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NYC bans employment discrimination based on weight and height

New York City Council bans weight discrimination

The New York City Council made a significant decision on Thursday as it voted in favor of passing Int. No. 209-2022-A, a law that prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual’s weight or height. However, certain exceptions apply for employers who require height or weight considerations for essential job functions, as well as for operators or providers of public accommodations.

A study conducted by Vanderbilt University revealed that only a few other cities have laws in place to outlaw weight discrimination, including Urbana, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; Binghamton, New York; San Francisco; Santa Cruz, California; and Washington, D.C. The states of Michigan and Washington have also implemented similar legislation. The fight against size discrimination is becoming a new focus in the ongoing effort to eliminate workplace discrimination and promote diversity and inclusion.

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), an advocacy group dedicated to combating size discrimination, expressed gratitude to the bill’s sponsor, Shaun Abreu, on Twitter. They encouraged their followers to reach out to legislators and sign a petition aimed at putting an end to body size discrimination.

The vote at the NYC City Council marks a historic moment. Once INT 0209 is passed (which is expected), NYC will establish #SizeFreedom by prohibiting height and weight discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

Research has shed light on the prevalence of size discrimination in the workplace and its negative impact on employees. A recent survey conducted by ResumeBuilder revealed that over a quarter of respondents reported experiencing weight discrimination. This percentage rose significantly to 53% and 71% among self-identified overweight and obese respondents, respectively.

Data released in May by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) further corroborated these experiences. SHRM’s findings showed that half of people managers expressed a preference for interacting with “healthy weight” employees, while 11% admitted that obese individuals within their organizations were not treated fairly.

Beyond the implications for fostering a kind and inclusive work environment, this bias may also affect employee retention, with nearly three out of four workers who experienced such discrimination expressing a desire to quit.

Aside from allowing for height and weight considerations necessary for essential job functions, the law does not prevent employers from offering incentives that support weight management as part of voluntary wellness programs.

The passing of the New York City law may prompt other states to take similar action. Massachusetts and New Jersey are reportedly considering measures to address this issue.

The law received a decisive vote of 44-5 in favor. Although Mayor Eric Adams has not publicly committed to signing the bill, his office has shown support for the efforts to pass it. Councilmember Abreu is confident in Mayor Adams’ backing, as confirmed by multiple media sources.

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IBM boss suggests firm’s HR roles could be replaced with AI

30% of non-customer-facing roles could be automated

A news story featured on Bloomberg News has reported that IBM’s CEO Arvind Krishna has said that the firm expects to pause hiring for new roles, alongside plans to replace roughly 7,800 jobs with AI systems.

Hiring specifically for back-office functions such as HR will be suspended or slowed, Krishna said, adding that 30% of non-customer-facing roles could be replaced by AI and automations in five years.

“I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period”, Krishna was quoted as saying in the publication.

Employees concerned about losing their jobs to AI

The leap forward in AI technology has for months been the subject of divisive discussion among professionals.

As reported in TALiNT International last week, tools such as ChatGPT are pushing the boundaries of technology’s place in society, and the ramifications for the future of human-centric jobs remains largely unknown – this could largely affect the HR industry. While experts have insisted that such tools are there to assist humans, not replace them, it seems that a huge portion of the workforce simply don’t believe this to be true.

In fact, a massive 42% of professionals believe that AI will replace jobs in their area of work, according to data from AtlasVPN.

It’s true that AI tools already help automate tasks, collect and analyse data, create graphic designs, or handle basic customer queries, yet many fear that the ability to scour masses of data at lightning speed and process it into reports or event copy will effectively make humans redundant.

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Fujitsu revamps employee compensation

Tech giant looks to boost competitiveness with raises from 10% to 29%

While the tech sector is preparing for more mass layoffs, the tech company is making efforts to improve its global competitiveness by conducting a comprehensive review of its compensation system and increasing investments in talent and career development. In order to achieve this, the company will reportedly raise monthly wages for employees at all levels in Japan by an average of 10%, with a maximum increase of 29%. This corresponds to an average annual income increase of 7% and a maximum increase of 24%.

After the compensation system review, annual wages for employees in leadership positions will be at least 10 million yen, while senior management can expect to earn between 20 million and 30 million yen. The monthly wage for new university graduates will also increase by 25,000 yen, from 230,000 yen last year to 255,000 yen.

Fujitsu’s aim is to create a sustainable world by building trust in society through innovation, and it plans to achieve this by investing in its employees to acquire the right talent to support future business portfolios and contribute to customers’ digital transformation.

