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As a follow up to the discussion today, this may be of assistance. Michell=
e -----Original Message----- From: =09Lighthill, Sandra =20 Sent:=09Wednesday, September 12, 2001 2:25 PM To:=09Cash, Michelle; Hope, Valeria A.; Johnson, Rick Subject:=09FW: SPECIAL EDITION ... The EmploymentSource Newsletter FYI and akin to our meeting this morning. Sandra -----Original Message----- From: =09Employment Practices Solutions <eps@epexperts.com<@ENRON [mailto:I= MCEANOTES-Employment+20Practices+20Solutions+20+3Ceps+40epexperts+2Ecom+3E+= 40ENRON@ENRON.com]=20 Sent:=09Wednesday, September 12, 2001 1:05 PM To:=09EPS@list.epexperts.com Subject:=09SPECIAL EDITION ... The EmploymentSource Newsletter [IMAGE] The EmploymentSource Newsletter=20 SPECIAL EDITION Our Mission is To Help Employers Enhance Employee Relations While Minimizi= ng Employment Claims. Please forward this newsletter to your friends and co-workers. To subscri= ber or unsubscribe, see bottom of newsletter. We at EPS share our grief and prayers with our fellow Americans in the wak= e of the terrorist attacks. We offer our condolences to those of you who = have lost loved ones, friends, or colleagues. This tragedy has touched eac= h of our lives While focusing on business-as-usual is difficult right now= , we are moving quickly to adapt to the needs of our clients. We are addin= g special segments to our HR classes to address organizational response an= d workers' reactions to the crisis, and we will continue to work to meet y= our special needs. We are committed to providing a compassionate resource = should you need one. What NOW? Kathleen K. Edmond, Esq., MBA, LICSW Employment Practices Solutions, Senior Consultant, Minneapolis/St. Paulke= dmond@epexperts.com=20 (800) 727-2766 =20 Soon, very soon, we will all need to get ourselves and our companies back = to business - whether we are ready or not. How can we do this in a way t= hat is respectful and helpful, but at the same time doesn't create issues t= hat do not exist? First, understand that we are all affected. Not just those of us who had= family, friends, co-workers, or neighbors in New York, Washington, or who= were passengers on the airlines. Our world has permanently changed. Th= is is not a dramatic overstatement. It is simply the truth. We cannot und= o what happened yesterday but we can influence how we deal with the change= and how we can be stronger as a result of the horrible attack on our coun= try, our safety, and our sense of security yesterday. Let me simply make a list. I apologize if this is not Pulitzer Prize mat= erial. Timeliness is the most important factor at the moment. =20 Speak to the organization. Pull management together first to discuss the= ir responsibilities as managers and give them guidance. Acknowledge their= dual roles as managers in the organization and individuals with personal = feelings. While it will take time to absorb the full impact of what has = happened, it will be necessary to get back to the business at hand. =20 Depending on the size and configuration of the organization, talk to every= one as a group. Either get them together in person, a group e-mail, voice= mail, teleconference - whatever means are available to you. At this point= it is most important to let people know that we are all stunned but that = we are pulling together. It is not important to have all the answers rig= ht now. Communication will continue. =20 Acknowledge that our world is now different. The sense of safety and sec= urity we had before September 11th is gone. We must each individually and = organizationally replace that with something different. =20 Acknowledge that individuals will respond and recover at different paces. = Some will want to get back to work as quickly as possible to regain their= sense of normalcy and control. Others will have difficulty focusing for = a long time. Most likely it will be sporadic and not a constant inability= to focus. This is a very normal response to a crisis. =20 Depending on your organization and the level of direct impact, you may cho= ose to bring a professional counselor or team of counselors on site for a = day or longer. They can conduct group processes and individual counseling= . =20 Another possibility is a chat room where employees can share their experie= nces, feelings, and have a place to vent. The question will arise, how l= ong should the chat room be operational. For right now, don't set a time l= imit, but review it in a couple of weeks or a month. If participation is = decreasing (which I except that it will in a month), determine a date to c= lose it down and make an organizational announcement to that effect. When= closing it down, don't go dark without notice. Just let people know tha= t it is time to end that part of the recovery process. =20 Allow people to talk periodically during the day. The need for the amoun= t of discussion will change over the next weeks. In the next day or so pro= bably little work will get done. But by the end of the week and certainl= y next week, business will resume. =20 Consider allowing employees