One of the worse jobs ever!

Posted by Susan Avello on

Almost once a week, while driving into my small suburb of Chicago, I drive past these characters. You know the ones in the Statue of Liberty costume at the corner of traffic lights. They’re always waving, dancing or trying to get your attention in some form. Yeah, they’re annoying and I never drive by them without thinking to myself, “Gee, that has to be the WORST JOB EVER!”

And it never fails - even in this crappy Midwestern weather, be it blizzard conditions, these folks are still out there – to make the almighty dollar! Surely they don’t accept this job because they want to. Because they’re actually enrolled in some kind of drama classes and they think this is going to further their career.

While I was back in Alabama for the month of January I was having a little coffee one morning with mom and she was filling me in on all that was going on with my siblings, nephews and nieces, she proceeded to tell me that one of my niece’s, who works a full-time job at a local hospital while caring for a three-year-old is looking into and has even applied for one of those “dancing statue of liberty people” (as my mom called it) as a second job.

My first response was, “Why does she need a second job? Isn’t her husband working?” To which she replied no, that he is having a tough time trying to find work.

Wait one minute! I know you guys are thinking the same thing I am …… “Well, shouldn’t he be applying to be dance-master el statue of libertere?”……. And mom just shrugged her shoulders.

Now as I hear it from inside sources, this job currently pays $10.00 an hour (and that’s in Alabama earnings). I’m sure with the cost of living difference here in Illinois that rate of pay is somewhat higher (probably $2 – $3.0o). And I suppose one could see this as “earning an honest living.” Did you know that is more than someone with a degree in accounting is making in that same geographical location?

Heck, who knows if I’m not forced out there soon (but I’ll choose Florida and the beaches to dance on).

Let’s face it –  Things are tough, unemployment is still at an all-time-high and people do what needs to be done. That’s admirable. They are doing whatever it takes to pay the mortgage, make the car payment, or put food on the table. We gotta give ‘em love for that!

Just don’t make me look them in the eye when I’m stopped at the light. Awkward!

Photo Credit: Newsminer

Follow Friday: Lyn Franklin Hoyt – She does more than bacon!

Posted by Susan Avello on

YAY! It’s Friday. Whassup?

Today I’m featuring one of my favorite friends in the virtual sphere – Lyn Franklin Hoyt (aka. Lover.of.Bacon) hailing from the great city of Nashville, TN. She does more than bacon, check it out >

I asked Lyn in her own words to describe for all of you what it is she actually does in her “Day Job” (we all know that owning your own business is more than a day job, but some people don’t get it). Here’s her response:

“I design for Human Resources and Training professionals. I design products that help them with their recognition goals. Real products. Framed products to be exact. Certificate framing is the historical methodology. It conjures up brush script, calligraphy, plaques and parchment paper. Some corporate cultures love that stuff. My company Berkeley Tandem, Inc.  (Here’s our Facebook page) manufactures our designs and sells them on two stock websites – Award Certificate Frames and Fusion Frames. That is the framed recognition solution everybody thinks about. But, when they get to know my company they find a framed solution can be a lot more.”

Favorite Projects

“My favorite projects are the custom ones where the customer breaks away from “certificate” framing. It is not about the frame anymore. It is about building recognition relationships that make what is in the frame a meaningful solution. My job as a designer is to create a visual presentation that helps the recipient connect with their accomplishment in a way that gives them no doubt they are appreciated.”

What We Are NOT

“We are not an incentive company. We don’t consult or create recognition programs. We design framed objects that fit within branded programs. And we design our frames in a way that is fresh and compelling. Our products are more than just frames. They hold meaningful content with the potential to motivate and validate the human spirit.”

How We Evolved

“We started in 1996 as a wholesale catalog supplier. Moving to selling stock items online in 2005 helped us diversify. Now we serve and international customer base that provides products for training, education, healthcare tech certifications, sales awards, donor and volunteer recognition and military service recognition. Moving our niche between corporate, government and non-profit is about as diverse a business model as you can get.”

About Me

I personally work with custom projects. (Really, as a small business owner I wear way too many hats, from marketing to HR. This week it was also IT.) And I have my “pet” accounts. You know who you are. It is kinda like working as a hybrid between a custom frame shop and design firm. And I thoroughly enjoy my social media, happy that I can use work as an excuse to blog at the HRBACONHUT or be on Facebook and Twitter or now Pinterest. Neglected but needed – LinkedIn and Google+. And I continue to feed my social media addiction tweeting for my local SHRM chapter. I just do what I love with people I love to work within an industry I am passionate about. Oh, and I love bacon too.”

