Deaf woman wins $1.6M in hiring lawsuit | Hire people with a growth mindset | How a chili farmer, sriracha maker went from success to fallout, lawsuits
In a federal lawsuit, a woman was awarded $1.675 million in back pay and emotional and punitive damages after the company did not allow her to interview for an entry-level position after finding out she was deaf. The jury found McLane Northeast violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because the company discriminated against someone due to their hearing impairment. Full Story: Miami Herald (tiered subscription model) (2/12)
Recruiting & Retention
Hire people with a growth mindset Look for potential hires who have solved problems and shown adaptability rather than focusing exclusively on their past jobs and skills, writes Renato Agrella, founder of Acerca Consulting. "Experience is a fixed and finite resource that is context-dependent and domain-specific, while the ability to learn is a dynamic and infinite resource that can be transferable and adaptable across different situations and domains," Agrella writes. Full Story: Forbes (tiered subscription model) (2/12)
Increase employee engagement by boosting morale With the tumultuous workforce changes of the past four years, employees are feeling burnout and unproductive. Employers can combat this issue through a number of tactics, including building relationships, designing doable workloads and toning down the micro-management. Full Story: Training magazine (2/7)
Nearly half of tech professionals today rely on merit increases to get higher salary every year, as per Dice's recent Tech Salary Report. While switching to a different job remains the top reason for tech workers' salary decreases, they may still maximize their earning potential by doing well on interviews and negotiating effectively for additional pay when they land an offer. Full Story: Dice Insights (2/9)
Emotional intelligence is at the heart of good leadership, writes executive coach Naphtali Hoff, who emphasizes the role of empathy, active listening and being tuned in to others' emotions to create a culture where your team feels valued and safe to take the chances their work may demand. "Leaders with high emotional intelligence are better equipped to build strong relationships, foster teamwork and navigate challenging situations with finesse," Hoff writes. Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (2/9)
SmartBreak: Question of the Day
African-American tennis great Althea Gibson won Wimbledon in 1957. When she played that event in 1951, how far did she go?
A few months back, my daughter asked me to send her a couple of bottles of sriracha, a hot sauce made of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, pickled garlic, sugar and salt. Apparently, there was a sriracha shortage in her area and she was quite frustrated about it. “This is so stupid,” she grumbled to me. “I can’t make Tutu’s poke without it. And I’m ono for poke. Who -- in Idaho! -- is buying up all the sriracha?” I couldn’t answer her question, but I did enjoy her diatribe. And I did drop a few bottles of sriracha in the mail for her the following week. Crisis averted. I didn’t give that incident another thought until I read today’s Leadership & Development story about farmer Craig Underwood and sriracha maker David Tran. I was stunned to discover that for three decades the jalapenos that went into sriracha came from Underwood Ranches, in Moorpark, Calif. That’s my neck of the woods! I know Underwood Farms and have often shopped at its farm markets. Unfortunately, my “Oh cool!” moment soured as I read how Underwood and Tran’s 30-year partnership crumbled. That grieved me. The story says the pair were close. They knew each other’s families, watched each other’s children grow up and had a deep trust between them. And together they were wildly successful. According to the 2013 documentary Sriracha sales of the hot sauce increased 20%, year over year. So what happened? Apparently, a conversation about prices in 2016 went south. And when it did, so did the business. The lawsuits began in 2017. The situation devastated each man’s business and led to a shortage of the sweet, spicy sauce on grocery store shelves. Can this partnership or friendship be repaired? Is it even important that it does? Have you ever been in this situation? 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.
