Newsletter #7 (October 7, 2024)
Hurricane Helene, DEI, auto-applicant tracking hijinks, Dell's RTO push, insider trading, more layoffs and more
Welcome to Newsletter #7, my twice-monthly, long-form newsletter where I write about all things HR and L&D, the business world, and/or other interesting current events.
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1. Hurricane Helene was a devastating storm. While some things appear unpreventable, others – such as what allegedly happened at Impact Plastics in Tennessee - quite possibly could have been prevented.
One of the more terrible stories coming out of the tragedies surrounding this deadly storm is what allegedly happened in the case of Impact Plastics. The company is now under investigation not only by the Tennessee OSHA department but also the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for allegedly ignoring warnings about rapidly deteriorating conditions near the plant, allegedly telling employees to get back to work and/or they did not need to evacuate.
As of Friday, October 4th, three employees were confirmed dead and three more are unaccounted for (presumed dead). I’ll let the photo from the Sky 5 News helicopter tell their story:
2. For the last time, DEI is not dying. It’s changing.
Toyota was the latest target of the anti-DEI movement. Compared to other recent companies, their response was balanced, acknowledging support for their employees while also acknowledging they constantly review their internal programs (as any company should).
In any case, I thought this recent article did a great job providing the research and informed backing I’ve referred to in prior newsletters about the business case for DEI in the workplace. Not programs and window dressing, but presenting an actual business case about the importance of diversity in the workplace (some of which I’ve referenced in prior newsletters). Bob Johnson also did a nice op-ed about the subject, accurately pointing out the issue is at its core has a branding problem.
DEI clearly needs to change, pivot, restructure, or whatever you want to call it. It’s not dying, companies just need to wake up and change the approach.
3. HR’s applicant tracking system auto-rejects the resume of a current manager. Sounds right.
Putting up with an ATS that does some of your monotonous busy work as a recruiter is everyone’s dream. Autoscreening sometimes hundreds of resumes to remove those obviously unqualified applicants to get down to the ten or so you really want to review sounds like a dream come true.
But, sometimes, technology can have the entirely opposite effect on what you are trying to do with it. In this case, the HR department at this unnamed company were receiving complaints about the ATS system rejecting candidates insanely fast, sometimes in the same minute as the application. If the information is to be believed, the HR department did not take the time to explore why or what was happening here.
As funny, ridiculous and sad as this story may appear to be, it is a good reminder to do your best to investigate complaints about technology and its different applications in the workplace. It may turn out to actually be a problem you need to fix.
4. Not to be outdone by Amazon, Dell issues an immediate recall for its employees to RTO, as does Jaime Dimon for federal employees.
Dell did not waste any time for people to make the necessary changes in their personal lives to complete a full return-to-office. Dell gave its employees exactly 2 business days to RTO for the full five days per week, citing essentially the same messaging as Amazon and other companies.
Jaime Dimon chimed in on the subject, specifically concerning federal employees, saying they should RTO as well. Interestingly, Microsoft said “not so fast”, adding as long as productivity does not slip, nothing is changing for them (hybrid model will remain intact).
Suffice to say, there is more momentum for companies to issue these full RTO. According to one survey, full RTO for most companies is expected by 2027.
For small businesses selling services, remote work likely makes the most sense, as they can likely operate without the overhead of a physical location. I don’t see that changing. While I still fully support every company to make the best decision for its employees, customers and operations, a CEO for one company should not speak for what they think is best for another company.
5. I’ll let this one speak for itself.
What’s the difference between this and this? My thoughts center around that meme from The Office for some reason:
6. More corporate layoffs seem to scream ‘thank you for that rate cut, Fed’ and ‘we have a need for efficiency, agility, blah blah blah’ at the same time.
USAA, Disney, Asurion, Vail Resorts, CVS, Patagonia, and Amy’s Kitchen have all announced or confirmed plans to reduce corporate headcount in the last two weeks. Their reasons vary, as one might expect since they are all in different verticals. But suffice to say all are facing particular headwinds affecting their respective industries and company.
In each of the respective announcements, each company stresses the need to improve their balance sheet in the face of financial adversity, become more efficient, and find ways to preserve their working capital for attacking market share growth, or at worse, prevent further erosion.
From reading each individual announcement, I’m not convinced a timely interest rate cut would have prevented these adjustments even if done in August or even July. In short, they are more apt to acknowledge they are simply adjusting to the new norms, coming off of the highs of the pandemic era – which was fueled by cheap money – and settling in to the new reality: they simply don’t need the headcount they did a few years ago because the revenue and margins just do not justify it. In any case, sticking that ‘soft landing’ the Fed has so desperately wanted to target may prove difficult without causing more pain in the labor market.
7. Another possible interruption to the supply chain is casting a shadow on the inflation fight.
The International Longshoreman’s Association were ready to strike and shut down ports across the US on September 30th. The showdown has been weeks in the making and has turned ugly, with accusations from both parties (union, management association) leading to unfair labor charges being filed with the NLRB.
This is one of those labor fights which may likely attract federal regulator attention, as a prolonged strike has the potential to cause significant damage to the economy, stranding products in the shipping pipeline, leading to shortages and increased prices due to constrained demand.
Without missing a beat, and essentially turning down an offer of a 50% increase, the strike went into effect last Tuesday (October 1st), quickly followed by panic buying spreading like wildfire on social media and people emptying shelves of basic household essentials like it was March 2020 all over again. I guess people don’t care that the majority of toilet paper is manufactured in the US and can be shipped without the usage of the coastal ports. But, hey, whoever cares about facts anymore on social media?? Thankfully, I suppose, the strike was quickly averted, with a ‘sweetened offer’ being presented to the workers, enough to suspend the strike for a few months. But the damage has been done. Time will tell how much.
8. Goodbye to Schwan’s frozen food home delivery.
Chalk up another victim of the inflationary market and other economic pressures in the post-pandemic world. Schwan’s, or Yelloh as it has been known the last several years, is calling it quits next month. Once upon a time, it was not uncommon to see the Schwan’s trucks rolling down the highway or in your neighborhood, delivering food straight to your front door. I worked with several people over the years who swore by their food and service. Things change, though, and companies who do not adapt are destined to fail.
9. LinkedIn Lunatics of the Newsletter: “inspiring” pallbearer story.
This one is something else……..just…… damn.
10. Oakland said goodbye to their Athletics after 50+ years in the Bay Area to go play in a tiny stadium for 3 years before a possible move to Las Vegas.
Many articles and social media reflections have been posted in the last several days since the A’s last home game on September 26th. Suffice to say that there is a universal feeling that ownership for the Oakland A’s is, without a doubt, feckless.
The fact that my Houston Astros and all other MLB teams who are the visiting team will play the A’s in the tiny Sacramento stadium in 2025 is, to say plainly, odd.
This entire situation has all the makings of an all-time disaster of epic proportions for this once-proud franchise. I hope all turns out as best it can for the A’s fans, especially with their potential new home in Las Vegas.
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And that’s a wrap. I’ll be back in two weeks. Let me know what you think!
© October 2024 Brandon Caldwell, all rights reserved. Hyperlinks are used frequently for proper credit to source material on respective websites, news articles, social media or other sources. While it can be a useful tool, no ChatGPT or other generative AI was used in the production of this newsletter. Opinions are mine and do not reflect the opinion or policy of others including employers past or present.