Workforce Therapy Files Podcast Por Jim Ray arte de portada

Workforce Therapy Files

Workforce Therapy Files

De: Jim Ray
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 This podcast is designed for business leaders and human resource professionals who are challenged with expanding their workforce. Workforce Therapy Files, an Employer Solutions Podcast, is hosted by 3 separate business owners who operate in the staffing and human resources space. They'll provide perspectives, tips and advice (along with a little humor) to help you prepare for and manage your workforce challenges. Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We’re here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: • Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com • Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com • Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com We hope you find it insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!2023 Economía Gestión Gestión y Liderazgo
Episodios
  • Mostly Funny HR Stories

    Mostly Funny HR Stories
    May 21 2025
    File 26: In today’s file, the team is going to lighten-up the conversation with some funny HR stories they’ve either experienced or heard about. Before we begin, we’d like to encourage you to send us your funny HR stories, via the Workforce Therapy Files website. We might read them on an upcoming file. Sleeping on the Job Stories Story 1 Molley begins with a personal example from her “first real job.” She wanted to talk with one of the leaders. She knew he was in the office. She knocked on his office door repeatedly. Finally, the door opened. She was shocked. She asked if he had been sleeping at his desk, because there was an imprint of his watch on his forehead! Molley later explains that the guy and his wife had recently had their firstborn, so he may have been justifiably, sleep-deprived. Stories 2, 3 and 4 Jason also has some sleeping stories. Jason worked at a distribution, during a newly-created 2nd shift. There weren’t many trucks coming it on 2nd shift. The supervisors created some busy work for the employees, between trucks. Jason was sweeping a long aisle in the warehouse. Suddenly, he hears, “Hey dude.” It startled him, so he began looking around to see where the voice came from. He looked up to find his co-worker napping on the 3rd level of the rack shelves. Jason climbed up to find and entire sleeping space the guy had created. After assuring his co-worker that they were cool, he climbed back down and just continued sleeping. There was another role in which Jason knew a co-worker in the office was falling asleep at his desk. Jason would ask him what he was doing and the guy’s head would pop-up and the guy mumbled, “Praying.” It happened often enough that Jason had to eventually dismiss the guy. In his final sleeping story, Jason describes a small office he worked in, years ago. They had an admin at the front desk. Early one morning, the boss unlocked the main door and walked in. All the lights were out, so she continued back to her own office. When she came back out, the admin guy was sitting at his desk. The bell on the front door hadn’t chimed, but he claimed he’d been there the whole time. The boss knew she’d just walked past the empty desk. The admin finally relented and admitted that he’d been asleep under the desk (from a hangover). Reasons People Gave for Calling Out of Work Story 5 Jamie was working her first HR-assistant job out of college. One of her responsibilities was to review the call-out line messages. She tells us about 2 interesting excuses. The first was from a woman who was calling on behalf of a guy who worked 3rd shift. He wasn’t going to be able to come in, because she was getting ready to have a baby. Then she let out a giant labor pain scream. Jaime still tries to imagine the conversation that must have taken place between the guy and the woman about calling his employer, while she was having contractions. Fortunately, once the man returned to work, he proudly showed off pictures of his new baby. Work Isn’t the Only Type of Labor that Happens at the Office Story 6 Jamie tells another story about a woman who actually went into labor at work. While the baby came extremely early, it was a very tense experience, that turned out okay. The work environment required a lot of walking. Surprisingly, the walking induced the birth. Jamie remembers sitting on the bathroom floor with the woman. While this isn’t a funny HR story, unexpected things often happen at work. In this case, you might say, “Life Happens.” Drug Test Fail Story 7 Molley was handling mass-recruiting for a large call center. There was a lot of turnover, so it was a constant push to get people scheduled for interviews. She sent an offer to a candidate. Candidates were required to immediately come in for the drug test and fingerprinting. Other employees started approaching the HR office to let them know a woman was in the parking lot offering $100 to anyone who would provide a urine sample she could use for her drug test. They rescinded the offer that day. In Vino Veritas Story 8 Jason recounts a story he heard about a company conference. There was a 20-person hot tub at the venue. Alcohol had been consumed at the event. Someone came up with the idea of playing truth or dare in the hot tub. Well, some stories came out. Needless to say, there were some very awkward looks in the room the following day. Duct Tape Will Fix It Story 9 Jamie remembers a job she had years ago. There was an individual who was constantly in trouble for pushing the line on what was deemed to be appropriate and inappropriate. He enjoyed wearing t-shirts that had questionable statements on them. While some of them were funny, Jamie knew she would lose authority if she allowed herself to actually laugh at some them. To remedy the situation, she’d give the guy duct tape to cover the statements...
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    30 m
  • Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 2)

    Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 2)
    May 9 2025
    File 25: In today’s file, the team wraps up a 2-part discussion on the job market. In this episode, they’ll focus on “lay-ups”. These are the positive ways an organization can assist exiting employees to land on their feet, after a separation. At the same time, this segment will also help area employers to take advantage of the availability of new candidates becoming available, especially if a large layoff has occurred. Click here to listen File 24, Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 1). In File 11 (Breaking Up Is Hard to Do), the team discussed the topic of separating with dignity. This might also be a good reference point. There Are Steps that Can Be Taken to Assist Exiting Employees Molley begins by commenting about how once the severance package and other formalities have been handled, there are still additional steps an employer can take to assist exiting employees. This comes back to a them discussed in File 11 about separating with dignity. If the organization knows the separation is going to happen, are there job-placement resources in the community that could assist with re-hiring? Do managers personally know if local businesses that could use good employees? Contact them and invite them to connect with your impacted employees. These types of extra steps can help to ease the transition. Remember, when one door closes, another one eventually opens. In the previous file, File 24, Jamie presented some of the legal requirements a company has, based on the WARN Act, when a layoff is coming. Again, none of the hosts are attorneys, but the information can serve as a guideline for a conversation with your business/corporate attorney. Jamie points out that by helping former employees to land on their feet, there are indirect and direct benefits to the organization, such as lower claims and the avoidance of potential litigation expenses. Not to mention the damage to the company’s reputation as a community/regional employer. Jason discusses a number of actions he’s seen his clients take in these types of situations. He groups them as passive and active steps. An example of a passive action could include writing letters of recommendation for employees. An active action might be contacting local and regional workforce teams and the unemployment office resources. Additionally, if you become aware of a layoff in the area, get your marketing team working on a plan to potentially attract these potential job candidates. Go so far as to engage that company’s HR team to see if you can begin recruiting onsite, before the official layoff date occurs. Consider geo-fencing or geo-targeting the company’s location enabling you to serve online ad notifications to people who show up at that location. Jamie also comments on this aspect. If you are the employer facing layoffs, consider reaching out to other local employers to see if they are looking for good candidates. Your recommendations would be extremely helpful to the HR team, as well as your employees. Jason explains how they helped to identify industry-adjacent employers for a client. They didn’t have the exact same jobs, but many of roles required similar skillsets. Molley describes how affected employees can leverage the skills they’ve developed over the years, yet when recruiters and HR overly-depend on technology to screen applicants, those prospective employees risk being left on the sidelines. We need to help employees to tell their stories differently. Providing a long-term employee resources can be extremely helpful. He/she may need help building a résumé and learning how to apply for jobs. Help them to list their specific skills. It’s also possible to work on improving their social media footprint. Equip that long-term employee with a letter of recommendation, help them to set up an appointment with a staffing specialist, and you might even be able to provide them with information about specific opportunities with other employers. Remember, these are steps to helping with a lay-up, before or after the layoff. Molley suggests contacting the Kentucky Career Center, which is a statewide resource. It’s a valuable resource for employees who are facing a layoff or other separation. Your tax dollars have already been used to fund these resources, so take advantage of them. Placing an Emphasis on Workforce Planning This was mentioned in File 24. Molley provides an example. Organizations over-hire. It’s often because they don’t know how to properly hire. They’re planning for attrition. Instead, if organizations were to create an authentic approach to the hiring process for each position, you’d consider the company’s readiness to hire, the timing for the hire, the reason one or more people need to be hired, etc. This granular approach will help you to know the best time to engage in the hiring process. It can actually lower the overall cost of your workforce ...
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    23 m
  • Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 1)

    Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 1)
    Apr 23 2025
    File 24: In today’s file, the team begins a 2-part discussion on the job market. In this episode, they’ll focus on layoffs. Several clients have reached out to Jamie and Molley to plan for potential layoffs and the specific steps companies are required to take. In File 11 (Breaking Up Is Hard to Do), the team discussed the topic of separating with dignity. This might be a good reference point. Legal Considerations Involving a Layoff To begin, it’s important to note none of this should be considered legal advice, as the members of the WTF Podcast team are not lawyers. However, they’ve been involved in these situations and are prepared to share some perspectives and tips. Today’s discussion might provide an outline for a series of questions you might want to review with your business attorney. Information regarding the WARN Act can be found on the Department of Labor’s website. It’s the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification. This Act ensures advanced notice in cases of qualified plant closings. When are Employers Required to Provide Advance Notice to Employees of a Layoffs or a Plant Closure? Jamie explains that if you are an employer planning a layoff, plant closure or significant reduction in work hours, you are required to do a WARN notice. It must be filed with the unemployment office. The threshold is that you must have over 100 full-time workers, excluding workers who have been there for less than 6-months, or who work less than 20 hours per week. If you’re laying off 50 or more people, at a single site, or if you employ more than 100 workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours. Please note, there are many other group descriptions that should be reviewed in determining your specific requirements. The benefit to this process is that it can help the various community resources to engage in planning and coordination to assist affected workers in the area. It also provides 60-day notice so that the affected employees can make plans regarding their individual situations. Jamie notes that the time and notice can make a difference for continued employment for those impacted employees. What Can Companies Do to Help Employees Affected by a Layoff? Jason comments that the notification, per the WARN Act, goes to the local career centers and unemployment offices. Once notified, those agencies can provide information on opportunities and programs for up-skilling and training. Some agencies may even come on-site to provide employees with information about job openings and other potential resources, including providing information about how unemployment works. It’s good to utilize these services as early in the process as possible. It’s also the right thing to do for your people. Most of the previous files on this podcast have focused on attracting good people; the right talent for your company. You probably have a large group of people you really hope to retain. You may even be able to come up with solutions that could avoid the need for a layoff. Alternatives to Enacting a Layoff Consider the use of furloughs. If you’re trying to reduced costs, you may have the option of instituting temporary furloughs and avoiding the need to issue a WARN Act notification. The advantage is you might still be able to retain your talent. They should be able to draw unemployment for periods of time. Jamie recalls working with a client who was having a dip in business, but believe it wasn’t a permanent situation. As a company, they decided to implement furloughs to get them through the current period and come out together, on the other side. Everyone, including management took a 2-week, unpaid furlough. In their case, the payroll savings enabled them to survive. Molley comments that communication is key, especially when the company itself is under stress. By being transparent about the situation, it may help to gain important buy-in for an option, such as a furlough, instead of having to layoff a significant number of people. This transparency also helps the company to control the narrative, rather than letting rumors and misinformation to get traction. It’s important to understand that a furlough for a specific period of time is much different from a layoff, which means you’re losing your job. It’s an entirely different situation. Molley points out that some companies might try to use a layoff to mask poor performance. Often, this is due to a lack of good management, in her opinion. If you’re laying off for poor performance, is it possible your managers weren’t given the tools or opportunities to lead? Jamie, agrees that using “layoffs” for poor performance is a misuse of the term. You’re not required to retain a poor performer. You should take the necessary steps to notify someone of their lack of performance and to provide opportunities and time for improvement. This is the best way to get someone ...
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    27 m
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