News & Events

By Mac Smith, Marketing & Special Events Manager

When you work at a staffing firm the halls are filled with the intrigue of the hiring and firing of employees for client organizations. I’ve witnessed the counseling of dozens of clients concerning their employment actions, so when NPR fired Juan Williams last week our entire organization winced. The consensus opinion inside Nonprofit Staffing Solutions was that this dismissal was going to be a public relations nightmare.

It is never easy firing a popular member of an organization. When that person is a face of the organization for the public and membership, it is almost impossible not to make waves inside and outside the organization.

Williams represented a part of NPR’s national brand. A political insider for decades in Washington, D.C., he knows a lot of people and has enough connections to provide him access to almost any federal agency and political personality. He was even able to obtain a one-on-one interview with former President George W. Bush for NPR. At the time this was a huge score for NPR, since the Bush administration considered the national organization to have left-leaning political tendencies and leadership.

All of this makes any dismissal of Williams difficult for NPR. But for argument’s sake, I’m going to Monday-morning-quarterback the firing. This painful past week for NPR is a learning tool for the rest of us; especially nonprofit organizations dependent upon member dues and donations. These organizations have to groom their public personas very carefully and dismissing popular personalities is very problematic for them.

I have no direct knowledge of the internal personnel issues or agreements between Williams and NPR (referring to the national organization), but any casual follower of Washington politics and NPR knows that portions of NPR’s membership and leadership have had issues with Williams. His dual role as a political commentator for Fox News where he was offering his professional and personal opinions and his role as a traditional political journalist for NPR have a tempestuous history.

So right off we have a red flag for the HR department. We have a part of the organization whose outside activities are a perceived conflict with the mission of our organization. The conflict is also a public relations issue. This is an excellent example of a situation where the HR department can lead.

First, dealing with this type of HR issue is going to require paperwork and lots of it. Is the person’s job description clear concerning performance? Does it address actions to handle negative performance? Has a set process for reviewing complaints against this person been created? What members of management are part of reviewing this person’s performance? Is management crystal clear that all complaints need to be documented and shared with the person in question?

Second, do the HR department and the PR department have a clean relationship and clear process to deal with high profile personas? Is everyone on the same page? HR should take the lead on all of these issues, especially when dealing with the PR managers. Public Relations departments work in a multicolored world with lots of possibilities and loose rules. HR departments are more black and white. There are rules and they have to be followed. HR needs to make sure parameters are set and that PR understands the reasons for the rules. All of this is most easily achieved with an internal organizational chart that leans a little bit towards HR concerning the management of staff. The slight weight in HR’s favor will help offset the possibility that management has more experience in fundraising and PR than operations and human resources.

Hopefully these internal controls can prevent the nightmare scenario that occurred at NPR last week. But still, these things happen and sometimes an organization has to cut ties with a high profile person for the good of everyone; especially for the good of the organization’s mission which is supposed to be the priority.

I’m sure all my readers know their HR 101 on firing; it should be the final chapter of an ongoing conversation. The person has been clearly told that problems exist and how to change. The statement needs to be made that a job is on the line if change does not occur. But does your management know how to fire someone? Is there an approved process at your organization right now concerning firing?

Having covered all of the above, we can now address how Williams was fired…over the phone. My hand went straight to my head when I read that NPR had terminated Williams over the phone. This is a major HR failure on NPR’s part and it turned into a PR nightmare. The failure was also exacerbated by the press conference comments of their CEO Vivian Schiller a few days later. But I’m willing to bet that the organization could have saved face if HR had a stronger hand in the dismissal of Williams.

This is the time when an HR manager can put on her Superwoman cape and swoop in to save the day! The HR manager needs to be in on the sacking meeting. The HR manager needs to help craft the press release about the sacking. The HR manager needs to help draft the memo to staff and membership concerning the sacking. And as a marketing professional, I need help from HR to talk down the CEO from going in front of the cameras. Let the head of marketing/PR walk out in front of the world, read the press release, and walk back into the building.