Oh, and be sure and make the connection!!!
Bacon T-Shirt Photo Credit: Zazzle.com

Dating at work – what’s your policy?

Posted by Susan Avello on

Since it’s mushy-gushy Valentine’s Day, I thought I would delve into this topic of “Dating at Work.” (AKA – fraternizing) I addressed this on a previous post HERE.

I’ve been in a couple of relationships where I worked with someone I dated (read above post for first scenario). The second one was where I was working at said company and became really good friends with one of my coworkers. He was the best! After a few months of engaging as friends we took it to the next level. We kept this relationship private for several months (although there were no policies in place against it).

The relationship was a fabulous one, I might add (away from work) and yeah, there was a little fun having a “secret” that no one else knew – only the two of us. The time came that we had to admit to our superiors that we were in fact in a serious relationship and it looked as though we were moving in together (hey, at least we could save on fuel and car pool). They took it like champs and we agreed to try and keep work and life separate.

One problem with that is if you don’t know how to turn that switch off you’ll wind up discussing all kind of crap at the dinner table, in the restaurants, and in bed before going to sleep. (Yes, I said it!) And that’s what happened, about 50% of the time. Oh, and did I mention that I worked in an industry that was made up of approximately 89% of the male population? That made for a lot of discussion especially when I was expected to whine and dine potential customers off the clock.

All in all, it can work. It’s just a matter of keeping a few things in mind:

1. Make sure your policy at work is accepting (otherwise, don’t risk it)

2. Be able to turn the ON switch to OFF  when you walk out that door

3. Trust your partner (doesn’t that go without saying?) and understand that work is work!

4. Stay private (no one needs to know about your private life and if you open that up you’re doomed)

5. Don’t sleep with the boss (I felt the need to throw that in)

The relationship I discussed above turned out to be awesome and lasted almost three years but it was very challenging to keep in tact because of certain issues which could never be resolved. Oh, and it had nothing to do with our working together.

Photo Credit: WeBeGirls

Follow Friday: Sabrina Baker – Make the Connection

Posted by Susan Avello on

On my second #Follow Friday tribute I would like to introduce you to Sabrina Baker with Acacia HR Solutions.

A few years back when I really started hot-n-heavy with my social media marketing and online presence I connected with a local group on LinkedIn. It is in that group that I first met Sabrina. She was holding a discussion or asking a question in which several of us responded. Then I connected with her online.

When I found out that she and I lived only about 5 minutes apart, I suggested that we meet for coffee. Yes, it was a little awkward at first (like we had connected on this dating site and were meeting IRL for the first time). But we had a nice lunch and had a great F2F meeting. We then connected on Twitter and started engaging on almost a daily basis, you know, shooting the shit! We really were able to get a sense of each others sense of humor, some things and even friends we had in common, and formed a genuine friendship.

After several conversations and meetings IRL, attending conferences together and local group meetups, we were almost inseparable (well, that’s my take on it – you’d have to ask her about where she stands) :)  

Sabrina started her company Acacia HR Solutions and specializes in HR Recruiting, Consulting and Job Search Coaching bridging the gap between the un/underemployed and employers.

She is the shiznik folks, and you definitely need to connect with her. She is a wealth of knowledge in the HR and recruiting space, and also helps with people in their job search. Why don’t I her tell you about it here – Watch this short interview:

My apologies for a whole lotta shaking going on. It was filmed before I invested in my tripod.

We then went on to start a local HR Roundtable and here is Sabrina officiating – Watch this short clip:

I’m super stoked to have her featured as she has become one of my great friends and confidants.

Connect with her here:

Twitter, Facebook, Company FB, Linked In, Website, Blog – HRChatterBox

Sleeping with the other woman – Siri (your smartphone)

Posted by Susan Avello on

As I was discussing a social media strategy for a potential client this week, something they said rang in my ear for a few days.  ”I never turn my phone off. I even sleep with it because I’m afraid I’m going to miss that one important call or email.”

Her comment immediately took me back to my daughter being home for Christmas and sleeping with her phone. As I watched her sleep (not in a creepy way come on, I’m her Mom) I noticed she kept waking up and texting her friends back who had texted her during the night. I asked her “How in the world do you ever sleep?”  To which she just shrugged her shoulders.

