Human resources professionals are being pushed to find high quality employees in a workforce that now includes five generations of workers, each with a unique work ethic and issues. As an individual seeking employment, imagine having a vision or hearing impairment and facing possible misconceptions from employers or potential coworkers.

What if you are already employed and worry about whether or not you will be able to maintain your employment due to your impairment? Will you be able to read a computer screen, receive and send e-mails or participate in a staff meeting, even take a telephone call?

Truly, individuals with disabilities face a plethora of employment issues in the marketplace, and Rehabilitation Consulting Services (RCS) – an initiative of the North Dakota Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (a unit of the Department of Human Services) – works, in part, to assist individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment opportunities.

RCS also works to help businesses find solutions to disability-related issues in the workplace. As specially-trained professionals in rehabilitation and career development, RCS consultants embrace the challenges of each individual client, whether individual or business – and work diligently to find solutions.

An important tool in their toolbox is assistive technology, more commonly referred to as AT. “The ADA (the Americans with Disabilities Act) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees requesting them,” Assistive Technology Specialist and RCS Consultant Natasha Adamson said.

“But when an employee requests one, an employer is often uncertain of their responsibility in finding the solution that is effective – not realizing that the solution may not necessarily be the most expensive.”

The newly designed RCS SOLUTIONS using AT Lab, located at West Central Human Service Center in the Prairie Hills Plaza at 1237 Divide Ave. in Bismarck, encourages a ‘try before you buy’ opportunity for both employee and employer in the lab, as well as offering trained staff to assist in the process.

At first glance, the lab appears to offer items for retail purchase. However, it’s designed to showcase the latest technology in an interactive setting and provide a solid source for a hands-on experience. Everything from assistive software to keyboards and mouses or furniture and hand-held devices can be tested.

And sky’s the limit, really, to the opportunities available in AT – and not always of the expensive sort. The lab offers an adjustable desk – not only for consideration, but for measurement purposes. Individuals in wheelchairs may find they are unable to work in a general office setting due to desk height.

However, counselors at the RCS SOLUTIONS using AT Lab may determine a workable height and make minor recommendations for the workplace. Displayed are keyboards and mice ranging from one-handed boards and foot pedal mice to tracking programs, which allow the user to (hands-free) move a cursor and other mouse functions by moving his head – where a sticky dot has been strategically affixed and calibrated, enabling the individual to navigate through computer applications.

The Ubi-duo technology allows communication when one individual is either unable to hear or speak without signing. This device lets each participant utilize a keyboard to facilitate communication in ‘real time’ (similar to chatting).

Suppose an individual needs a device to enlarge printed items (money, food labels, price tags) – a wide variety of items provide eyes and in some cases, ears. One device snaps a photo of a given document or printed piece. After decoding it, the text is read aloud.

Another handheld device enlarges the print on a page – with an option for magnifying the space directly to the right, showing correct positioning and alignment when writing. Screen reading, word prediction and dictation software allow individuals to utilize the latest in computer technology, including touch screen application.

With an employer’s permission, a professional analysis of the work site helps fully determine the client needs. “We treat each client, whether individual or business, as uniquely individual,” Adamson said.

“There is no cookie-cutter approach to what we do. We demonstrate, share product information, and make proper referrals to vendor sources.”

Essentially, by providing solutions for workforce development and retention, employers will find advantages when utilizing AT.

“By exploring available technologies and trying equipment, the business space may be adapted to help retain the employee – reducing the need to rehire for the position, ultimately saving the business financial loss in retraining an individual,” Marketing and Business Relations Director Harley Engelman said.

“In most cases, an average AT accommodation costs an employer less than $500.00. “It is also important that employers remember a critical element. Everything that is done to accommodate a disability will impact everyone in a positive manner. AT is not just for those with disabilities,” Engelman said.
“All employees can benefit from it.”

Quite often, he said, individuals with disabilities find they are ill-equipped to market themselves in a computer savvy world. Job searches can be intimidating for the average person seeking employment, and those with additional challenges face an array of situations, from basic computer functions to building a resume. To provide a resource for these folks, a new concept is being introduced.

The RCS Career Readiness Center offers opportunities for individuals to develop and strengthen foundational skills as they prepare to pursue a new career. Help with cover letters and resumes or learning interviewing skills are part of the focus.

