Red Alert

July 2013

Your guide to practical tips for the people side of your business is brought to you courtesy of...

Volume 7

To Friend or Not to Friend..

With the dominance of social media LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and many others it may seem natural for many people to friend their co-workers and managers. LinkedIn, considered a business networking site, makes the most sense for connecting with people you know through your work. However, as you know, many of us naturally become friends with the people we work with on a daily basis. With that, many questions have arisen regarding Facebook and the workplace. So, do you friend a boss, subordinate, or co-worker? Depending on who you ask, you will receive a variety of responses and a bunch of dos and donts and helpful hints about interacting on Facebook. Go ahead and accept a friend request if you and a co worker and/or manager know each other outside of work, and reasonably believe you would remain in contact if either left the company. Facebook is a great way to keep connections no matter where each of you may go in coming years. That said, because you both interact professionally, you still need to maintain a line of professionalism when at the office. Even if you consider him a friend, do you really want your manager to know that you had a wild time on Saturday night when you are presenting an idea to him on Monday morning in the office? On the flipside, if you are a manager, do you think your employees will think of you differently once they see a picture of you in your bathing suit lounging on vacation? If you are concerned, utilize your privacy settings and set up groups so you can keep information separated from selected people as needed. Remember, being friends may help with office teamwork. Many businesses have a Facebook page and want their employees to like them and actively participate on the pages content. Knowing and being connected to your co-workers more personally, for the most part, allows you to feel more connected and able to collaborate better with each other. Additionally, when you are friends with someone you work with, you may learn positive aspects about them that you would not otherwise if you only knew their work side. You may learn more about mutual interests. On the other hand, you may learn when someone is having trouble in their life. This could be positive or negative depending on the situation. You would be the best judge of what to do, but it could help you know if
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For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
~Nelson Mandela

Coachs Corner:
But I thought you were my FRIEND!
Tammy, a newly appointed operations manager for a large manufacturing business, called our office last week with a dilemma. The HR Coach that took the call could definitely empathize with her problem, as it was one she had to personally deal with in her last position. Tammy had been with the company for just three years. She moved to the area to take the job and for the first two years, her circle of friends consisted mostly of people she had met at work. The job was very consuming and Tammy had little time
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of the person, do not use that information as ammunition to embarrass them in the workplace. Furthermore, regardless of the workplace relationship, if someone posts a comment or picture, and you want to comment back, be sure the comment is appropriate. Even if a coworker, or your supervisor, may look really sexy in her new little black dress or swimsuit, you may not want to say that.instead just say they have really good taste in fashion. At the end of the day, everyone should show mutual respect and regard for each other and their workplaces. Of course, we are all human, and probably have rolled our eyes at something someone else has posted and vice versa. Social media is here to stay, and we need to adapt to its presence in the workplace.

a co-worker or boss needs a helping hand when appropriate. Conversely, once you connect with your co-workers and/ boss, there are some rules of thumb you may want to keep in mind. As mentioned before, if you want to keep certain things private such as pictures, set up different friend lists and update your privacy settings as needed. Also, do not be alarmed or shocked if a coworker calls you out on something from your Facebook page during work hours even if it is more embarrassing now than when you posted it. If you are a manager, consider accepting friend requests when they are sent to you, but do not send them to subordinates. This may help you avoid being perceived as showing favorites amongst your employees. Again, remember there is a fine line we all walk between our professional and personal lives. All of us need to be more aware of what/who we talk about and what is posted. If you are a manager, you do not want to jump in on a comment from an employee when they mention they had a bad day at work due to Jane or John arriving late or having to help a mad customer. If it is something that needs to be followed up on, do so, but wait until you are both at the office. And, if you are an employee who sees a picture or comment from your bosss page that may be showing the lighter side

The Red Toolbox JOB DESCRIPTION QUESTIONNAIRE

Accurate and up-to-date job descriptions are essential to a successful human resources function at any organization. Maybe your Company doesnt have a single job description yet created or maybe your Company hasnt looked at your existing job descriptions for several years. If your Company falls into either category, it is time to consider creating and/or updating these documents. We often update and/or create job descriptions for our clients. One of the tools we have developed to assist us in doing this is the Job Description Questionnaire. The Job Description Questionnaire is provided either to the job incumbent or to his/her supervisor for their completion. It gathers an overview of what the job actually entails, the specific duties required, the physical and mental abilities needed and details of the work environment. These components are necessary in order to properly create and/or update job descriptions. We encourage you to visit our ebook and check it out. We are certain you will find this tool incredibly useful in ensuring your Companys job descriptions are complete and up-to-date.

Online Resources
For more information about federal & state labor laws or for sample forms & policies, please check out our HR Subscription Service. If you have questions about your access information, please contact us toll free at (866) 599-1RED or email us at clientcare@redandassociates.com.

