Hiring: Beware the “ACE OF SPADES” – by Patrick Valtin

There are four aces in hiring. It is not about playing cards, it is about picking people who will help you win – and won’t make you feel like you lost your last dollars playing poker. Use the four aces of selection to systematically evaluate each applicant: Performance mindset, willingness, know-how and personality. Like playing cards, these Aces are your most important “hiring cards,” yet they are not equal in value. You must know exactly what you want to measure and in which sequence.

• Performance mindset: Your Ace of Diamonds. Detecting top players who are naturally high performers is your highest priority. Use “detectors” suggested by our No Fail Hiring™ System in the interview to estimate if an applicant has a strong performance mindset – or not. This factor is the most important one – you hire people for results, not for just “doing things.”
  
  
• Willingness: Your Ace of Hearts. To a large degree you can improve technical skills; but how do you improve attitude? Never compromise with this vital fact: people get hired for their hard skills and get fired for their lack of soft ones. A positive attitude is such a vital soft skill
  that you want to measure it as soon as you can in the hiring process. Willingness to learn, to do new things, to do more than what is expected, to handle problems, etc. are so important! Is estimated that over 77% of hiring failures are due to lack of willingness.
  
  
• Know-how: Your Ace of Clubs. You want to have competent employees who can at least master the basic technical skills as required on the job. The golden rule is: never trust what they say, always test what they should be able to do. Know-how is measured in the doing, not in the talking. you want to know if an applicant can do accounting? Put him or her to the test for 5 to 10 minutes, by challenging hi/her on a practical accounting issue.
  
  
• Personality: Your Ace of Spades. We measure personality last; not because it is the least important evaluation criterion but because if you let yourself be influenced by a “nice” personality, it could offer trouble, or even, potentially, destroy your business! The golden rule is:
  never trust what you see, because you don’t know if it is real! Too many employers fail to detect the difference between temporary personality and the lasting one. don’t fall in the trap of the visible – it might change the next day or week. 

COMING UP
Detecting if an applicant possesses the right hard and soft skills in less than one hour is hardly an exact science. But you can maximize the objectivity of your evaluation with the No-Fail Hiring System. Attend out upcoming workshop on September 8, 2011: visit www.nofailhiring.com/events.php  to find out how you can double or even triple the effectiveness of your hiring procedure.

To your success,
Patrick Valtin President/CEO
M2-TEC USA, INC. Author of “No Fail Hiring”

Hiring: Do it the “Steve Jobs’ way" – by Patrick Valtin

I just finished reading a great and wonderfully inspiring book, “The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs,” by Carmine Gallo. I can’t recommend that you read this book enough – and I can’t help but share with you some vital points on hiring that Steve Jobs has constantly applied on his way to build the most respected and admired business in the world.

Apple success over time and Steve Jobs’ reputation as the best entrepreneur of our time can be summarized in a few words: he and his top execs never compromised with the talents and qualifications required of their employees. But they always considered very different qualities in people than most business owners do. When you thoroughly analyze Apple’s philosophy of hiring, you find out that there has always been fundamental and un-compromising attributes needed to get a job at Apple:

• Vision-minded. Everyone joining the company must have a clear picture of its Management vision – and fully agree to fight for it, to defend it and to live with it every day. Applicants who do not seem to get it are systematically rejected.
• Innovation-minded. Steve Jobs has always emphasized the vital importance of hiring people who are innovative – willing to create something from nothing. Applicants are first chosen for their ability and willingness to constantly create, rather than for their technical competence. 
• Future-minded. Employees at Apple are driven by their leader’s vision of the future and they contribute everyday to CREATING the future, more than just beating the competition. Each of them owns the future of the market because they know they can contribute to creating it.
• Passion-minded. Steve Jobs’ first principle is: “Do what you love.” People are hired because they love the product, the company and its vision. Applicants who do not demonstrate a genuine passion and “love” for the company’s purposes and business philosophy will never make it.
• Contribution-minded. Sharon Aby worked 3 years as a recruiter for Apple. Her statement is clear enough: “We didn’t want someone who desired to retire with a gold watch. We wanted entrepreneurs, demonstrated winners, high-energy contributors who defined their previous role in terms of what they contributed and not what they titles were.” ⁽¹⁾
• Engagement-minded. Over two thirds of Americans are not engaged in their workplace.⁽²⁾ Apple Management is strict on employees’ level of commitment. Committed individuals who are inspired by a grand purpose make the whole difference in the most competitive conditions.
• Excellence-minded. Steve Jobs is known for his passion of perfection. The company always tries things out until they are perfectly done. The same attitude is expected of every collaborator. Applicants who do not share that passion for excellence do not have a chance.