“Our goal is to assist individuals in their current and future employment searches,” RCS Consultant Candace Hanson said.

“By teaching them basic foundational skills, they are empowered to search for a job.”

Engelman said a common misconception of individuals with disabilities is that they will perform poorly – or that they will be more difficult to supervise, however, these employees rank higher for employee retention, maintain equal or better performance testing, are relatively easier to supervise and better in attendance than those without disabilities.

Further, he said these individuals come to employment with highly adequate training or education. A goal of RCS is to keep the wealth of expertise of a current employee, adapting the space instead for their retention.

Whether self-driven, employer sought, or job coach referred, RCS counselors are privy to the latest AT devices, technology, or aids allow the individual to achieve independence in the workplace – and will also work directly with businesses to determine solutions for a full gamete of disability-related issues in employment.

One of four North Dakota locations (Minot, Grand Forks, and Dickinson also have labs); the Bismarck RCS SOLUTIONS using AT Lab is currently undergoing an expansion and relocation. A Grand Opening on May 19, 2009 will showcase the expanded lab and the newly created RCS Career Resource Center with the community.

The four labs will eventually be linked for video conferencing, allowing video demonstrations of devices in ‘real time’ across the state. Funded by both the state of North Dakota and with federal dollars, the services for on-site assessment, recommendations, assistance and training are provided at no charge on a one-to-one or group basis.

The cost to the business is incurred when assistive technology is selected for implementation – and that cost varies dependent upon the accommodation selected. The goal of RCS SOLUTIONS using AT Lab is to seek options and find solutions through the use of assistive technology.

And in the process, provide a road map to employment, training, and education as they help integrate these individuals with disabilities back into the mainstream workplace, where they will utilize their abilities.

Story by TINA DING

This issue features key dos and don’ts of job descriptions. Here are editors’ do’s and don’ts for worthwhile job descriptions that will really support HR operations.

1. DO give specifics

For example, rather than stating that a maintenance worker “keeps up equipment,” it is better to spell out the position’s requirements, which might include performing routine maintenance on assembly machines, including adjusting settings; cleaning and lubricating shafts, gears, and bearings; and dismantling and replacing defective parts, etc.

2. DO use accurate adjectives

Include adjectives that describe the pace of work (“deadline driven,” “fast-paced”) or the work environment (“enclosed area,” “noisy setting”), but avoid flowery and overly long descriptions (“cozy but comfortable work environment that encourages creativity”).

3. DON’T use subjective terms

Avoid using words that are subject to differing interpretations. Instead of saying you seek a certain attitude, cooperation, or initiative, describe expected outputs, different constituencies with whom this position interacts, and the nature of those relationships (such as “reports to,” “provides support to,” “supervises”).

4. DON’T rely on abbreviations or jargon

A job description should be clear to applicants and employees. Abbreviations and jargon that are specific to your organization, and not to your industry, should be avoided or explained.

5. DON’T use words that raise a question of discrimination

Avoid language that would be questionable in a job listing. For example, don’t use words such as “youthful” or “able-bodied.”

6. DON’T list unreasonable expectations

Most managers hope their employees will exceed their expectations and take on tasks and responsibilities beyond what’s required in the position, but avoid the temptation to include standards that don’t currently apply to this job.

7. DON’T list excessive qualifications or experience

If you include more than what is needed to competently perform the position, you will end up with bored, overqualified workers and you will limit your ability to place otherwise qualified candidates in the position.

8. DON’T include anything derogatory or specific about a person who previously held the position

Job descriptions are not the place to air grievances or disappointments about individuals who previously held the position. You can use past experiences to help ensure all necessary information is included, but make sure you describe only the job.

What’s the state of your organization’s job descriptions? Up to date? Accurate? Compatible with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? Good work! However, if you are not so sure that your job descriptions are as well executed as they should be (or if you’ve never even written them), you’re not alone. Thousands of companies fall short in this area.

It’s easy to understand why. Job descriptions are not quick to do, and they are not easy—what with updating and management and legal review, especially for the ADA’s requirement of a split off of essential vs. nonessential functions in the description. Wouldn’t it be great if they were available, already written?

