Spokesman Review Column for May 1, 2011
Charade of Jobless Claims Must be Stopped
I have what I think is a brilliant idea to save the state of Washington a whole lot of money. Plus this idea has an added bonus of reducing the amount of paperwork Washington employers need to review and respond to. My idea? Close the state unemployment office. Yes, close the whole thing down.
Don’t panic! People would still receive unemployment checks just like they do now. But the savings to our stretched budget would come when they eliminated all those positions which review the applications for unemployment. It seems rather odd to have all these humans reviewing applications, asking employers for their side of the story, but then awarding benefits to the former employees almost every time. So why bother with the review at all?
Of course I realize there are hard-working, caring, sincere people in these jobs, just like in any other. But policy is no respecter of persons, and some examples of egregious benefits I‘ve heard lately include:
• An employee who quit to take a better job received unemployment from the former company nearly a year down the road when the new job did not work out as planned. So the employer they left of their own accord got their account drawn on, through no fault of their own.
• The person quit because they did not realize just how hard they would have to work. They did not understand that they would be expected to come to work every day, stay all day and be on time. It was just too hard to live up to that level of expectation. They got unemployment, even though they quit.
• You hired someone to a position that has very clear performance measures. The hiring and interviewing process made all of that clear. They made it through the 90-day probation and performed just above the minimum for a while, but then began to consistently fall short. They were terminated and received unemployment because the job was too hard.
• The employee was fired because he was absent more often than present. The company has a clear standard in the employee manual about attendance, but when the worker was given a written warning, he seemed a bit shocked and promised to make it to work more often. He didn’t, and the employer received notice the worker had applied for unemployment. The employer sent copies of the manual, written notices and the former employee’s acknowledgement of these materials, but the person still received full unemployment benefits.
• Every staff person signed a code of conduct when hired and received a copy for their use. Down the road one employee clearly violated the code and was fired with cause. That person filed for unemployment. The employer stated their case with all the necessary documentation. The former employee received full unemployment because the state decided the person was not fired for cause.
I spend a lot of time with people who deal with this frustration on a weekly basis, and it is a popular topic of conversation these days. As employers we have just about given up because the system is so stacked against us. We see little reason to fight at all, because we never seem to win. Why bother to set clear expectations and perform reviews when there is so little accountability in how benefits are awarded?
That is why I think closing the office would be a great way to save some taxpayer money. They don’t check to see if people who receive benefits are turning down jobs, and just about everyone gets benefits, so why not come to grips with just how little accountability there is? And stop the charade.
I know my tone is sarcastic, but many of us feel a growing frustration with bureaucracy in all levels of government. Common sense and logic seem the first fatalities in some departments. Just don’t get me started on the permitting/review process of our state agencies.
A solution? Leadership needs to listen to business. Government needs to know just how frustrating it is to do business with them, and then make changes. Listening is great, but listening with no action just adds to the frustration.
Spokesman Review Column for May 1, 2011
Absence Makes the Holes Grow Clearer!
Last fall two of my managers asked if we could have lunch. They wanted to hammer out a changed procedure and thought we could do it better away from the office. That is not unusual; we are good at moving off site to get stuff done. But they made sure to meet me at my favorite lunch place. I got there first, coming in from another meeting, and they turned up with a gift bag for me. Wow, how nice!
Inside that bag were two teddy bears with little printed tee shirts that said “I can’t wait to meet my mom’s boss in April of 2011!” Two bears, two managers, Oh My! Someone was having twins! Nope, they were both due within days of each other. Mariah and Elea, two key people, both on maternity leave. Oh swell. But it gets even more interesting!
In the beginning, Elea, who is our BBB Vice President, and I had thought long and hard before we hired Mariah—because she is the wife of another key staff person—to join the team. There are all sorts of reasons not to go down that road, but this case was special. This husband and wife had worked together before in a strict corporate setting and she brought a skill set and work ethic to our team that was extremely attractive. They would be in different departments and after much discussion with the entire staff we offered Mariah the position. Finding those bright and talented young professionals is not as common as one would think, especially back when unemployment was hovering at three percent.
Of course, she quickly rose through assorted positions into a leadership role. Now Mariah and her husband Andrew are both part of the BBB management team in a small office of 24 individuals. And Elea, Andrew and Mariah were all pregnant.
I was beginning to feel like the commander leading her troops up the hill, only to turn around and see nobody behind me! Yes, the BBB has a great team dedicated to the work we do, but these three are the ones who keep everyone moving in the right direction; they keep the wheels on the bus so to say. Yikes! Andrew is the one everyone goes to with their computer problems, and all three of them were going to be gone for two weeks and two of them for six weeks.
Well, I have just survived the two weeks and that certainly was an interesting journey. When people are gone from the organization, the holes and opportunities become very clear. It has been an eye opener. I would not recommend this to anyone; it is quite disruptive and frankly feels lonely and weird, but I did learn many lessons:
• It is critical to set goals and ensure all the staff knows where we are going and what their part in that trip will be.
• Things that are not urgent or important can wait. It is not fatal to tell someone “Sorry, that will need to wait until June!”
