Another Day in the HR Field

Well, it's time once again for reflection, documentation, and most importantly improvement.  I have personally had quite a hectic year.  Actually, it's been a couple hectic years with the loss of three of my four family members of origin (dad, brother, and now mom).  My second brother and I are the only one's who are left in the family and we have certainly taken a big hit as the last two were sudden and unexpected.  As a result, my available time for blogging has really taken a hit going from an average of 28 posts since my first full year of blogging in 2011 to 15 and 12 the last two years.  I don't expect this coming year to be any better because my brothers trial should be coming up soon depending on grand jury decision in March.  He was pushed off the road by what we suspect to be a drunk driver.  Later this month on February 27th will be one year since the incident and the person has yet to be arrested or charged. So getting back to business th...

Here is the direct link on the Women Of HR blogsite:  http://linkis.com/womenofhr.com/Aq7NF

Although difficult to write and dedicated to my brother Donald Rogers Jr., this piece is a must read for all managers who have 3-5 day bereavement leave policies in their workplace.  http://womenofhr.com/bereavement-leave-fails-when-it-comes-to-flexibility/

This morning, I was interviewed by WTAX talk radio about the title above.  This coming the morning after Governor Bruce Rauner’s AFSCME arbitration veto failed in the Illinois House and as we approach the Labor Day weekend which was initially started by a union. This was a victory for the governor.  The requests of the governor is not unlike the majority of employers in the US.  He simply want’s a pay freeze and wants workers to pay more for health insurance.  The state is in a budget crises for god’s sake, why you would want to freeze wages until it can get resolved.  We have people leaving this state left and right due to the high costs to live and operate a business in Illinois.  Obamacare has increases health care costs all over the US.  Every single employer who falls under the requirements of the new law to be imposed next year are seriously considering how they are going to survive.  AFSME wants an 11.5% wage increase which I have never ...

The following is a guest post from Lisa Green. She can be contacted directly at  lisagreenbradyfan@gmail.com . The world of social media grows by the second and with every growing second, there are more and more comments, pictures and videos posted that could potentially hinder an applicant's chances of landing their dream job. Finding a job was once a simple process but now, companies all over are screening their applicants on everything from their criminal history to their driving records, and even their social media presence . Different types of career fields choose different types of screening that apply specifically to their job requirements and many are now using social media as a way of seeing if an applicant’s personality will mesh well with their current staff. Jobs That Require Social Media Checks In 2015, more than 80 percent of companies use social media checks as part of their screening process. For those companies, they say it’s a great way to see...

The following is a guest post from a very hard working, dedicated, and friendly man in uniform that I am honored to know and work with: Joe Schweickert As a veteran myself serving from 1985-1993 this is a deeply disturbing HR issue that the military personnel records have been exposed. www.federalnewsradio.com By now, most of us have heard about the OPM (Office of Personnel Management) data breach, in which hackers (allegedly sponsored by China) gained access to personnel records of current and former federal employees. A recent interview with Jason Miller, Executive Editor at Federal News Radio, discussed the two different breaches, and the federal response to improve security for information systems.  www.opm.gov First, it is important to understand that there have been two separate breaches at OPM. The first, and more widely reported, involves personnel records on up to 14 million current and former federal employees, dating back to the 1980s. The second ...

It's been so long (too long) since I blogged. It's mostly due to so much family tragedy in my life and unfortunately it's related unnecessary drama not to mention grief. You see I lost my brother a couple months ago to a hit and run driver and my father last year due to cancer. So I'm sure you can imagine if not empathize due to your own family experiences.  However, it's time to move on and focus on the future and the most exciting work related thing in my future is to speak the the Society for Human Resources Annual conference next week in Las Vegas, Missouri SHRM in August and at ILSHRM conference in September. I hope to see old friends and make new. Thanks to everyone's support during these trying times and I look forward to getting back into blogging again. Look for a post on the Women of Management blog right after SHRM15.