Write a Note.
Take the time to write a note to employees who you feel have stood out this year. List specific actions and achievements that those employees have accomplished and how they have made things better for someone else or the company in general. Also, take the time to express appreciation for any personal-related help in your note. If an employee has helped you out with a personal emergency or covered work for you while you were out, express your thankfulness for his or her help.

Throw a Thanksgiving Party
Company holiday parties are common but they are typically geared towards Christmas. Consider hosting a smaller Thanksgiving party. The purpose of this party is to show your employees you appreciate them so try to avoid making your employees responsible for cooking or bringing dishes. Consider cooking yourself or catering to emphasize the fact that the party is for the employees to show them that they are valued. Find some time to speak during the event and express your thanks and gratitude to your employees for their work this year.

Give your Employees a a Thanksgiving Treat
Employees always appreciate rewards and gifts, no matter how small. Think about presenting movie tickets or a Team Donation to a Non-Profit. Remember to share your branded, corporate merchandise like T-shirts and coffee mugs. But gifts don’t always need to be monetary.

Provide a New Training and Development Opportunity
External training and development sessions are a benefit to both the employee and the company. Most employees enjoy getting out of the office for a day and breaking up their normal routine to attend a training session. The employer benefits by the improved skills of its employees. Find a training session that you feel is appropriate and announce the opportunity to your employees around Thanksgiving.

From the Entire National Screening BureauTeam: Happy Thanksgiving!

Without job fit, how can employees ever experience happiness and success in their work? Everyone deserves the opportunity to work to achieve their full and highest potential.

What is Job Fit?                                    

It’s the degree of congruence between an individual’s strengths, needs, and wants in a particular job, and work environment. When interests align, the employee and the organization experience a good job fit. Based on identifying innate personality traits, abilities, and behaviors, assessing for job fit determines if a person CAN do a job, HOW they will do a job, and if they will ENJOY the position. Every individual is motivated and driven by different influences. Job fit outlines the unique job-related qualities that make a person productive.

Why You Should Establish Job Fit

Did you know that employees who are well matched to their jobs are 2.5 times more productive on the job? Studies show that proper job fit improves engagement and job satisfaction, resulting in increased productivity, while negative factors such as job-related stress, tension, workplace conflict, and costly employee turnover diminish.

Organizations with a philosophy of matching people to jobs have a competitive advantage over their competition. Having followed 360,000 people through their careers during a period of 20 years, a major study published by Harvard Business Review demonstrated that key ingredient in retaining people is ensuring that they are matched to their jobs in terms of their abilities, interests, and personalities.

The study found that when you put people in jobs where the demands of the job matched their own abilities, where the stimulation offered by the job matched their particular interests, and where the cultural demands of the position matched their personalities, staff turnover decreased dramatically, and productivity increased drastically.

NATSB specialists have over 20 years’ experience in working with organizations implement Job Fit into their hiring and retention practices with favorable results.
Want to learn more? Placing the right people in the right positions will make a positive impact within any organization. Right Fit is an advanced, state-of-the-art solution available for measuring human potential and predicting job performance. To learn more, contact National Screening Bureau: 877-263-4405 or will@natsb.com.
Will Stricker
Assessment Specialist

The following is an excerpt from article by Jared Bernstein that appeared in the Washington Post on 1//27/2015

The Paths to Full Employment, Path 1: Fair-hiring practices for those with criminal records

One way to help these people get a fair shake in the job market is to “ban the box.”

The “box” is a checkbox on job applications that asks about an applicant’s criminal record. Banning it does not — I repeat, does not — demand that background information be kept from employers; surely there are jobs and occupations where such information is relevant. But the idea behind “fair chance” hiring practices like ban-the-box is that applicants with criminal records should not be disadvantaged on the initial application.

In later stages, employers should of course be free to ask potential hires about their records and conduct background checks. But ban-the-box provisions move that activity to a later stage of the interview process, after employers have developed impressions of candidates from meeting them and learning about their qualifications and skills.

NELP recommends, and I agree, that the background check come late in the game, ideally after a conditional offer of employment (which, to be clear, is the way it’s often been in my own experience, even at the White House — the background check is a formality after the job offer).