I believe that Schiller’s foot-in-mouth comments could have been avoided if the internal policy concerning the firing of high profile personas had more input from HR. I further believe their recommendation would have been to issue a press release and call it a day.

As I wrote in the beginning, this is all Monday-morning-quarterbacking on my part. But we would all be stupid not to learn from NPR’s mistakes. Do you have any Juan Williams’ in your organization? If so, now might be time to pull out a sheet of paper and write a memo to your CEO or executive director. Bullet point one should be “do not fire staff over the phone.”

By Patty Hampton, CSP, Managing Director Staffing Services/Executive Search Consultant

 After reading 10 Things Employment Recruiters Won’t Say by Will Swarts, I want to set the record straight on a few points from my perspective and how I run a staffing firm.  I appreciate Swarts calling out staffing firms on their deficiencies, but he’s wrong on a few points. My background on this topic is thus; I have been a candidate with a staffing firm and unemployed in my professional career. I also have managed the staffing firm, Nonprofit Staffing Solutions, for almost a decade.

I want to begin by stating that not all agencies are the same. I personally do not use the term headhunter because it has evolved into an ugly and negative connotation. I prefer to use the term staffing consultant. Also, I was disappointed by the author’s choice of facts, but then we do have to sell and increase readership by any means necessary.

There is no such thing as a “better” way to find a job in today’s market.  I believe all job seekers should have a staffing consultant working on their behalf while looking for opportunities on their own. Staffing consultants not only serve as another pair of ears and eyes for a job seeker, but are a viable resource that can also skill market, secure interviews and create bridges where none may have existed.

Swarts did miss a few statistics in his opening point (There are better ways to find a job). According to the American Staffing Association, U.S. staffing companies employ more than two million temporary and contract employees each day—and 11 million over the course of a year. Also, if you look into the stats provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will also find that the staffing industry will add more new jobs in the next six years than any other industry. So, if I were a job seeker, I would have to validate my own experiences with a staffing firm, before I take his advice. Staffing agencies are not only putting people back to work and serving as a bridge to permanent employment, but we have proven on a daily basis that we are a viable employment resource now and in the future.

My heart goes out to the media advertising executive that Swarts mentioned in his second point (We don’t work for you). Again, not all agencies are the same. I can tell you that when a candidate is fully vetted, salary should never be treated as an afterthought. Candidates deserve to know up-front the relationship a staffing firm has with a client and the negotiable salary range for a position if they were retained or conducting a contingency search.

Swarts also wrote about how recruiters work for the hiring company and their allegiance lies with the client and not with the candidate. Again, not all agencies are the same. Most staffing consultants look for a win-win solution for the client and the candidate. This is what I term as a balanced approach. Meeting the client’s expectations and facilitating a negotiated salary that both candidate and client can work with not only makes sense, it is a matter of integrity and client loyalty. When you are in compensation discussions with the client at the kickoff of the hiring process most staffing consultants that I know do not use the “client-centered” approach. This business is about building and leveraging relationships. The candidate and the client experience will be different, but in the end, the staffing consultant’s main goal should always be focused on the integrity of the process and never compromising one deal for another.

I tend to agree with Swarts’s third point (Until a year ago, I was a car salesman) with the exception of one caveat. Through a little research he will find that today quite a few programs require staffing and HR professionals to purchase coursework materials prior to being qualified to take the exam for a certification designation. In the staffing world, we take certifications seriously. Certifications are about dealing with the federal and state laws that impact a firms business, protecting rights of candidates, employees and providing guidance to clients on co-employment obligations and responsibilities. A staffing firm that cares deeply about its clients and the candidates that are recommended to those clients is engaging in best practices to set themselves apart. Certification is one way to accomplish this separation.

After calling a few people, I can confirm that his fourth point (The job we advertised may not exist) still exists today with some agencies and this truly saddens me. I see no point for this madness. Like he said, this is misleading and hurts anyone engaged in a career search that is desperately trying to secure an opportunity. 