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also like Tammy she had little time to forge friendships outside of work. She decided to tell Tammy about an incident that changed her management philosophy and caused her to be much more cautious about forming friendships with subordinates. She told Tammy about the time she was the Maid of Honor for one of her employees weddings and how just three short months after the happy event, she had had to terminate her. It was a horrible situation that still makes her feel ill every time she thinks of it. Does that mean a supervisor cannot be interested in their employees and be friendly at work? Of course not. It does mean, however, that a manager cannot expect to maintain the same friendship they had when they were all on the same level. Once a person is responsible for overseeing the work of anotherincluding who gets promoted, raises, disciplined and praisedthere is a boundary placed around what is acceptable manager/ employee relations. Managers cannot treat employees differently based on who they hang out with on Friday night. It is wiser, therefore, to choose NOT to spend too much time outside of work with any employee. Others can quickly sense when there is favoritism, whether it is real or just perceived. Our Coach remarked that perhaps Tammys employees already feel uncomfortable and want to distance themselves by making sure she understands that they are no longer asking her to spend time with them outside of work. They understand that Tammy is now in a position of power. She will be the one giving them their annual reviews and they know that this will be hard for all of them. However, it is part of her new role and one she must complete. Our HR Coach suggested to Tammy that she embrace her new position and focus on gaining the respect of her employees as an objective, thoughtful manager. The first step would be to sit down with Susy and let her know that while she values her as a person, she will need to improve her performance if she wants to stay in the company. The second step is to find a mentor or coach who has had some of the same challenges in her/his career. Learn from their mistakes and successes so she can better prepare for the next steps in her journey.

to really meet others outside of her department. She was an excellent employee (with some credit going to the fact that she had no life outside of the building) and in my se just three years had risen o l I I st en through the ranks to be wh Mu s end p the appointed operations fri ? u ve der manager. At the ripe age d a mo l te of 28, you would think she ora p r co would be thrilled. She is not. Tammys friends are now her employees. She is now in charge of their schedules and providing them feedback. One new responsibility she has is to conduct Performance Reviews. She called us because she knows the Review for one of her charges will not be a positive one. This employee had been a problem for the previous operations manager and her behavior since Tammy took over has not gotten better; it has gotten worse. This surprised Tammy, because they had always been such good friends. They took golf lessons together and spent many weekends at the local craft fairs. Susys husband had even introduced Tammy to her boyfriend. You would think that Susy would want to behave and make life easier for her new manager given their friendship. How can she give an honest review that is required by her company and still hold on to the friendship? During the conversation, we discovered that Susy wasnt the only employee under Tammys responsibility that was acting up. It seemed like everyone she once hung out with were going to lunch without her; and in her presence they seemed to take great delight about talking about their weekends together...weekend plans that never included Tammy any more. Her feelings were hurt. However, she was now realizing that maybe her belief that she could retain the friendship of those she now must supervise might be a little wishful thinking on her part. Was it possible to be friends with employees she must also manage? The HR Coach listened to Tammys woes and could not help but reflect on her own problems with friends in the workplace. Our Coach had a job much like Tammys when she was in her late twenties, and

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July 2013

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A Word of Warning for Hiring Managers

While scanning her Facebook newsfeed a few weeks ago, one of our staff members came upon a real life HR drama being played out on Social Media. An acquaintances status had just been changed to announce the exciting news that her husband had been chosen for a promotion. Obviously, this was wonderful news that she wanted to share with her closest friends. It seems, however, that among her 457 Facebook friends, there were a few that probably shouldnt have heard the news from her. The first three comments to her status were full of congratulations and best wishes. The fourth comment read: Wow. So HE got the job. Nice someone forgot to tell the rest of us who applied that we didnt get the job before it got blabbed all over Facebook. Ouch. In this instant notification age we live in, news spreads unbelievably fast. It is the right and ethical thing to contact applicants who did not get the position. Under no circumstances should they have to find out that they lost out on a dream job by reading someones Facebook page. Hiring managers need to let new hires know that it needs to remain confidential until everyone who needs to be notified is informed of the decision. Then, and only then, should they feel free to spread the word of their new job. Does this mean that hiring managers need to get the word out immediately after the chosen applicant says yes? YES!!!! Applicant Tracking Systems have made the notification process much easier and less time consuming. If you dont have such a system, be sure you have the time set aside to send emails/make phone calls the same day you make the hire. Dont wait for the news to spread on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Everyone knew where her husband worked and the company suffered a virtual black eye when it became apparent the hiring manager didnt take the time to let everyone know who gotand didnt getthe job.

How Smart Are You?

Julys Quiz Question: An employers best defense when a case of negligent hiring goes to court is to A. B. C. D. produce evidence of employment and reference checking. produce the employees signed application form. produce letters of reference provided by the employee. prove that any misconduct occurred after regular work hours. Tune in next month to learn the correct answer! Junes Quiz Question Answer: If an interviewer tells a job applicant that she will be promoted within one year, it could create an exception to the employment-at-will concept.

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