IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Feature Story: Retain Top Talent With Effective On-Boarding Process

2. Cathie's Corner: When Should An Employee Get A Second Chance?

 
3. Immigration Law Violations Now Result In Higher Penalties 

4. Free Report: Preventing Religious Discrimination And Harassment Claims In The Workplace

5. HR Soapbox: First Pets...Now Babies...What Is The Workplace Coming To?! 

AHI's We Couldn't Make This Up

Forget dogs. Postal workers in one Wisconsin town are running from wild turkeys. About five to 10 birds are menacing the carriers by scratching and pecking at them. Letter carriers have been armed with water pistols, but complain that while the squirts of water used to keep the birds at bay, it's no longer working. There is hope in sight for the carriers, though. Experts say the birds' behavior is tied to breeding season, which ends mid-May.

1. FEATURE STORY:
RETAIN TOP TALENT WITH EFFECIVE ON-BOARDING PROCESS

Think you've got the upper hand retaining top talent while the U.S. economy is in a recession? Think again. While you might assume your employees are so grateful just to be employed that they'd never risk their financial security by jumping ship right now, some employees may actually be seeing this slowdown as an opportunity to seek better-paying jobs or more secure career paths.

Of course, employees who feel connected to your organization are less likely to leave. You might think that this sense of connection must take many long years to develop, but in fact, a large portion of it depends on whether or not the employees were ever properly integrated into your organization in the first place.

There are many things you can do to welcome your new employees on board. In fact, "on-boarding" is the term that's increasingly being used in place of "new-hire orientation." The reason: Acclimating a new hire to your unique workplace culture isn't a simple, one- or two-day process, as "orientation" connotes.

Start From Day One

Your goal in on-boarding is to fully integrate new hires into productive and committed members of the team in as timely a manner as possible. "It's the best retention tool employers have," asserts Carol Hacker, founder and president of Hacker & Associates, a Georgia-based management consulting and seminar company.

Essential elements in the on-boarding process include: offering new hires constructive feedback; giving them challenging work; helping them feel comfortable with the surroundings; and assisting them in becoming familiar with everyday departmental tasks. Basically, you want to smoothly transition them from being outsiders to being insiders.

Socialization is a key component in successfully engaging new hires. If the new hire knows that at least one friendly face will constantly be there to offer daily pleasantries and words of encouragement, he/she is less likely to feel lost or overwhelmed once the formal orientation process is over. Many employers use either an informal buddy system or a more formalized mentoring system.

Mentoring: A Lasting Connection

If your organization chooses to use a mentoring system as part of its on-boarding process, Hacker stresses the importance of training mentors on basic coaching and counseling skills, including:

• Confronting negative behavior;
• Giving both positive and negative feedback;
• Being supportive; and
• Maintaining confidentiality.

Hacker also suggests using the following schedule for developing a solid mentoring relationship that will last:

• The first month should be devoted to building the social relationship between the mentor and mentee.
• The second month should focus on establishing goals and choosing development activities.
• During the third month, the mentor should meet at least twice with the mentee to check on their work progress and offer advice for solving any workplace issues.
• In the fourth month, the two should try to attend a learning event together.

To learn more about how you can create and implement an effective on-boarding process to improve your employee retention efforts, sign up for AHI's On-Boarding: Prevent New Hires From Jumping Ship webinar, to be presented by Carol Hacker on Tuesday, May 20. Ms. Hacker will answer your specific questions about on-boarding.

2. CATHIE'S CORNER:
WHEN SHOULD AN EMPLOYEE GET A SECOND CHANCE?

A client of mine recently had a situation where they could have run into trouble, not because of what they did, but because of what they didn't do several months ago.

Last summer, they called me with a question of what to do about an employee who had behaved in an inappropriate manner while at an industry conference...Continue the story. 

Catherine Bannon is an HR consultant in Marshfield, MA (catherine.bannon@gmail.com). Bannon worked for 10 years in HR management before starting her consulting practice.

3. IMMIGRATION LAW VIOLATIONS NOW RESULT IN HIGHER PENALTIES

Employers that violate immigration law face larger civil monetary penalties, which were raised to account for inflation. The increased penalties became effective March 27, 2008, for violations that occur on or after that date...Continue the story.

4. FREE REPORT

Check out the Free Report, "Preventing Religious Discrimination And Harassment Claims In The Workplace," which gives you a concise overview of employer obligations under Title VII. Plus, get ideas for accommodating employees' requests to observe the Sabbath and pray during the workday.

5. HR SOAPBOX:
FIRST PETS…NOW BABIES…WHAT IS THE WORKPLACE COMING TO?!

In what is recognized as a controversial way to help workers strike a balance between work and the rest of their lives, some employers allow new parents to bring their babies to work. And I'm not talking about workplace day care centers. I'm talking about infants right there beside their mothers or fathers, attending meetings in strap-on carriers, taking naps in desk-side bassinets, and being fed on conference room tables...Continue the story.