A few months back Volkswagen announced that they shut down workers’ BlackBerry email service at night as part of an agreement with labor representatives.  The reasoning behind this decision? To create a better work-life balance.

Here is the full story at Wired.

The decision to shut down email service at night was made to protect the 1,154 non-exempt Volkswagen employees from spending 24-hours around the clock attached to their work email. The BlackBerry can still be used for telephone purposes during ‘blackout’ times, email is the only capability that has reportedly been curbed.

The agreement specifies that unionized workers will see their email turned off a half-hour after the workday ends, and won’t have email access again until a half-hour before the next workday begins.

At this time reports say this agreement only affects workers employed at Volkswagen’s six plants in Germany working under collective bargaining, employees outside Germany are not a part of any BlackBerry use restrictions. Additionally, any executive level employees are also exempt from this new requirement.

It’s also been reported in recent months that burnout has become an issue for many workers. Many other German companies, such as Deutsche Telekom and Henkel, have also imposed less stringent restrictions, recognizing that too much connectivity isn’t always a good thing and breaks are necessary.

Reuters reported, “German IT body Bitkom published a study this year showing that 88 percent of German workers are reachable for clients, colleagues and bosses by e-mail or mobile phone outside of working hours, compared with only 73 percent two years ago.”

The VW works council explained that modern communication capabilities “also pose dangers.” Some members of management may expect staff are “always available” and receive emails after work hours. This agreement will curb that idea. Their spokesperson was noted saying:

“The operating agreement provides that the server is for the BlackBerrys of exempt employees for half an hour before and half an hour down at the end of flextime,” said Thust. “The agreement was received very positively.”

Smartphones are often blamed for the lines of the work-life balance being crossed. This has a high potential for essentially never-ending the workday if a boss expects round-the-clock connectivity or an employee feels pressured to stay connected in order to keep their job.

The New York Times reported earlier this year, “There’s a palpable sense “that home has invaded work and work has invaded home and the boundary is likely never to be restored,” says Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. “The new gadgetry,” he adds, “has really put this issue into much clearer focus.”

These days there are many other reasons that we feel we MUST stay connected off-hours. (Think FACEBOOK). Why must we feel like we cannot turn it off? What is really THAT important?

Are we really concerned that we will miss that most important business call or are we so narcissistic that we will die if we don’t see how many “likes” we received from our amazing status updates?

I’ve been down that road. But I’ve made it a policy for some time now to turn my phone off at 9:00 PM. And / or during times with family where I don’t need the interruption. In my opinion, nothing is too important that it cannot wait from 9:00 PM – 6:00 AM. My family and friends have my home number and know where to reach me.

Experts say you should turn the phone off at night and keep it in another room, other than your bedroom. So you won’t have the temptation to check  it in the middle of the night.

What’s your take?

Read more on VW’s policies: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/316649#ixzz1hehJUq45

Read Sleeping With Your I-Phone, The New Addiction

Follow Friday – Make the connection

Posted by Susan Avello on

Today I wanted to start doing something I thought would be fantastic (Well, actually I saw the folks over at SPIN SUCKS do it and thought it spectacular). And that is, most Friday’s they highlight someone throughout their community that they think others would enjoy and / or benefit from connecting with.

This is their own version of #FF (for those of you not on Twitter, it is a #hashtag used to tell those special people within your community you appreciate them and encouraging others to follow them as well).

So, with that being said, I wanted my first #FF to be one of my good friends and former business partner Sue Salach of Aging Info USA. Most of you know that I recently departed from AIU and left the whole social bag to Sue. She is a trooper.

Sue is not only a published author of two caregiving books “Along Comes Grandpa” and “If I Walked in Her Shoes” which focus around caring for our parents and elderly loved ones, but is an awesome National Speaker on the subject of eldercare and how it affects employees in the workplace. She has four dogs and a husband, loves the color pink, can always be found wearing a scarf (smile) and is my good friend.

Why should you connect with Sue? She can be an outstanding resource for you in the world of caregiving and eldercare because she has walked through this on a personal level, can help your employees in their journey and provide valuable tools and resources for this challenging time of life.

Connect with her on TWITTER and FACEBOOK and of course LINKEDIN.  She also writes the blog TheWorkingCaregiver.

Her website is AgingInfoUSA and her email is sue@aginginfousa.com.

