Considering the 70+ degree weather we are having it’s hard to believe that just a week ago we were plunging into the frigid waters of Lake Calhoun for the 2012 Polar Bear Plunge. Team “Frostitute” comprised of Midwest Staffing members and the staff and friends from Regions Hospital will assure you though, that March 3, 2012 was nothing less than a typical wintry MN day.

As we contemplate our level of sanity and try to come up with any excuse not to plunge, we are reminded of the great cause that brought us all together, the Special Olympic Athletes. It is through them that we find the motivation and the courage to take the plunge. This year the 25 member team raised $5,298 which will impact the lives of over 7,000 Special Olympic Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities across the state of Minnesota.

We will continue to create awareness and support for the Special Olympics Minnesota and encourage everyone to take the plunge. To see more pictures of the event visit Midwest Staffing facebook page or you can still donate here.

During a recent meeting with a client, we were asked if we were aware of the EEO’s opinion letter on high school diploma job requirements and discrimination under the Americans with Disability Act. We found the conversation to be very relevant given the fact that many employers have a standard hiring practice that generally requires a high school diploma.

Recently the EEOC issued an informal opinion letter stating that a high school diploma job requirement could be considered discrimination under the Americans with Disability Act. In their informal opinion letter, the EEOC stated the qualification standard that screens out individuals on the basis of a disability must be job-related and consistent with business necessity, or it may violate the ADA. Under the ADA, a qualification standard, test, or other selection criterion, such as a high school diploma requirement, that screens out an individual or a class of individuals on the basis of a disability must be job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity. A qualification standard is job related and consistent with business necessity if it accurately measures the ability to perform the job’s essential functions (i.e. its fundamental duties). Even where a challenged qualification standard, test, or other selection criterion is job related and consistent with business necessity, if it screens out an individual on the basis of disability, an employer must also demonstrate that the standard or criterion cannot be met, and the job cannot be performed, with a reasonable accommodation. See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(6); 29 C.F.R. §§ 1630.10, 1630.15(b) and (c); 29 C.F.R. pt. 1630, app §§ 1630.10, 1630.15(b) and (c).

This means that for each position, the employer must take multiple steps to ensure they are not discriminating under the ADA. First, the employer must determine if the qualification standard of a high school diploma is job-related and consistent with business necessity. If the employer determines a high school diploma is job related, the employer must then determine whether the individual applicant whose learning disability kept him or her from obtaining a diploma can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Employers should keep in mind, that, if they are going to use this kind of qualification standard, they need to have a specific job related reason based in the qualifications for the position itself. Employers need to look at individuals on a case-by-case basis to determine if there is some type of reasonable accommodation that might allow the person to successfully perform the job.

Midwest Staffing is always glad to be a resource to our clients regarding the latest employment related legislation. If you have any questions regarding this issue or any others, please feel free to contact your local branch office.

The job market is fierce. The competition is plentiful and the opportunities are few. When looking for a job there are the usual avenues to explore, Craigslist, Monster.com, the local newspaper, etc., and you may even have success with any or all of these options. They didn’t work for me, however.

After being out of work for almost two months, and spending entire days online scouring the websites listed above only to be either beat to the door by someone else, ignored or rejected I decided I had to find another avenue to go down. I knew that I needed to find some contacts in my field of web design, since I had already exhausted the ones I had. You can only email and call people so many times before they start to get annoyed.

With everyone turning to social media to stay in touch it seemed like as good a place as any to put the word out that I was looking for work and to do some fancy networking as well. I started with my Facebook account, hoping that between all my 261 “friends” someone would see my desperate cry for employment and either hire me or pass my name on to someone that would. While I did have some friends take notice of my dilemma on Facebook the advice that ultimately landed me a job was to make use of Linked In.

Linked In is the ultimate in networking. I signed on and entered the most detailed profile I could, and then uploaded my address book and got to work. I was amazed by the connections I found through people I already knew. It turns out that the reason I didn’t have any success through the people I had already approached was that it was someone in my outer circle that had the connection I needed and was able to introduce me to my new employer.

If you are looking for work, I highly recommend looking towards social media and developing your own network. Not only is it easy, it’s fast. I found a job through Linked in within 48 hours after wasting months looking the conventional way.

Have you been considering giving your employees a gift card or other small gift item during this Holiday season? If so, you may need to consider the tax issues associated with these fringe benefits. Currently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) advises employers that all fringe benefits, like gift cards are considered taxable wages unless they are excluded by a section of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).

You may be wondering if there are any non-taxable gifts that you can safely give during this Holiday season. According to the IRS, employers can provide items that are considered de minimis. Examples of these gifts include tickets to a sporting event/concert/theater event, a Holiday group meal, flowers and other low priced traditional gifts that don’t have a cash value.

For example, the employer can provide a small gift on during the Holidays such as a mug with hot chocolate without any taxable issues to the employee. However, if the employer gives the employee a gift certificate to a coffee shop to purchase the items, it could create a situation where the employee could receive cash back. In this situation, the gift card/certificate would not be considered a non-taxable gift.

