Organizational Clarity: “Reason this woman’s job interview was canceled” article part 1

Although I never heard of this; I recently read an article that explained a job candidate had her job interview canceled because she asked about salary and benefits! The company is one that customers can order food and take out online from restaurants in small markets, similar to the services, Peapod and Grubhub mixed. It is understandable to ask this questions before undertaking a job opportunity especially if this information was not covered either in the job listing (description) or the first interview that this candidate had with the interviewer (representative) for this organization. 

Before I take any job or even apply for jobs online through Indeed or Careerbuilder I would look for the salary or benefits linked to the job, most job listings that do not have this information listed usually infer that the applicant should ask about these items during the interview. If the job listing does not have any of this information, I have a golden rule: Do not apply, simple as that. Why go through what this applicant went through?

In fact, in response to this applicant’s question, the organization replied that it is not part of their organizational culture to have applicants ask these type of questions. If this is against the organizational culture, then applicants must ask what else is? Does the organization have a mission statement or handbook in which this is written or is this an “unspoken rule” that is just implied and thereby opens the doors to more adjustments to what can be considered an employable rule? Because of these types of issues is the reason why laws and other protections were made to ensure that these type vague employment statutes do not occur or repeat in the workplace.

The fact that this organization does understand that this loose structure of rules and organizational culture in regards to what determines corrective action or even a breach of employment agreements simply makes it worse for all the organizations that share its market space. With most organizations worrying about more rules and regulations coming down upon them from Federal, state or local governments that the last thing needed is an event like this with such “hoopla” and attention that restricts them even further.

Just click on the link here to learn more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/reason-woman-job-interview-canceled-215408983.html

Clear communication is key with Job Posting

How does the average person who is looking for a job build trust or communication with a prospective organization when the organization itself cannot deliver on the necessary aspects of communication, and presentation of the job description?

 In other words, when you apply for an opportunity it is then in the responsibility hemisphere of the organization to do two things. One, have created a job description that is detailed and encompasses all the aspects which the job entails on a daily basis. Second, the organization should be able to have the ability to set up and structure a workable interview process that benefits both parties.

I have seen in multiple experiences that this is not always the case. One place I tried to interview with was a non-profit organization offering Human Resources opportunity; I had a lengthy email interaction with one of their representatives about an interview multiple times. However, the reason this interview never happened was that the representative never got back to me until the day of and wanted to reschedule at the last minute (the day of,).

Now, this is the right of any organization when dealing with job applicants, but I eventually was dissuaded from participating any further because I could not interact with this organization like I aforementioned. The reason was that I had other interviews to go to attend, other organizations that were organized in their hiring processes and were able to complete the initial interview process with other applicants and me. I based this on some individuals that were in the lobbies and offices of these organizations waiting to be interviewed as well.

Fast forward a few weeks into the future after I disengaged from this organization of disorganization I noticed that they reposted the position again on an online job search site. The first assumption is that this organization could not find anyone, was there others like myself who were deterred by the hiring process that they had to try again? Was it that they did hire someone and they left because the position’s duties were not communicated properly and the new hire became disillusioned and left immediately?

Whichever it was the position, the same position that I applied for was now more detailed, in fact, the length of detail in this new posting was amazing in comparison to the original posting. The new wrinkle in the position was that it was now UNPAID! Obviously, I did not reapply for this position even though it meant some professional development, was not worth it. From any Organizational Development standpoint, this organization is one of chaos, and even without a Cause Analysis, it is obvious that there are no protocols, standards or even processes in place to hire effective individuals to create change.

Knowing that there are still organizations out there without processes that we all think are necessary and vital to maintaining a success workforce. Understanding that there are opportunities for the Organizational Development professional out there, we must temper those academic urges to the hard realities that organizations must be able or want change. However, if the organizations as in this example are “tripping over their own feet” with its publicly presented policies then it is evident change may not be in the cards.

Lack of strong sponsors, inept processes, lack of experienced individuals who can work around procedures that hinder or start the innovation process are all major roadblocks to implementing the change that is needed in such organization. In other words, if you take the chance to apply and be hired by such an organization do not have ideas of becoming a “hero” and creating major changes. The likelihood of such a change happening assessing from academic, professional and realistic standpoint(s) are almost impossible and most likely will never happen.

The New Overtime rules from an Organizational perspective

The new rules for overtime became law on Dec. 1, 2016, this means employees that work over the 40-hour work week will be required to be paid time and a half (Gibbons, 2016). From an Organization Development standpoint, it is a challenge, on the one hand, there are negatives and positives for the employee and then, on the other hand, the organization.

With this type of new rules as the article states, organizations will now need to be mindful of how they allocate their resources when it comes to scheduling their workers. This may as the article stated on the organization side will lead to slashing hours, elimination of management staff and reallocation of task assignments (Gibbons, 2016). These maybe all negatives, however, this means that organizations will be required to write accurate job descriptions instead of promoting general descriptions. Meaning instead of having “administrative duties” listed in a job description during the hiring process the position must be specific in all task assignments (Gibbons, 2016). No longer will project managers have to worry about generalities in what a staff can do or cannot do, this translates to employees across the board being trained in the same tasks. The requirement will streamline training programs to focus

Meaning instead of having “administrative duties” listed in a job description during the hiring process the position must be specific in all task assignments (Gibbons, 2016). No longer will project managers have to worry about generalities in what a staff can do or cannot do, this translates to employees across the board being trained in the same tasks. The requirement will streamline training programs to focus on certain skill sets rather than individualizing the training increasing costs and draining other resources.