To improve global competitiveness, Fujitsu has implemented “agile” decision-making and operations, along with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all employees. The company has also introduced flexible working arrangements, including a flextime system without core time and remote work options. Fujitsu has also empowered its employees to take ownership of their careers through a job-based human resources management system, training programs for all employees regardless of rank, and on-demand learning content. Additionally, the company has implemented a global, shared employee evaluation system called “Connect.”

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A ‘hopper’ or a ‘lifer’ – who would you hire?

65% of UK workers say they’ll stay in the same company for more than 3 years

A survey from Michael Page of 5,000 working adults has revealed that the theory that workplace loyalty is a thing of the past, with 35% of those aged between 18-and-34 stating they’d be willing to stay with their current company long-term thanks to opportunities to develop new skills.

The quarterly study, commissioned by recruitment firm Michael Page, part of the FTSE 250 PageGroup, shone a light on the two distinct identities emerging amongst today’s workforce – ‘hoppers’ and ‘lifers’ – as well as the benefits each approach brings for an employer.

The research revealed that 65% of UK workers currently call themselves ‘lifers’ which is defined as someone who stays in the same company for three years or more.

Reasons cited by ‘lifers’ as to why they prefer to stay long-term included friends made at work (40%), flexible work options (39%) and good relationships with managers (29%).

The ‘lifer’ approach was also lauded for developing teamwork skills (50%), deep industry knowledge (57%) and strong industry connections (41%). As the most recent generations to enter the job market, 58% of Gen-Z and Millennials identified with the ‘lifer’ mentality, with 64% stating this attitude towards work offers greater career stability.

At the opposite end of the workplace scale sit the ‘hoppers,’ employees who frequently move between companies, on average staying with an employer for just 1-3 years. While a significant number of younger workers identify as ‘lifers,’ there are still plenty who are on the ‘hopper’ route. In fact, this younger age group are far more likely than their older generational counterparts to follow the hopper career approach (35% of Gen-Z compared to just 8% of those aged 45 to 64).

Across the board, survey respondents could see the merit of the ‘hopper’ career path: 46% said this approach offers more opportunities for varied career experience and a further 37% said the ‘hopper’ mentality made them more adaptable.

Doug Rode, Managing Director UK & Ireland at Michael Page commented: “It’s clear from the data that there are real advantages to hiring either a ‘lifer’ or a ‘hopper’ with both demonstrating the attributes any business would associate with top talent. Hiring managers recognise the different skills each can bring to a team, and place ‘lifers’ and ‘hoppers’ almost neck and neck in terms of being motivated and high achieving (44% and 42% respectively).

“The crucial consideration is who is right for your business at the current time. Is it the ‘lifer’ with demonstrable loyalty and depth of specialised experience or is it a ‘hopper’ who brings fresh thinking and learnings from other areas?

“And if a business can cultivate an environment where any type of worker can thrive, who knows, those ‘hoppers’ you hired might just turn into a ‘lifer.’”

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UBS focuses on retention of top performers at Credit Suisse

The retention plans are expected to target top performers 

UBS Group AG’s wealth boss Iqbal Khan has announced that he is focusing on retention measures, including compensation, in order to prevent high staff turnover at Credit Suisse Group AG. This was revealed during a recent town hall meeting in Hong Kong involving several UBS executives, according to a Bloomberg report. The retention plans are expected to target top performers. Khan’s comments demonstrate UBS’s concern that its rivals will try to poach valuable personnel and clients from Credit Suisse amidst the bank’s takeover by UBS later this year. 

Bloomberg reported that at least 12 private bankers at the managing director-level and above have left Credit Suisse in Singapore and Hong Kong since September, with some handling at least $1 billion in client assets. In addition to compensation measures, Khan is reportedly speaking with private bankers at UBS offices in Dubai, Singapore, and Doha to retain top talent. 

During the town hall meeting, UBS executives also discussed the abundance of opportunities in Asia and the potential for the combined entity to be a powerhouse. Meanwhile, in an effort to boost retention, Singapore-based Paradise Group has rewarded over 300 of its employees with luxurious gifts to show appreciation for their loyalty to the restaurant operator. 

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Diverse strategies to attract and retain staff

81% of employers have implemented sign-on bonuses

According to the WTW 2022 Mid-year Compensation Survey, employers are using a number of strategies to attract and retain employees. From increasing flexibility to sign-on bonuses, employers are having to think out of the box as the hiring market remains tight.

The survey found that 71% of employers have difficulty attracting and retaining employees with digital skills while 66% said the same for professional employees. For hourly roles, 61% of respondents said they are having difficulty hiring and keeping workers.

