Approximately one hundred thousand (100,000) Kansans possess an active permit for concealed carry handguns. As one (1) of eleven (11) states that does not require a license to carry a handgun, Kansas continues to see lower rates of applicants for concealed carry in comparison to states with license requirements, such as Florida which has over one million (1,000,000) active permits. From a national perspective, there are over fourteen and one-half million (14,500,000) active concealed carry permits. Between 2012 and 2016, the number of women with permits has increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits.
Ignorant behavior, insulting comments and exclusion can often times contribute to biased discrimination. Biases can appear in many different forms. In fact, most people have a hidden bias which they are not even aware of. Hidden biases can be extremely influential foundations for the decisions we make, affecting our feelings and consequently our actions. When considering the workplace, hidden or not, biases can cause employees to feel unwelcomed and discounted because of one’s race, age, gender, nationality, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status or sexual orientation. Allowing or being unaware of biased discrimination in the workplace can lead to legal action.
Many of our readers have shared laughs while watching the comedic movie, “Office Space”. Has the thought ever crossed your mind if you have a “Peter Gibbons” in your office? Realistically, employees at all levels struggle to provide feedback, particularly tough feedback. Closing the door to this feedback may negatively impact your company culture and bottom line in the long run. Creative Business Solutions has a solution to open the door and create a strategic approach to improved company culture: an Employee Satisfaction Survey.
Conducting employee satisfaction surveys within your workplace can help you gauge employee attitudes and perceptions about the culture of your organization, business practices, leadership/management, as well as an employee’s individual satisfaction with compensation and benefits and the roles and responsibilities of his/her position. Conducting an employee satisfaction survey provides a sense of inclusion for your employees and sends the message that you value their opinions. In addition, employee loyalty comes from employer loyalty and employees need to know that you will support them.
Following are three (3) benefits of conducting employee satisfaction surveys:
When I think of a company dress code policy, a blaring meme pops into my head – “My boss told me to ‘dress for the job you WANT, not for the job you HAVE.’ Now, I’m sitting in a disciplinary meeting wearing my Batman costume.” Hopefully, this specific situation has not occurred within your workplace, but in most organizations dress code compliance is a consistent trend and hot topic, particularly as the weather changes.
The purpose of a dress code policy is to communicate to employees the expectations of the organization. Dress code policies help employers satisfy the goals of comfort, professionalism, safety, brand and the organization’s image. Employees are often seen as the “face” of the organization and employers recognize the importance of impressions made on clients and customers.
In a world where ninety percent (90%) of businesses use social media, the temptation to incorporate the wealth of knowledge available through social media during the recruitment process is growing in popularity. With forty-three percent (43%) of employers actively using social media to screen candidates, the risks of violating a potential employee’s rights increase significantly. This can be concerning as thirty-six percent (36%) of organizations have disqualified candidates based on the collection of data through social media.
Tambra Offield
Officer Manager
East Texas Electric Cooperative
“I first met Kristina Dietrick and learned of HR Partners at last year’s NRECA Interact conference. Her presentation on developing an employee handbook was very informative. Kristina sent me all the materials and introduced me to the staff who worked closely with myself and our General Manager to develop our new employee handbook specifically to fit our needs.
We were so impressed that when our Board President asked about doing an evaluation of our General Manager’s performance, that we immediately thought of HR Partners.”
We can’t thank HR Partners enough for all their help with our GM’s review process. Their knowledge and experience made the process so easy.
I have recommended CBS to all 10 of our distribution cooperative members for all their human resources needs.