Originally, I was going to post job openings that I received here in the blog itself. However, I found it easier to create a separate FaceBook page. So, if you are interested in both local and national job openings in HR, you can join my FaceBook group at DDoverspike Job Listing Home page.

If you are reading this through the Facebook Feed, I just wanted to let you know that this is a copy of my HRLitehouse Blog, which appears on Ohio.com. If you would like to comment and have all the Blog readership see your comments, you can go to the original postings of the blog at ohio.com. I am not the only blogger, so not all the content that appears here is written by Dennis Doverspike.

We have been receiving more comments lately and more have been getting through the SPAM filters on the first try. However, I still find some comments being filtered out by the SPAM filter. If you try to send a comment and it gets filtered out, please contact me. I have limited control over the sensitivity of the SPAM filter, but i can approve comments that do get filtered out.

I received this question for discussion. Here goes:

Basically, some US Cities are starting to eliminate questions from their job applications asking whether prospective employees have been convicted of a crime. The purpose – to keep convicts from being shut out of the workforce.

They may still conduct background checks before hire, but the basic idea is to get more convicts in the workforce.

As an interesting side note, one of the cities is New Haven, CT, although a number of major cities have taken the same step or are considering doing so.

So what do you think? Should applicants be asked questions about their criminal record?

What should be the policy toward hiring people convicted of crimes?

Ask HR Lite: What is the potential for HRM to assist in the strategic development of the business? From Seat at the Table

HRLite Responds: Great question. Once again demonstrating my complete inability to give a simple answer to a question, I thought I would answer this question in a couple of parts. Today, I will start with the general question of how HR can help to drive strategy or strategic development. But to demonstrate I am trying, I have made this answer a top 10 list. (For anyone interested in strategy and HR, I would suggest starting with the classic book by Ulrich, Human Resource Champions).

10. I believe the recent economic crisis illustrates three fundamental problem areas: leadership, decision making, and ethics. These are all areas where HR should have advanced knowledge, expertise and a lot to contribute. Unfortunately, HR often gives up the leadership roles in these competency areas. Demonstrate your leadership in these areas.

9. Start with your own department and area. Make sure HR functions in a maximally effective manner and follows the principles that you espouse. The old actions speak louder than words.

8. Develop your own employees. Encourage your managers to rotate through other functional areas so as to gain knowledge and so as to be prepared for promotion.

7. Make sure HR functions are integrated rather than split across line areas and different staff departments. Takes the lead in the recruitment, assessment, training and development of all employees. Make sure areas such as assessment and training are integrated. Complain loudly when a line manager gets $50,000 to bring in a comedic motivational speaker and you cannot get a budget to support responses to real needs.

6. Take a leadership role in succession planning, executive leadership, and management of the culture of the management team.

5. Be an expert in culture – especially global management. For global companies, this is a real sore spot and a sure way for HR to show its value. By the way, my experience has been that companies that are owned by firms outside of the US often have a greater appreciation for HR, and their role in managing culture, than do US firms.

4. One of the best ways to gain power is to have access to critical data. Outside of customer satisfaction, probably no piece of data is more important than employee satisfaction. Make sure you do regular employee surveys and take actions to keep employees satisfied. Be an employee champion.

3. Demand a seat at the executive table. Traditional advice is to get a seat at the table. That usually does not work, demand one and have the arguments prepared for why you have to be at the table.

2. Be prepared when you get to the table. Learn to speak the language of other business partners, not just HR. Be prepared to address their problems, not just yours. Once you are there, show you belong.

1. Show you can do it. Go out and take over a company, or start your own company, and demonstrate that through the effective management of people, your company can be the best.

Tomorrow, what about assessment professionals specifically?

Ask HRLite:  My daughter is 19 and was recently promoted to supervisor at the fast food restaurant where she works.  She is very nervous because she will be telling her friends what to do.  I am not sure what advice I should give my daughter.

HRLite’s Reply:  First of all, congratulations to your daughter.  This will be a very exciting time for her, and for you, and we encourage you to take the time at the end of each work day to sit down and talk to her about her day at work.  Just having someone to talk to about work can be a real stress reliever and make the whole experience a whole lot more rewarding and enjoyable.  As for her nervousness, it is natural and not without some basis in reality.  We have both been in her situation and being promoted to a situation where you have to supervise your friends is a challenge.

In terms of what advice we would give your daughter, we would advise her that she should embrace rather than distance herself from her friends.  The wrong thing to do in this situation would be to all of a sudden start acting like the “boss.”  When a person is made a supervisor at a young age, it is important that she not try to hard to prove herself and that she not adopt a “tough guy or girl” attitude. This will only lead to resistance and hard feelings. 

Instead, she should encourage her friends to take ownership over their work, get involved, and share with her in decision making.   She should adopt the attitude that this is a team and she is the team leader, not a “boss.” Use your friendships to your advantage; do not fight your friends. When you do have to make a decision, be clear and fair and make sure everyone understand the reasons for your decision. 