To help attract and retain workers, WTW found that employers are:

  • Hiring employees at the higher end of salary ranges, 86%.
  • Increasing flexibility in where employees work (for example, home versus office) and how they work, 84%.
  • Offering sign-on bonuses to attract talent, 81%.
  • Using retention bonuses to keep employees, 65%. Organizations that are enhancing the use of retention bonuses are most likely to target such bonuses to managers (82%) and professionals (80%).
  • Increasing training opportunities, 55%.

Lesli Jennings, North America Leader, Work, Rewards and Careers at WTW commented: “Employers are leaving no stones unturned in their battle to find and keep talent.”

The WTW survey also found employers are revising their salary budgets to hire and keep workers. Respondents said they are planning or considering:

  • Boosting their current salary budgets, 44%; 23% already have done so.
  • Adjusting salary budgets throughout the year on an as-needed basis, 46%; 22% already have.
  • Making more frequent salary adjustments throughout the year; 7% already have.
  • Adjusting salary ranges (i.e., minimums, midpoints and maximums) more aggressively, 46%; 18% already have.

The survey took place between May 23 and June 16. It involved 884 organizations in North America that employ more than 15 million people.

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95% of employers focus on bringing back “boomerang” employees

What can companies do to retain talent instead?

As the frantic search for talent continues in the UK, new research has shown that 95% of UK employers are focusing their recruitment efforts on bringing back former employees to fill vacant roles.

Organisations can reduce recruitment and training costs and increase productivity by bringing back “boomerang employees” to fill job vacancies. But this raises a question of what organisations could have done to retain these employees in the first place.

In a recent survey of over 2,000 leaders around the world by HCM vendor Ceridian, the indication is that succession planning provides just such an opportunity for employers, but they might be missing the gap:

  • 88% of respondents report that their company uses succession planning
  • 74% of respondents say that they often or always hire external candidates for leadership roles instead of promoting from within.

Even though 53% of employers provide learning and development opportunities to retain talent in the UK and Ireland, only 38% give flexibility in job roles and responsibilities. A further  42% are pursuing DEI strategies to ensure that they gather different perspectives.

The key to retaining talent and attracting the “boomerang employees” will be to identify key workplace issues and use the tools and technology available to align talent decisions with employee ambitions and company goals.

Steve Knox, VP of Global Talent Acquisition at Ceridian, comments: “Staff retention has become a pain point for businesses with employers looking at increasingly innovative ways beyond pay and benefits to retain employees. With 95% of employers seeking ‘boomerang’ employees to fill their recruitment gaps, one proactive solution is to encourage retention strategies which would see fewer employees leaving organisations to begin with.”

“When key people do leave it’s vital to provide remaining employees with clear career development and ensuring plans are in place for succession when key people do leave are both vital. Ceridian’s 2022 Executive Survey highlights some common succession planning pitfalls, for example where firms might fail to put in place impactful succession planning strategies that put their people and their career development first. With over one third of employees saying career advancement opportunities would convince them to leave their current role, there is much at stake for businesses which don’t give key people a clear career development plan.

“In turn, a data-driven, holistic talent strategy that develops an organisation’s current workforce and positions key people as future leaders, as well as hiring new talent simultaneously to fill the talent pipeline, helps the business’ overall resilience and longevity, as well as bringing a variety of wider benefits to the organisation.”

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Two major announcements for Trinnovo Group

“Trinnovo Group is purpose-led with a mission to build diversity, create inclusion, and encourage workplace innovation.” – Richard MacMillan, Chairperson, Trinnovo Group

In April, Trinnovo Group made two announcements: the appointment of Richard MacMillan to the Board of Directors as Chairperson as well as the launch of its fourth brand Equiris Consulting.

NEW CHAIRPERSON
Richard has a 25-year history in the staffing industry was CEO of health and life science staffing and services company called Independent Clinical Services (ICS) for 14 years. He led the growth and diversification of ICS through three periods of Private Equity ownership until it sold in September 2020. During his tenure, ICS completed multiple acquisitions, expanded its international presence, and developed several innovative healthcare services.

Richard commented: “Trinnovo Group is an exciting and dynamic business led by exceptionally talented people and I am delighted to join as Chairperson. Trinnovo Group is purpose-led with a mission to build diversity, create inclusion, and encourage workplace innovation. They have a unique and exciting approach to the full talent cycle. The business is flourishing, and I look forward to working with the team as they continue to diversify the business and grow internationally.”

James Cox, Trinnovo Group CEO also commented: “I am delighted to have Richard join us as Chairperson. Richard’s track record in international growth driven by an entrepreneurial and technology focused approach is second to none. The Board and I are hugely excited to work with Richard and to continue disrupting the recruitment sector via our people and delivering our vision, to be the fastest organically growing and most impactful recruitment business on the planet. Ashley Lawrence continues to support the group working with the Trinnovo Board in his new role as Founder.”