Swarts’s fifth point (We already know quite a bit about you) actually scares me! My goodness, yes, there’s probably quite a few agencies engaged in this type of recruiting and pre-employment practice. My best advice – BEWARE. There are a variety of state laws concerning what information can be used during the pre-employment process. I’ve witnessed hiring managers using Google and Facebook, as well as other social media sites, to investigate applicants. There is already some case law that one can refer to, but I believe it is just a matter of time before we see federal employment laws about this practice.

I have a few words of caution for Swarts when he quotes independent career consultants in this sixth point (Our jobs aren’t so hot either), validate what you write before it goes to print. There are a few small niche market staffing firms that actually don’t have to compete with the bigger, national and international firms. Being the managing director of a small staffing firm myself, I can tell you that sometimes great things including career opportunities come in small packages! Our niche market is the nonprofit sector. When you have a portfolio of business that can make a difference in a big world, suddenly you don’t look or feel so small. Plus, 2010 is turning out to be the biggest year in our firm’s history.

Concerning point seven (You’re at the mercy of a computer), there are still some staffing consultants that are old school and know how to source and network in the Internet age. Our firm uses a variety of methods; however our practice is one where we network 80 percent of the time and source 20 percent via resume boards. Staffing firms can no longer afford to identify and vet the same candidates that clients can find on their own. Again, not all staffing firms are the same and I will validate that we DO read cover letters and resumes. This may be a dying art for some, but not for us. As a staffing consultant, I’ve learned alot about a candidate in a cover letter before I decide to schedule a phone screen. We also counsel our candidates about writing good cover letters. We teach how to pepper a resume with key words to make it standout.  

The “temp-to-hire” carrot as Swarts puts it is NOT rotten (point eight). It is a bridge to permanent employment for many of our candidates. I was a temp-to-hire employee through a large staffing firm back in my corporate days. It was the best experience I could have imagined and one that I still recall today. I also picked up a few tips and built a relationship with my then staffing consultant. I see his point, but I believe it is just a matter of some organizations reluctance to add permanent staff to their payroll given the economic environment. The temp-to-hire approach is positive rather than the negative picture that has been painted in the article.

As for point number nine (If you have a job, I could get you fired), I agree – not all recruiters are careful. As a staffing consultant, you have to obtain permission to share the resume of a candidate with another organization. If staffing firms have a standard practice not to engage in this type of recruiting/sourcing activity, then hooray for them. Skill marketing a candidate or pulling resumes down from LinkedIn without express permission from a candidate is a practice I like to call “recruiters gone wild.” Again, not all firms are the same, and it should be a general practice for all firms to fully vet a candidate which includes an in-person interview before their background is shared.

Swarts’s number ten (If I’m in Virginia, I probably won’t help you find a job in Nebraska) is correct. I can recall every friendly referral I’ve received or given to colleagues in other staffing firms or organizations. When staffing firms are passionate about impacting the life of another person, only then will we see more and more friendly referrals. I love candidate and client referrals.

At the end of the day when your conscious is clear and your integrity is in tact, for some of us, it’s about the lives you’ve touched and the relationships you’ve built that we remember. Swarts’s article is a great buyer beware piece, but for the thousands of jobs our firm fills the work we do is often greatly appreciated by our clients and our temporary workers.

By Dawn Taylor, Director of Business Development

I recently had lunch with colleague. We have shared a lot over the past several years with regards to our personal and professional lives. As she talked about her children, her career, and her future aspirations, it got me thinking about the unspoken line between personal and professional relationships.  And why there is a line in the first place.

Can you really trust your colleagues with details from your personal life? Often this is an unspoken rule in the workplace. Most of us would say that it is best to keep a boundary between your professional and personal life. But if someone works with you, does it mean that person is not friend worthy?

Some of us spend more time with our colleagues than we do with our family. But we still shun the thought of letting a workplace friendship mature. Often we think there is a risk involved with getting too close to a colleague. We are fearful that letting a colleague know anything about our personal lives may come back to haunt us. Sometimes we think a personal relationship at work will be too difficult to deal with when something goes awry like a termination or resignation. Too often we miss out on what could be a wonderful workplace experience due to the perception that befriending a colleague may end up being a back stabbing, manipulative or hurtful experience.