This is not an exhaustive list of hiring attributes presented by Apple, but a limited set of vital soft skills required by its management of any applicant – not just senior management or high technical positions.

See how you can think with it for your business. And if you wonder how you can detect such attributes in the frame of one hour interview, well… think about NO-FAIL HIRING. It is indeed our specialty to help you detect those invisible soft skills that make the difference between a happy hire… and the start of a non-ending nightmare.

The upcoming one-day “No-Fail Hiring” workshop will be held in Clearwater, Florida, on September 8, 2011. See the details of the program here. And if you are planning to hire at least 5 new employees in the coming 3 to 6 months, you might rather consider an in-office, customized No-Fail Hiring training. Send me a note and I will contact you to find out how I can best help.

You are as successful as the people surrounding you desire to make you and your company successful. So don’t take the chance: Surround yourself with dedicated, productive, loyal and honest people who will share your passion for performance, purpose and profits.

NOTE: not sure if you need this? Do the test!

Patrick Valtin,

Author of “No-Fail Hiring.”

(1)     Carmine Gallo, “The Innovations Secrets of Steve Jobs,” page 31. 2011, McGraw-Hill Companies.

(2)     Nancy Mann Jackson, “Wanted: Fully Engaged Employees,” Entrepreneur, April 26, 2010.

Gloomy Report on Hiring Predictions

Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce published their latest quarterly small business outlook survey. Besides showing what we already know, the report offers a clear picture of the current national uncertainty about the future. 

Confidence is leaving Americans’ heart, in view of irresponsible actions from an Administration unfriendly to small businesses. A commanding 64% of respondents said they have no plans to hire in the next year, underscoring the stalled unemployment numbers and bleak economic forecast. 84% think our country is on the wrong track.


The report prepared for the US Chamber of Commerce by Harris Interactive on 1409 small business owners clearly indicates that a vast majority of them do not intend to hire more employees.

Economic uncertainty is the most important challenge facing small businesses, with 49% ranking it within the top three choices. Small business owners also feel challenged by the national debt (47%), the new health care law (39%), and the impact of regulations (36%).

Dealing with uncertainty

In times of uncertainty, the last thing you want as a business owner is to be surrounded by people who do NOT share your passion for profits, purposes and results. 

If the current economic challenges are making it hard for you to expand or even survive, do not make it more complicated by having to spend so much of your time to motivate, supervise, control, order or enforce compliance. Good people need guidance, not orders. Bad people do nothing with guidance and fake complying from fear of punishment. Good people need relationship, more than leadership. Bad people don't care about your leadership nor about your attention.

As Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great" states,
"The Good -to-Great leaders began the transformation by first getting the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it."  *   

* "Good to Great," New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

If you need to replace some employee or plan to hire more, ensure you attract the right caliber. Do not fall in the personality trap: put your attention on measuring/evaluating some "invisible" but vital soft skills such as loyalty, honesty, persistence and a true taste for performance. Surround yourself with fighters who  will engage battles with your competitors - not with you!



Check on this link to see the program of our upcoming No-Fail Hiring workshop, on September 8 2011.

Also, you should do the Hiring Success Potential Analysis before you start your next hiring mission. It is FREE and it might avoid you a lot of trouble. This powerful assessment will provide valuable information on what you need to do to attract the right people, the top players who do not fear challenges but love them!

Patrick Valtin, author of "No Fail Hiring"
President/CEO of M2-TEC USA, Inc.

Hard Skills Vs Soft Skills - Don't Fall in the Trap!

We all know that most employees get hired for their hard skills and get fired for the lack of soft ones. Personality is what I call in my book the "the Ace of Spades in the Hiring Game" for a good reason: soft skills most often make the difference between good applicants and the others, but you can't detect some critical soft skill by just asking an applicant to exhibit it. I have never met a candidate who was openly confessing a serious lack of soft skill but I have met thousands of them who pretended to possess many.

