Employee Relations, Communication and Precision

Researching federal employee relations case law can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. And communicating findings effectively can sometimes be even more challenging for human resource professionals.

When I am developing an action that is new or has a twist we had not encountered before, you can find me combing cases.

Yet, I drew a complete blank when I was recently asked about decisions I encountered that changed my recommendations.

A complete blank. What's that all about? Could it be that I am not as diligent as I could be? That I don't know the case law? Say it isn't so.

It isn't so.

What is so is that I realized I may not be on the lookout for changes in the "routine" landscape as often as I should be and my speaking around case law is not always all that it could be.

Knowing the decisions of third parties like the federal Merit Systems Protection Board and understanding the rationale for those decisions is absolutely necessary for expert advice and informed decision making.

Did you know that:

• For the first time, the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled that the prohibition against imposing discipline more than once for the same misconduct may be waived in the context of a last chance agreement.

• Although we (I) may use the term freely, the prohibition against "double jeopardy" applies only to criminal charges and not administrative disciplinary cases.

• Disciplining an employee more than once for the same misconduct is different than imposing more than one penalty as in compound or unified penalties.

Ok, you know it. Do you really? Ok, you do. But let me ask you this, how did you speak it? The complexities, the contradictions, the conditions . . . oh my.

The one word that comes to mind for me right now when I consider employee relations, human resources professionals and our day to day communication is precision.

I know I could use a little more precision in my HR speak, how about you?

Photo credit iStockphoto

Girls and Math: A Day in the Life Sunday

"'Math is hard,' a talking Barbie infamously whined.

And math is tough for many people, but a new study from the Girl Scout Research Institute finds encouraging news about girls' interest in (and confidence about) science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Actually, the widely-repeated Barbie quote above is incorrect; she really said "Math class is tough." And like the Barbie quote, the perception that girls don't feel smart enough to do math (or aren't interested in it) isn't quite true either: The study finds that 74 percent of teen girls are interested in STEM subjects."

Until this morning, I had not read these words in the Discovery News article, Girls Confident in Science and Math. I wasn't aware of the article and the findings until I Googled "girls math 2012 news."

Why in the world did I Google this? It's all about the kid.

The kid was in her first Math Masters competition last weekend. 24 teams of 4 students from 12 schools participated in individual and team events. Typically, one team from our middle school makes the top 3 - which one would it be?

Individual events, team events, kids huddled over papers and calculator keys clicking away every student in the gym that morning gave it their all.

In the minority, our girls made a strong showing. I wasn't at the event but when I heard that one of her teammates won the Fact Quiz I was psyched, go girls! When the kid and her team placed 3rd place out of 24 teams I said, "That's my girl!"

I was thinking "go girls" but the very cool thing about kids at this age, is that they were not. They were thinking and encouraging each other with, "Go Tarah!" "Go Elizabeth!" "Go Eli!" "Go Ethan!" They don't see gender stereotypes or they don't see societal pressures. They see confidence, competence and challenge. They see friends.

I am so thrilled that the schools offer these opportunities for our children and want to acknowledge the the educators who devote their time beyond the school day, the community of parents who support our children and the students themselves for being better to each other than we as a society can be to ourselves.

The article notes that while there are still bumps in the road for women in STEM careers, the future has never been brighter.

I agree.

Photo credit: Piscataways Schools