To all of you who find yourselves stressing about whether you shared too much with a colleague, let me enlighten you. The world is full of bad people; it is also rich with good people. In today’s working world where 10 to 15 hour days are the norm, most issues surrounding you are related to work. These are the issues that your spouse or friends may not want to hear or can’t understand. I am not saying not to be careful and do your due-diligence with regards to who you choose as a work friend just as you would in your personal life. But you have to accept that almost every day you have conversations with your colleagues. If you can trust them with information that can affect your paycheck, can’t you trust them with something that is related to your emotional self?

By Patty Hampton, Managing Director, Staffing Services/Executive Search Consultant

Recently I was asked to complete a survey about hotel services. This hotel was new to me and probably had no idea that I was a self-made connoisseur. Well, needless-to-say, the hotel failed miserably when it came to two things, customer service and room cleanliness.

As I completed the survey, I wondered how many of us would score in these same two categories by our own employees or our supervisors. The last time I received world class customer service and noticed the impeccable cleanliness of a room was in my personal travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This one vacation left me speechless from the moment I arrived. There I discovered that there is an art to customer service. It is a passion and commitment that comes from within to serve others. I also found that customer service is the anticipation of the unexpected need of another person. When you are shocked by the considerate actions of another, you can only utter two simple words – thank you! The experience the hotel staff created came from everyone because they were engaged in extending their service excellence culture to include me and my husband. You would think we were the only two people staying at that hotel.

One of the things I learned when I completed that hotel survey is that I was rating the cleanliness of the room. It is easy when someone else is cleaning for you to take a closer look to identify the smallest imperfections. We need to have this same approach to our workspace. It has been proven for some of us that we are more productive when we have a clean work environment and workspace. Desk space clutter is a distraction and very annoying. Trust me if we had a choice between taking a clean or dirty office, we all would pick the clean one.

In the workplace, I have witnessed some over-the-top and poor customer service. I have also seen some offices and cubicles that would make you wonder if it was safe to enter. It is so easy to forget that we all provide customer service to each other no matter what our function is within an organization. And, if you took a snapshot of your office space would it reflect how you keep your own home? (I can see many of you looking around.) There is the dusty fake plant in the corner that never seems to get wiped down or the coffee stained desk. The breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner crumbs that find their way to your desk chair. How about that pile underneath the desk? We all have that one drawer where things are neatly labeled and hope one day to get back to updating it.

I remember a client meeting I had where the HR professional pointed to one of the many piles on her credenza and said, “Well, somewhere here I have a succession plan, but I’m not quite sure when I’ll get to it.”

Seriously, if you haven’t touched it in a month, it is not a priority.

Whatever happened to creating a service excellence culture in the workplace? I’m talking about the type of culture that includes high-level customer service to one another. When we pass a co-worker in the hall and don’t acknowledge them; that is not a behavior of a service excellence culture. When we hold the door open for a colleague and don’t hear “thank you.” That’s poor behavior and just rude.

Yes, the employee may have something on their mind, but why are we being tolerate of poor customer service in the workplace and expecting something different when we stay in hotels or shop in stores? We should be accountable for our own behavior in the workplace and be measured on our contributions in helping to create and maintain a service excellence culture.

Our work environment is probably the one place where we should have more control over our office and desk space. Being a messy housekeeper is a private matter, so why are so many of us showcasing our lack of cleanliness to our colleagues? We all have extremely busy professional and personal lives, but we need to take time to de-clutter.

I can’t think of a better time than today to become a connoisseur of our own life and workspace. There is something magical that happens when we experience a service excellence culture and hear two simple words, thank you, when it is least expected.

By Patty Hampton, CSP, Managing Director, Staffing Services/Executive Search Consultant

I’ve been away all this week at the 2010 American Staffing Association Staffing World Conference in Las Vegas, NV. The first take-away I’ve gained from this conference is how the staffing industry is more than just a bridge to permanent employment for temporary and contract workers. More importantly, the industry is consistently used by economists as a barometer of sorts to understand and evaluate the economy with respect to temporary staffing services. Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association put things in perspective when he announced to a packed room of conference attendees that the staffing industry added over 400,000 temporary staffing jobs in 2009. How much more proof does one need to validate that staffing industry professionals are not just filling orders, but we are without a doubt building capacity and strategic relationships with our clients where the end goal is about talent management and impacting the lives of millions of unemployed people.

