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Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 12:44:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: michelle.cash@enron.com
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Subject: FW: SPECIAL EDITION ... The EmploymentSource Newsletter
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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 =
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