Why new employees fail

Contrary to popular belief, technical skills are not the first reason why new hires fail. Instead, interpersonal skills dominate the list, per a survey conducted on 5,247 hiring managers*:

• 26% of new hires fail because they can't accept feedback.
• 23% of new hires fail because they are unable to understand and
  manage emotions.
• 17% of new hires fail because they lack the necessary motivation
  to excel.
• 15% of new hires fail because they have the wrong temperament
  on the job.
• Only 11% fail because they lack the necessary technical skills.

During that study, 812 managers experienced significant more hiring success than their peers. What differentiated their interview approach was their emphasis on interpersonal and motivational issues. So make sure you focus your interviewing energy on applicants' coachability, emotional intelligence, motivation and temperament.

* Mark Murphy, "Why New Hires Fail," LeadershipIQ.com, n.d. Web August 15, 2010.

The most important soft skills

No matter what the job is, you should always check for the following
crucial soft skills:

- Honesty, 
- Willingness (eagerness to work hard and to do new things),
- creativity (ability to create or contribute to new ideas and to
  innovate, find solutions to problems),
- Manageability (ability to accept and implement orders or feedback
  from seniors and colleagues),
- Temperament (general attitude towards others, including team
  work and positive attitude),
- Being challenge-driven,
- Drive/self-motivation,
- Communication skills,
- Tolerance to pressure,
- Analytical capacities.

The No-Fail Hiring System precisely focuses on these invisible, hard-to-detect soft skills. Our confidential interview technique allows you to evaluate each of these personality-related skills with optimal objectivity - sometimes within the first 15 minutes.

Hiring soon? 

Make sure you can detect those "invisible" soft skills early in your selection. Buy the book "No-Fail Hiring" on Amazon on on my website. Also, if you plan to hire at least 3 new employees in the coming months, contact me to receive a FREE phone assessment of your current hiring process. I can help you minimize subjectivity in your evaluation of these vital soft skills as stated above. you can also call 877-831 2299.


Good luck in your hiring missions,

Patrick Valtin, Author of "No-Fail Hiring"
President CEO M2-TEC USA, Inc.

SEVEN TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION MANAGERS MUST AVOID, BY L D SLEDGE, J.D.

The following article was taken fully from HR Daily Advisor, June 23, 2011

Today's HR Daily Advisor Tip:

The 7 Types of Discrimination Your Managers and Supervisors Must Avoid

Topic: HR Policies and Procedures

In yesterday's Advisor, we found out what fairness means to a jury; today, discrimination, the dark side of fairness, plus an introduction to the famous "50/50": the compendium of 50 employment laws in 50 states.

Nondiscrimination is the legal side of fairness. Illegal discrimination comes in many forms, some obvious and overt, some subtle and hard to spot. Here's what to avoid:

1: Overt discrimination (I don't like Xs)

This is the out-in-the-open type of discrimination that most people think of when they hear the word. For example:

• I don't like to work with [women, men, old people, white people, black people, Asian people, disabled people].
• My customers don't like to deal with [women, men, old people, white people, black people, Asian people, disabled people].
• I don't like to hire [young women because they get pregnant and go on leave].
• I'm not promoting [anyone over 40—they don't have enough energy].

2: Stereotyping (Xs can't X)

Stereotyping usually takes the form of "Xs can't X."

• Women aren't strong enough.
• Men aren't compassionate enough.
• Xs aren't smart enough.

3: Patronizing (Xs shouldn't X)

This is a special form of stereotyping that seems well-intentioned, but is, in general, discriminatory. For example:

• Terry is active in the community; he/she won't want to relocate.
• Parents with young children shouldn't travel.
• Women shouldn't travel alone.
• Pregnant women can't [travel, lift, move, be stressed].

4: 'Avoidance' Discrimination

Some managers try to play a game of avoidance discrimination. They say, "If I can get in trouble talking to X, no problem. I'll never talk to X." Don't use this thinking; it is discriminatory and it won't fly.

5: Playing favorites (I always turn to my friends)

All managers have groups with whom they feel most comfortable. But if you always turn to that group when you need to hire, you are discriminating. And you've got friends at work with whom you're comfortable. If they always get the plum projects, bonuses, and promotions, you are discriminating.

---

Operate in multiple states? That's a real compliance challenge, but with "The 50-50" (50 Employment Laws in 50 States); answers are at your fingertips. Wage/hour? Leave? Child labor? Discrimination? All there in easy-to-read chart form. Get more details.