One of the keynote speakers, Bruce Tulgan, founder of Rainmaker Thinking Inc, woke up the sleeping giant inside me when he talked about how staffing professionals are in the business of helping organizations shape staffing strategies. Tulgan also shared best practices on talent management. He explained how staffing firms can partner with clients to help HR professionals develop their workforce and their internal teams. These teams can create an environment where attrition is not all bad as long as systems and practices are created that align with new breakthrough solutions.

After that session, it was clear to me that I not only needed to attend the Define and Retool Your Future workshop, but that my thought leadership skills were in full swing and rechanneling my energy. Not! This workshop pushed my thinking to the limit. I had to engage my left brain in an exercise to figure out the economic indicators and trends that I follow for our firm where our niche market is the nonprofit sector. I also found myself jotting down how staffing professionals can become “workforce planning specialists.” We can continue to educate clients on how we can be used as strategic partners to help HR practitioners get the “right people on the bus and in the right seats.”

Of course this conference would have definitely disappointed attendees if it didn’t cover social media/ networking. This social media workshop presented staffing professionals with a montage of social networking sites that are popular with recruiters and applicants and their effects on employment screening and the hiring process. The cons seem to far outweigh the pros and it is just a matter of time before we see legislation on this issue. For now, the best advice I got from this session was that employers need to develop best practices and policies now to successfully navigate risks and legal liabilities of using social networking as part of business processes. Attendees walked away with a new slogan: “What goes on in Vegas may end up on Facebook!”

My day ended with workshops on employment law and health care reform. The employment law workshop titled Staffing Feud was my favorite! It was presented in a creative and fun question/answer and jeopardy game show format. As we all know, navigating through complex and confusing legalese is not only a responsibility, but it is a requirement for all HR and staffing professionals. The health care reform workshop was daunting and depressing, but necessary and important for staffing firm owners and managers, HR, tax, and benefit professionals. Although there are several requirements we need to be aware of as of March 2010, a good chunk of the law that will impact most businesses has a 2014 date stamp that will be here before we know it.

By Dawn Taylor, Director of Business Development

Do you feel that, more often than not, you are overlooked by your boss? If you’re like me, you receive your energy from those around you. Therefore, being overlooked can be a real downer.  Now, before you develop some unproductive courage and start a draft of your resignation letter, there are a few things you should try that can help you deal with your feelings of being overlooked.

First, sometimes it is just best to ignore certain things. Everyone cannot be in a great mood all of the time. If your boss comes in and scowls, don’t immediately take it personally. We all have a life outside of work and no matter how much we try to keep them separate one can seep into the other. Your boss’s attitude may have nothing at all to do with you. If you are wondering if you are the cause of someone’s negative demeanor than ask about it!

Second, evaluate your own demeanor and work product. Organizations love employees who can make things happen. Try to increase your visibility through outside-the-box thinking and completing tasks without being asked to do so. Conversely, try to avoid burnout. Often we try so hard to get our boss’s attention that we take on everything that is put on our plate. Learn to say no. This is a skill we all should have. Be polite, yet firm. Saying no will help to conserve your energy for things you are required to do and will be reviewed on.

Additionally, don’t get caught up in the “one up” syndrome. An example of this syndrome is the student that brings an apple to the teacher everyday so the rest of the class spends hours trying to find ways to make his/her life as miserable as possible. Don’t let the trivial bother you. Focus on professional things and it will pay off. 

It doesn’t matter if you have been in the workforce for two days or 25 years. For some of us knowing that we stand out fuels our creativity, determination and willingness to go the extra mile. Your boss won’t know that unless you voice your feelings. Don’t be shy; let your boss know what you think will help you feel successful. If all you require is a simple hello, pat on the back or a good job e-mail every once in a while, a boss that thinks you are worth it will be happy to oblige.

