HR Undercover

The issue of web access in the workplace keeps being debated. Where will we end up? Employers want to stop employees from using work time to goof around on social media sites. Younger employees feel they are not able to be as productive as they could be without access to the tools they are used to and find alternative ways to get what they want (using their own internet-enabled phones). Can we take a different approach or is the collision here to stay? This article does a great job of describing some of the issues:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009458359_apustecblockedofficeinternet.html

What are your thoughts?

So, do you think Letterman was off base when he made the joke about Palin’s teenage daughter?   See what Attorney Deborah King’s reaction is and her thoughts on jokes in the workplace.

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2009/06/jokes_on_the_job_not_a_laughin.html

Do you agree wt Deborah? Do you have stories of jokes in the workplace gone awry?   Share confidentially on this web site.

Just how far will the economy deteriorate? If we knew the answer to that question, decisions about layoffs would be that much easier to make. But the reality is that we don’t know when we will hit the bottom. If things turn around more quickly, layoffs may be a disaster. If the recession lasts longer perhaps the measures taken now are not deep enough.

When companies are under financial pressure and there is a perceived need to take action quickly, the immediate focus is often on cutting costs, not raising income. Thus , layoffs is the typical response for companies that want to look good in the short run. But what about the less obvious and undesirable long-term effects? Aren’t employers losing the tremendous long-term investment they have made in their employees – key talent may be lost and those left behind most likely suffer from low morale and poor performance.

The next couple of weeks we will be discussing alternatives to layoffs, and hope you will comment on the discussions initiated by Bosse and Casey. Do you think deeper layoffs are productive or counter-productive? Should layoffs be a last resort, not a first choice? Do layoffs truly save money or do they ultimately increase expenses, at least in some situations? AND, what are some other more productive cost-cutting measures –alternatives to layoff? Are companies piecemealing too much! What about income-producing measures? Submit your owns storiees; the good, the bad and the ugly!

Ouch, I cannot believe my long, droopy dog ears, but I just read that companies are trying to control cost by reducing gadget allowances and taking away iphone and blackberry privileges. Check out this blog post:on ExecutiveYak: Layoff Cross-Roads: Dull Knife. Sharp Knife” (http://executiveyak.com/?p=205). I think that stinks!!!!

I am being piecemealed to death….a few weeks ago they took my free water allowance away. Now it looks like they may take my iphone….it won’t be long until there will be no more free hot dogs for our Friday BBQ. I am telling you man, I won’t stand for this……my motivation is going down the drain.

I think these companies may be better off facing their troubles face on….sharpen those knives, if you know what I mean. I am mad as hell and…….growwwwllllll.

Arf, Arf….this doggie believes we need to focus on other ways of recognizing our executives than just money and perks. After the first few million dollars, I believe that executives can be motivated by more compelling, values-based rewards. What if a CEOs performance – in addition to more modest monetary compensation – was recognized with greater contributions to his or her favorite not-for-profit cause, or by re-investing money into green technologies, healthcare and solving many of the other big challenges we are facing inside the US and other places in the world. I want to believe that people are ultimately good and that at some point in time executives would choose to be rewarded in ways different than just money. Is it possible that we will see more executives voluntarily taking cuts and realizing that they can live happy and fulfilling lives without the exorbitant compensation schemes that our system and culture have propelled. If not, I am afraid the only way to make meaningful change would be to look more regulation and progressive taxation squarely in the face……

Grrrrr…..I think executive pay has increasingly been getting out of whack, and some CEOs are coming around to the same conclusion. I just read an article —yes, for a dog I am pretty clever –about the CEO of Spokane-based education travel company Ambassador Group Inc. In 2008 the CEO took a voluntary pay cut of about 65 % in the face of an announcement to lay off 20% of its work force. And he is not alone. You will find that executives in many other parts of the world are as competent/or incompetent as our US executives, but maintain their motivation with more modest compensation schemes. This whole conversation ultimately boils down to personal values and a sense of collective responsibility for the woes and challenges of human kind. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t corporate American thrive several decades ago when compensation levels of CEOs and other senior executives were significantly lower (adjusted for inflation of course)? Ultimately I think what executives really care about goes beyond compensation: it’s things like working for a company with a cause they can relate to, with a leadership team they respect, with a CEO that cares….I hope this is the case and that we can start a journey as a country towards re-calibration, values re-alignment and culture change…..Absent a meaningful mission, money is a poor substitute. And, because it is a poor substitute, it just takes more and more of it….this conversation is making me really hungry…

Arf, Arf.. this debate has to do with a sense of equity and responsibility to not only yourself but all our fellow human beings, and I mean this in a global sense…. It just does not make sense to me that some people through the luck of the draw and no doubt hard work – but you will find some folks making minimum wage that work extremely hard as well – should be making the kind of money we see some executives make today. I think the same holds true for sports stars, film stars and others….oh, oh….wonder if this doggie I will get hate email now…. With all the huge problems we have as a society and in the world, we need to put our own desires for materialistic rewards and consumerism – some would call it greed – aside for the collective good of all. Hrmph……I am very hungry right now…thinking some chow would be good. While fifty bucks may mean nothing to a CEO making millions of dollars, it could mean several grocery bags of food and a huge difference for someone making minimum wage. And hey, a hungry dog like me could get 300 hot dogs for that amount of money…or kibbles for several months……mmmm!!!

Seems to me like the subject of excessive CEO pay may be blown out of proportion. Take for instance, all those CEO’s of privately held companies. It is THEIR company. Often the CEO is also the founder of the company. They are the ones with the idea, who took the risk so why shouldn’t they earn whatever they deem is appropriate? And yes, they can be worth it!

On the other hand there are CEO’s in publicly traded companies. That is a different animal. Certainly more complex with SEC and other compliance standards in place for publicly traded companies. Often larger organizations by most any measure. Who can blame a CEO for negotiating the best compensation package that they can for themselves? Everyone does that. Perhaps they are just better at it than others in the organization. Often it is the variable pay component that puts the CEO comp “over the top” with hundreds of times the average worker’s wage in the organization. But if they achieved great results for the company in order to be paid a significant bonus – then that’s what it is all about, isn’t it? Instead of blaming the CEO seems to me like the Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors should be in the negative spot light. It is the Board who generally sets and approves CEO and top executive compensation. Maybe they need to improve the design of the variable pay plans. Maybe they get paid in a similar fashion and don’t want to improve the design. Regardless, executive pay is public information, and if someone does not like it, they do not have to invest in the company or work in the company. Or in today’s job market, maybe they do….

Tax loopholes and how these highly paid executives are able to protect their earnings — well that is another story!

What is the case in your organization today? Are you or your executives over paid?