How to Get a Good Night's Sleep
Once upon a time, there was an Affirmative Action Plan. It was printed on fine paper, filled with magnificent prose, overflowing with many handsome charts and statistics, tabbed and divided into many splendid sections. It was displayed in an ornate cabinet with the corporate logo on it.
One day, a representative of the Government called upon the AAP to present itself for inspection. The AAP considered itself to be in fine health. "What a fine specimen of an AAP I am", thought the AAP. "I'm going to pass with flying colors!" The consequences of not passing were enormous, and no one had ever evaluated the health of the AAP before. So the AAP decided to schedule a check-up to make sure everything was fit and proper.
The test results were alarming. Although on the surface everything looked normal, when the data were probed, the following problems were found:
Mistakes
The same job title was assigned to more than one EEO-1 category.
Job titles assigned to more than one EEO-1 category were mixed together.
Employees who are exempt from overtime were included in EEO-1 categories that are traditionally reserved for non-exempt employees, and employees who are non-exempt were included in EEO-1 categories that are traditionally reserved for exempt employees.
Some men were classified as women and some women were classified as men.
People from India were classified as American Indians.
People from the Middle East were classified as Asian.
The census data didn't match the job responsibilities or the locations of the employees.
Missing Data
Some employees weren't listed as employees.
Some hires weren't listed as applicants.
Some people were listed as employees in the prior year but weren't listed as employees this year or as terminating since last year.
Some people were listed as hired during the year but weren't listed as employees or as terminating after they were hired.
Some people were listed as employees this year but weren't listed as employees last year or as being hired since last year.
The race, gender, and EEO-1 category of a person wasn't the same on all reports: as an applicant, hire, and employee.
The Government's Internet Applicant Rule wasn't being followed.
Results
Because there were so many mistakes in the data, none of the conclusions reached by the AAP were trustworthy or valid. The AAP looked great but there wasn't any substance to it. It was full of hot air.
All the data had to be scrubbed and reanalyzed. The AAP had to be retrofitted.
Conclusion
If you want your Affirmative Action Plan to look beautiful and also to be meaningful and accurate, and you want to avoid any audit nightmares, contact Mike!