By Tamara Rasberry

On September 15, 2010, Nonprofit HR Solutions (NPHRS), in partnership with the Black Philanthropic Alliance (BPA), hosted ‘A Nonprofit Evening of Fellowship,’ a reception designed to bring together nonprofit leaders of color. This event marked the second year in a row that NPHRS has hosted a reception at Acadiana restaurant during Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) week to honor nonprofit leaders of color.  The vibe in the room was exciting and familial as several nonprofit leaders greeted old friends and made new connections.  

The reception included a “conversation” between Terri Lee Freeman, President of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, and Jacquelyn Lendsey, Director of BPA.  Ms. Lendsey asked Mrs. Freeman questions in regards to her thoughts on topics such as leadership and Board member responsibilities.  The easygoing and friendly rapport between the two ladies made the conversation flow seamlessly. 

When asked her definition of leadership, Mrs. Freeman’s said the following:

“Leadership to me is really more about the ability to move forward an agenda. You can be in a position of leadership and be standing still. You can be in a position… of subservience, and be pushing forward an agenda. In my estimation, then that person becomes a leader because what we want is progression. We want forward movement.”

She also noted that to be a good leader “you do kind of have to have some followers,” and that it’s “important to be willing to buck the status quo.” According to Mrs. Freeman good leaders know when to partner and when to step down.

Mrs. Freeman went on to discuss the financial responsibilities incurred when accepting a role on a nonprofit Board.

“When you decide, ok, I’m going to serve on the Board of BPA, I hope every Board member of BPA is writing a check…why should I give you money if your Board isn’t paying up?”

She cautioned the audience to not over-commit to Board service (i.e. don’t agree to be on more Boards than you can comfortably afford).

At the end of her “conversation” with Ms. Lendsey, Mrs. Freeman responded to questions, including one from Nonprofit HR Solutions’ own Dennis Sawyers. Dennis asked “In terms of sustaining leadership within the African-American community, and developing leaders, can you speak to things you have done, what the philosophies are, some approaches that may be considered to ensure that we maintain strong leadership?”

“Put yourself in a position of knowing other folks in leadership.”

Mrs. Freeman suggested making calls to set up meetings with people that you have identified as leaders – not to ask for a job, but to pick their brains.  She also stated that there is a place for formal training and that organizations should utilize and partner with each other rather than re-creating the same types of training programs.

 A Nonprofit Evening of Fellowship (how fitting that Mrs. Freeman is the wife of a pastor) was definitely a success, with representatives from several local and national organizations in attendance. Nonprofit HR Solutions plans to continue to hold an annual event during CBC week to address issues of importance to nonprofit leaders of color as diversity in the nonprofit sector is a topic of great importance to the firm.

For more information on upcoming events, be sure to join our mailing list.

By Patty Hampton, CSP, Managing Director, Staffing Services/Executive Search Consultant

Athens, Greece, the cemented jungle, is a melting pot of several cultures. The city is practically spilling over with ethnicity. From City Centre, known here as Syntagma to Poros, one of the Greek Islands, I have a fuller appreciation for diversity.

As I take a break, shopping bags in one hand and a Gyro in the other, I slowly walk by a restaurant called the Far East. As the Gyro sauce drips down my chin, I’m in awe of yet another ethnic surprise — an authentic Asian restaurant nestled in a corner! There are also tour buses that you can take that offer you a taped guided tour of Athens and you select one of five languages. This amazing place is captivating if you are in tune with your surroundings. While there is a rich and deeply rooted passion for diverse populations at every corner, this country appears to be holding onto its traditions in religion, music, food and wine as it continues to accept others so as to expand their culture as well.

As I wait for my shuttle back to my hotel, I can’t help but think of the sub-cultures and diversity that exists in America and in our organizations. This trip has made me realize how important it is that we all continue to embrace our differences, but celebrate our oneness. Diversity is this perfect word that forces people to unite for a common purpose. I truly believe that employers have a responsibility to offer a culture that is inclusive. Diversity is not just a statement or a commitment that an organization makes, but it starts with the recruiting process and has to permeate throughout the organization from the membership, staff, executive team and the board.