Supervising friends can be rewarding and fun as long as you maintain the proper attitude. Employees want a supervisor who is fair, honest, and notices how hard they work. Appreciate your employees and they will appreciate you.

Waiting For An Answer: I had an interview with a company that went really well and I was called back for a second interview to take place during the third week of August. Right before the interview, I received a call where I was told that my interview needed to be rescheduled but they did not know when. I was told they would call back with the rescheduled date. Does that sound like they have hired someone else?  Or could it mean something else?

HRLite Responds: Thanks, this is a great question. Not because we are very good at predicting the future, but because this is a question that we are frequently asked.

First, what we think does not really matter, although we will offer our opinion. The way you asked your question suggests that you have a need to know and don’t really need our guesses. That is, you desire feedback and will be nervously waiting until you get the answer. Many people share that trait, although some people would prefer to put off knowing. But wanting feedback is a desirable trait as feedback helps us to improve our performance.

So what matters is that you have a need to find out and the only way to find out is to go ahead and call them and ask what is going on. There is nothing wrong with calling and asking as long as you handle it in a professional manner.

Write out ahead of time what you would like to say. Say something along the lines of: “Hello, my name is Waiting. I was supposed to have a second interview in August but it was cancelled and I was told I would be contacted later. I am very interested in interviewing for this position, so I was calling to see about setting up that second interview. I am planning my schedule for the next several weeks. I was very interested in this job and excited about the opportunity to work for you company. So I wanted to make sure I left time to schedule a second interview with you so I could avoid any potential conflicts and give full consideration to your job and your company.” 

Be polite but confident.

Of course, be prepared to hear “we are sorry a date has still not yet been picked.” You can then respond with “I understand, please call me when you have a date and time, if I do not hear from you I will call you back in two weeks to see if there is any additional information.” You also have to be prepared to hear that the job has been filled.

Second, now we will tell you what we think. There are many reasons you may not have been called back yet for the second interview. It would appear that you did well enough on the first interview that it was not your background or performance, so that means it could be that:

• The job never really existed. It is amazing how many times this is true. Many times companies may interview for an opening that does not exist. The opening may not exist for budgetary reasons or the company may just be trying to get an idea of the market.
• The job was filled by an insider, a demotion, a promotion, or some other unplanned internal action. Or the job incumbent may have decided not to leave or retire.
• The job was eliminated due to budgets or downsizing.
• The person you were scheduled to interview with may not be available because they are on vacation or they got busy. It was the end of summer and the beginning of the school year; these are busy times for organizations. In some cases a team is needed for an interview, and this makes scheduling even more difficult.
• Another person was identified and they made a quick offer.
• Our guess would be that something unexpected occurred totally unrelated to your qualifications. However, whether that means the position will eventually be filled, we could not guess on that one.

Ask HRLite: I am a supervisor and I feel like I do a pretty good job overall.  Still, some of my employees complain that I play “favorites” and need to try to treat everyone equally.  What should I do?

HRLite’s Reply:  This is a difficult problem because in this case the perception is the reality.  It is a problem if your employees see you as playing favorites, even if you think they are wrong.  In order to stop resentment before it starts and festers, go out of your way to show your appreciation to all of your employees.  When your subordinates do something good, reward them.  Even if it as simple as a verbal “thank you” or “good job.”  People have a need for recognition and respect.  As their supervisor, make sure that need is met on a daily basis, not just once a month or once a year.  The time it takes to make sure you observe and reward positive behaviors will be worth it, because in return your subordinates will be willing to do extras for you, when you need it.

However, there are cases where employees may see favoritism, when the real problem is that they lack relevant information on the situation.  One way to rectify this situation is through openness and the sharing of information.  Of course, some times confidentiality rules or legal issues may prevent the sharing of information.  In those cases, be honest!  There is nothing wrong with saying “There is information I cannot share with you.  But, I am asking you to trust me on this and I would appreciate your support and understanding.”

Ask HRLite:  The job I have requires a college degree.  I lied when I applied for the job and said I had a college degree when I did not.  What should I do now?

HR Lite’s Reply:  You have placed yourself in a tough situation.  As is often the case, it would have been better to be honest in the beginning.  There is a risk in this situation that if the information comes out you may be fired.  You lack one of the minimum qualifications for the job you hold.  You might want to talk to a lawyer or in a confidential manner to someone in human resources.

However, our feeling is that if you wrote to us you are honestly bothered by this situation and feeling guilty about it. If you let this go, it will just continue to bother you and will start to affect your work performance.  So, you need to come clean and confess, even if you do risk consequences, including the possible loss of your job.  Before you do though, come up with a plan.  By a plan we mean a way to remediate your current situation.  For example, if you are missing one course, is there a way you could go to a night class and complete your degree?  Can you take distance courses to finish up?  Talk to your boss, or human resources, and see if there is an acceptable compromise or plan by which you can meet the requirements.