Welcome to the World of HR

When Personal Informaiton Gets Out

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:21:00 +0000

My company sent around an e-mail today that let us know our benefits administrator inadverently sent out personal benefits enrollment information (including Social Security numbers) to the Human Resources department of another client. Now that the damage has been done, what can the company do to make it right? The benefits administrator is sending a letter home to all of us explaining the mistake and also offering one free year of credit monitoring. But is that enough? One co-worker who had learned about this type of situation in her past job said that this was insufficient: "Thieves sit on the information for a while due to the fact...

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College Gap vs. Racial Gap

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:31:00 +0000

Sorry it's been a few days since I posted but I've been busy celebrating my birthday and such... ;) Well I'm back with some good articles: First, from the New York Times, an interesting look into the fact that a college degree can't close the racial gap and how some candidates try to scrub their resume for anything that gives away race to a potential employer. As far as we think we've come in this country (Black President, major women candidates, etc.), we still have a long way to go in some respects. SmartMoney asks if Wall Street is in hiring mode? Forbes answers by saying that while the economy is recovering meaning layoffs have...

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What I'm Hearing...Today's a Special Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Loftus) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Today is a special day here in the Astron family. Happy birthday to our very own blogmaster, Andrew!! Thank you for all you do with Welcome to the World of HR! Wishing you a great day filled with fun, cake, and presents - or whatever your heart desires!!

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Astronology - Winter Blues: Motivating Employees

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Astronology Volume X Issue 20 December 1, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. ...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Losing Disability Benefits Because of Facebook/Chippendales

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:22:00 +0000

The Lede from The New York Times had this as a title: "Depressed Woman Appears Happy on Facebook, Trouble Ensues." When you read through the story (first reported from CBC News), it's another lesson to employees to watch what you post on sites like Facebook: A 29-year-old Canadian woman who says she’s too depressed to do her job claims that her employer’s insurance company stopped paying her disability benefits because she posted some photographs of herself on Facebook in which she appeared to be happy. Nathalie Blanchard, who has been on sick leave from an IBM office in Quebec since “she was diagnosed with major depression” 18...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

A Few Restaurants in Park Slope You May Not Want To Work For

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:36:00 +0000

From New York Magazine's always excellent Grub Street: When Marc Murphy testified against a proposed bill mandating that restaurateurs provide paid sick leave, his director of operations made sure to point out that Landmarc treats its employees very well, thank you (among other things, they get five sick days after they’ve worked there a year). But here’s something interesting — another restaurateur who testified against the bill on Tuesday, Irene Lo Re, also happens to be the owner of one of 25 Park Slope restaurants that were busted by the state Department of Labor for underpaying workers. Though the eateries weren’t named in...

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Astronology - Giving Thanks to Our Top Performers

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:51:00 +0000

Astronology Volume X Issue 19 November 17, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. ...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Bill Belichick, Advice and Lists, and a Stress-Free Holiday Season

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:16:00 +0000

Let's start out on this Tuesday with The HR Capitalist who talks about the most-talked-about head coach in the NFL so far this week, Bill Belichick (picture on right from same article) who was under fire across the country for a decision to make a non-convential decision in a big spot (and to be fair, some agree with his decision). The blog defends Belichick saying that unconventional decisions like that are what you need to do to win and how Tom Brady, the New England Patriots' quarterback, backed up his head coach. The truth is that you do have to make big decisions that leave yourself open to second-guessing if you are to be a...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Nightmare Bosses who Make Every Day Friday the 13th