---

6: De facto (I just never seem to hire Xs)

One of the more subtle forms of discrimination is called "de facto." In these situations, there are never any direct statements against hiring or promoting certain types of people—it just never seems to happen. For example, you're not against hiring women in a certain job, but although many qualified women have applied, of the last 50 hires, all 50 were men.

7: Reverse discrimination

Reverse discrimination means discrimination against someone as a result of your attempts not to discriminate against someone else. You probably don't have significant exposure unless you have a very strong, quota-type program favoring one protected group

WALMART WINS---WHAT NOW? BY L. D. SLEDGE, J.D.

 

  The last blog was written prior to the decision by the US Supreme Court refusing to allow the huge class action involving 1.5 million claimants to proceed.  The lawsuit claimed that Wal-Mart systematically paid women less and did not provide equal opportunity for advancement. It contended that all women employed by Wal-Mart since 1998 should be part of the class.

    The court’s decision was not about the discrimination itself, but around a procedural issue, and whether the technical rules for forming a class were followed. The court decided that the group could not be certified as a class.

   To form a class, you have to have so many members that it is impracticable to have separate trials for all of them. The Wal-Mart women unequivocally met that standard. But the members of the class have to share a well-defined common interest, and it must be clear that resolving the cases of the few actual representatives would effectively resolve all the cases of all the class members.
 

  The Supreme Court just didn’t see that literally millions of separate employment decisions relating to women in many different jobs, could be viewed as meeting the class requirements.
 

   Having been involved in several class actions myself, I am aware of the difficulty in getting a group with similar claims certified as a class. In this case, I am sure there were political and social-economic considerations. The ramifications of a lawsuit of this magnitude being permitted to continue to jury trial are beyond comprehension, for a possible judgment could be in the billions, and like locusts these suits would proliferate through every large corporation in the US, creating more economic disruption than the losses to individuals by not being treated properly.  But it did teach Walmart a lesson and now they have largely corrected these errors, and other big companies have taken that lesson seriously as well. So all is well that ends well--I guess it ended well for Corporate America—what’s good for the duck isn’t necessarily good for the hunter.  Here the duck won. The hunter will have to reload.

   My question is now what can employees do when seeking redress as a group against a large company. For the time being, the companies are safe if they watch their step. For more, read the following link

http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/articles/HR_Policies_Procedures_WalMart_Decision_Supreme_Court.aspx?Source=HAC&Effort=15

What really motivates us?

PURPOSE: The key to high morale and performance - by Patrick V. Valtin, author of "No-Fail Hiring."


I hear too much the following complaint from business owners interviewing young job applicants: " New employees are mainly motivated by money." My first reaction is always: well, if the employer is money-motivated, he/she should expect to attract mostly people who are motivated by money... but most business owners/employers neglect a vital principle of motivation: it is NOT just about money!


Money is an important factor of motivation, for sure. But it will be found that successful companies use other factors of motivation - way superior to money! The most powerful of them is completely ignored by a vast majority of small businesses: purpose and values! Purpose (WHY or the reason why people do what they do) naturally drives people to work harder, to be more dedicated to their tasks - and to their employers. 


Many examples are testimony to this simple fact: people will be more eager to put their best at work when they KNOW they are doing something that contributes not just to the company's profits, but mostly to their customers, to their environment and to everyone around them.


Successful companies like Apple, Ikea, Southwest Airlines, Whole Food market, Stonyfield Farm, etc. all prove on a daily basis that driving employees with valuable, socially responsible core purposes, proves to be the single most powerful leadership tool and natural motivator.


Check this highly inspiring animation by RSAnimate: it will show you that people are naturally purpose-driven and will perform at their best when invited to contribute to worthy purposes. this kills the myth of money motivation for good!


"DRIVE - The Surprising Truth about what Motivates Us" shows with entertaining evidence that purpose brings power, energy and natural drive to everyone. This fantastic animation is worth the 10 minutes you will spend watching!


I hope it serves as a source of inspiration, next time a potential employee pretends he or she is worth more than what you are willing to pay him/her. But make sure you adjust your company's core purpose: is it inspiring to you? How about your customers - would they feel inspired? And ask your current employees - would they feel motivated to come to work for THAT purpose?


Food for thought...
Patrick Valtin

THE WALMART JUGGERNAUT, BY L D SLEDGE, J.D.

