In the days following the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, Erin Mitchell Richeson knew a generic employee memo would be an inadequate response. “We didn’t want just corporate speak,” says Richeson, vice president of global diversity and inclusion for Kimberly-Clark, a global paper products company based in
Month: November 2020
One in 4 women are contemplating downshifting their career or leaving the workforce, according to this year’s McKinsey and LeanIn.org annual Women in the Workplace study. “This translates to millions of women leaving the workforce,” said Rachel Thomas, CEO of LeanIn.org in Palo Alto, Calif. “It could wipe out all the hard-earned progress we’ve seen for women
As Thanksgiving approaches, the final weeks of a long and difficult year beckons. It’s only natural that people go in search of feel good moments before we close the door on 2020 and HR teams the world over are excited to provide those moments following a year of difficult decisions, emotional conversations and significant challenges.
When government fails to act, it’s not uncommon for business to lead the way. In recent years, for instance, business has developed ethical guidelines regarding the use of personally identifiable information and GPS tracking data. These are prime examples of a recurring theme: Business leads while government follows. Today, we grapple with issues of social
Business leaders need to ensure that the hiring process is fair to all applicants, yet while many talent acquisition teams now have diversity initiatives in place, they lack strategies for how to find underrepresented minority talent. According to a 2019 survey by recruiting software startup Gem, 50 percent of talent leaders say building diverse teams
On Nov. 12, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced in a press conference that he is officially introducing an initiative to Congress to reform subcontracting. If approved, the proposal would modify various laws, including the Federal Labor Law (LFT), the Social Security Law, the Law of the Institute of the National Housing Fund for
Almost overnight, the pandemic changed priorities for companies around the globe. Eduardo B. de la Garza, chief people officer and senior vice president for Walmart Mexico and Central America, discussed the company’s adjustments to the pandemic with Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, at the
One effect of COVID-19 has been a sharp increase in businesses’ use of remote surveillance solutions to protect corporate resources and monitor the productivity and behavior of employees working away from the office for the foreseeable future. Although such tools can provide valuable performance insights and mitigate data loss and other risks, they can also significantly increase a business’s legal risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the talent acquisition landscape worldwide. Recruiters are now looking for local candidates in a globally connected world, practitioners said at the recent 2020 Talent42 Digital conference, which helps recruiters hire top technical talent. “It’s an incredible time right now in talent acquisition,” said Noelle Hunt Bennett, senior leader of global
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the SHRM Foundation are bringing attention to the workplace contributions of people with autism and intellectual and developmental differences. To do this, they have partnered with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and the Delivering Jobs inclusion campaign. The founding partners of the Delivering Jobs campaign include Autism
The South African government recently published a draft policy on steps employers should take to prevent and eliminate violence and harassment in the workplace. On Aug. 20, Labor Minister Thulas Nxesi released the draft, which falls under the Employment Equity Act. If passed, it would apply to all business sectors in all regions in South
Recent years have seen the business case for focusing on employee experience laid bare, leaving HR teams to focus in on how they can improve it in a quest to drive talent attraction, retention and ultimately, business performance. The role of employee experience in shaping the future of work is massive, but it’s also playing
The newest trade deal among North American countries could give the U.S. economy and jobs numbers a modest boost. But its most significant effects will come in other ways—by preventing the disruption of key trade relationships among Mexico, Canada and the U.S. and by modernizing rules that predate the digital revolution. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
Two recent lawsuits filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are reminders that employers must make reasonable accommodations for deaf and hearing-impaired job applicants or risk violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC sued a Subway sandwich shop franchise in Bloomington, Ind., for rejecting a qualified, hard-of-hearing applicant for a sandwich-maker
As Canada’s most populous province grapples with a second wave of the coronavirus, employers in Ontario now must issue screening questions to workers and essential visitors about COVID-19 before they come into the office. The Ontario government has enacted a mandatory COVID-19 screening tool for organizations and businesses effective Sept. 26. The short questionnaire covers
Internet inequality across America is a big issue for the development of remote and inclusive workforces alike. A recent study conducted by Stanford professors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta shows that only 65% of Americans have internet fast enough to handle remote work demands such as video calls. There is growing concern then
Even as a spike in COVID-19 cases propelled the U.K. government to announce a new national lockdown starting Nov. 5, employers are laying the groundwork in preparation to reopen more fully when possible. They know that implementation of internal testing programs to ensure employee safety is key to a smooth reopening. The U.K. government issued
In a year where a significant number of employers have laid people off, employer branding has taken a hit on platforms where new recruits go to learn more about the company. Glassdoor scores are bound to suffer and LinkedIn pages may reflect dwindling numbers of people. As 2021 rolls around, there is hope that organizations
I’m really looking forward to the next round of performance reviews – said no manager, ever. Endless form filling and the task of fitting appraisal meetings into an already packed diary can make performance management feel like a real chore. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Handled well, the formal appraisal is a
Companies with U.K. workforces may not experience employment-related legal issues if the country fails to reach a trade agreement with the European Union before the Brexit transition period ends on Dec. 31. But the resurgent pandemic is making a smooth transition more difficult. Employers may want to take certain steps now, especially given immigration uncertainties.