Later in the evening, we take a guided tour through the Acropolis Museum. As the woman guided us through the museum explaining the history at every turn, I could not help but envision this same process in an organization. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a guided tour for our onboarding process? And, what if that tour included someone that explained how diversity is a part of the organizational culture?

Athens has given me a fresh perspective on diversity. Diversity means nothing if you are not making a conscious effort to include it in your strategic work plans. Taking on a diversity initiative can be a lengthy process, however if the end result is integration and inclusion into our practices and overall organizational strategy, than it was well worth our attention.

By Mac Smith, Manager, Marketing & Special Events

One hot Internet topic this week centers on an incident that recently took place in the New York Jets’ locker-room. Ines Sainz, a Mexican television reporter for TV Azteca, evidently was verbally harassed while trying to conduct an interview with the New York Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez.  The whole circus is now under investigation by the NFL and Sainz has received an apology from Woody Johnson - owner of the New York Jets. The details surrounding the alleged harassment are still, and will probably remain, fuzzy. Basically it all amounts to a pretty lady dressed to impress in a room with 53 twenty year old men. (I know; how strange anything would go wrong.)

Sainz’s harassment has been a conversation piece at home and in the office, especially by the ladies I know. My wife, an accounting executive in charge of a department of professional women, and my co-workers, mostly female Human Resources  professionals, all have an opinion on the matter that follows the same line of thinking:

“Sainz should have been better prepared, concerning her attire, for the environment she was entering. She has the right to dress how she wants, but everyone needs to be cognoscente of how they appear to others. She needs to weigh the possibilities of her dress undermining her professional/public persona against her desire to present herself in a manner she feels is attractive.”

No one I have spoken to, personally or professionally, believes that any comments or actions made towards Sainz were appropriate. Everyone stated that the reporter has the right to dress however she wants, but most seem to feel she did not help herself.

All this leads me to my central question about personal branding and comportment. How hard should we work to hit that moving target between presenting ourselves in a manner we feel is attractive and altering our appearance to try and insure we are not mistreated? Personally, I don’t have much trouble with this issue. I’m a white middle class 30-something male. Provided I don’t dress like I’m attending a Lady Gaga concert, most people treat me with an ample amount of respect and rarely jump to negative conclusions. This is an advantage I have in our society. But women still are having issues, especially women of foreign ethnicities. Sainz is from Mexico. Mexican TV personalities dress far more risqué than their American counterparts.

In the HR world there are uncomfortable conversations that border on legality everyday concerning the style of dress of staff. Here at Nonprofit Staffing Solutions, we have a very honest conversation about dress with our temporary staff. (All this talk reminds me of a fight that was had at a previous employer between female office staff and the HR Department on what equaled a mule and if mules were appropriate in the office. As a marketing department staffer, I was brought in to provide an objective opinion and definition of mules. I still have nightmares.) We make it very clear that it is our opinion that matters on acceptable dress in the workplace not the temp’s and not even the client’s. (Some of our clients have more casual dress policies. As a firm, we lean away from casual dress in most cases.) This absolute rule may not be the most tactful strategy, but it eliminates any confusion about appropriate workplace dress. It is also taught that any comments outside “nice shoes” should be avoided. Conversations surrounding a person’s appearance can be the most misconstrued types of conversations.

I’m certain that this would have been the conversation our firm would have had with Ms. Sainz had we sent her to the Jets for an interview. We would have provided these pre-appointment instructions already knowing that Ms. Sainz has a very modern Latin look and style of dress.

“Okay Ines, we are all set. You need to report to the practice field about 2:00 pm to touch base with Jets leadership about the interview. You should be able to catch Mark Sanchez after practice about 3:00 pm. I’d recommend that you try to conduct the interview before he reaches the locker-room. Your ability to video a good interview might be hindered by doing so in the locker-room. Also, please remember to dress appropriately. I know this is a field assignment and professional attire is not expected, but we would like you to not dress as casual as you would for a night on the town. Try something more appropriate for a church picnic.”