Actually, they are. We have more than 500, ready to go, covering every common position in any organization, from receptionist right up to president. They are in an extremely popular BLR program called the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.

First created in the 1980s, the “JDE” has been constantly refined and updated over time, with descriptions revised or added each time the law, technology, or the way we do business, changes.

1. Failure to Prescreen Candidates
Prescreening applicants is a must, Heathfi eld says. A half-hour phone call saves hours of your time and other interviewers’ time, not to mention the expense of arranging travel, etc. Your screening call might, for example, reveal that a candidate’s salary expectations are way out of your range, or that the candidate’s background isn’t really a match for your needs. Always prescreen, Heathfi eld says.

2. Failure to Prepare Candidates
Brief your candidates on your company, the details of the position, the background and titles of other interviewers, and anything else that will let other interviewers concentrate their time on the important issues—determining the candidate’s skills and fi t for your company.

3. Failure to Prepare Other Interviewers
Don’t let interviewing be a casual process. Plan ahead. Who is responsible for which types of questions? Who will cover what aspect of the candidate’s credentials? How will you collect responses? Plan for success in employee selection, says Heathfi eld. We’ll add a rookie mistake of our own here. Many hiring managers are so eager to start recruiting that they don’t nail down exactly what they are looking for. You can go through the motions of selection— posting, interviewing, and so on—but when you don’t know what you are looking for, almost anyone fi ts the bill.

4. Relying Solely on the Interview to Evaluate a Candidate
The interview is a lot of talk, says Heathfi eld. By some estimates, it’s only slightly better than chance at picking the best candidate. Plus, the candidate, wanting a job offer, is trying to tell you what you want to hear. Heathfi eld recommends using several methods for evaluating candidates. For example, at one publishing company, the normal pattern was interviews and then, for the best interviewees, a writing and editing assessment. What the company soon learned was that the interview was relatively unimportant—no matter how great the interview, if the candidate couldn’t perform on the writing/ editing assessment, there was no interest. So the company switched the two procedures—fi rst the assessment, then the interview.

5. Do Nothing but Talk in the Interview
Do something more than talk during the interview, Heathfi eld recommends. Walk the candidate around the facility. Ask how he or she would handle some part of the job. Have them do something. As long as the tasks are related to the job, you will gain valuable information.

6. Evaluate Personality, Not Skills and Experience
It’s nice to hire someone you like, says Heathfi eld, but it’s more important to hire the strongest, smartest, and best candidates. People tend to hire people similar to themselves, but that will kill your organization over time, she says. You need diverse people with diverse personalities.
-by Susan M. Heathfield for HR Daily Advisor

What do you do when the experts’ advice conflicts? Some experts say run Google searches on every candidate and don’t forget their MySpace and Facebook pages. Others say, stay away, you don’t want that information. So should you surf or not?

It’s annoying when the experts don’t agree, but it doesn’t mean you’re paralyzed. Here are a few things to consider.

A Grain of Salt
Take any personal Internet page with a grain of salt. First of all, you’re never entirely sure that the pages are authentic. They may have been set up or modifi ed by someone other than the person you are looking for. Furthermore, many people are posturing on their pages, or have posted false information intended as a joke for friends.

A Little Understanding
Many experts urge recruiters to use a little understanding. As one noted, “I did some wild and crazy things in my youth, but they were quickly forgotten.” Now those same antics are “up” for everyone to see. Nevertheless, do you want to hire someone who jokes “publicly” about violence or illegal acts or displays risqué pictures of himself or herself?

Is No News Good News?
Another factor to consider is the fact that many people don’t have a personal page at all, but that doesn’t make them great candidates.

Information You Don’t Want
The biggest argument against peeking at personal pages is that you will learn things you don’t want to learn, such as information about protected characteristics (e.g., marital status, childcare responsibilities, race, religion, or disability).  When making employment decisions, you can’t consider such characteristics, and the best way to prove that you didn’t consider them is to show that you did not know about them.

If you do decide to do Internet background checks, here are two important steps to take:
Train and Train Again — Stress the necessity to make decisions based on job-related factors and to ignore information about protected characteristics. Then be sure to clearly document the legitimate business reasons for your hiring decisions.

