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Oil Spill Disaster

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:06:00 +0000

The Gulf Coast spill has been all over the news and will most likely affect the livelihoods of thousands of people in a negative way. As business owners in any venue, we must look out for the well-being of our employees. Twenty years ago, we heard a similar story with the Exxon oil disaster when people who earned their living off the land and sea had careers cut short.

The Gulf oil spill is a déjà vu of the Alaska disaster. Kent Bowen of Park City, Utah had an Alaskan fishing career when it ended with the Exxon oil disaster. His counsel for those recently affected by the oil spill is not to wait for the oil company to compensate. Brian O’Neill, an attorney with the firm Faegre & Benson, predicts 20 to 30 years of litigation for fishermen and small-business owners affected by the gulf spill as evidenced from the Alaska disaster (Read the full story here).

Today in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, there are many complaints from out-of-work fishermen. Some believe that they’re being ignored when it comes to finding other jobs. But rather it seems that those businesses in charge are attempting to hire the right people. They’re screening, doing background checks, assuring that those very fishermen are actually hired. In this case, background checks are a must for oil workers. Even though we can’t affect the litigation process and its timing, some businesses can at least offer jobs and they can be offered protecting both those who are doing the hiring and those hopeful candidates.

In a broader sense, there are many who may be out of work whether due to oil spills or the economy. As business owners, we have the ability to help by hiring correctly. And this isn’t merely an altruistic motive. A successful business is as successful as its employees. When screening employees and performing background checks, we’re ensuring as best as we can that we have ethical, committed and loyal employees who are working for the common good of the company and at the same time we have the potential of affecting the livelihood of those candidates. So the lesson that can be learned from this disaster -- as in any number of disasters in our world today -- is that there are always opportunities to help, even if it’s just awakening to what we can do to better our business by hiring those in need while also protecting our own livelihood.

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Hiring Employees with Ideal Characteristics

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:26:00 +0000

When hiring, we may wonder if there are essential characteristics of an ideal employee. The answer is yes, although perhaps our concern should be more the cost if we hire a not-so-perfect candidate.

Hiring decisions may be made solely due to resumes or degrees earned, but a more common approach nowadays is a well-rounded approach; an in-depth employment screening process. Not only are resumes and diplomas considered, but also background checks and even behavioral assessments. All of these key ingredients can help in our analysis of seeking employees with particular characteristics that will help us in our specific business. The people we hire can either build up our company or help us lose our business. We need to know what we’re looking for as this is a huge responsibility.

It’s true we want to motivate our employees, but honestly aren’t the best employees those who are self-motivated and don’t require us to constantly cheer them on? Pre-screening will help us to pre-select and then training to motivate isn’t do or die. So let’s examine some general characteristics of ideal employees.

• Visualize opportunity and change. We all know those people who see difficulty in every situation and then there are others who grasp on and only see opportunity for change and improving a situation.


• Responsible and results oriented. They’re always willingly accountable and focused on what needs to be accomplished. These employees admit their mistakes and fix them. They work independently, following directions and getting along with others.


• Motivated and optimistic. They’re always improving themselves and encouraging those around them. These candidates have a proactive attitude, having the initiative to go after their goals. They smile and only complain when necessary to make positive improvements. This ultimately promotes themselves and the company when they please the customers and improve the business. It shows self-confidence and a keen willingness to work.


• Honest and ethical. Basically putting in an honest days work, doing the best for the team and not slacking. So don’t work too slowly or get to work late and leave early. Don’t steal materials or time from the company. A good example of what not to do was demonstrated in a recent story in the Los Angeles Times. The Olive View - UCLA Medical Center staff is under investigation for accepting gifts from nursing home employees whose goal was to have Medi-Cal and Medicare patients referred to their services. This certainly can’t reflect well on the Olive-View - UCLA Medical Center. Read the story here.
  

So with all these character traits in mind, what’s the cost if we hire the wrong guy? The greatest cost could be your company’s reputation but also the time, mistakes, and then having to train their eventual replacement. So hire the right person at the beginning, not the end.

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Balance Within The Workplace

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:35:00 +0000

Balance within the workplace. Can that even be possible? Balance and workplace seem to be on two opposing ends of the spectrum. The lines between family life and work have blurred with the high pressure, 24/7 society we now live in. Of course unparalleled wealth can be the result. But let’s really examine the price of this. Statistics can show trends and correlations and help us make sound judgment calls once we have the data. As business owners or managers, I’d assume we’d want the data. I’d assume we’d want to give our company and employees the best chance possible to succeed. There have been numerous studies that have explored work hours and how the employees’ behavior has been affected including their views of their job, their health, and their personal and family lives. In 2001, a publication of the Families and Work Institute explored the question of Feeling Overworked: When Work Becomes Too Much. How prevalent is it to feel overworked? Here are some noteworthy stats that they found:

• 28% of employees felt overworked often or very often in the past three months.


• 54% felt overworked at least sometimes in the past three months.


• 28 % felt overwhelmed by how much they had to do often or very often in the past three months.


• 55% felt overwhelmed by how much work they had to do at least sometimes in the past three months.


• 29% felt they did not have time to step back and process or reflect on the work they were doing often or very oftenin the past three months.


• 59% felt they did not have time to step back and process or reflect on the work they were doing at least sometimes in the past three months.
  

With the unsettling effects of the recent economic recession, these numbers have most likely increased. At a minimum, more than half of the sample population studied felt work stress at least sometime over the course of a few months.