It’s a simple ask. Say an employer looks at two initial applications and sees that box checked in one of them. Most of us would toss that application and pursue the other. The goal of banning the box is thus to “ensure that employers take into account other important factors when considering an applicant’s conviction history, including the age of the offense, the relationship of the individual’s record to the job duties and responsibilities, and evidence of rehabilitation.”

This fair-hiring work is relatively new, but the available data suggest the policies are helping. In Minneapolis, postponing the background check until after a conditional offer of employment “resulted in more than half of applicants with a conviction being hired.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/27/the-paths-to-full-employment-path-1-fair-hiring-practices-for-those-with-criminal-records/

We at NATSB are wishing you a safe, sober holiday. During the holiday season, employers and workers frequently get together to unwind and celebrate. Typically, workplace parties involve plenty of food and drinks. However, if the drinks include alcohol, there is potential for unfortunate consequences.
Whether alcohol is permitted at workplace parties or other company-sponsored events is an individual decision for each company to make. If alcohol is present, it makes good sense to take precautions to help prevent workers or guests from becoming intoxicated and to discourage impaired driving.*

Tips for Safe Workplace Celebrations
If employers decide to provide or permit alcohol at a workplace event, they can take steps to help ensure a safe and sober holiday party season – while still creating an enjoyable and festive atmosphere. The following are some ways to minimize potential negative repercussions.

Be honest with workers. Make sure workers know their employer’s drug-free workplace policy and how it addresses alcohol use in work-related situations and social functions.

Post the policy. Use different communication vehicles to ensure employees understand the policy. Prior to a party, use company bulletin boards, e-mail, and/or paycheck envelopes to publicize the policy and any rules specific to alcohol use.

Reinvent the party concept. Why have a “traditional” party? Consider trying something new like an indoor carnival, amusement park outing or volunteer activity.

Make it a party of choice. Always make plenty of non-alcoholic drinks available.

Make sure workers know when to say when. When alcohol is served at an event, make sure all employees know that they are welcome to attend and have fun, but are expected to act responsibly.

Eat…and be merry! Avoid serving only salty, greasy or sweet foods, which make people thirsty. Serve foods rich in starch and protein, which stay in the stomach longer and slow the bloodstream’s absorption of alcohol.

Designate party managers. Remind managers and supervisors that even at a party, they may need to ensure that everyone adheres to their drug- and alcohol-free workplace policy.

Arrange Alternative Transportation
Anticipate the need for alternative transportation for all party goers and make arrangements in advance. Encourage workers to make use of available alternatives, such as designated drivers, if they consume alcohol.

Serve none for the road. Stop serving alcohol before the party officially ends.

*Although commonly used, the phrase “drunk driving” is not a legal term. Rather, “impaired driving” is used because it better describes the realities of drinking and driving—when someone consumes alcohol, even at low levels, his/her ability to drive is impaired even though there may be no obvious signs of drunkenness.

Consult Applicable State Laws
Remember, if employers provide alcohol at a workplace function, they should consult state laws regarding its use and the resulting legal responsibilities. In addition to the safety concerns, improper alcohol use can expose businesses to civil liability under tort laws. For example, a business may be held liable if a person consumes alcohol at a company-sponsored party and subsequently causes an accident or injury.

Keeping Workplaces Safe All Year Round
While the holidays serve to remind us about the perils of impaired driving, employers have a vested interest in keeping employees safe all year round. After all, accidents and injuries to employees, whether on or off the job, impact businesses through increased absenteeism and the use of health benefits. So encouraging safety before, after and, especially, during work makes good sense.

Businesses that maintain drug-free workplace programs generally have effective channels for sending messages about drug- and alcohol-related dangers – including impaired driving. They can incorporate related messages into regular worker education sessions, newsletters, payroll stuffers or workplace displays.

For those organizations that do not have a drug-free workplace program, NATSB offers a Drug Free Workplace Kickstarter, a valuable resource that offers guidance on developing one. Contact us for more details.

Remember, safe roads and workplaces are everyone’s business. This holiday season, and all year long, employers are encouraged to send workers a safe and sober message about workplaces and drinking.