Because HR can fake it too

‘Twas the night before the Carnival when all through the web, not a blogger was writing, not even on Twitter.

The posts were written by professionals with care for hopes that the Carnival soon would be here.

The HR Minion was nestled all snug in her bed while visions of laughter danced in her head.

And John Hunter with Habits and I with assistance for a friend, had just settled in for short winter read

When out on the web there arose such sound, I ran to the Gmail to see what was abound.

The carnival had begun to my delight and wonder and the first roll in was Laura Shroeder – Appreciation Awards

Steve Boese was up next, No Twitter for you Mister

Ben Eubanks followed suit with Social Media as a Competitive Advantage

With a post full of sass and punk for the masses, I knew what came next must be Laurie Ruettimann

More frightening than Evil HR Lady Firing with Delay, Lance Haun conjures nightmares with Hiring Clowns.

With their Christmas lists ready, Mary Asmus tells Santa, I have 12 Wishes For Leaders next year

And Paul Smith with his list in hand, visits with Santa on his 2010 HR Wish List

Looking back on trends past, Susan Heathfield combines the decades Top 10 Trends

While Blogging4Jobs shows us the Top 10 Developments of HR for 2009

The HR Store tells us how to Take a Stand, say no to unreasonable demands

Shannon Cross of the Precept Group has a holiday surprise; she’s Giving Healthcare Reform a Big KISS tip on how to do the job

Speaking of jobs, Michael Haberman of Omega HR Solutions hopes those with ethic name aren’t hiding their roots by changing their name and recruiters are behaving by ignoring the names origins

‘Tis the Season to Party says Kathleen Nicolini, just make sure you’re aware that your boss is there

Up next at the Carnival Naomi Bloom suggests we rid ourselves of those pesky RFP’s; a scenario package she says, is the way to go.

Who does Santa Inc call when they need talent? The elves next door along with 25% of other companies according to i4CP

Not only is she the supplier of eggnog, the HR Bartender advises Santa, don’t skimp on the rum and don’t skimp on the referral bonus

Cathy Martin boils it down with Two Little Questions to you what you need to know, for employees and customers in the year to come.

Looking forward as well, Trish has the wisdom of St Nick himself; How to Build the perfect HR Professional for 2010 and Beyond

Not to be bothered by stress, Chris Young of Maximize Possibilities can help you out with 10 Tips for Reducing Stress at your next family gathering

While Vickie Seitner offers tips for the stressed out unemployed elf with Stress Free Holiday Job Hunting

Susan Burns has the secret for how the elves work so well, HR Culture and the Collaborate Workplace that’s how

Lisa Rosendahl as Found a Way with Others in between the black and white

In the spirit of the holiday, the Talent Apps Team, asks Is It Time To Be Optimistic Yet? Not quite yet team, but your outlook is bright

With the posts all covered and included with glee, ‘tis time to conclude the Carnival this week.

Happy Carnival to all, and to all a good read!

A reader writes:

Dear PseudoHR,

We have a problem employee at my office. I work in a professional atmosphere, for the most part. The expected professional behavior is different depending on your boss & your position. That said, the problem employee works in a position that doesn’t require much intellectual professionalism (or a professional wardrobe either).  It does require a modicum of professional behavior.  However, said employee’s behavior and manners go beyond that of crude & inappropriate. The employee insists on discussing sexual topics, makes rude jokes and biting comments, and is overall a very loud disruption. Since management sees her as cheap labor that would cost more to replace, she’s gotten away with slaps on her wrists. New employees are starting to complain about the problem employee.   While my concerns (with this employee) are well documented, the newer employees are hesitant to file a complaint.  They just want it to stop, but don’t want it to be a big deal. Well, this employee would make it the deal of the century. What advice can I give my new colleague? You should know:

1) I have a history with this employee (that is very bad for the problem employee – but not me)

2). I’ve told my shy colleague, this will continue unless she tells her supervisor (& if nothing is done talk to his supervisor).

3) Do not go over your supervisor’s head without discussing it with him first.

4) Document, if & when, the problem employee participates in any type of retaliation.

Sincerely,

Emma Barrassed

Emma, Why is your management team over looking this behavior? Given the number of qualified candidates in the unemployment line, it should be easy to replace this person.  My advice, the employees that are offended by this behavior need to do two things. One, tell this person they don’t care to hear about her sexual escapades, rude jokes or biting comments. Two, document and report the behavior to HR or their immediate supervisor.  Have these people check the employee handbook for the complaint procedures but the typical procedure is HR/supervisor and then the person that bosses their supervisor around.  If the newbies have made a complaint and they are getting ignored, take it up the chain.

It’s very possible that this person is completely unaware of her behavior and how it comes across to others. And she will continue to be unaware if not told.

Anyone else has advice for Emma?

Psst, did you hear who’s hosting the next Carnival of HR?

Me! Woohoo!!

Here’s the scoop on how we’re going to do this thing.

Email me your submissions for the Carnival by December 19^th at PseudoHR@gmail.com Please use Carnival of HR in your subject.

The post will go live on December 23^rd; the extra days will allow time for the forgetful bloggers (usually me) and for me to get out what I have up my sleeve for the Carnival.

That’s it, simple huh? What are you still doing here? Don’t you have a post to write?

1.    It never snows in Alabama in early December. Never.

It snowed last night, not much but we had very nice dusting.

2.  I’ve been studying the SPHR for what seems like six months.

I passed. Hells yea!

3. Florida is playing Alabama in SEC Championship game as I type this.

I publicly admit, I don’t care who wins; see point number two . If Florida does win this game, it’ll be the trifecta and the world might must implode on itself.

It’s been an amazing day already. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

This week wrapped up open enrollment for my office.  I’m busy studying for my SPHR exam this week so I’m going to leave you with some tips I picked up from our open enrollment.

Employee’s – Tell your HR person which system you need a password reset for, odds are you have more than one system they can reset so be specific.

HR peeps – Be prepared to spend your day resetting passwords. I think I reset 50 passwords on the last day of our enrollment

Employee’s – Come to the open enrollment meetings, I promise you’ll learn something. I know they are boring, despite our best efforts; there are only so many make me your beneficiary jokes I can do, just roll with it.

HR peeps – Candy at the meeting. ‘Nuf said.

Employees – Read the information you are provided during and around open enrollment. Those booklets provide you with a wealth of information about your benefits.

HR peeps – Yep, you need to read those too, especially if you are an onsite rep that didn’t have a hand in designing the plans.

Employees – Enroll early so you don’t forget. Odds are your HR person is going to be slammed with other people on the last day, enrolling early gives you time to get your questions asked early. Then you can sit back and giggle at the slackers scrambling to get enrolled at 4:30pm on the last day.

HR peep’s – Be available during open enrollment. Don’t shut your door and hide from the questions, that makes you lame and no one like a lame HR person.

Employees – Talk it over with your family and discuss what benefit options are best for you and yours. I don’t know what medical plan works best for you, I can tell you what works best for me and my husband but your situation might not be the same.

HR peep’s – There will be someone that forgets or had an emergency, that deadline should not be your drop dead date. Plan some wiggle room for the CEO or the mom with a sick kid that forgot; just don’t publish the fact that there’s wiggle room.

Anyone else have some good tips for open enrollment or tips for me on the SPHR?