What employers need to know about NYC's bias audit law | 10 ways to nurture success, growth in your organization | Study highlights hidden costs of high employee turnover
The City Council in New York City will require employers starting in January to conduct a "bias audit" performed by an independent auditor to assess the fairness of recruitment programs that employ artificial intelligence. Noncompliance could make companies vulnerable to civil penalties, warns lawyer Shauneida Navarrete.
As a benefits leader, you know that a robust solution is key for employees to achieve positive outcomes for diabetes and other conditions like obesity or depression. Learn more about offering your employees human-led care solutions in Why Human Care is Key to Better Diabetes Outcomes. Find out more.
Organizations need a set of guiding principles that will help them remain successful, competitive and growing in their market, Michael O'Malley writes. O'Malley outlines 10 principles that will help organizations thrive, including promoting workers' personal growth and providing opportunities for employees to build social bonds with their peers.
Invest in Your Employees’ Wellness Better workplace wellness can equal much more than just healthy employees. The nation's most trusted cancer-fighting organization is emphasizing the importance of employee health and wellness. Your team can benefit from making healthy living a priority. Learn More
Some employers may need to allay employee fears and tension as the tech industry experiences record-breaking layoffs, writes Bellwether founder and CEO Jim Frawley. Build employee trust through honest communication, ensure employees are aware of what is expected of them and invest in their professional development, Frawley advises.
Workers are increasingly expecting employers to tailor benefits to meet their individual needs. Companies and organizations should employ proactive year-round strategies to communicate with them about enrollment, first by understanding how their benefits are being used, then by introducing new options, educating about existing ones, creating a yearlong communication schedule, using multiple communication channels and listening to employees' input.
People don't speak up about problems within their companies for fear of retribution or because they're not sure how to do so, writes John R. Stoker, who provides eight remedies for leaders, including asking questions, listening and encouraging people to participate in one-on-one meetings. "If circumstances and logistics prevent one-on-one interactions, try using a short survey to poll your team, or invite people to email you with their thoughts," Stoker writes.
What a great issue we have today! I couldn’t settle on just one story for this column.
Before I get into it, though, I wanted to ask what HR conferences you are attending this year. Are you heading to HR Technology 2022 next month in Las Vegas? Let me know!
And now onto our stories.
Take a break. I was in Hawaii in April for my dad’s birthday and my parents’ 52nd wedding anniversary. Mom was excited to have all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren around her. So when Kawai, my daughter, and I said we had to work part of the time, Mom scowled. “You folks are on vacation,” she said, sighing. “Can’t you give that to someone else?”
We couldn’t pass off our tasks, but we could make sure our work time didn’t run over what we allotted. And we did, which made Mom happy.
Are your workers disconnecting from work when they’re on vacation? Or are they responding to emails and attending meetings from their hotel rooms or beach cabanas? Put an end to that silliness. Take a page from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The company mandates employees’ vacations can only be interrupted if a partner approves it. Smart.
Build bonds on your teams. I was in New Orleans in June for a conference. I had dinner with my team after the first full day of the event. It was the first time we’d all been together since 2019.
It was wonderful! We lingered over a long dinner -- which included alligator nuggets that I was pestered to try -- then had a night cap at a local blues club. We relaxed, laughed and (when appropriate) talked shop. It was after midnight when we parted for our hotels.
Building friendships and camaraderie on your teams is not superfluous. These bonds contribute to the quality of your teams’ work product. Nurture those relationships. Don’t scrimp on this -- throw the parties and have the company conferences that give your teams opportunity to spend time together. These social gatherings are when people stop being colleagues and become people to each other.
Allay workers’ fears about layoffs. It’s like a virus running rampant. When companies lay off employees, fear runs through the remaining ranks like the flu. People are naturally concerned about their own job stability. That’s when the whispers and rumors begin bubbling up.
You can help shut this down by being transparent. When SmartBrief was acquired in 2019, one of my colleagues came to me, worried about how it may affect her and whether or not we could trust the information we were receiving. I listened and then gave her my honest feedback.
“We don’t know this set of managers yet but we do know Megan. And we know we can trust Megan,” I told her firmly. Megan is our vice president of content. “She always keeps us informed. She doesn’t tell us what we can’t know. But what she can share, she does.” That helped soothe my friend’s concerns.
Honesty goes a long way with employees. Even if the news is tough -- and it was sometimes in 2019 -- it builds trust.
How can I serve you better with this brief? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
Sharing SmartBrief on Workforce with your network keeps the quality of content high and these newsletters free.
