own career: • Assess their interests, skills & values • Take the steps required to achieve a happy and fulfilling career

13. Career Development Roles: Management • Management must provide development opportunities, feedback, and career-oriented appraisals

14. The Web & Career Planning • Numerous career assessment sites like • All offer career planning tools which help employees identify their strengths & improve their career progress

15. Posting job openings Formal education Career-oriented performance appraisals Management counseling HR counseling Retirement preparation Succession planning Lateral development The Employer’s Role Career management practices include:

16. The Employer’s Role Steps to take for potential & new employees Give realistic job previews Provide challenging 1stjobs New employee mentoring Planning workshop & software

17. Good Management • Reality shock • Job rotation • Mentoring

18. Career Workshops • A planned learning event • Workshop activities include: • Self-assessment • Environmental assessment • An individual segment Career planning software

19. Managing Promotions & Transfers • Promotions or advancements to positions of greater responsibility involve four decisions: • 1st is seniority or competence the rule? • 2nd how should we measure competence? • 3rd is the process formal or informal? • 4th vertical, horizontal, or other?

20. EMPLOYERS Take career interests seriously Make promotion process fair Flexible career tracks EMPLOYEES Learn, understand the business Be seen as capable Find & use a mentor Train yourself Know what you want Promotion Management for Women

21. Handling Transfers • A transfer: a lateral move to another job with no change in salary or grade • Transferees are looking for: • Personal enrichment • Interesting jobs • Convenience • Better hours or location • Transfers should result in better productivity

22. Question: In these times of rapid change & mergers how do you get the employees to keep the company’s best interest at heart if the company doesn’t seem to or is unable to care about what’s good for the employee? Answer: Provide them with an opportunity to self-actualize, develop & reach their potential in order to be more marketable should they be let go Career Management & Commitment

23. Career Development Programs • Career management programs include: • Career planning seminars • Provide classes, counseling & tutoring • Offer workshops • Tuition reimbursement

24. Foster commitment Indicates promotability and developmental needs Career-Oriented Appraisals

25. Career-oriented Job Placement • Five steps routinely used by internal placement centers (IPC): • Conduct an internal, external, or combined search • Manager completes job description for the position • Recruiter posts current job opportunities • Interested employees apply for the position • Center coordinator assesses each applicant

26. Fair Treatment – Why Treat Employees Fairly? • Powerful management tool • Knowledge-based company • Attitudes and behavior • Building trust • Can achieve goals jointly

27. Create a better environment Employee’s assertiveness influences supervisor’s fairness Large organizations must work hard to set up fair work procedures Fair treatment reflects underlying elements like trust and respect Managing Fair Treatment Fair treatment scale

28. Managing Fair Treatment • Build 2-way communications Use speak-up! programs Opinion surveys Top-down programs

29. Fairness in Disciplining • Discipline: encouraging employees to behave sensibly at work • Fairness here means three things • Rules & regulations • A system of progressive penalties • An appeals process

30. Evidence supports wrongdoing Due process rights protected Warn first Relevancy Investigate fairly and adequately Substantial evidence of misconduct Emphasize Fairness in Disciplining Here are some guidelines -

31. Emphasize Fairness in Disciplining (Cont.) • Evenhanded application • Penalty matches offense and history • Right to counsel • Maintain dignity • Burden of proof • Get the facts and be cool

32. Consider Discipline Without Punishment • Non-punitive guidelines for recurring event: • Oral reminder • Issue formal written reminder & include in file • Give paid one-day “decision-making leave” • If no further incidents occur, purge their file

33. Manage Employee Privacy • About 75% of U.S. firms now record and review some employee communications • Electronic eavesdropping is legal - to a point

34. You’re Fired! • Dismissal is drastic – be careful! • Terminate at will • Just cause and the EEO

35. Grounds for Dismissal Companies dismiss employees for 4 reasons: unsatisfactory performance, misconduct, lack of qualifications for the job, & changed requirements Defying company policy Name that Grounds Disregard boss’s authority Stealing Chronic lateness Poor work quality Publicly criticize boss Refuse to obey Mutiny Disrespectful

36. Security Measures to Take After a Dismissal • Use a checklist to ensure all company property is returned • Walk employees out of the offices • Disable passwords & accounts • Have formal rules for return of portable equipment like laptops & handhelds

37. Avoiding Wrongful Discharge Suits Definition • Wrongful discharge is an employee dismissal that does not comply with the law or does not comply with the contractual arrangement stated or implied by the firm via its employment application forms, employee manuals, or other promises Handbook policy return statement

38. Applicant signs no fixed term employee form Review employee manual Don’t outline appraisal process Always include a hire at will statement No permanent employment clauses Don’t list discharge reasons How to Reduce Wrongful Suits

39. How to Reduce Wrongful Suits (Cont.) • Don’t make promises you can’t keep • Have clear infraction rules • If a rule is broken get signed witness statements • Appraise annually • Keep records of all employee actions • Make probationary periods clear

40. Written agreements? Contracts? Defamation claims? Discrimination? Worker’s compensation? Rules communicated? Chance to explain or correct? Monies paid? COBRA explained? Reference response? Reviewed file? “Buy-out” considered? What to Ask Prior to Dismissal

41. Termination Interview Guidelines • Plan interview carefully • Get to the point – skip the small talk • Describe situation briefly as to why person is being let go • Listen as person begin talking freely & calmly about reasons for the termination • Review all elements of severance package • Identify subsequent steps employee will take

42. Outplacement counseling A systematic process by which a terminated person is trained and counseled in the techniques of self-appraisal and securing a new position Outplacement

43. Exit Interviews • Exit interview questions to ask: • Why did you join the company? • Why did you decide to leave? • Was the job presented correctly & honestly? • Were your expectations met? • What was the workplace environment like? • Supervisor’s management style like? • Were there any special problem areas?

44. Layoffs and the Plant Closings Law • Plant closing law • The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires notifying employees in the event an employer decides to close its facility • Employers are responsible for giving notice to employees who will experience a covered “employment loss”

45. Sample Notice Letter Please consider this letter to be your official notice, as required by the federal plant closing law, that your current position with the company will end 60 days from today because of a [layoff or closing] that is now projected to take place on [date]. After that day your employment with the company will be terminated, and you will no longer be carried on our payroll records or be covered by any company benefit programs. Any questions concerning the plant closing law or this notice will be answered in the HR office.

46. Bumping/Layoff Procedures • Seniority: • Usually ultimately determines who will work • Can give way to merit or ability • Is usually based on the date employee joined • Is usually company-wide: an employee in one job can displace another elsewhere, if the senior person can do the job without further training

47. Layoff Alternatives • Voluntary reduction in pay • Voluntary time off • Rings of defense – the deliberate use of temp or contract hires so that they can be laid off rather than permanent hires

48. Adjusting to Downsizings • Guidelines for implementing a reduction of force: • Identify objectives and constraints • Form a downsizing team • Address legal issues • Plan post-implementation actions • Address security concerns

49. M&A Dismissals • When merging or acquiring another firm: • Avoid the appearance of power and domination • Avoid win–lose behavior • Be businesslike & professional in all dealings • Have positive a feeling about the acquired company • The confidence, productivity, and commitment of those remaining affected by how dismissed are treated

50. Retirement • Retirement for many employees is bittersweet • Pre-retirement counselingpractices: