Maslow and Retention Strategies

Abraham Maslow introduced his hierarchy of needs circa 1940s. The validity of his theory took hold and has grown in the scope of dynamics it covers. The chart can be found in quite a number of places on the Web.

Tim Vandevall's printable version comes in both color and black and white. Some of you may be interested in something that's a little more straightforward in presentation. In that case, consider one of these versions.

The theory is explained in more detail on other sites. However, one thing becomes very apparent as each level is examined: the principles can be applied to essentially any type of organization or social unit.

What characteristics does a person who is self actualized exhibit? You know, the more I read and re-read McLeod's discussion of those 15 traits, the more I realize there are many people who have them. Unfortunately, they tend to be free spirits in relation to where they go and the people with whom they associate and interact. Many are labelled as crazy or odd while others are simply called fun. The label that's applied has many aspects for its interpretation. And many times the insecurity of the one doing the labeling plays into that. If the one doing the labeling carries some amount of authority, others will do little to make their own, independent evaluation and will simply rely on the faulty characterization.

Wikipedia traces even more of the theory, its challenges, and its expansion to seven tiers. In the 1960s and '70s, an eighth tier was added wherein a person who has reached a certain level of their own actualization turns to others in order to help them in their growth and fulfillment. It's a bit like paying it forward by becoming the teacher or mentor.

Still, the level at which we approach self actualization is what workers strive to achieve when they become employed for an organization. They want to be respected; they want to feel as though they are genuinely growing in their knowledge and abilities. They want to feel their talents are growing and they are serving the needs of customers and colleagues. It's like engagement but it's also more than mere engagement. It begins to pay in value because of loyalty - customer and employee - and referrals. It becomes expansive because the reach grows as the organization's reputation does so. It's a healthy place to be.

So I ask you who are managers, governing executives, HR professionals: What are you doing to create an environment that feeds the eight levels of needs? What are you doing to retain your valued workforce? As you map your designs for growth, you want to find yourself providing more than the basics and survival needs. It would be good to supersede the belonging level and start banging your head at versions past esteem. Perhaps qualifying for that growth entails having your people outline not only their plans for self actualization but also how to achieve it economically and so that the costs can be recouped in some way.

And now I turn to those who are employees or job seekers. As you do your research about a company, are you keeping Maslow's hierarchy in mind when it comes to finding an employer who can fulfill at least most of your needs and desires?

Resources:

• maslow's hierarchy of needs
  
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, McLeod, S. A. (2014).
  
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - Wikipedia
  
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Chart
  
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Chart
  
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Chart
  
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Chart
  

Sponsored Links:

• Toward a Psychology of Being
  
• Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad: Breakthrough Ideas for Keeping Your Best Workers
  

A Guide to Sarbanes-Oxley, Part Two

by

Niquette M. Kelcher
October 2002 -- In Part One of this series, we discussed how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act came to be, outlined its major provisions, shared accounting and finance professionals' reactions to SOA, and explained what it means to the accounting profession.

If you missed Part One, click here. Here's what's covered in Part Two:

• How managers can implement SOA into the company culture
  
• How to keep staff members educated and informed
  

How Managers Can Implement SOA Into Company Culture

Creating new laws and expecting companies to follow them is one thing, but efficient implementation of them is another. Clair Raubenstine, former president of the Institute of Management Accountants, emphasizes the crucial "tone at the top."

According to Raubenstine, "Companies need to communicate that they are resisting the pressures of the financial community and setting realistic goals. Don't set goals too high for the sales staff, for instance. Additionally, managers should encourage open lines of communication between management and staff. Management needs to 'walk the talk.'"

Ethics programs, already a staple in many companies but expected to pop up in more, also should be implemented. Raubenstine suggests companies establish ethics hotlines and assign ethics coordinators so employees can report suspected misconduct without penalization. 

"Management has to continually educate personnel what the company rules are and educate people on how their role fits in with the total organization and the overall mission of the department. Employees need to feel like they are a part of the business," explains Raubenstine.

In turn, he continues, finance and accounting professionals need to recognize that there are more penalties that could be imposed on individuals for not properly reporting financial matters throughout the ranks. "Companies will expect more from their employees so management is properly certifying the financial information," says Raubenstine.

Yvonne LaRose, a Business Management and Personnel Consultant for Executive Recruiting Entrances, agrees that managers need to set an example. "Managers lead by how they conduct themselves; their staff takes their cue on what is important and how to do things based on how managers handle situations. Thus, managers should incorporate into their routine a pattern of following good practices," she explains.

Additionally, adds LaRose, "when reports are presented to a partner or manager, there should not be a rubber stamp approval. Managers need to take the time to actually review the document(s) and ask questions about numbers -- and even sources of information -- to ensure that they know what is there. If there are red flag issues, they should be addressed. Staff should be put on notice that those types of issues are important and attended to at the source so that matters are rectified and the problem abated."

In a SmartPros FMN segment, Dr. Jonathan Schiff, professor of accounting, Fairleigh Dickinson University and president of Schiff Consulting Group, gives similar advice. Schiff says financial managers "should have good documentation of plans, as well as programs in place, that try to do more than merely react to what Congress may come up with, or what the SEC may come up with. They need to be more proactive in designing systems of control that are competitive within one's industry and which raise the level of acumen across management."

Free guidance on corporate ethics is available from a variety of associations. Through the IMA, financial professionals can now get free, confidential guidance on ethical issues via the IMA Ethics Hotline. 

"When financial professionals call the toll-free hotline, their inquiries will be forwarded to an experienced ethics counselor, who provides confidential guidance," explains IMA president Margaret Butler. "This hotline is particularly well-suited for small businesses and solo practitioners who need guidance on ethical issues."

The IMA also offers to corporations the use of its Standards of Ethical Conduct for compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Similarly, Financial Executives International encourages companies to adopt its Code of Ethics model (Word doc).

How to Keep Staff Member Educated and Informed

Despite the disruption SOA may cause, the show must go on. Says Wyatt: "As with anything new, accounting firms should encourage reading and study." Companies must continue to perform -- and given the current economy they must perform within a limited budget.

So how can managers ensure their staff is up to speed on the new requirements? SmartPros culled expert opinions and various studies on some cost-effective methods for educating accounting staff members on SOA and related topics.

E-learning.

Webcasts and online continuing professional education are among the most efficient and cost-effective means of staying on top of the profession because companies are spared many expenses by educating staff in the office or at home at their own computers.

Nucleus Research reports that thousands of ongoing return on investment (ROI) studies for Global 2000 corporations indicate that companies adopting e-learning initiatives recognize "first-tier benefits including reduced costs for travel, human resources overhead, regulatory compliance, and customer-support costs." Additionally, second-tier benefits include "improved employee performance that directly impacts profitability." Nucleus found that most organizations could gain significant returns from even modest investments in e-learning technology."

Adds LaRose: "Seminars are an extremely valuable tool in developing a greater appreciation of the terms and nuances of the Act. From these trainings, professionals and leaders will be able to get immediate, first-hand answers to the initial questions -- answers that will build understanding of what is involved and some approaches to responsible attention to details."

Books (hot off the presses)

An entire library of accounting and finance books related to the upheaval of the industry have been published, including material on detection and prevention of fraud, audit committee and ethics handbooks, investor guides, cost management resources and management primers.

Book recommendations from SmartPros:

• The Financial Numbers Game by Charles W. Mulford
  
• Take on the Street by Arthur Levitt
  
• Ethics for CPAs: Meeting Expectations in Challenging Times by D. R. Carmichael, Dan M. Guy, Linda A. Lach
  
• The Audit Committee Handbook by Louis Braiotta, Jr.
  
• Financial Statement Fraud: Prevention and Detection by Zabihollah Rezaee
  
• Paying for Performance: A Guide to Compensation Management by Peter D. Chingos
  
• Valuation of Companies in Emerging Markets by Luis E. Pereiro
  
• Essentials of Corporate Performance Measurement by George T. Friedlob, Lydia L. F. Schleifer and Franklin J. Plewa Jr.
  

Resources:

• Third Party Management for Financial Services, free Third Party Management in Financial Services Illustrated graphic download to visualize and develop an effective approach to managing third party risk in a GRC context.
  
• OCEG Events
  
• OCEG CLE Webinars
  
• OCEG Resource Collections
  

Sponsored Links:

• Building Public Trust: The Future of Corporate Reporting
  
• Fraud 101: Techniques and Strategies for Detection
  
• The Real World of Finance: 12 Lessons for the 21st Century (Wiley Finance)
  
• Chairman of the Board: A Practical Guide
  

A Guide to Sarbanes-Oxley, Part One

It was 2002. As a measure to ameliorate the financial industry atrocities that were revealed, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was adopted. Questions arose regarding its effectiveness, its reach, implementation and adoption. SmartPros dedicated a two-part article to examine the Act and collect opinions and reactions from professionals associated with the industry. Even though 12 years have passed since its implementation and the article has been removed from the SmartPros site, it would serve financial industry newcomers to have a reference point about the "why" of the Act and the early reactions to it.

A Guide to Sarbanes-Oxley, Part One

by
Niquette M. Kelcher
October 2002 -- The groundbreaking Sarbanes-Oxley Act signed into law by President Bush in July 2002 will forever be remembered as the legislation spurred by corporate corruption, crooked CEOs and creative accounting.

In reality, the accounting industry has been heading toward a major reform for many years - it just finally came to a head. Now that it's here, financial executives find themselves at a crossroads, facing the daunting task of implementing major changes in day-to-day operations, while at the same time quickly educating their staff on the sweeping changes brought on by proactive - but also reactive - legislation.

This article provides a concise overview of the many facets of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) including:

• How accounting reform caught up with the industry
  
• Major provisions of the Act
  
• Reaction from the trenches
  
• What SOA means to the accounting profession
  
• How managers can implement SOA into the company culture
  
• How to keep staff members educated and informed
  

How Accounting Reform Initiatives Caught Up With the Industry

It's viable to stretch back to the beginning of accounting as an "industry" to address how this recent reform effort came to be, but all we really need to do to understand this phenomenon is step back into the 1990's - a decade that proved to be incredibly tumultuous for the accounting industry overall, a decade that began with an economic slump and ended at the tail-end of a technology boom - to understand why we are here today.

In former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt's new book, Take on the Street, published this month, he writes about the politically-charged nature of Wall Street during his tenure as SEC chief in the 90's. Levitt, the 25th chairman and also longest-serving, held the reigns at the watchdog agency for seven years under the Clinton administration. A strong supporter of auditor independence, Levitt, who calls himself "pro-investor," constantly battled with accounting firms and the AICPA over the controversial issue, as firms began to package their auditing services with technology consulting.

But it was an incident involving the Financial Accounting Standards Board that Levitt cites as the biggest mistake he made as SEC chief. In the early part of the 90's, Levitt says he persuaded the FASB to soften its stock-based compensation rules because of political and corporate pressures to do so. (Of course, this same topic is in debate today.)

Levitt states that he learned a valuable lesson from this mistake: "Accounting firms were passive when it came to standing up for investor interests," he writes. "[Auditors] failed to rally to the cause of investors and instead supported the demands of corporate clients. They had become advocates. I would forever look upon the accounting profession differently after this episode."

Hence, Levitt began to tout major accounting reform efforts. At the turn of the millennium he left current SEC chief Harvey Pitt with a lot of reformation left to be done, and until Enron happened, the industry was pretty sure Pitt's "kinder" and "gentler" SEC would stem the talk of accounting reform.

However, Enron helped investors see what Levitt realized many years prior - that the self-regulated industry failed to protect them. Consequently, a weak economy and discontent voters pushed Congress to action. Suddenly Levitt's ideas weren't so radical after all; In fact, many of the reforms proposed by him while he served as SEC chairman have been adopted by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, legislation that has yet to show its true colors.

Major Provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Specifically, the new law, as explained in a SmartPros Financial Management Network segment:

1. Establishes an independent auditing oversight board under the SEC;
   
2. Beefs up penalties for corporate wrongdoers;
   
3. Requires faster and more extensive financial disclosure; and
   
4. Creates avenues of recourse for aggrieved shareholders.
   

One of the most fundamental changes for the accounting profession is the creation of the independent Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a non-profit corporation funded by public companies and subject to SEC supervision. At this time the Board has yet to be formed, but it is expected to wield significant power. [See $435,000 Oversight Positions Prove Tough to Fill]

Here are links to in-depth texts on the Act:

• Summary at the AICPA Web site
  
• Overview at the Financial Executives International Web site
  
• Full text (PDF) and SOA timeline at CCBN Regulation FD Center
  

Other articles worth reading:

• Four Significant Accounting Changes of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
  
• Audit Committee and Management Disclosure Requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
  
• Lawmakers Reach Accord on Corporate Reform Bill
  

Reaction from the Trenches

So far, the reaction from accounting and finance professionals in the field has been mixed. Many say it's about time such legislation passed, while others matter-of-factly state that all the legal ramifications in the world won't stop corporate crooks from lying, cheating and stealing.

In a recent survey conducted by CFO magazine, most financial officers voiced opposition to specific reforms. Some 52 percent, in fact, did not believe audit firms should be banned from providing consulting services to clients; 65 percent did not think auditors should be barred from going to work for clients for a specified period; and 52 percent did not think it wise to rotate auditors on a regular basis.

"For CFOs," says Julia Homer, editor-in-chief of CFO magazine, "all of these proposals are just going to make their jobs more time-consuming and expensive."

Gary Wyatt, CPA, a benefits and compensation specialist with Texas-based Travis Wolff Advisors & Accountants, says those accounting firms with a large number of public clients will be dramatically impacted.

"It will change the way they do business," Wyatt explains. "No longer can the financial statement audit be used as a 'loss leader' in hopes of selling more lucrative tax and consulting services. The largest accounting firms will likely lose many tax-consulting clients to each other. Also, high-quality regional and specialty 'boutique' accounting firms may pick up significant new tax and consulting engagements."

Wyatt also believes private companies will feel the effects of SOA: "Even though the Act is generally applicable only to public companies, the principles may eventually spread into 'best practices' affecting auditors of private companies."

William Maslo, an experienced speaker on financial topics with his own CPA practice in Reading, Pennsylvania, agrees. He speaks for the "non-SEC practitioner" who "is fearful that the concepts of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could be adopted by state legislatures to affect non-public companies. The larger firms manage to spin off divisions and operate in a way that, at the end of the day, all is well. But for smaller firms this could spell disaster," explains Maslo.

Rebecca Wallace, a Colorado-based attorney and CPA, says the "Act is most significant for accountants because it takes away accountants ability to regulate themselves . . .. While increased oversight of the accounting firms should help to keep the audits in check, too much SEC control over the process is not necessarily a good idea. The creation of layer upon layer of bureaucracy could lead to inevitable inefficiencies in the end sought by the Act."

Bruce W. Marcus, a consultant in marketing and strategic planning for professional firms and the editor of The Marcus Letter on Professional Services Marketing, says the ramifications of the sweeping SOA "may be more damaging than the conditions they mean to correct."

In a recent article, What Sarbanes-Oxley Will Mean to the Accounting Profession, Marcus highlights the inherent challenges accountants - and accounting firms in particular - now face with the implementation of SOA, including the separation of auditing and consulting services. "Many services are relevant to improving the audit," he argues. To meet the needs of its clients, firms will need to find a way to implement consulting services that improve the audit, such as technology services that improve the flow of financial data, without the "consulting services that flagrantly taint the attest function."

Additionally, Marcus recommends the accounting profession re-examine its partnership structure by "reworking the governance structures for better management, and to allow the outside world to see more clearly how each firm is serving the clients and protecting their shareholders."

Likewise, the profession and those who regulate it should remember it does not operate in isolation to the markets it serves. "The time has come for all professionals to recognize that they exist only in their ability to meet the needs of their clients and the public – and not themselves," says Marcus.

Go on to Part Two and learn:

• How managers can implement SOA into the company culture
  
• How to keep staff members educated and informed

Sponsored Links:

• Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance: It Can't Happen to Us--Avoiding Corporate Disaster While Driving Success
  
• Building a Career In Compliance and Ethics
  

Management Consultants According to the Book

Although we've looked at the duties of a Consultant and considered when to use one, there was nothing that pointed our attention to the official Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) in order to get the official word on what a consultant does. So let's resolve the mystery. Let's turn to the OOH and get more information.

It helps to know where to find it. It's a publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Once you've reached the OOH page, you'll discover there are a lot of ways to explore occupational titles and classifications. You career coaches probably already know about the Handbook and use it to discuss career options with your clients. And during these horrid economic times (complete with lack of jobs in particular titles) you recruiters undoubtedly use it to help your clients discover alternatives to what used to be the right fit for their personnel.

Technology is changing many things. Demand for certain types of work as well as certain types of skills are just two examples.

But we have something specific in mind, a Consultant, so let's examine how to find that classification. We can go to the alphabetical index and select "C" in order to search for our term. Unfortunately, it only lists "Consultants, financial" and tells us to see "Personal Financial Advisors." That's not quite what we had in mind. We want information about a Management Consultant. Sometimes the best thing to do when the answer is too difficult to find is to use that trusty site search box. The Government's works very well; it provides us with quite a few titles that fit our query. The four that are closest are

• Management Analysts
  
• Operations Research Analysts
  
• Human Resources Managers
  
• Administrative Services Managers
  

Each of these titles is slightly different from the others and can sometimes simultaneously serve two or three of the roles defined by the OOH. Fortunately, there's also the last classification, Administrative Services Managers, that can be considered an outside specialist who performs more executive management services on a contract basis an could in many instances be a long-term relationship rather than provide ad hoc support.

The Human Resources Manager principally focuses their efforts on the matters connected with personnel issues. The Management Analyst could also be called the solutions person as they look at more of the internal issues that impact the company's overall financial status. Many times these issues derive from the same source. So it's important to carefully consider what needs to be addressed so that you can identify and retain the right type of specialist and carve out the terms of engagement that most accurately fit your needs.

There's more useful information in the OOH that will help guide you to more satisfying engagements. It's a good idea to explore it even in a limited way so that you have a good starting point for remedying your needs or counseling your clients.

Sponsored Link: The Rules of Management, Expanded Edition: A Definitive Code for Managerial Success (Richard Templar's Rules)

The Elusive Difference, Part 1

[NOTE:First published on ZoomInfo's Insight Report in May 2007, this article is now republished on The Consultant's Desk in order to preserve its access.]

Wow! January 2007 entered with a landmark event. For the first time in U.S. history, a woman took the third most powerful office in the country. Although she’s maintained a stellar track record of being more than capable of handling executive-level decision making, building alliances, enforcing rules, accurate listening skills, as well as speaking and presentation agility, the wisdom of and her ability to serve in that office became a question of the day.

She firmly asserted her having merited the position by unflinchingly making the decisions that were required, based on solid reasoning. She did not waffle. She did not apologize. She did not pander for the typical “soft” persona. Well, maybe she did during her acceptance speech. But in the ensuing days, the gloves were off and the sleeves were rolled up. What the country and the office require is a leader. Nancy Pelosi advanced as one.

Finding Women Candidates - Management and Executive

If there are women in Congress who are as capable as Pelosi, most certainly there are women in all ranges of business who are equally qualified in education and training, decision making, and so on. The question then becomes one of why there are so few women in these positions.

If we use education as a filtering-in criteria, there is definitely a pool of candidates. Out of the more than 12 million women who have earned a Master’s degree or higher (in 2004), compared with only 7 million of their male counterparts, there are only 16 percent who are in Fortune 500 company C-level positions and merely 15 percent who serve on those boards. The other issue is where these accomplished women can be found because, going by the statistics, they really do exist.

Bureau of Labor Statistics analyses of men and women who have completed more than four years of college shows from 1990 to 2004, the numbers are nearly equal, and the gap is closing on an average of 1.85 percent every five years.

One difficulty cited as a reason for not finding qualified women for executive and boards positions is that the pool is too small. Additionally, nearly everyone is vying for the same candidates. It’s important to take off our blinders to means of finding and recognizing qualified talent.

A November 2006 article noted that one of the reasons there are so few women in Fortune 500 and public corporation executive positions is because the process takes so long; it tends to suffocate asserting one’s leadership skills. Women opt for fast-growing smaller, private companies or start their own in order to jettison their progression and exercise their abilities in a more affirming environment.

Importance of Gender Representation

Any good organizational consultant will tell you that having diverse views adds value to an organization’s bottom line. It stands to reason that the more perspectives you add to the mix, the less tunnel vision there is. Eliminate tunnel vision; create vision of not only the goal but multiple goals and diverse paths for achieving any one of them.

It’s been noted that women are excellent listeners, tend to be more empathetic, and are accustomed to handling multiple projects simultaneously. However, another important factor in having a woman’s perspective in executive, decision- and policy-making positions is that she can provide the insights with regard to purchasing power and preferences. In other words, women in representative positions can help an organization recognize unseen advantages and opportunities.

Overcoming the Myths

There are many objections to women’s serving in positions of leadership. It’s amazing we have any at all! But like the disabled, there are those 16 percent who have pushed through the marble ceiling and go to the war table every day. The getting there was fraught with a plethora of objections. Some of them look like:

• They’ve been out of the industry for years while raising kids. They’re no longer abreast of current practices.
• Allowing them to work on flex time and alternative schedules just doesn’t provide the amount of time required to be a real leader.
• Work from home just isn’t workable for executives.

These objections (and others) pander to the stereotypes. These days, maternity leave can be as short as six weeks. The other thing is, there’s now paternity leave that can run for as long as 18 months. Additionally (and overcoming several of the objections to women as executives), a recent University of Maryland study found that over the last 40 years, women are working more hours and have also increased their number of parenting hours while still remaining quite competitive in their field.

The burnout factor of the Internet Bust and accompanying demands for overtime (sometimes as much as 40 hours per week) caused people to start taking a hard look at what’s important. Quality of life won. Work-life balance and flex schedules are equi-gender.

While the objection to working from home may be valid for some types of professions, let’s put this in perspective. The executive who’s a road warrior is just as much a type of work from home/suitcase as the telecommuter. It is doable. Many men are opting for this. Perhaps this road warrior / telecommute personality is one that should be sought.

[go to The Elusive Difference, Part 2]

It's the Little Things You Say

Some employers wonder why they just achieve full diversity in their workplace and then it suddenly collapses when an exodus of five to ten people occurs. The pay is good. The benefits are excellent. The working hours aren't excessive. Work-life balance issues are addressed. There's everything going for the environment. So why are these five to ten people leaving after a year or two? The scenario is repeated year after year, department after department.

Maybe that's the problem. The things that are being held constant but not examined. Undoubtedly, the interviewers are people who have been in the organization for a good amount of time. They've become acculturated. They speak and reflect the culture. That's one of the reasons they were selected to be interviewers. They represent the corporate culture in addition to knowing all of the details about the position and the best fit for it. As interviewers, they don't grill the candidates; they have conversations. They tell anecdotes that are actually open invitations to share information and personality. They relax and begin to spontaneously react to things said by the candidate and then reveal a little more of who they are and why they've been with the company for as long as they have.

There were faux pas during the interviews that the candidate chose not to address or acknowledge. But as time passed, the new employee realized these were not aberrant. These instances are part of the corporate culture and they keep getting repeated in various ways.

Coupled with watching the practices is the listening. The listening started from the moment the phone call reached them for the phone interview and the invitation to come in for a personal interview. The listening was happening as they sat in the reception area and as they made their way through the halls from one office to the next. The listening was happening as they walked into the front doors into the elevator from the commute to the office.

It was the little comments that were made in response to something that was willingly volunteered in order to show how motivated the candidate was. It was an observation that over-reached the situation but simultaneously came crashing down on a particular class of individuals. It was an observation that was basically pandering to some part of the candidate's identity and the observation was completely wrong. They were asked where they expect to see themselves in five years. The honest response was met with a muttered, "Yeah, right." During their tenure with the company, some executive asked them to reserve some time because they wanted to meet with the employee. The employee had been doing the right type of networking and politicking to move into that department and commented to their supervisor that the meeting would hold a lot of opportunity for them. The supervisor's comment was something on the order of, "I doubt it."

One of the things these corporate emigrants realize is that there is no place for them in the higher rungs of the company. They've been there long enough to have watched the various types of personnel who are pushed along and who has been diverted or discouraged from following a particular path. The pattern repeats itself without benefit of gossip nor sniping remarks.