Be Consistent — If you do Internet checks for one candidate for a job, be sure to do the same checks for all candidates for that job.

What About Recruiting on the Internet
More and more employers are going beyond background checks and are using the Internet—and especially social networking sites—as a fertile ground for recruiting.

Millions of Americans—from newly minted college graduates to baby boomers and seniors—have logged into social networking websites, created personal profiles, posted their résumés and job experience, and shared their networks of colleagues and friends.

If you learn the rules (both written and unwritten) for navigating these sites, you can locate extremely qualified candidates for your workforce and position your organization as a friendly place for job seekers.

Practical Human Resource Tips, News & Advice — http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com.

It’s only natural to feel a little down about being stuck inside all day when the weather is so nice outside, says Julia Kennedy, career services director for Everest Universities throughout North America. If you do have a case of the work blues, Kennedy says there are many ways to cheer yourself up.

For example, if you have a window, open it to let the cooler fresh air in. You can also bring nature into your office by putting a bouquet of flowers on your desk or creating a desk-sized rock garden. You should also try to spend as much time as possible outdoors and build in special times for getting out of the office. You can pack your lunch and eat it outdoors, or take an afternoon coffee break to walk around the block. Lastly, Kennedy suggests that you talk to your boss about flex-time or working from home once a week, if you really want to fit more freedom for outdoor time into your schedule.

But if your dislike of your job goes deeper than simply the indoor blues, Kennedy says your dissatisfaction should be taken seriously. “Everybody has a bad day at work, but if you’re having a lot of bad days, you might have the workplace blues, and they can have a real effect on your quality of life,” she says.

Kennedy suggests asking yourself the following questions to fairly assess your current work environment: Do you feel trapped at work? Do you dread going to work in the morning? Do you see real potential for advancement at work? Do you have a good relationship with your boss? Do you constantly dream of the weekends?

“Ask yourself, ‘How often am I feeling this way? Am I blaming my boss or co-workers for the way I’m feeling consistently?’ Once you’re aware of the reasons why you feel a certain way, it usually becomes quite obvious what change is necessary,” Kennedy adds.

New evidence from north of the border shows that Americans are not alone in our work problems. In fact, half of all Canadians report suffering from occasional bouts of work-induced blues, according to a December 2007 survey commissioned by Everest College of Business, Technology and Healthcare — Ontario’s leading career college.

Feelings of job dissatisfaction can range from mild frustration to consistent feelings of unhappiness. On the same survey by Everest College of Business, 22 percent of respondents indicated that their salary was the most depressing thing about their job, whereas 12 percent said a lack of opportunity for career advancement was. Perhaps more troubling, 40 percent of respondents believed that their current job did not offer a lot of opportunity for advancement.

“If you are reaching a moderate level of job dissatisfaction and have not yet started thinking about alternatives, it’s time to start learning about new opportunities of which there are many,” says Kennedy. “Career fit is important to happiness on the job. Retraining can play a key role in changing lives for the better and most of our students are working while learning new skills to transition to a new career path.”

If you are thinking of making a career change, Kennedy recommends evaluating these factors: your interests; value system; skill level; opportunities in the market; and which fields, industries or companies seem attractive. “Your career needs to fit with your personality and interests, and support your goals for the future,” adds Kennedy. “Most importantly, remember that you deserve to be happy and fulfilled in your professional choice.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Workplace injuries, including musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), such as tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome are often painful reminders of the effect that hours of poor posture and awkward motion can have on the body.

In 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 357,160 cases of work-related musculoskeletal disorders that resulted in lost workdays. In addition, the Journal of American Medical Association found that costs associated with common pain conditions and lost productivity in the U.S. are estimated at $61.2 billion per year.

While office injuries have become more common, many can be minimized or prevented entirely through the principles of ergonomics, or the science of designing work environments to better fit the capabilities of the individuals using them. Practicing proper ergonomic principles at work helps ensure comfort, increase productivity and reduce health issues, such as stress injuries, back, neck and shoulder strain and muscular pains.

“Employees are spending more time behind a desk and in front of a computer screen, making office aches and pains more common,” says Kevin Butler, board-certified ergonomist and consultant for Fellowes, Inc. “Poor habits such as slouching, reaching across your desk or bending your wrists up when you type can unknowingly cause stress on the body and lead to more serious medical conditions.”