• Murphy and his law know when you are thin on staff and all sorts of IT problems, building problems, and staff problems will wait to happen until everyone is gone.
• There are those who will take advantage of their direct leader’s absence.
• Reviewing procedures every so often will show that some of the things we do as an organization may have a historical precedent, but they are no longer necessary or efficient.
• When there is a gap, there are those who will rise to a leadership that you did not even know was possible.
• Some people are so focused in their position and production that they find it difficult to see the big picture.
• Staff members really care about each other and the success of the business.
• Managing and leading are very different skills and I do not think you can teach leadership.
• Things you may find frivolous or unimportant are actually critical to staff morale and you need to be sure someone is caring for that factor.
I was so glad to see Andrew return last week; I wanted to have a parade! The whole staff was just as relieved. But the most fun in all of this is we now have two baby boys in the BBB family. And the day Andrew and Mariah went to the hospital to have that baby, just like the day that Elea and Josh went in, well; there were 20 other people in the office having that baby too. What a way to welcome spring!
President’s Message Archives
Health care starts with us
by Jan Quintrall, President/CEO, BBB jquintrall@spokane.bbb.org
for the Spokesman Review, 5/30/10
No matter where you stand on the health care debate, I think most of us agree that Americans are not doing a good job of taking care of ourselves. The percentage of obese people, the out-of-shape recruits into the military and the problems with inactive, computer-addicted children—they all come at us like rolls of fat. It is not a pretty sight. Our physical woes add up to just one more example of the erosion of personal responsibility, of us not taking care of us.
I have always been a preacher of balance in life, and that the higher you rise in your career, the more difficult it becomes to create and maintain that balance between home, family, work and self. But if we are not caring for ourselves, how can we expect to offer the best in any other area of our lives?
In September of 2008 my husband and I, after months of training, completed the near 200 mile Coast to Coast walk across England. Since then we have walked to the kitchen and into great restaurants as our aerobic activity and it shows. So when the Spokane Club board of trustees challenged each other to get back in shape, seven of us committed to get fit. We set goals and went through a fitness assessment, body fat measurement and offered up several hundred dollars, to be paid to the overall winner. We started January 1 and the contest ended with Bloomsday. In the beginning, none of the participants were in horrid shape, or so we thought. I felt I was in fairly good shape, but my cardio-lung health was only fair and my body fat percentage was, well, embarrassing!
The staff at the BBB has been watching this contest and listening to me talk about where I am in my quest to reach and exceed my weight and fitness goals. Their interest offered me an opportunity to get them on the bandwagon too! The healthier they are, the lower our use of insurance will be and that should translate into lower premium increases for our benefits. So, the BBB tossed some money into the pot, the participants too had a small buy in and I purchased pedometers for everyone who signed up. I really thought the pedometers would show each individual just how active or sedentary they had become. And, each person went to a trainer at the Spokane Club to have a full fitness assessment, including that ever-popular body fat measurement.
Each week staff participates in a fitness group meeting. They have number of step contests, share healthy recipes and challenge each other to simply get moving. The BBB contest will not end until the middle of July, but we have some folks who have already lost more than 15 pounds. And I have really noticed a difference in the snacks people bring in to share. Donut sales in the west end of downtown have seen a steep decline! Just the practice of writing down everything you eat is a real eye opener.
Back to the now complete Spokane Club board contest—This is a highly competitive bunch. At one board meeting a couple of us arranged for a special treat for Greg Bever, editor of the Journal of Business. As a participant, we knew Greg was off to a great start, so of course we wanted to undermine him. While the salad was being served to all the other trustees, Greg was presented with a huge platter of chili cheese fries! I had fellow board members leaving me cookies at the desk I passed when I completed my work outs. It was brutal!
But an amazing thing happened as this contest continued. We all saw such a change in energy levels and mental health. To a person, we are all feeling so much better and can’t imagine going back to our old bad habits. I cannot reveal the winner yet, but we all won in a way. And nobody did some crazy “Just eat pomegranates” diet or extreme work out routines. We simply took responsibility for what we put in our mouths and what we did to invigorate and improve our bodies. Collectively we lost more than 100 pounds and added who knows how many years to our lives. Talk about health care reform!
Weigh risks, rewards when serving on boards
by Jan Quintrall, President/CEO, BBB jquintrall@spokane.bbb.org
for the Spokesman Review, 5/16/10
There are many things I wish had paid me a nickel at each occurrence. Nigerians informing me they want to send millions, winning the Canadian Lottery, and being notified by someone in Spain that they represent a long lost relative whose passing leaves me wealthy…Speaking of wealthy, just these three events and that nickel a time would send me into a whole new tax bracket.
But another one is the Board of Directors I have counseled and presented to who has no idea what kind of responsibility serving on a nonprofit board brings to them as individuals. Usually these encounters with me are after something has gone very wrong. Sadly, many well-meaning business people head off to board service without knowing what they are getting into. When asked to serve, many of us are so flattered that we forget to ask the questions should:
1. Is Directors and Officers insurance in place and what are the limits of that coverage?
2. Does the nonprofit engage in any activities that require special protections?
3. Are there any open or pending lawsuits against the organization?
4. May I have a copy of the bylaws and any planned revisions?
5. Could I have a copy of the latest audited financials and the most recent monthly financial statements?
6. Please provide an outline of what is expected from board members including any financial commitments.
Two other items of importance: If asked to serve by the executive director, arrange to talk directly with the board chair too. And, when, you meet with the chair of the board, ask about the status of the executive director, because a change at that level puts a real burden on the board.