THE WALMART JUGGERNAUT

Betty Dukes, a Walmart greeter, far right in the above picture, filed a sex discrimination suit against Walmart in 2,000 saying she had been denied training she needed to receive promotion. It is now before the US Supreme court for a decision if it should be allowed to proceed as a class action involving millions of female employees. Her lawsuit says Walmart systematically discriminated against female employees who were underrepresentated in management positions and were paid less than male colleagues.

Earlier court’s decisions let the case proceed after a judge aid that there was “significant proof of a corporate policy of discrimination.” The case can cost Walmart billions if allowed to proceed. Corporate America is watching nervously from the sidelines. Twenty major firms, including GE and Microsoft, filed in support of Walmart. If Duke wins, lawyers expect a whole new set of discrimination class actions will be brought, not just on behalf of women, but also for minorities and those with disabilities. A win for Walmart would be a major blow for nationwide job-bias lawsuits, making it harder for employees who work in different stores and hold different jobs have enough in common to be a class.

Duke’s lawyer argues that women comprise 37.6% of assistant managers, 21.9% of co-managers, and 15.5% of store managers. The standards are the same whether it is a huge company like Walmart or a small business. So this decision could be far reaching and touch the pocketbooks of thousands of small businesses.

FOR THE WANT OF AN OUTHOUSE---BY L D SLEDGE, JD

I promised last blog, on the definition of disability under the ADA, that I would give a case on point, to demonstrate what may be considered disabled. Here is a recent matter that didn’t go to court, but reached the outhouse door before settling.

EEOC guidance has made it clear that employers have to follow the ADA even when it contracts with temporary workers.  (The exemplary rule of this case would apply to permanent as well as temporary)

Recently, the EEOC settled a case in Illinois against R.R. Donnelly & Sons for failing to accommodate a temporary worker who experienced incontinence problems. The employer permitted the worker to go home to address the problem, but it also called the temp agency and informed it that the worker would not be permitted to return.  Because the employer decided to terminate the worker without considering possible accommodations, the EEOC alleged the employer violated the ADA.  The case settled with the worker getting $150,000.

DEFINITION OF DISABILITY UNDER THE ADA AS ENFORCED BY THE EEOC,BY L D SLEDGE, JD.

The following is extracted from the policy of the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, section 902 Definition of Disability. (http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/902cm.html)

     Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act,(ADA), prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability. The ADA protects a qualified individual with a "disability" from discrimination in job application procedures; hiring; advancement; discharge; compensation; job training; etc. To be protected by the ADA, a person must meet the definition of the term "qualified individual with a disability".

     A major part of the inquiry in an ADA charge often will be the determination of whether the charging party is protected by the Act. This determination frequently requires more extensive analysis than does the determination of whether a person is protected by other nondiscrimination statutes. It is often unclear whether a person's physical or mental condition constitutes an impairment of sufficient degree to establish that the person meets the statutory definition of an individual with a "disability."

     The purpose of the ADA is to eliminate discrimination that confronts individuals with disabilities.

     Since the definition of the term "disability" under the ADA is tailored to the purpose of eliminating discrimination prohibited by the ADA, it may differ from the definition of "disability" in other laws drafted for other purposes. For example, the definition of a "disabled veteran" is not the same as the definition of an individual with a disability under the ADA. Similarly, an individual might be eligible for disability retirement but not be an individual with a disability under the ADA. Conversely, a person who meets the ADA definition of "disability" might not meet the requirements for disability retirement.

Statutory Definition -- With respect to an individual, the term "disability" means

(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;

(B) a record of such an impairment; or

(C) being regarded as having such an impairment.

      A person must meet the requirements of at least one of these three criteria to be an individual with a disability under the Act.

     The first part of the definition covers persons who actually have physical or mental impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities. The focus under the first part is on the individual, to determine if (s)he has a substantially limiting impairment. To fall under the first part of the definition, a person must establish three elements:

(1) that (s)he has a physical or mental impairment

(2) that substantially limits

(3) one or more major life activities.

     The second and third parts of the definition cover persons who may not have an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity but who have a history of, or have been misclassified as having, such a substantially limiting impairment, or who are perceived as having such a substantially limiting impairment.