Butler recommends incorporating the following techniques at work to ensure desk dwellers stay comfortable and healthy from head to toe:

Eyes – Sit approximately an arm’s length away from your monitor and position the top of the monitor screen at, or slightly below, eye level. Take mini breaks every 10 to 20 minutes to rest the eyes from the glare of the monitor.

Shoulders – Keep your shoulders relaxed and in a neutral position as you type. Keep your elbows close to your sides as you use the keyboard and mouse. Take a moment every so often to roll your shoulders up and back to alleviate tension.

Hands and Wrists – Keep your wrists straight and in a neutral position. Keep the bottom of your elbows even with the keyboard height, not below. Use minimum force while striking the keys and utilize your chair arms for support.

Back and Legs – Adjust your chair so your thighs are parallel to the floor. Sit back in the seat so that your lower back is supported firmly by the chair or a support cushion. Place your feet on a footrest to relieve “pull” on the lower back. Make sure to get up and stretch your back and legs every hour.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

I was recently asked how to deal with “negativity,” specifically, employees who can see only the dark side, people for whom the glass is always half empty. My first thought was, “Are you talking about me?”

Negativity is one of my bad natural tendencies. Left to my own devices, I often get myself in trouble by tossing off unintended, offhand comments that quash creativity and morale—sometimes across a large number of people, given my status as CEO. This is “negative leverage”—a very bad thing.

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, speaks to this in his famous “4-e’s,” one of which is “energize.” A good employee energizes those around him, says Welch. Staff members who are consistently negative enervate (a much misused term that is actually the opposite of energize). This is true even of employees who are technically “good at their jobs.”

Dealing with my negative tendencies has been, shall we say, an “opportunity.” A first step was realizing how destructive they could be.

A consultant, Bruce Clinton, from Business-wise.com, helped me. He used a little survey that asked team members to evaluate me on a number of characteristics. Then I self-evaluated using the same survey. By comparing my (laudatory) ratings against their (less so) opinions, the picture emerged.

When I first read the results, my first feeling was anger at my team’s disloyalty. Later, after a facilitator helped us get to specifics, the hurt was replaced by the realization that they weren’t the problem; I was.

It soon became clear that some of what they perceived as “negative,” I thought of as “positive”! I love to fix things, to improve them. Unfortunately, this desire to improve often gets manifested in a poor way. When a memo or a suggestion comes my way, the first impulse is to point out how to improve it. Unfortunately, the writer of the memo, who may have labored for hours over it, doesn’t find my “criticism” energizing. Just the opposite, in fact. It’s seen as a put-down.

So, my positive is perceived as a negative, and perception is reality.

Clinton was the consultant who gave us the “like/change/learn” formula that I’ve written about in this column before. It has been the cornerstone of our never-ending effort to reduce negativity.

Starting with “What I Like”

In responding to an idea or a memo, we try to start with “what I like about it.” Then, “what I would change.” Finally, “what I think we should do.” The formula creates an energizing atmosphere because the praise at the beginning softens the blow, and “change” is different than “don’t like.” It puts responsibility on the would-be critic to be proactive and come up with some ideas. It is a good formula.

How do I deal with the negativity of others? I wish there were an easy way, but there seldom is. The hard fact is that it is difficult to change an adult’s behavior unless he or she wants to change. Unfortunately, most people don’t want to.

Rather than just throwing our hands up and admitting defeat, follow the model that helped me: First, get them to see that their negativity demoralizes. (They frequently don’t realize what power they wield.) Then, tell them about “like/change/learn” and ask them to use it.

Sometimes we make a little ceremony of it. (“Ok, that’s nice, now let’s go back and start over. Tell me, first, what you like about this.” “Now that we’re through with that, what would you change?”) This will work with some people; not with others. With the latter, my advice is simple:

If gentle hints don’t work, tell them flat-out that their negativity is a problem and make sure that their evaluations record the evidence thereof. Even if their work product is otherwise satisfactory, their behavior is career-killing. Above all, don’t make excuses for them. Doing so just “enables” them to continue.

Practical Human Resource Tips, News & Advice–http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/