Jacquelyn Lynn, Business Writer, Speaker

Kay Morris-Robertson vs. Westfield Corp and Stanley Duncan: Lessons in employee relations

It’s understandable why employers want their workers to leave their personal problems at home, and certainly it would be wonderful if we could turn our feelings on and off as we walk through the office door. But when Kay Morris-Robertson couldn’t do that, she says her employer, Westfield Corporation (also known as Westfield Holdings, part of the Westfield Group ASX:WDC), an international retail property group, harassed her, denied her unpaid leave, and provided false information to police that led to her being handcuffed and held against her will in a psychological detention unit. You won’t be shocked to know that she has sued.

 

Morris-Robertson worked for Westfield Corp. in Los Angeles. She and her 31-year-old husband of six months were sailing off the coast of Southern California when he suffered cardiac arrest and died. Morris-Robertson was ultimately diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and was seeking treatment. But according to her complaint against Westfield, she was never advised of her rights under the Family Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act, was denied the unpaid leave to which she was entitled, and by the actions of company managers, was prevented from receiving treatment by her provider of choice and instead was involuntarily held in a lock-down facility with patients suffering a wide range of mental illnesses.

You can read the entire story athttp://morrisvswestfield.com/

 

The lesson for business owners and managers is this: While indeed you have a business to run, you also have moral and legal obligations to treat employees with respect and compassion. What’s more, it’s just smart business to help good employees through challenging times. When you do, you retain their experience and earn their loyalty. When you don’t, you risk lawsuits such as the one Westfield is facing, negative publicity, and possibly the loss of other valuable staffers.

 

This case bears watching. I’ll keep you posted.

Five Ways to Protect Your Company and Your Customers from Employee Dishonesty

One of the most damaging things that can happen to a company is for an employee to commit a dishonest act, whether it’s stealing from the company or a customer, deliberately lying, or doing something else that isn’t honest.

Here are five ways you protect your company from such conduct by employees:

 

Labor: Cost vs. Availability

Could moving your company to a place where people will work for less so that you can reduce your labor costs work for you? Maybe. But if the labor force in the new location isn't qualified, it doesn't matter how cheap those workers are. For more insight on this issue, check out my article, Location is Key, on the US News & World Report website.

Jacquelyn Lynn

Shame on Wal-Mart?

I've never understood why people want to demonize Wal-Mart, but I haven't seen anyone express my thoughts better than Robert Ringer does in this article.

Shame on Wal-Mart?

By Robert Ringer

Forget that Wal-Mart employs 1.3 million people in the US alone. Forget that it saves consumers billions of dollars each year on retail purchases. Forget that its employees, on average, earn about double the minimum wage. The word from some disgruntled employees is that Wal-Mart doesn't treat its employees "fairly" - whatever that's supposed to mean.

But, guess what? If you think Wal-Mart is "unfair"... you don't have to shop there.

Did you get the memo? Put your message where it will be seen

A common challenge for employers is communicating information to workers, especially when your operation includes multiple shifts and staffers that don’t all have designated work stations.

At a recent stop at the car wash, I saw a great solution. On the way into the building to pay, customers must walk past the restrooms. I couldn’t help but notice colorful, boldly printed signs announcing a mandatory staff meeting on the doors of both the men’s and women’s facilities.

It’s easy to forget to check the employee bulletin board, the company intranet, and even e-mails, but I’m sure every employee of the car wash uses the restroom at least once per shift—and there was no missing those signs!

Of course, this wouldn’t work—or even be appropriate—for every company, but it might work for yours.

Jacquelyn Lynn

Google VP Marissa Mayer: “Ideas can come from anywhere”

Want to be an innovative company? Take a lesson from Google. When she spoke at the Product Development and Management Association’s Innovation Connection 2007, Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president, search products and user experience, said that many of Google’s big innovations came from acquisitions, but plenty came from within the organization. “Ideas can come from anywhere,” she said.

Google has a policy called 20 percent time. Employees do their defined jobs 80 percent of the time, and for the remaining 20 percent, they can work on whatever they want, and many successful Google products have come from 20 percent time. Mayer says the policy is “a license to pursue dreams.” She adds, “We trust employees to be empowered and be creative.”

What innovations might your employees come up with if they could?

Jacquelyn Lynn

Help employees plan for retirement

Baby boomers are reaching retirement age and preparing to leave the working world. You can help them—and even younger employees—prepare for and make it through this transition by applying the advice in my article, “Company Retirement Plans.”

Jacquelyn Lynn

Florida’s New Domestic Violence Leave Law

Florida is one of the few states to enact a law requiring employers to provide leave to victims of domestic violence. I usually object to government restrictions on businesses, but this is a sadly needed piece of legislation that should be copied across the country.

Under Florida’s new law, employers with 50 or more employees are required to provide up to three days of leave for activities connected with domestic violence issues for employees who have worked at the company for three months or longer. Whether the leave is paid or unpaid is up to the employer, and employees must exhaust any available annual vacation or personal leave and sick leave, if applicable, unless the employer waives this requirement.

Activities covered by the law include seeking an injunction for protection; obtaining medical care or mental health counseling related to domestic violence for the employee or a family member; obtaining services from victims services agencies; finding a new, safe home if necessary or making the employee’s home safe; seeking legal assistance and attending court-related proceedings stemming from an act of domestic violence.

Employers are required to keep all information related to an employee’s use of domestic violence leave confidential.

While not addressed by this particular piece of legislation, employers of all sizes should be aware of the issue of domestic violence and be prepared to take steps to assist employees who are victims. Remember that domestic violence follows its victims to work and can affect your operation in a multitude of ways. For information and resources on employer responses to domestic violence, visit Family Violence Prevention Fund.

Jacquelyn Lynn

Employee turnover: it’s not always bad, but you should be in control

Recently I was talking with one of my clients who mentioned that a long-time employee had resigned. I commented that she would be missed and difficult to replace. Not really, said my client. The departing employee hadn’t really kept pace with the growth of the company and was no longer a good fit for the position. Efforts to help her develop new skills and to grow with the rest of the organization had failed.

Employee turnover is often talked about as a negative, but sometimes it’s the best thing, especially for a fast-growing, changing business. But even when the departing employee needs to go, turnover is costly, so taking steps to keep your turnover rate as low as possible is a worthwhile effort. For some ideas, read my article “Reducing Employee Turnover.”

Are you an imposter?

Are you a high achiever who worries about what will happen when people find out you’re not as great as they think you are? Do you manage someone who has a knack for sabotaging himself (or herself) just at a critical success point?

These are indicators of what’s known as the Imposter Syndrome. Click to read my article on how to deal with these talented people.

Jacquelyn Lynn