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Saw this picture on the New York Post website today. The Post lists Anna Wintour, Dick Cheney, George Steinbrenner, Martha Stewart, Naomi Campbell, Donald Trump, Steve Phillips, Gordon Ramsay, Scott Rudin, Marge Schott, David Letterman, Lenny Dykstra, Leona Helmsley, Dov Charney, James Dolan, Bonnie Fuller, Bob Barker, Bernie Madoff, Ronald Perelman, Sumner Redstone, Ken Lewis, Ken Lay, Al Dunlap, Faith Popcorn, Sam Zell, J. Edgar Hoover, and Paul Pressler as the worst bosses. I think you could add the fictional bosses of Michael Scott from The Office, Bill Lumberg from Office Space, Mr. Burns from The Simpsons and Don Draper from Mad Men...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Recession and the Job Market

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:45:00 +0000

The recession has taken its hits on the job market and we've covered a lot of it on the blog. But no one (at least in the Mainstream Media) seems to write more currently about it than the Wall Street Journal's Careers section. Here are a few recent articles: I happen to catch a glimpse of the WSJ while in a meeting in a co-worker's office the other day and one of the titles on the front page was "Life on Severance: Comfort, Then Crisis" (picture on right from article). I think it was a very interesting article, but I wonder if the severance package that was described in the opening paragraph was one that was supposed to get people's...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Yankees Parade Picture, Boeing and AOL

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:16:00 +0000

Wanted to post a picture from the New York Yankees victory parade down the Canyon of Heroes. This is one of the many pictures I snapped that day showing Jorge Posada telling us all the Yankees are, in fact, #1. I've put some more pictures over at my sports blog, No, You're a Towel. I don't believe that any work actually got done in the financial district that day as employees hung their heads out of windows. Unfortunately, according to MLB.com, some of those employees hanging their heads out the window got a little "overzealous" and threw private data out the window including unshredded personal financial documents that included Social...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Yankees Win, thhhhhheeeeee Yankees Win (and a few HR articles)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:19:00 +0000

We don't hide our baseball loyalty very well here at the Astron Solutions blog. We're (Myself, Jennifer and Mike) big Yankees fans and we're gloating today after the Yankees took home #27! They were able to overcome controversy, weak areas and past failures to finally capture the biggest prize. Love or hate the Yankees, you have to respect how well-run their organization is, regardless of the money. They put the right people in the right situations to succeed and pushed guys when they could be pushed. They stuck behind guys like Alex Rodriguez who had trouble outside the workplace and allowed him to succeed at the workplace. It's a good...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Astronology - What Type of Managerial Attitude Do You Have?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:17:00 +0000

Astronology Volume X Issue 18 November 3, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. ...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Military Experience As Job Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:17:00 +0000

I was reading an interview from National Review yesterday about how the Israeli military has helped their economy grow by leaps and bounds over many much bigger countries, especially in the technology sector. As the interviewed author, Dan Senor, states: Israel represents the highest concentration of innovationand entrepreneurship in the world today: the most start-ups per capita; the highest percentage of GDP invested in civilian R&D; more companies on NASDAQ than all of Europe, Korea, Japan, India, and China combined; and the biggest destination for global venture capital per capita. Israel raises 2.5 times as much global venture...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Don't Report Your Time Off?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:19:00 +0000

WorldAtWork recently posted a blog entry titled: "Vacation time: Is It Time to Stop Tracking?" It's an interesting question and one which has a lot of different answers depending on who you ask. From WorldAtWork: Many companies over the years have migrated from siloed leave policies that designate a specific number of days for vacation, sick leave and personal time off to paid time off (PTO) banks programs that provide a total set number of days off that employees can use for any reason. Newer, even more flexible, programs now provide employees with more informal personal time and vacation arrangements with their managers when it suits...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

ESPN an HR Nightmare

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:04:00 +0000

It has happened before at ESPN. Harold Reynolds and other on-air personalities had been fired for inappropriate relationships with subordinates. It has happened with other staffers as well. Yesterday, it reached a boiling point after former New York Mets General Manager and ESPN personality, Steve Phillips, took a leave of absence after a bizarre story involving a relationship with a 22-year-old production assistant, detailed in yesterday's New York Post. According to sports blog Awful Announcing, in 2007, ESPN hired a new Senior Vice President, Human Resources, in part to help with the rash of sexual harassment complaints. It didn't seem...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Astronology - Giving Constructive Criticism