Organizations in trouble usually have financial challenges. I understand that hindsight is 20-20, but wow, there are several examples I can reference that the board, had they been paying attention, should have seen coming. So what are the red flags of an organization on the edge of trouble?
1. Financial reports that defy logic.
2. Way too much staff involvement in preparation of the financial reports without any outside audit or review.
3. Lack of transparency between the board and the staff.
4. An executive director who drowns the board in meaningless tasks and discussions while the big issues are avoided.
5. A board that, over time, has evolved into a group of people who contribute little but are friends or blind supporters of the executive director.
6. Lack of internal controls that result in repeated theft and staff issues.
The one revelation that always brings the deer-in-the-headlights-look to boards in trouble is the news that in some cases they are individually financially responsible for debts and actions of the nonprofit. I recall one case where the nonprofit was about $100,000 in debt, including a check due to the IRS. The entire executive committee were signers on the checking accounts, which is not unusual, but they had no idea what a boogie man was under the bed. Because they had financial control (as all boards do) over the organization, and did not satisfy the IRS payroll taxes, they could be held responsible for the money owed. The evening I delivered that news, it was the last time I saw half those board members. Resignation letters were sent and they disappeared into the night. But, because they were on the board when the debt was incurred, they were still responsible.
When a nonprofit gets sued, the board is often listed in the suit, as they ultimately control the organization. The BBB with its vocal stand against bad actors gets sued across the US and Canada on a regular basis, and we carry special Media Perils insurance to protect us and the board from such legal action.
Now I am not trying to scare people away from board positions, far from it! Serving on the board of a well-run organization can be one of the most fulfilling things you can do professionally. And, as business people, serving a mission for a change can really recharge those batteries. Just be sure you know what you are getting into and that safeguards are in place to protect the board as well as the staff.
Pulse of the region's economy seems to be getting stronger
by Jan Quintrall, President/CEO, BBB jquintrall@spokane.bbb.org
for the Spokesman Review, 5/02/10
The BBB Board of Directors is made up of business owners from all three states we serve: Idaho, Montana and Washington. The Board represents our business community and is correspondingly diverse, from the owner/operators of very small companies to the CEOs of very large businesses—in 18 different industries.
Since this group only gets together five times per year, the beginning of each gathering is devoted to a pulse check—How is business? How does the future look? What did the last several months bring you? What are the new challenges? How is the economy in your area/industry? Everyone listens with great interest, and lately we’ve been anticipating nuggets of good news. So, what did our last pulse check tell us?
At our most recent Board meeting, I noticed that the way we measure success is changing. People were using employee-related numbers.
The best news was presented as adding staff. This was the final step for many, and they spoke of things like removing someone from unemployment. To a person, you could see the quiet celebration at such news. Everyone in that room knew more than one family hurt by this recession and the loss of a job.
In many cases, adding another person or two was seen as lightening the load for existing staff. Other comments with a positive spin had to do with eliminating wage freezes, stopping forced days off, reinstating benefits suspended for economic reasons and adding hours cut to save money.
The second best news was a return to profitability. That is the first step before any business starts looking to expand much of anything. But in a number of cases, that profitability needs to continue for several more quarters just to get companies back to where they were now nearly two years ago.
When our banker and our contractor spoke, everyone moved forward in their seats. They know much of this recovery hangs in those two sectors. So many of the lost jobs are construction-related, and until there is money to lend, construction will suffer. This matters to everyone in our board room, and we have been hearing nothing but caution and stagnation for well over a year. Not this time.
The banker and the contractor reported that they are seeing money loosen up, and that secondary markets have funds to lend. The melt-down in commercial real estate that many predicted does not seem to be materializing and that is good news.
I am no economist, but activity in the industries people are asking the BBB about indicates that people are beginning to spend money on their homes, automobiles and financial services. More people are checking bbb.org to get the business rating on companies before they buy, and that is good news too--just one more indication that people are beginning to come out of the fog and invest in life again.
While all of this is encouraging, I have yet to find anyone who thinks we will ever go back to the heady days of 2006-2007, and few think we should. The more we read about Goldman’s part in the housing meltdown, the less anyone wants to see such greed and excess return in any form. But getting people back into the workforce is a goal we can all get behind. Unemployed individuals are reinventing themselves, and are ready to get back to work.
It’s going to be tough out there for a while. There are large numbers of applicants for most jobs, and many with a whole lot of experience. We have a couple of work study students here at the BBB, both graduating from college soon. Sadly, they are going to be really challenged in the job search. But there is a glimmer of hope out there, as our new business gauge indicates that one-third of the people on the BBB Board are adding staff. And that is truly an indicator of the new economy. Great news!