Perhaps there was good follow-up and the candidate was contacted by phone or letter or email. The message was essentially that although the candidate's qualifications and background are exceptional, they simply were not the right fit for the position. Good luck in [your] future endeavors. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Or perhaps there was no follow-up. A person who looks just like everyone else in the company was hired and life just went on. If either of these situations occurred, the candidate who was passed over had little to say aloud. In fact, they may have even forgotten they interviewed at your company. Why? Because of how under-whelmed they were. They were relieved to be out of the way of the sniper shots.

In the alternative, they were hired for some reason. Maybe it was because they are of the ethnicity or gender that was required at that time. But they've reached that exodus threshold and just tendered their resignation. That's when a disappointed at the resignation notice is made and thoughts about losing a worker of that quality are mulled. Where to find more of that type of worker to do exactly the same thing but more of it. After all, that's why they were hired. More importantly, how do you keep them?

"Sam[antha], you're such a great [insert job title]. You're conscientious and hard working. You get things done and don't need a lot of supervision. You're not like the others of your kind. You're an exception. We'd like to keep your kind with us in the family. Is there anything we could do to convince you to stay, to keep doing your exceptional work for us?"

It's about this time the key to the door has been turned and locked. Sam[antha] doesn't need to say anything but will probably respond with, "I don't think so. But thanks."

The Consultant's Duties

One of the reasons a company (or an individual) seeks the services of a consultant is because there's so much on their plate that work is becoming counter-productive. Eventually, the realization manifests itself that someone with expertise in a unique area is needed in order to do the special project while the more routine things are kept on track in the normal flow of operations.

Being a consultant is a role that has many contradictions. While it involves being a person who cares very much about taking care of the needs of others, one needs to be discrete about allocating their energies. It is entirely possible to work on several projects simultaneously or have some at different stages while developing the next. But giving equal attention to every phone call, drop-in visitor, or shriek for help is not possible. The internal, as well as the public task master, needs to discriminate with regard to their time in order to stay focused and be the expert.

It is then the consultant's responsibility to take control of things and lead the client through each step of the process, from the initial consultation, parsing out the needs, determining whether there is a relationship, bringing forth the contract, developing the parts of the project, and generally keeping the client's life livable and under control. Actually, taking the reins puts sanity into the lives of everyone involved.

Call for Assistance

The ball starts rolling with the call for assistance. It's basically a conversation to determine whether you have the right players for the project. This the time when the consultant will be looking for answers to questions. What questions? Things like what is it you do? What do you do best? How do you go about doing this? What do you want to accomplish and why do you need me to help you do it? What have you done in the past? How did that work out?

Screening and Assessing the Needs

These questions serve several purposes both for the client and the consultant. This is a time when the consultant listens very carefully to what's being said and what's not being said. And in regard to the silence on certain topics, there's something being said by implication as to what's really going on and needs attention. The consultant serves as the independent observer who sees more of the picture because they are not part of the picture.

Asking for the Contract

Once the consultant has an idea of what's needed, it's time for them to take control by first outlining what can be done by this specialist. Milestones are worked out. And it's important for the consultant to speak up when the timing is not realistic or the materials too scant. Then the consultant asks the client for the contract that memorializes the terms and a retainer to start the work.

Taking Control

Because of the initial conversations and screening process, everyone has an idea of where they're going in order to reach the recommended solution. But the most important element here is that the consultant takes control of the situation and manages it from the very beginning of the discussions. It's one of the reasons the client reached out for assistance -- because there's so much going on that they've become distracted and have difficulty managing the priorities.

consulting, screening, interview, client management,

Consultant's Recommendations for the Health of All

There are many instances when an Organizational Development Consultant's input is vital to the health of an organization, its constituents, and its employees. With our airwaves, from coast to coast and border to border, being bombarded with news of the horrors of King-Drew Harbor General Hospital, it became mandatory that the knowledge I have regarding the facility, through experience and observation, be delivered to those responsible for its governance. On the last Tuesday of the month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Hearing is open to public comment and testimony (during debate on agenda items) for the Board's consideration before taking a vote on the measure before them. It was time for me to address the body and, during public comment, deliver the information I have.

The Supervisors' concerns focused on having a community emergency care facility in the community. More importantly and especially in light of the shocking story of Edith Isabel Rodriguez, who was allowed the die in the triage area, a safe and competent emergency care facility. To close the facility would cause multiple, grievous hardships on the population and drive up numerous infrastructure costs as well as costs to human lives.

The Supervisors asked many questions of their experts and counsels. They examined numerous documents while in chambers and drafted motions to address the issues and needs before them during session. They acted as a team, as a collective body focused on a single mission. Among the considerations were the alternatives that would be available should the hospital's license be suspended compared with revoked. Also among the considerations were the impact on nearby emergency room facilities, ambulance service, waiting time and so on, should the license be suspended, revoked, or the facility closed. The only view was with regard to multiple failures in the emergency area.

Public comment came after more than two hours of Board deliberations. The sister and brother of Ms. Rodriguez were allowed to address the body. Ms. Rodriguez's siblings emphasized the need for those who need to use the facility in the future know that they will be treated with human consideration and not disregard.

Many others spoke before my name was called. They had very relevant words to add to the picture and things to be considered in regard to emergency care. Some offered their services as resources for evaluating and replacing existing staff. Some had prepared statements as written in briefs that were left for later review but accompanied verbal testimony or comment.

I spoke, not as an emergency care recipient but as a person sent to the facility for routine testing and evaluation and as an independent observer of the conditions at the facility. Those observations showed that the problems with the facility are not isolated to the emergency care. Instead, the issues are systemic.

The Board spoke of having gone through the facility some years ago and discovered they had people who simply did not know their jobs, They were the "F performers," as Yaroslovsky put it, but they didn't get rid of the ones doing D- work. Apparently he spoke of emergency room performers. In my interface with the facility, I discovered staff people who could not tell a constituent where a department or room was located or in which wing of the building they should go to reach it. A technician who saw a patient on one day and injected them with imaging dye did not, on the next day, remember that they had injected that same patient. They then wondered aloud at the puncture wound. Yet the workload was not so high to have caused that level of forgetfulness. And one department had three out of four attendants who appeared to be on heavy anti-depressant medication yet all seemed to be equally responsible for patient management, records, and dispensing of instructions. They did not appear to be in a condition to do these functions unsupervised.

A hospital is a building, nothing more. The things that differentiate it from any other building are the equipment, the personnel, and the type of business it does, and how it does that business. Every part of the facility that I saw was immaculate as far as cleanliness. All of the equipment and machinery that I experienced was in good working order. This relates to the general facility. I did not experience the emergency room nor that area.

While the emergency room at Harbor General is in dire condition, the issues that impact the hospital are more profound. It is the hospital staff in general, the people who work there, who need the evaluation. This is the job of the Human Resources department -- the place where the recruiting, testing, screening, hiring, training, retention, and promotion activities take place. The Human Resources department is also the place where determinations about who needs to be given leave of absence until fit to return to work and perform in a reliable manner, how long that leave should be, that does this type of review. Yet it appears the Human Resources department is not capable of fulfilling those responsibilities.

It also appears the recruiters who are part of the Human Resources department are not capable of finding the qualified talent that can deliver on the promises to the community -- safe and competent care provided by qualified talent at all levels. This is something very important to Supervisor Molina. She wants to know that if she takes her mother to that facility, that her mother will receive competent care and that her mother will be safe.

The Rodriguez siblings made an excellent point during their opportunities to speak. People who use the facility are treated as though they are fungible entities, not human individuals entitled to human rights and dignity. For the most part, it appears the treatment is because people who seek treatment at that hospital are viewed as the poor and indigent because their either have no health insurance or are extremely under-insured. Compounding these indignities, it is apparent in many instances that the constituents are also viewed as being the stereotypical representative of their perceived race and therefore treated as the lowest common denominator of life.

Although one-on-one conversations with facility personnel had polite and humane sounds, there were many subtle suggestions in the way things were said or the terminology used, that the individual held the belief that the constituent was merely another of those in the baseline population. The condescensions were ignored in deference to learning more about the primary issue.

So in my capacity as an Organizational Development Consultant, it was possible to deliver information and testimony to the Board of Supervisors that was sorely needed in order to make a more informed decision about whether to close King-Drew Harbor General Hospital or keep it open. It was possible to bolster their findings in order to also help them determine which alternative is the more advantageous, license revocation or voluntary suspension. And with that bolstered information, they will be able to make deliberate in anticipation of a vote that is in the best interests of handling the issues of the hospital, the community it serves, as well as the impact on surrounding communities and populations.

It was good to once again work with a long-time professional friend. It's always good to be immediately recognized and acknowledged even after nearly a decade of absence in association. Finally, it was good to return to my indigenous state in doing public speaking and address in order to inform, educate, and persuade.

Enforcement of Employment Standards

One of the considerations in Organizational Development is examining employee behavior as it could and does affect corporate image. Many elements are part of the company brand. I've spoken of and identified several of them several times in the past. There's attire, speech, socialization skills, emotional maturity, creativity, problem solving, and leadership, to name a few. And while it's important to allow willing workers to earn a living through gainful employment, whether they have an impairment or not, there is a time to draw the line.

The courts have drawn that line in recent months in regard to business employees. As yet, they are silent with regard to treatment of personnel in an industry that is self governed and where the individuals are self employed.

There have been several rulings on ADA mental illness cases where the plaintiffs said they should have been given more leeway than others because of the unique health condition from which they suffer -- paranoid schizophrenia in one case and bi-polar disorder in another. The plaintiffs argued that they should be protected from punishment because they suffer from a disease just as an alcoholic or drug user suffers from a disease.

In the cases of Sista v. CDC IXIS, So. District of NY. No. 02-Civ. 3740 (2/15/05) and Mammone v. Harvard College, Mass. Supreme Judicial Court, 446 Mass. 657 (5/12/06), the courts were consistent in their rulings. Egregious misconduct is no excuse under any circumstances and the person should be terminated. A recent criminal case, People v. Reynolds considered the death penalty as punishment for the defendant where the situation was very similar. In Reynolds, the defendant also suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and admitted that he knew he had done horrid wrongs for which he deserved punishment. The judge agreed and sentenced him to death because Reynolds was very congizant of the gravity and reality of his acts.