If you have any questions regarding the IRS Code, please contact your branch office or legal counsel. As an additional resource, you can reference the following guides published by the IRS: Taxable Fringe Benefit Guide and the Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, Publication 15-B.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has postponed the effective date of its new rule that mandates private employers post a notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on November 14, 2011 has been postponed to January 31, 2012. The NLRB felt the additional eleven weeks will help employers prepare to comply.

According to the NLRB, the postponement will allow for, “enhanced education and outreach to employers, particularly those who operate small and medium sized businesses.” The board determined that some employers were confused over which businesses were required to comply with the statute. The posting requirements of the NLRB depend on the extent in which a company engages in interstate commerce. Because the posting requirements are rather complex, almost all private-sector employers are subject to the act and should prepare to be in compliance on or before January 31, 2011. A printer friendly version of the government issued publication can be found here.

If your organization has any compliance questions, your local Staffing office is always a resource. Please feel free to contact any of our offices with questions or concerns!

My younger sister Jonica transferred from Central Lakes College to St. Cloud State University for the 2011 Fall Semester to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Once arriving in St. Cloud she was faced an issue that plagues thousands of Americans… finding a job.

Jonica spent several days/weeks filling out applications to local restaurants and retail stores and hadn’t heard from any of them and never received a single interview. Finally she reached out to me for support. Jonica was doing the most important step by taking the initiative of completing the application and placing it in the manager’s hands. However she was dropping the ball in one major area. Jonica wasn’t utilizing her network, one of the most important reasons for her inability to acquire an interview. Once she began contacting first and second degree connections, she quickly landed two interviews, one for “Grizzly’s Bar and Grill” and the other “Red Lobster”.

The “Red Lobster” connection was made through our Brother’s > Girlfriend’s > Dad’s > Girlfriend. Yes that is a long degree of a connections but the outcome was rewarding. The second interview with “Grizzly’s Bar and Grill” she received because of a long line of connections she wasn’t utilizing, including myself, my sister, my brother and my wife. Even though Jonica’s application included our sister’s name Jenae who had been an excellent employee there for many years and still well know with the current management, her application was overlooked among the stack of other capable applicants. Once I heard that she was applying at “Grizzly’s Bar and Grill” I quickly reminded her that my brother, my wife and I play volleyball with one of the managers one of whom she herself has played with.

While in the interview the manager was surprised to learn that Jonica was Jenae’s sister and was overlooked. This is a prime example on why it is important for everyone to follow up and reach out to your connections.

If you are a job seeker you probably aware of the grueling application process especially if you are facing this alone. Alleviate some of the struggle by reaching out to friends, family, neighbors and even your parent’s > neighbor’s > friend’s > Cousins to help get your foot in the door.

A few weeks ago I found myself back in the classroom for my daughter, Madeline’s pre-school orientation. As I sat through the handbook orientation, I began to notice a plethora of overly excited parents, nervous children clinging to their parents’ legs, and enthusiastic teachers ready for the year to begin.

I looked over at Madeline confidently playing in the dress-up area as she sported overly large plastic high heels, a gaudy fake jeweled necklace and a fluffy pink “princess” dress. Madeline was at-ease and ready to begin pre-school. It was in this moment that I realized that preparing a child for their first day of preschool is much like managing change in an organization. (Yes, this was the Human Resource Manager coming out in me)!

Preparing a child for their first day of preschool
is much like managing change in an organization.

Define the End Goal

Much like managing change in an organization, the first step in preparing a preschooler for their first day is to clearly explain what the goal is and what will happen. I helped Madeline to understand I wanted her to have fun, to meet new friends and learn new things. When beginning a change effort in an organization, it’s essential to understand and define the business intent. Employees need to know exactly what the goal or business intent of the change effort is. When creating the change, you should be looking at how to foster an environment where employees can embrace they change rather than telling them the new policy.

Identify Stakeholders

In every change, there are going to be numerous parties that will be impacted. Some employees will be deeply impacted while other employees will hardly notice the change has taken place. As a change leader, you must have a plan developed to address the various needs of each group to gain their support for the change. Prior to preschool beginning, my husband and I discussed how the “stakeholders” in our family would be impacted. Jack, our 6 month old son would have to take a slightly later morning nap to accommodate dropping Madeline off at school. On occasion my husband will have to take time off of work to attend a school function. The largest stakeholder would be Madeline who was transitioning from a summer with little structure to a classroom. All of the issues were addressed and a plan was communicated to each “stakeholder”. Okay, so we didn’t technically communicate it to the infant, but you get the point! Address all of the stakeholders needs to make them feel important and a part of the change.

Gauge Organizational Readiness

It’s important for a change leader to be able to assess the organization’s readiness for the change. To create an analysis you should gather information in the following areas:

• Employees understanding the reason for the change and/or understanding of the business goal.
• If the key employees are in agreement about the importance of the specific change effort.
• Leadership’s ability to communicate the vision/purpose of the change.
• Availability to communicate with employees to gather feedback, suggestions and concerns.

Develop a Plan

After the research has been completed and data gathered, it’s time to create a strategic implementation plan. The plan should include:

Business goal/intent, the stakeholder and organizational readiness analysis, implementation steps, a means for evaluating the effectiveness of the change effort and a communication plan

This list is not by any means all inclusive, but it does provide the basics of managing an effective change process. Perhaps one of the more important parts of managing change is to celebrate the milestones and small victories along the way. First day of preschool was a huge milestone… deserving of a celebratory ice cream cone. Yes, I think so!

These days, finding a job is hard, and just submitting resumes to different companies isn't enough anymore. The face of job hunting has changed, and nowadays, having a professional social media life is what will make or break your chances at landing a job. Companies now use social media to recruit new personnel. Almost 80% of all companies are recruiting using social media, or will start recruiting later this year. They are also using it to check on employees. If you want to get a good jump start on getting a great social media campaign that will increase your chances of getting hired, you should follow these guidelines.

Clean up your online photos.

• Clean up your online photos. If you are a recent college grad, this means that you need to take those photos of your frat parties off Facebook, ASAP. Sexually suggestive photos, as well as photos that display your drinking abilities, need to be out of your profile while you job hunt.
• Know what media to use. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are used by most recruiters. If you are hoping to land a job on YouTube or Myspace, you are going to be sadly disappointed.
• Don't rant on your social media, especially about your job. Whining, ranting, and outright insulting others isn't professional, nor is it becoming. One of the most famous cases of Facebook firing happened when an employer discovered that his new hire was openly insulting him on social media. Don't let this happen to you!
• Prove that you are knowledgeable about your field. Writing a couple of blurbs which offer tips and tricks about your field every week or so can make a huge difference in whether or not you are recruited.
• Be professional online, and off. Keeping your grammar correct, your spelling perfect, and your tone light is a good way to show your professionalism online.
• Offering advice to others online is a very good way to network while making yourself an authority on the subject. As an authority in your field of work, you will get a higher chance of getting hired, and it's also quite likely that you will get a higher salary offer.
• Use your common sense. If you dress unprofessionally in photos, you will be taken as a person who isn't professional. Some things are still the same, both in life and on the net. Appearances are always going to count.

Your social media accounts might be a first introduction from you to a company. Having a professional, friendly, and intelligent online persona lets you make a great impression on employers. By giving them a great first impression, you are letting them have confidence in you. More and more people are being recruited by social media. Isn't it time that you start investing your time in it?

Do you struggle with the interview process? Just like people who struggle at taking test but know all the information there are people who are good applicants but are unable to sell themselves in an interview. The interview process is an interactive ritual that requires research of the company, simple actions like eye contact and body posture, as well as knowing various tips and tactics for answering questions effectively. If you feel you have mastered these skills but the interview still doesn’t go well, then it is good to have a contingency plan. I have experienced three methods that will give you the upper hand to outwitting your competition and will position you in the line of sight of the hiring managers.

Method 1: Staffing Agency –Work with the staffing company the business of interest utilizes. Get your foot in the door by accepting a temporary position, you will be able to demonstrate your work ethic and prove your worth to the company decision makers.

Method 2: Lower Level position – Accept a lower level position such as an internship program; if unavailable make it a suggestion to the business. This will give companies the flexibility to try you out before making a permanent decision and you will be able to demonstrate you skills.

Method 3: Volunteer Your Time (Work for Free) – This being the most risky method to pursue but sometimes the most rewarding. Any company will recognize your dedication and desire to be a part of their team and will view you the prime candidate for the next available position.

Try these alternate methods, take the initiative to showcase your skills and experience to employers. Get your foot in the door and prove you are a flexible, dedicated worthy employee willing to go the extra mile.

In April 2007, NFL all-star quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty for illegal dog fighting. After serving a 21 month sentence Michael Vick returned in time for the NFL’s 2009 season and was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl. The decision made by coach Any Reid to give Michael Vick a second chance paid off immensely. Now, as a manager or owner how can you make an Andy Reid decision?

There are some individuals out there that may look undesirable to hire from a paper perspective. One example is having a criminal background. Finding a job is already complicated with the national unemployment rate at 9.2% and having to compete with other talented individuals without a record. I have a friend in the St Cloud, MN area who is experiencing these barriers. He is a hardworking, family orientated, devoted Christian, struggling to find employment because of past indiscretions. In comparison hiring him would be like hiring a Michael Vick, his work ethic and ability benefit any company willing to give him a second chance.

If you are still not fully convinced and are still waffling because of the implied risk a person with a criminal background bears, try utilizing a staffing agency. Most staffing agencies participate in a temporary-to-permanent program which allows businesses to evaluate an individual’s work ethic, attitude and performance before making the decision to hire. Some agencies have standards and regulations for hiring employees with a criminal background and are more than willing to share their process with you. Reduce your risk and open the door, the opportunity to evaluate a potential All-Star is at your nearby staffing agency.

As a job seeker propose the temporary-to-permanent solution to a potential employer and prove the value you can add.

Has your business hired a Michael Vick or seeking an All-Star in the St. Cloud, MN area? If so; comment below.