     Confused yet? Will present demonstrative cases in next blog on this subject. Is there a good reason to hire the right people? Reason enough just to avoid ever having to worry about this definition. No Fail Hiring will help you here.  This definition has subtly changed due to Sutton v. U.S. Airlines. But the test still is “is the employee substantially limited in a major life activity”. What does this mean?  Read next blog. I know you are holding your breath.

MY DISABILITY MADE ME DO IT!, BY L. D. SLEDGE, JD.

 

In Gambini v. Total Renal care, the court held that an employer cannot terminate or otherwise discipline an employee for misconduct if the misconduct is caused by a disability.

Stephanie Gambini worked for Davita, a company providing dialysis. She had a history of health problems and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She was easily distracted, agitated, was angry and irritable. She was called into a meeting, where she was presented with a written performance improvement plan. She threw the plan across the desk and cursed her supervisors, saying they would “regret this.” She slammed the door on the way out, and kicked and threw items about her cubicle after the meeting. Numerous employees noticed DaVita about their concern. She was terminated.

The 9^th circuit, including California and the Northwest, said that “conduct resulting from a disability is considered part of the disability, rather than a basis for termination.” This is a departure from precedent, for other circuits do not hold tot his viewpoint. It could signal a change that could play havoc with small business. I cannot imagine such a decision unless there are facts not revealed in the report. As a previous employer, this would be totally unsupportable.

MY DISABILITY MADE ME DO IT!, BY L. D. SLEDGE, JD.

 

In Gambini v. Total Renal care, the court held that an employer cannot terminate or otherwise discipline an employee for misconduct if the misconduct is caused by a disablity.

Stephanie Gambini worked for Davita, a company providing dialysis. She had a history of health problems and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She was easily distracted, agitated, was angry and irritable. She was called into a meeting, where she was presented with a written performance improvement plan. She threw the plan across the desk and cursed her supervisors, saying they would “regret this.” She slammed the door on the way out, and kicked and threw items about her cubicle after the meeting. Numerous employees noticed DaVita about their concern. She was terminated.

The 9^th circuit, including California and the Northwest, said that “conduct resulting from a disability is considered part of the disability, rather than a basis for termination.” This is a departure from precedent, for other circuits do not hold tot his viewpoint. It could signal a change that could play havoc with small business. I cannot imagine such a decision unless there are facts not revealed in the report. As a previous employer, this would be totally unsupportable.

What is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act? by L D Sledge, JD

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is one of the progeny of Title VII of the Civil Rights act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.  Initially it covered discrimination because of sex, race, color, creed and national origin. It has been expanded to include age, pregnancy, pay, religion, ancestry, genetic types and a number of other areas have been brought within its embrace.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) applies to employers with 15 or more employees, and is violated when expectant women are not hired, fired, or otherwise discriminated against due to pregnancy or intention to become pregnant.  Employers may be likely to discriminate if they hold prejudices against working women and mothers and fear the productivity loss due to the absence of the employee.  Sometimes employers are unable to find and use temporary employees, unable to afford overtime pay for other employees to fulfill the duties during leave, or fear the employee will require too many accommodations after her return. This is a delicate area, and an employer will do well to avoid the dire results of in this area. Here are just a few of the tens of hundreds of cases.

Cases:

*  A boat captain fired while pregnant refused to abandon ship. she won $85,000 for emotional distress, repayment of all lost wages and the employer was fined $25,000. (Robert Ottinger, New York Employer blog, August, 2009)

* Jury awarded $720,000 in damages to an associate and a paralegal who claimed they were forced out of their New York law firm because of pregnancies. (Article posted in the ABA Law Journal August 22, 2008, by Debra Cassens Weiss)

* A Marin County Judge awarded $113,800 against filmmaker George Lucas for withdrawing a job offer to a San Francisco woman after she disclosed she was pregnant.  (Article by Bog Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer, July 01, 2010.

Credit History as Hiring Criterion? No, No, No. By L D Sledge, J.D.

In December, 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Kaplan Higher Education Corporation for using credit history in its hiring process. The New York Times has the story:  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/business/22kaplan.html?hpwthe story.

Kaplan, a Washington Post Company, operates a string of for-profit colleges and training schools throughout the country.  The commission alleges that Kaplan has rejected job applicants based on their credit history which has a “significant disparate impact” on blacks. “This practice has an unlawful discriminatory impact because of race and is neither job-related nor justified by business necessity,” the commission said. Private and government surveys have suggested that about half of all employers use credit histories in at least some hiring decisions.