Employment Industry Code of Ethics

This is leading us to look at the codes of ethics that are promulgated by our various employment industry organizations. There are words that talk about how the member will adhere to the rules. However, in none of the codes that I have reviewed do I see any language about what should be done if the rules are violated. So it appears there are no consequences except loss of membership, which is not really a grave loss if you play out the thought process a bit. Membership can be volulntarily discontinued by a member at any time and for any reason. And if the person is not already a member of the organization (or any of the several in the industry), then the attitude will be a very flippant "So what?"

Additionally, there does not seem to be anything that talks about what to do when a non-member performs an act that is unethical and/or harms some member of the unsuspecting consuming public, be it a candidate or a business of any size. What should be done in a situation like this goes unanswered. Who holds this representative of the employment industry accountable for their malfeasance is a matter that goes silently into the dark of night.

Using Mammone as a Barometer

With many interruptions, I've been reading the Mammone case where the court performs its analysis by discussing one case on which plaintiff heavily relied in arguing that he should not have been fired, Garrity. The court says of Garrity, ". . . we conclude that Garrity applies to all employment discrimination cases brought . . ., regardless of the type of handicap underlying the workplace misconduct . . ."

The court looked very carefully at Garrity and discussed the circumstances that brought that case under judicial review. It seems Mammone should not have chosen Garrity as his key argument. Although the reading of the above cite seems to support the argument that a person with a handicap is protected, it reasoned in just the opposite manner. The description was:

Garrity suffered from alcoholism. As part of her employment, she was asked to distribute "chits" to passengers, which could be exchanged for free drinks during flight. When some passengers declined the chits, Garrity, irresistibly compelled by her disease, kept them for herself. After her shift, she boarded a United Airlines flight, paying a significantly reduced employee fare. On the flight, Garrity exchanged the chits for free drinks, "became intoxicated and began drawing attention to herself and to the fact that she was a United Airlines employee." . . . Garrity "demanded excessive service and attention" and complained to and in front of passengers "about how United 'screws us.'" . . . United Airlines terminated Garrity for "violating company policies by accepting 'drink chits' from customers, using those chits while flying on a United pass . . . and for becoming intoxicated" while on the flight.

The court spoke of right to terminate in a situation where there is workplace misconduct (emphasis supplied) and said in one of its citations,

("'[A]n employer . . . must be permitted to terminate its employee on account of egregious misconduct, irrespective of whether the employee is handicapped.' . . . [A] handicapped employee who engages in conduct significantly inimical to the interests of his employer and in violation of the employer's rules . . . is not a 'qualified handicapped person' within the meaning of G. L. c. 151B").

What Manner of Enforcement Where There Is No Employer

In the Garrity case, as with Mammone and Sista, there was an employer, a business, that had in place a code of conduct and could enforce the letter of the employee handbook by terminating the employee for going against the rules. However, a solo practitioner has no such rule book. And if they are not a member of any of the various employment industry associations, they have nothing except their conscience to hold them to any standard of good conduct. In a situation where there is misconduct -- of any type -- who should enforce the rules of conduct?

A Possible Model

The Direct Selling Association has a Code of Ethics that is quite comprehensive. It includes a definition of how to file a complaint for misconduct and the procedure to be used in that instance. If there are any other Codes that have similar provisions, I'd like to know of them. But that's the Direct Selling Association and not any of the employment (or recruiting and staffing) organizations. Still, sales has such a common denominator in regard to recruiting, it makes one wonder why the DSA's code was not used as a model by any of SHRM, NAPS, CPS, or ASA.

Online Conduct and Representation of Industry

Additionally, there is online life. The sole practitioner has a unique space in the employment industry. They are a representative of their own self. Simultaneously, they are a representative of the industry. Although there are times when it seems as though we are simply a lone individual sitting quietly with our thoughts, of one sort or another, in front of a computer, that is not really the case. It may seem we can say and do whatever we want. It is very easy to forget that although we keyboard our words in the solitude of our home office at our computer, the words are going out to the Web where however we conduct ourselves is a matter of public knowledge and scrutiny. We are our own representative, creating our own brand and reputation. And where that repesentation is harmful to the standards of the industry, who steps in and enforces its rules?

But that question presumes that there is an industry standard, a norm, a bar that is held at a certain elevation and everyone in the industry is aware of it, is trained about it, is held to that standard in their doing all manner of business, and completely understand that standard and course of doing business.

Perhaps we should just avert our eyes when one in the employment industry deviates from what is our personal standard of conduct. Unfortunately, that act is a form of tacit confirmation of behavior. It's feeding and rewarding misconduct. But then, if we reward and commend egregious behavior, are we then changing the standards by which industry "professionals" should be held? After all, leading by example is a very real management concept that is used in all forms of life.