For the employees although there is a bump in pay and the unspoken requirement of working off the clock is eliminated by this new rule, as these are all positives, employees actually getting paid for all the work they do for an organization (Gibbons, 2016). The negatives are that some organizations will cut hours for employees to make sure that they do not have to pay the time and a half in overtime hours, this also may mean more automation for certain tasks to streamline, in turn, the workforce. This could also force organizations to translate more employees hourly to salary in order to bypass this law altogether, which sounds great but the amount of time spent working for a salary employee can be more than if they were hourly (Gibbons, 2016). Plus, over time the ratio of dividing in the hours worked into the salary given by the organization may equal or be less than the take-home pay of the hourly employee now making time and a half for over time.

Now in the realm Organization Development we would have to determine which of these negatives would be positives for the organization first and then the employees, and how to deter or overcome any waves of turnovers created by exiting employees who go elsewhere as a result of the organization’s decision. Eliminating employee hours to a fixed, expected rate of 40 hours and under, along with accurate job description allows a project manager to create a more accurate “pitch” for the projects, procedures or products they wish to be approved for implementation. This will assist the project manager to request, plan and adjust a budget in which can have less overhead and also lessen the probability of outliers that can disrupt the project when it comes to the aspects of scheduling and payroll.

So, in either case, the new rules can be a headache for organizations it may be a chance for an Organization Development specialist to prove their worth and show the importance of investing in Organization Development as a science, a way of thinking, and an attitude to approaching an organization’s problems.  The trick for the specialist will be to find the silver lining in such rules and make gold from it.

Are there any other issues you see my become an issue for the Organization Development specialist that is not mentioned in the article or in this blog entry? Do you think as a result of these new rules will increase automation in organizations and higher rate of eliminations of an organization lower management staff? Do you think that these rules harm the employee more or the organization more? Do you think that these rules hurt the employee more or the organization more?

Gibbons, Lauren  (2016) “New federal overtime regulations could have big impact on Michigan businesses, employees” July 04, 2016 MLive http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/07/new_federal_overtime_regulatio.html

Post a Detailed job description.. Please

One of the many problems with employee recruitment presently lies with the description of the position that the organization is in dire need to be filled. Usually, the author has an idea of what the position entails, however, it is usually the case that the what is not listed in the description is conveniently listed as “other duties” or “additional duties may be added”. This is a commonplace practice that occurs the majority of the time, however, that does not make it right, efficient nor does it make it a productive usage of time or effort.

The less details added to a posting on a job site whether it is the organization’s own employment site, external business site or even when the organization uses an employment agency, a specific detailed job description of the position is required. This is because descriptions can be misinterpreted by the either the interviewer, the agency representative and even the person applying for the position.   

In a world where there is an increasing emphasis on getting the job right the first time, being efficient as possible and getting the candidate for the job on the first attempt, incorrectly written job descriptions counteract the aforementioned desires of organizations that are trying to watch their bottom line.

When I look at a job description that has less than a paragraph and has those famous words: “and other duties” I know that the author cares as little about the process, or about getting the right candidate for the job. To the author, this is their job and if it is done incorrectly, or done very well, it does not matter to them at the end of the day, it is just their “job” and possibly the individual that the organization does not want interviewing future candidates nor writing job listings in the near future.

Which then falls upon the organization for not getting the person to do this task/job as well, basically becoming its own vicious circle which wastes the time of everyone involved. Time, a precious commodity if you are in a hurry to fill the position because it is either a very crucial position to an organizational department “time is money” as the old saying goes.

Or it could be that the tasks needed to be completed by the person in this position are now being divided up amongst different members of the department which now is driving down the productivity of the entire department. This extra work that other members in the department has to do to cover for this missing individual is in turn, overtasking and taking its toll upon its members.

Leading to overuse of sick days, higher turnover rates, etc., just because one poorly written job description is holding back the hiring process. I have seen this many times before and have been one of those people in the department overworked because of it, and it is not a pretty situation. And usually members of the overworked department are then on external job search sites looking for a new job, sounds familiar?

Which gets me back to the original point that if a job description is done right, detailed enough an organization can get the right applicants for the jobs so that this ripple effect does not occur. If an organization wants the best, then take the time to write what you are expecting from the best, it does not have to be Hemingway, just something that does not waste the time of everyone involved. Plain and simple.

The use of high end vocabulary in job listings is it really necessary?

Recently a friend of mine was applying for a job and one of the questions was: “Do you consider yourself Mono-chronic or Polychromic?” Now when she emailed me about the question she mentioned that she had to look up both words, differences and their definitions which she found here:

http://thearticulateceo.typepad.com/my-blog/2011/08/cultural-differences-monochronic-versus-polychronic.html

Of course, she laughed off the question with a joke about English being her second language but even I as a primarily English language speaker was stumped when she sent me that question and was secretly glad her email came with a link explaining the two! But it does raise a question, even though the rest of some of these questions were “hip” and basically seemed to the reader “anti-establishment” or were outside the box questions for a job application, how “high end” does the vocabulary used for a job description need to be?

Keep in mind this is for a position similar to a customer service representative, so the terminology used is basically unnecessary unless the client is dealing with some type of Psychology or Organizational Development themed clientele the reasoning behind such use is questionable. Maybe the usage is done to dissuade potential applicants that the organization does not feel is on the same level as them or their clientele they service.

A “roadblock” or a deterrent is usually a means to weed out the casual applicant who may or may not be qualified from may whatever requirement the organization desires but it also may shoo away (highly) qualified applicants that think such wording is pretentious and therefore not the right fit for them. I am not saying that a job posting must be elementary in its wording but an organization should also be wary of the terminology it uses so that it may be inclusive for all types and manners of applicants.