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The Retail Employer

The Retail EmployerOctober 2007

Keeping Unions at Bay

A few months ago, David Nagle wrote an article for the Retail Merchants Association entitled “Unions dead and gone? No way.” In it he talked about the ramifications that passage of the Employee Free Choice Act would have on union organizing activity. Union elections would be obsolete and essentially replaced by a “card check” process that would not even give a company the opportunity to give its point of view before union representation was imposed. Contracts could be imposed on the company, its employees and the union through mandatory arbitration. While the proposed legislation was defeated this year, it is certain to be back, and may well become law if Democrats gain the presidency in the 2008 elections and have control of the House and Senate.

What’s an employer to do? One thing it can and should do is create an atmosphere in the workplace where employees do not feel they need a union to speak for them. Union campaigns are seldom solely based on money. Instead, it is often found that a union organizing campaign has arisen from employees’ perception that they are not respected or valued at work, that their employer does not care about their welfare. Employees who seek unions are often those who feel that management will not take the time to listen to their ideas or answer their questions, or who view their supervisors as unpredictable, inconsistent and autocratic. Unions may be viewed as providing a measure of protection to employees who are disgruntled over mandatory overtime, or the perception that a supervisor engages in discrimination or favoritism.

None of these perceptions are insurmountable. Treating all employees with respect should be second nature to every manager. If it is not, the manager needs to change. Employees should be praised in public and counseled in private. Their ideas should at least be considered and, if the idea is rejected, the reasons for the rejection should be explained. If a question is asked, it should be answered. It might not seem important to a manager, but it is to the employee who asked the question. If the manager does not know the answer, she should find it out and respond back to the employee. Employees are entitled to know the company’s expectations and that like situations will be treated alike. Overtime should be managed and, if possible, assigned to those individuals who want it. Finally, discrimination and favoritism are poison in the work place and should be rectified immediately.

Employers may not be able to stop the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, but they can dampen its impact by taking steps now so that their employees do not feel the need for union representation.

Joe McCluskey has advised and represented employers with respect to legal issues in the workplace for 23 years. Recently, Joe joined David Nagle in the Richmond office of Jackson Lewis. Jackson Lewis has over 400 attorneys in 32 cities across the country, representing management exclusively in workplace law and related litigation. He may be reached at (804) 649-0404, or by email at mccluskj@jacksonlewis.com.

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What Matters to Your Team? Perspectives on Job Satisfaction Differ

According to a recent report in HR Magazine, what employees want out of work differs from what HR and management think their employees value most. The Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) most recent Job Satisfaction Survey Report showed that the top five elements relating to job satisfaction according to workers didn’t exactly match up with what HR professionals expected them to be.

In the survey, workers ranked 22 factors related to job satisfaction. According to the report, their top five concerns are:

  1. Compensation
  2. Benefits
  3. Job Security
  4. Work/Life Balance
  5. Communication Between Employees and Senior Management

On the other hand, HR professionals reported that they believed employees’ top job satisfaction concerns would be as follows:

  1. Relationship with Supervisor
  2. Compensation
  3. Management Recognition of Employee Job Performance
  4. Benefits
  5. Communication Between Employees and Senior Management

It’s fair to note that HR professionals knew compensation, benefits and communication would make workers’ top five, but the other differences and rankings show workers are more focused on how their jobs impact their lives. The first list shows that job elements that affect a person’s finances and personal life make workers’ top four values. The second list shows HR professionals put an emphasis on values that relate directly to job performance.

Of course, what your team values may differ from either of these lists. But, this survey illustrates an important question—do you really know what matters to your employees? In making HR, benefits and management decisions, knowing what matters to your employees is critical to ensuring success. Here are a few tips for finding out what matters to your staff when you’re considering a new policy or program.

Research. According to SHRM, one reason for the disconnect between HR and employee perceptions may be that organizations aren’t paying attention to research. For example, research shows that helping employees achieve work/life balance helps organizations as well as workers, but most organizations still aren’t offering balance-related benefits. Use established research to identify important trends you should consider, and then conduct research within your company to see what your workers want.

Listen. In the lunchroom, during meetings or wherever your employees are, informally observe the things that matter most to your team. For example, if you have a staff comprised of mainly working mothers who always talk about not having enough time to spend with their family, you’ll probably want to seriously consider offering flextime options.

Ask. When you want to know what changes employees want, take a formal, anonymous poll of your employees to find out what’s important to them. You can use a free, web-based survey system like SurveyMonkey.com to get measurable, valuable results.

Get Feedback. Always get feedback from employees after you start a new program or offer a new policy. Also, get regular feedback on the benefits you’ve always offered. You may find that employees don’t know how to take advantage of a program or understand everything your company offers. It could be that they don’t use a program because they’d prefer a different option. If so, why pay for a benefit no one is using? Remember, you can always change things if they aren’t working.

Act. Once you’ve determined what matters to your team, it’s important to act on the knowledge you have. Nothing frustrates employees more than sharing insight and ideas and for employers to do nothing. On the other hand, not much impresses employees more than knowing that top management has listened to their concerns and done something to address their needs.

Keep in mind that the decisions you make affect your workers, and you can increase their job satisfaction by making changes they want to see happen. Using these tips to better understand your workforce will help you retain your top talent and be a partner with your workers in bettering their lives.

This article is reprinted with permission of www.ExpressPersonnel.com. Contact Mr. Lars Nordin at Lars.Nordin@ExpressPersonnel.com if you would like to be added to their distribution list. Express Personnel now offers RMA members a Retail Staffing Program. More information is available online through www.retailmerchants.com.

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Is Your Website Working for You or Is It On Vacation?

The Internet is revolutionizing the way we live, work and do business. So, how do you make sure it’s generating a return on investment?

Winning on the internet is comprised of two elements: 1) a website that converts visitors to customers, and 2) making sure your website can be found when someone is looking for what you do. One can’t succeed without the other. Today, we’ll focus on converting visitors to customers.

Making your website a good “salesperson” isn’t difficult if you know what you are doing. Recent studies indicate that nearly 80% of people will visit your website before picking up the phone and calling you or coming into your location. Since credibility is the single most important factor people are seeking when they check you out, making sure you present yourself professionally is critical. It’s just like making a good first impression when you meet someone. Here are five website elements to check:

  • Is it graphically appealing and how does it compare to your competition?
  • Has it been updated recently or is there old, outdated information?
  • Is your phone number found on every page?
  • Are you offering anything FREE that entices people to contact you?
  • Are you highlighting the most important areas of your business?

These are the basics, and there are many free tools on the internet that can further help you evaluate the effectiveness of your internet marketing efforts.

Take the internet seriously because potential customers are using it to decide if you are worthy of their business.

My thanks to Neal Lappe for his expert advice.

This article is reprinted with permission of Mike Dunleavey, Executive Associate —Business Support Center—Retail Merchants Association.

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