Let’s examine a couple of workplace stories with two extreme results to demonstrate the effects of overworking. In July 2008, a Japanese labor bureau ruled that one of Toyota’s top car engineers died from working extremely long hours. The 45 year old man was working more than 80 hours of overtime a month. He was under an incredible amount of stress in developing the hybrid version for Toyota’s Camry. Japan has recently attempted to reduce the number of deaths due to overworking.
Now let’s take another story. This company isn’t quite as big as Toyota but Cupertino Electrical Ranked Highest Electrical Contractor on the Business Journal’s Best Places to Work List for its second consecutive year. It also ranked as a top Bay Area employer for companies employing between 101 and 500 employees. The president and CEO, John Boncher, said that it was due to the tight culture and commitment to employees, as well as staying true to their values. This position in rank is determined from the results of employees’ surveys ranking from the company’s culture to the benefits.

So I guess we can again ask ourselves the question posed at the beginning. Is balance within the workplace possible? Yes. It takes commitment, time and patience. A healthy, balanced employee is a happy, productive employee. When hiring, we still must thoroughly screen our candidates. Psychological and behavioral assessments may determine our potential employee to have deeper problems than a balanced workplace can provide. A healthy work environment begins with the pre-employment screening and continually strives to encourage balanced living for its employees.

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Apartment Sector to be Among First to Recover

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:56:00 +0000

This morning, in an article (Early Surge Seen in Apartment Demand) published in the Investors Business Daily, the apartment sector is predicted to be among the first to experience recovery. While the labor market remains very unstable and this week's unemployment figures (increasing unemployment) don't bode well, the recovery (when it does finally occur) should visit the apartment sector first.

This is welcome news as multi-family housing has, during the current recession, become an euphemism for younger families losing their homes. Mom, Dad, and children are moving in with Grandma and Grandpa. Young single adults have opted for the financial security of living with Mom/Dad in some cases, or a larger number than usual of roommates in the home or apartment.

The central point in all of this is that there is pent up demand for additional living space when the economy improves. Some of that demand is being felt as the economy has improved over the last few months, but it will require a sustained recovery for demand to return to normal levels.

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Identity Thieves -- A Family Affair

Thu, 13 May 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Remember Bonnie and Clyde? They weren’t family exactly but they were a couple, young and unmarried, with a scandalous reputation on many levels. Bonnie and Clyde were famous outlaws notorious for bank robberies and also killing nine policemen and several civilians. They were both killed in Lousiana by law officers at the ages of 23 and 25. Arthur Penn’s 1967 film made their reputation firm within the American pop folklore.

So that was the 1930’s. Today we still have the bank robbers but within our society we have other kinds of thieves. As our society has grown and progressed so have the different ways to steal. Yes there may be a slight risk that we could be held up at gunpoint at a bank, but do you know what our real risk is as an ordinary citizen? Having our identity stolen. I remember when I first heard that term, I imagined someone dressed up and masquerading as me -- perhaps donning a wig and driving my make of car. But it’s not even as sophisticated as that. Let’s look at a current story -- not even a famous one, but more an ordinary story that can happen everyday and to anyone whether you’re in your home, bank or local grocery story. So Bonnie and Clyde were kind of like family. What about mother and son? In Long Island back in March, a mother and son stole more than 60 identities. Their scheme was pretty simple: The mother, Tonia Cheeseman, worked at a doctor’s office where she would gain patient information from files and then Tonia and her son, Michael, would get credit cards in their victims’ names. They’ve been accused of stealing the identities of at least 63 people but these victims stretch far beyond the borders of Long Island, even as far as Florida. They’re both being held on bail for about $140,000 each. The most disturbing fact of our modern-day robbers is that they look like ordinary people -- no different to your neighbor next door. The Cheeseman’s neighbors even assumed they were nice innocent people.

What can we do? How can we know if we’re being duped? As sad as it is, a lot of thieves are well known to their victims. These kinds of thieves know our daily routine, they may have access to our financial information, and they even know such passwords as our mother’s maiden name. There are certain personality types you must be extra vigilant around:

1. Addicts who are sometimes desperate for money to get their next fix whether it be drugs, gambling or a number of other vices.


2. High living spenders whose job doesn’t match their lifestyle. They tend to rationalize and have little impulse control. They have to have the materials that go with the lifestyle, and they want it now.


3. Intrusive friends who are always asking questions that are none of their business -- especially financial questions. Beware if they claim they need your SSN to add you as a beneficiary to a policy etc.


4. A tarnished past of already stealing identities could be a vibrant red flag.


5. Watch your back with strangers who have access to your home and personal information. This could be when you have a party or your housekeeper’s son comes for a visit.

There are some signs to identify an identity thief, but as thieves have found different ways to rob us, we’ve found different ways to protect ourselves. We must be aware of the people in our life who have special access and then we must still be vigilant and even educate our children. Don’t ever give anyone else your credit card or PIN, always password protect your computer, and definitely lock up all important financial paperwork. If we do get duped -- and even if we don’t -- one way to protect ourselves is by subscribing to some kind of identity theft protection service. We may get tricked or fooled even when we know the signs and we’ve been extra cautious, but even after that we can protect ourselves by monitoring so we can catch these criminals before they cause years of damage to our lives and credit. Education and then putting into motion active protective measures is our way of catching the modern-day thieves.

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