additional personal time off for memorial serv= ices, blood donations, or other community-focused recovery events. =20 Remind people to use your Employee Assistance Program, company counselors,= health benefits, religious leaders, and other local counseling resources = as available. Have someone in the organization pull together a resource l= ist of local and organizational telephone numbers for employees and their = families. =20 Talk about the impact on your specific business and what effect if any it = has on your company. Maybe it affects your communications, transportation= , distribution, or some other aspect of your operations. =20 If members of your corporate family have been killed in these attacks, con= sider a memorial service later this week or next for all employees to atte= nd, whether they personally knew the individual(s) or not. =20 Assure them that business will go on, subdued perhaps, different in some w= ays, but there will be continuity. =20 Recognize that people will be angry, sad, scared and confused for some per= iod of time. The risk of discriminatory judgments and remarks is increase= d. If you hear such remarks, challenge, gently if necessary, but help peo= ple understand that it is a normal reaction to the attacks on our safety. = =20 Remind them to take care of themselves and their families and friends. It= is important to keep talking to each other and their children, even those= very young children. Here is a good article they can use: www.womencent= ral.msn.com/parenting/articles/tragedy.asp=20 We do not know what will be happening in the next weeks or months. There = may be additional armed conflict. We have entered a time of uncertainty = that will continue to affect the national psyche and our individual lives.= As organizations we are well advised to be prepared to address the effec= t it will have on our employees. You will need to address the corporate travel policy. What will you do if = an employee is afraid to travel to New York for a business trip? Consider= making other meeting arrangements, at least for the near term. Longer term you will have questions about what to do with employees who ca= nnot seem to focus after a reasonable length of time. And you will have qu= estions about what is a reasonable length of time and proper disciplinary = actions if needed. We will address those questions as they arise, but for= now they are beyond the scope of this communication. Please feel free to = email or call us if you have specific questions. Yesterday I was conducting a Best Practices seminar in Minneapolis as the= terrorist attacks were unfolding on the East Coast. As we did not know = the magnitude of what was about to happen we decided to continue with the = work in front of us but to be cognizant of the events that were occurring.= The day and the response of the participants were instructive to what to= expect at work. Participants were engaged, but at some level distracted.= We took a break every hour or so for an update on events. We talked ab= out our personal feelings. We changed our agenda to spend the last half h= our of the day planning about how we would lead our organizations through = this tragedy. We discussed the role of Human Resources and the Legal depa= rtments. We wondered at the inconsistency of the beautiful day, the sunsh= ine and the green grass in the suburbs of Minneapolis and the horror we we= re hearing on the news. We encouraged people who had two hours of drive t= ime to leave a half hour early to be home with their families. We all took= calls and made calls during the day to check on family and friends. In other words, we took care of ourselves, and we took care of others. We= also worked, and planned for the future. I urge you to do the same. About the author: =20 Kathleen Knutson Edmond is a Senior consultant with Employment Practices S= olutions, Inc. and is located in the Minneapolis/St. Paul office. Kathle= en has worked in the Human Resources field as a management consultant an i= n-house attorney for a large national retailer. In addition to her law de= gree, she has earned an MBA, is a certified mediator specializing in emplo= yment disputes, and is a licensed independent clinical social worker. Ov= er the years Kathleen has counseled, coached, and trained several thousand= employees and managers on a broad spectrum, of human resource and busines= s operations issues. Kathleen can be reached at kedmond@epexperts.com . = =20 Copyright 2001 Employment Practices Solutions, All Rights Reserved=20 Feel free to reprint any articles from this newsletter with appropriate at= tribution to author and publication.=20 We respect your privacy and will not release your email address to any thi= rd parties. If you are an employment attorney or HR professional and would = like to submit an article, please contact us: eps@epexperts.com To unsubs= cribe: EPS-request@list.epexperts.com with 'unsubscribe' in message body.= Not a subscriber? EPS-request@list.epexperts.com with 'subscribe' in = message body. Questions or comments? eps@epexperts.com . - eps1in.jpg
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