“Disparate impact” is the theory that if a given test or criterion rules out a higher proportion of applicants from one race than from another — which almost any test will, given racial (or in some cases age) gaps in skills and abilities — it’s presumed illegal unless the company can prove it’s “job-related.” And “job-related” doesn’t just mean “significantly correlated with job performance”.   IQ tests may prejudice the ability to perform any given set of tasks, but they are totally verboten.

Justine Lisser, an E.E.O.C. spokeswoman, said that credit histories were often inaccurate and might not be a good indicator of a person’s qualifications for a particular job. “Credit histories were not compiled to show responsibility,” she said. “They were compiled to show whether or not someone was paying the bills, which is not always the same thing.” “This practice has an unlawful discriminatory impact because of race and is neither job-related nor justified by business necessity,” the commission said. The agency did not specify what types of jobs were involved.

So what can be learned from this? Don’t use credit history as an element of hiring rationale.  Buy and read NO FAIL HIRING, and then schedule a workshop to get the confidential details on how to put this foolproof procedure into application.

EEOC shoots to kill in ADA cases, by L D Sledge, J.D.

FOR THE WANT OF A STOOL, A BUSINESS GETS SUED

Small business must be alert to an overall attack by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce the American Disabilities Amendment Act, which requires employers to hire disabled personnel if the person can perform the job.

“The contributions of people with disabilities to the workplace ought to be valued, not rejected based on myths, fears and stereotypes,” said EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien. “The ADAAA made clear what the EEOC had always asserted: people with a range of disabilities are protected from unlawful discrimination. We hope that these cases send a clear message that the Commission will vigorously enforce the ADA.”

In September, 2010, the EEOC charged Eckerd Corporation, a nationwide drug store chain doing business as Rite Aid (EEOC v. Eckerd Corporation), for refusing a reasonable accommodation---a stool to sit on. The employee, Fern Strickland, had worked as a cashier for Rite Aid for seven years and had severe arthritis of her knees. She was given a stool to sit on, and was able to carry out her work with satisfaction until a new manager “didn’t like the idea” that Strickland used a stool. She was terminated because the manager refused to accommodate her disability “indefinitely.”

This violated Title I of the ADA. The EEOC filed suit after first trying to reach a voluntary settlement, and is seeking back pay as well as compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief designed to prevent such violations in the future.

Compensatory damages compensate the claimant for things actually accountably lost---wages, past, present and future, mental and emotional anguish, pain and suffering, etc. Punitive damages are where companies get fried through “punishment” or to make an example. Juries have zero tolerance of such incidents as in the Strickland case and a large damage award is expected. Could this manager have kept the stool?

 Was this an error in hiring this guy? You bet!

A hidden common denominator to all successful entrepreneurs - by Patrick Valtin

Expanding your business always starts with NOT attracting the wrong people! Successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs (Apple), Kevin P. Ryan (DoubleClick), Tony Hsieh (Zappos.com) or Richard Branson (Virgin Group) spend 60 to 80% of their time finding top players and avoiding trouble makers! 

This is where they make the difference. If you hire the right people you don't have to manage them. Most of your wasted energy, your trouble and your frustrations come from a minority of people who should not have been hired in the first place.

"We employ 200,000 people. So I can make the case - and I have for years - that the most important discipline at Starbucks is human resources." - Howard Schultz, Starbucks

"I used to think business was 50 percent having the right people. Now I think it’s 80 percent. The best way to be productive is to have a great team. So I spend more time than most CEOs on human resources." – Kevin P. Ryan, Double-Click 

" One of the most important aspects of being a superior leader is hiring people smarter than you. Top leaders spend more time putting the right team in place to accomplish their objectives than they spend on planning, strategizing or many other components of their job." - Bob Prozen, author of "Kiss Theory Goodbye."

"I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way!" - Lee Iaccoca. 

"I have participated in the hiring of maybe 5,000-plus people in my life. So I take it very seriously." - Steve Jobs.

The tip us thus simple: you need a competitive edge, a No-Fail Hiring guide to attract and recruit the top players, so you can surround yourself with honest, dedicated and able people who share your core business values, while appreciating your performance standards.

Over 80% of your problems as a leader or executive come from having hired the wrong people. Be smarter in the hiring process and you won't need to work so hard later!