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Astronology Volume X Issue 17 October 20, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. ...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Letterman and a New Look

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:34:00 +0000

A lot was written last week about the David Letterman situation and how Human Resources should handle this. Let's look at a few examples: -Careersolvers asks if we're all that different than Letterman and gives, in the spirit of the man, a top 10 list of reasons why people get involved with co-workers. -The Boston Globe Job Doc has a Q&A on "An Awkward Invitation" and whether you should go to HR for quick decisions. -Hot HR Tips... says let this be a wake-up call for all Human Resources professionals -Lastly, a Letterman insider writes about the incident for The New York Times and the atmosphere does not seem to be a good one. The...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

The Job Market As It Stands

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:33:00 +0000

We all know the job market isn't good. Despite any numbers to the contrary, we are pretty sure we'll see 10% unemployment very soon and all of us know at least one person who is currently out of a job. I know of almost 20 people who have been laid off. It's not pretty out there. The Wall Street Journal says that it will be years before lost jobs return. And some may never return. 7.2 million jobs have just disappeared since December 2007 and there will be many Americans left standing on the sidelines once their unemployment runs out. Sad times. The New York Times tells the story of a pair of identical twins who are living in New York City,...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

H-1B, ARRA, and TARP

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:10:00 +0000

I was forwarded a job description for a position at Capital One by someone I know. They didn't want to know anything about the job or my advice on taking it or anything to that effect; they wanted to know what this note meant at the bottom of the posting: As a recipient of TARP funding and under ARRA regulations, Capital One will not sponsor new H-1B petitions or transfer existing H1B Visas. I was curious myself. So I did some research. The Washington D.C. Employment Law Update laid it out in March: The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that employers receiving funds through the Troubled Asset Relief...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Astronology - Win At Selling Your Value

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Astronology Volume X Issue 16 October 6, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. ...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

$25 an Hour Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Great post from The New York Times Freakonomics Blog (and a true, but funny ending as well): Yahoo! recently ran a story entitled “Surprising Jobs that Pay $25 an Hour.” The author writes, But you don’t necessarily need a post-graduate degree to qualify for a job that pays several hundred dollars a day. While it may be true that helicopter pilots, high-tech administrators, and civil engineers earn $25 an hour or more, so do many other professionals in careers that require only an associate or bachelor’s degree to leap onto the playing field. The jobs listed are electrical and electronic engineering technician, human resources...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Stating the Obvious

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Sometimes, the news just states the obvious...or what we think to be the truth (I call these "duh!"s). Here are a few examples of "duh"s in the recent news relating to the job world: Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork did a survey that Workforce Management quotes which says that cost cutting has damaged worker morale (duh!). Yes, if you have been managing and awake at all during this Big, Bad Recession, you know that A) organizations have been slashing budgets and cutting costs in order to survive; and, B) that such large-scale cost cutting tends to have a highly negative impact on the most critical part of your organization—your workforce. So,...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

A Wish for an Easy Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Tonight starts the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. As I fast for the day, I wish an easy fast for everyone else who is fasting. We are told to remember our last year and to ask forgiveness for those we've wronged the past year. Even for those who are not Jewish, this is a good time to look around your life and work to rebuild relationships that may have been harmed in the past year. This includes in the workplace where we may have wronged our fellow co-workers, especially in the tough last year we all just went through. Regardless of the time of the year, we can all work to help to make our workplace a more peaceful and enjoyable place...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)

Astronology - 2010 Salary Budgeting Forecast - What a Difference a Year Makes

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Katz) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Astronology Volume X Issue 15 September 22, 2009 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software. ...

(THIS IS ONLY A PREVIEW. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ABOVE OR CHECK OUT ASTRON'S BLOG AT http://astronsolutionsworldofhr.blogspot.com/ FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)