NEW BRAND
The announcement of the new brand, Equiris Consulting will enable high-growth businesses to attract, retain and develop amazing people and high-performing teams that are representative of society by ensuring that the world of work is a more inclusive and equitable place for everyone.

Equiris is a talent consultancy and solutions provider with a diversity, equity, and inclusion methodology that is focused on the full talent lifecycle including attraction, assessment, onboarding, learning and development and retention.

TIARA Recruitment Award winners 2021, Trinnovo understands that every business is unique, and focus on building strong relationships that enable them to truly understand their clients’ business strategies. This focus enables them to embed bespoke talent solutions into clients’ businesses that help them achieve sustainable growth while ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the forefront of their strategic agenda. It works closely with its sister brands, specialist recruitment companies Trust in Soda, Broadgate and BioTalent, to offer a full wrap-around DEI focused talent solution.

Cara Myers, Talent Advisory Director at Equiris Consulting commented: “I am so incredibly excited to be launching Equiris Consulting. Across our social enterprise and unique platforms, we have inspired a lot of change within the workplace and worked hard to make it a place that is more inclusive for everyone. We recognised, however, that we have an opportunity to do more, and to not only inspire change but to also work with our clients and partners to offer very targeted DEI focused talent solutions that enable high-growth companies to scale in a way that is diverse, equitable and inclusive.”

James Cox, Trinnovo Group CEO also commented: “The Board and I are hugely excited to launch Equiris Consulting. We created Equiris Consulting because we want to provide solutions that enable high-growth, tech-enabled businesses to grow in diverse and sustainable way. We are on a mission to build diversity, create inclusion, and encourage workplace innovation, and we are excited to see the impact that will be delivered through our new talent consultancy and solutions provider.”

 

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Turn the Great Resignation into the Great Retention

The roar of the war on talent continues as employees are switching jobs at record numbers and workforces continue to shrink. Together, these events have created an environment in which business and HR leaders are having to play catch-up. Today’s labor market, regardless of business type or location, is now faced with more job openings than available workers.

These market pressures are creating never-before-seen urgency around talent.

And for now, most businesses are reacting with the one tool that they can easily access: money. While wages in general haven’t skyrocketed as much as they have in hospitality and retail, a high salary remains one solid way to entice key employees to stay and to lure employees to their organization. And once you change that, there’s no going back. Unfortunately, the money bucket is not bottomless and SMEs don’t have access to the funds to support such high increases. The current cycle in the market can only go on for so long and leaders will need to act for the future in addition to reacting in the present. Here are three things to help drive retention in your organization.

Here are three key ways to attract and retain talent in the current marker:

  1. Ensure pay equity.
  2. Increase workplace flexibility
  3. Create a high-attention culture.

In the short-term, many organizations will continue to address talent shortages by increasing wages. At some time in the not-so-far-off future, the organizational tolerance for digging into the checkbook will wane. We don’t need to wonder what to do next. We know we also need to invest in proactive, long-term solutions that keep people from even entertaining leaving. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Start with embedding the practice of check-ins into your organization. Check-ins aren’t the only thing, but they are the fastest thing when it comes to creating a culture where people feel connected and less compelled to leave.

 

Photo courtesy of Canva.com

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The key to 95% retention of staff

Is the four-day week the way to solve attrition?

MRL Consulting Group, a UK recruitment firm, has seen an incredible 95% retention rate and productivity levels increasing by 25% since introducing a four-day work week. Improvements in employee wellness also reportedly improved.

Almost 90% of employees in the company reported improvement in their mental health and a marked reduction in workplace stress while a further 95% reported that they feel more rested after having a three-day weekend. Short-term absence was reported to have reduced by almost 40%.

The six-month trial implemented for all employees is now a permanent fixture within the company due to the huge success.

David Stone, Chief Executive Officer at MRL, commented: “We are driven by results, rather than the amount of time people spend at their desks. I trusted my staff to have enough self-motivation and discipline to be able to manage their time in order to fit five days of work into four. The results generated during the six-month trial have led us to implement a four-day week working model on a permanent basis.”

Kelly Robertson, Operations Director at MRL also weighed in: “During the trial, and since implementing the four-day working week, everyone has really ramped up their activity, and people feel a lot more prepared for the week ahead after having three days to rest at the weekend.  Now, the team has more time to spend on themselves, on their mental and physical health and with their families and you can really see the difference in the mood in the office.

“I can’t think of any reason why other businesses wouldn’t want to invest in its employees’ wellbeing, as there are so many positive outcomes. If you’re an output-based organisation and you are realistic about what you want your team to achieve in the given timeframe, there’s no reason you can’t have a four-day week.”

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