Patrick Valtin,

Author "No Fail Hiring."

What is Negligent Hiring and Retention?

     Hire or retain an employee whom you know or should have known had a criminal record or a tendency to injure another and you are risking all you have ever worked for.  Tallahassee Furniture employed a man in the yard and let him drive the truck. Then they sent him out to delivery furniture, which required that he enter the homes of the customers. He delivered a sofa to a customer who gave him a TV. Later that night, after work, he returned under the pretense to get a receipt for the TV to prove he didn't steal it.  She let him in, for he had been a representative of the trusted store. He attacked and raped her.  Judgment against Tallahassee Furniture for $2.7 million. He had a record of violence.
     Juries have zero tolerance for employers who are careless in hiring, allowing high risk people to enter the homes of customers, resulting in injury.  Juries give compensatory damages (award those damages that are provable such as lost income, medical bills, even pain and suffering, etc.). On top of that, if the offense is particularly heinous, they award punitive damages to punish the defendant and set an example. Most states have punitive damages, and aggressive lawyers inflame juries to award monstrous verdicts.  Witness the multi-million punitive damage award in the infamous McDonald's spilled coffee case. The largest punitive damage award in negligent hiring I have seen was for $40 million.
     How can you avoid the possibility of this happening to you?  We can guide you through this minefield.

L D Sledge, JD

Why No Fail Hiring

      

     CEO's and upper management often delegate the time consuming business of hiring to a junior, with little guidance or plan in mind except just to hire a person competent to do a job, they hope.  Management doesn't have time.  They fail to realize that quality employees = quality production.

      Most innately know the vital importance of the task, and usually have no clue that there is a specific technology in hiring that will spot the good ones and the bad ones. It is a daunting task, and a dangerous one.

     When a business starts, the entrepreneur hires the first employee--himself. The goals, purposes, plans and polices and ideal scenes must be clear to start. Then, to expand, he/she hires someone to take on duties that must be delegated to put attention on creating the business. From there the success of the business depends on these employees not just doing their job, but being loyal and having the company's success as a primary consideration. This factor depends on more than leadership and orders. It depends on the quality of the employee. One who will do a stellar job and not sue you.  

     Suppose the employee is lazy, or even criminal.  How can you tell at the time of the hire?

     Have you ever heard of Negligent Hiring and Retention?  Did you know that the average jury verdict is $1.6 million dollars?  Did you know that the lawbooks are filled with huge judgments against small business for sex, age, pay, and disability discrimination, as well as sex harassment cases?  Later blogs will lay these problems out clearly.

     This is where No Fail Hiring comes in.  Buy the book, take a workshop, remove the guesswork and become a master hirer.

L D Sledge, JD

    

Introduction: L. D. Sledge

 I am L. D. Sledge, co-author of No Fail Hiring with Patrick Valtin.  As a successful attorney for forty three years, I have the experience needed to assist small businesses in hiring the just right employee and avoiding the disaster of having the wrong employees. I have personally had employees who turned on me and as a result I lost my practice.  It is my goal to teach, in blogs, workshops and consultations, how to pick winners and sidestep the legal dangers to prevalent in hiring and managing employees.  

Today's litigious environment is a minefield for the unwary businessperson who wants to make an honest living by applying skills, resources and energy in this risky entrepreneurial world. There are enough worries just handling the day to day business without having to sweat legalities and the possibility of violating some federal or state law. Today the business terrain is littered with the bones of entrepreneurs who ran afoul of bad employees who sued and obtained horrendous judgments from juries using the punishing tool of punitive damages, often damaging the business beyond repair.

My blogs will hopefully shed some light in these difficult areas. I will never give legal advice in these blogs. Consider my viewpoint that of a realistic teacher who wants you to succeed.  Stay tuned. I hope to make it interesting as well as informative.

A Note From Patrick Valtin

Within an overly competitive or distressed economic environment, you need a strong competitive edge, a No-Fail Hiring Guide to attract and recruit the top players, so you can surround yourself with honest, able and dedicated people who share your core business values, while appreciating your performance standards.

Our mission is to provide you with a unique, most practical hiring system and support that most effectively contributes to your business goals – while making your life easier as a future-driven, maverick-type entrepreneur!

Patrick V. Valtin, Author of the
No-Fail Hiring™ System