Happy #Follow Friday ya’ll. Have a fantastic weekend!

Mixing business and politics can be like shooting yourself in the foot

Posted by Susan Avello on

Yesterday I was driving to an appointment (okay, a friends house) and stopped next to an entrepreneur at the red light. His business was “Joe’s Painting” or something like that.

As I was reading his business name that was painted (not a magnetic sign) on the side and back of his truck I also noticed something. He had three bumper stickers that were bashing Obama like you wouldn’t believe. Now, I’m all about freedom of speech and to each his own in political viewpoints or anything else but this made me say to myself “This guy is shooting himself in the foot.”

It reminded me of our online behavior when trying to brand either our company or personal brand. We get all worked up about our political or religious viewpoints and blast it out to the world (to those who we are trying to connect with). When we do this and in my opinion and experience, we may gain respect from those with whom we have the same viewpoints, both religiously and politically, but we ostracize ourselves from anyone who is not of the same mind-set.

To me, this guy was not going to gain the lefties business and he was certainly limiting himself from gaining more customers. Does he care that his customers are of a different political party? He should.

Business is business. Money is money.

Personally, I don’t care who writes that check and what they believe. If they are hiring me to do a job I’m more than likely not going to mention politics or religion. That’s just smart business. Wouldn’t you agree?

Photo Credit: Heartstandards

High school drama in the workplace

Posted by Susan Avello on

Please enjoy this post from the archives, while I’m still in the land of dial-up (Alabama) and visiting the parents. Hidy-ho!

Drama! I hate it. I know what you guys are thinking, “No woman hates drama because they all create it.” Am I right?

But nothing could be further from the truth. Okay, I admit – I used to be a regular player in the world of drama. I spent my first 18 years of marriage in it, in fact. Every day was like being on a soap opera and I was this actress playing some kind of weird role. I admit it, I had my share of drama but what I realized when I left that relationship of 23 years (we dated five years before we married) that I didn’t have to be pulled into drama anymore. I was relieved to know that it was not normal.

There are some people who just thrive on drama and they love creating it. They also love pulling you into their drama, into their crazy mixed-up world and then somehow, turn the tables on you. To this day, I still receive calls from my ex trying to create drama for me, in regard to things happening either with our child or some small town gossip. These days I just don’t answer the phone because I know it’s the same old’ same old’.

I know we have all experienced drama in high school either ourselves or we see it happening in the lives of our children, but what about workplace drama? Shouldn’t it have diminished after high school? Workplace drama can be the worst.

Now, especially in this technology world we live in, we’re hearing all about the gossip through facebook and twitter. People are getting fired over these issues, being banned from school, even getting arrested because of their crappy drama being circulated around the world. How is this affecting our workplace? Creating more crap for us to deal with.

It’s the same as the high school drama: We hear about the poor middle-schooler (actually an adult now) who was tagged in a photo as “whore” on Facebook. We hear about the kids who go to the woods behind the high school to get high (but it’s actually now, behind the tree out back of the warehouse). We hear about the parties and the drunken stupor and orgies of our colleagues and we pass it off as “office gossip.” And yet, it creates an atmosphere of jealousy, mistrust and then no one wants to “be on our team”…..the same as if we were coaching the high school basketball team.

So what is the solution? Should we just fire them all and start over? I know sometimes we feel like that would be the answer but of course it’s not a realistic solution.

Putting Policies in Place

From what I’ve experienced having a policy in place with easy steps to handle workplace conflict helps employees know the due process. This will help prevent future problems. Somehow, when you have it in writing “This is what happens if and when you post that picture of yourself on facebook, you know the one at a party holding the bong” you not only make your employees aware that there will be repercussions if the boundaries are crossed (just like dealing with our high school age children) but if documented correctly, you will save yourself a lot of headache if and when it should ever go to court. Documentation is key.

4 Legal problems you could have when rescinding a job offer

Posted by Susan Avello on

You don’t hear about employers rescinding job offers very often, but in this unstable economy you’ll want to protect yourself if you’re on the losing end. There are ethical issues when it comes to reneging an employment offer as well as legal issues that you should be aware of if you are leaving a current job for a new one. And a potential employee may be able to sue their almost employer for monetary damages with the help of a personal injury attorney under the following circumstances:

1. Discrimination

Discrimination protects all qualified candidates as far as race, background, religion, age, disability and gender. If a person covered under any of these categories can prove that an employer reneged on a job offer and then hired a person outside of the protected categories, the employer can be found guilty of discrimination.

2. Fraudulent misrepresentation of the position or company

Fraudulent misrepresentation is difficult to prove, as the individual must prove that the job offer was falsified—for example, say an individual quits his or her job for a promised new job, only to discover the company is moving offices and is rescinding their employment offer on their first day of work. If it can be proven that the move was known by the employer before the job offer was made, the individual can seek monetary damages for fraudulent misrepresentation.

3. Breach of contract

A breach of contract occurs when an employer or employee violates a signed employment contract, which outlines the terms of employment as well as the company policies. If the potential employee can prove that the employer violated the employment contract, for example, the employer makes you work hours outside of what was agreed upon and then rescinds employment because you won’t work those hours, they are guilty of a breach of contract.

4. Promissory estoppels

To prove promissory estoppels, the potential employee must prove that the loss of employment has resulted in a larger financial loss—i.e., if an individual leaves an existing job or pays to relocate only to be left without a job. In this case, the individual may be awarded damages suffered as a result of the reneged employment offer.

Photo Credit: gPrep.net

About the Author:

Colleen Harding is a freelance writer and guest blogger who specializes on writing about law. Her passion for the legal realm started with a job as a Legal Aid for a personal injury attorney and continued when she accepted a role as a Human Resources Coordinator for a mid-sized U.S. manufacturing company. Colleen is always looking of more freelance writing work and can be contacted at colleenaharding@gmail.com.

Stupid updates I put on Facebook – Or were they?

Posted by Susan Avello on

Within the last month I put a few things on facebook that I look back on and wonder if I should have posted them or not. Is there such a thing as being too transparent online and IRL?

I’ve always been one to be “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” and sometimes to a fault. I’ve had people tell me “you’re being too authentic” or “you’re too transparent and people can’t handle that.” And most of the time that made me go …..hmmmm. I would contemplate that and the so-called “constructive criticism” and go on down the road.

Sometimes, I put things out there just to get things going, and then sometimes I just am open and honest about what is going on in my world. Some appreciate that and some are offended by it. I suppose that will never change.

It is my opinion that in your community of trust you should be able to be yourself and share the good, bad and the ugly. There will always be those who don’t approve. Perhaps, that is how they lead their lives and that’s okay. But worrying about offending someone on your own facebook wall, twitter account or whatever is way too much pressure for me.

As I asked on FB just last week “I wonder if I’m the only one who posts something and thinks I probably shouldn’t post that and delete 30% of what I write.” I was encouraged when my friends commented that most of them do that as well.

I suppose we should abide by Abraham Lincoln’s rule of thumb – when he wanted to express himself to someone he would write them a letter and save it, ponder it, and then if he should send it he would go ahead at another time. If not, he would trash it.

Here are a few things I put on facebook that I probably shouldn’t have, or should I?

1. “My husband just told me how he hated my dinner. Of course he did this while I was standing next to the butcher knife. I wonder, If I kill him, I would get three square meals a day and never have to cook again.” (Okay, this was an attempt at humor, but forgetting that I had connected to my husband’s friends on facebook who couldn’t take this as a joke, backfired in my face)

2. “I hate getting Linked In requests for recommendations of someone I don’t even know. “ (I totally forgot that this person had connected with me on facebook and twitter as well. They saw my status update and I was up shit creek. They DM’d me and apologized. All I could say was, “I’m sorry, I’m just an ass. There’s no other excuse for that.” They accepted my stupid apology and I was a coward and deleted them off my FB and Twitter)

3. “So here’s what’s going on in my world. My husband just came to me, gave me his wedding ring, and said he wanted a divorce and for me to move back to Alabama.” (Maybe this was TMI but I was hurting and sharing with my community what was going on in my life and that I had packed my shit and was headed for Alabama, not knowing what was going to happen next. Again, thinking that my community could handle it and did for the most part, except friends of my husbands who were going back to him saying all my boyfriends were responding on facebook, neighbors who immediately text-ed other neighbors to share the latest gossip. Most of my community were supportive and responded in a positive way).

In the end, I deleted and blocked all my husbands friends and most all my neighbors until all this blows over. And am trying to be considerate of other folks when posting stuff. I don’t always get it right. But I know for the vast majority of my spectacular online community, they can handle most of my online BS and snarky comments.