Human Resources Articles

Business » Human Resources | By Sam McCain @ Wednesday, 3rd September 2008 @ 2:45 PM

Having been involved in learning and development for many years, mid-last year, I took a step into the world of eLearning. I'd had some experience prior to this, but hadn't previously been involved in consulting to clients interested in eLearning. After joining an eLearning company, I gallantly took on my first couple of clients when the opportunities presented themselves. So, what have I learned so far? A large part of the consulting process with clients is managi... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dee Power @ Monday, 25th August 2008 @ 11:16 PM

Outsourcing occurs when a business secures (purchases) products and/or services from a third party, as opposed to producing them in-house. There are several advantages and disadvantages to outsourcing. Advantages of Outsourcing One of the biggest advantages can be lower personnel costs. By outsourcing job duties to non-employees, a business does not have to pay consistent wages or offer additional employee benefits. The company may pay lower taxes because independent contractors, the ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Sam McCain @ Friday, 22nd August 2008 @ 7:21 PM

Induction programs have traditionally been based upon providing new starters with the information and skills they need to successfully perform their new roles as well as covering off compliance and policy issues. This focus means organisations can miss the opportunity to positively engage their new starters. Consider the following: * In the current jobs market it has become increasingly difficult to attract and retain the best people; * Organisations recognise the importance of selecti... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Arnold Hernandez @ Wednesday, 20th August 2008 @ 1:45 AM

Employers often hire workers and categorize them as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime, taxes, and complying with other federal and state labor and employment related laws. In overtime cases the courts and the administrative agencies do not automatically accept the idea that a worker is not entitled to overtime rights by simply categorizing the worker as an independent contractor. The workers are more often than not still employees and can file overtime claims. The test... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Jerry Work @ Monday, 18th August 2008 @ 10:35 PM

A professional employer organization, or "PEO", is an entity that provides a spectrum of administrative services to businesses that are too small or just don't want to do it themselves. These services include payroll processing, workers' compensation insurance, employee benefits administration and human resources services. They are able to do what they do via a process called "employee leasing". Although it is a strange word (how do you lease a human being?), the... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Turo-Shields @ Monday, 18th August 2008 @ 1:39 PM

We spend a large part of our lives at work. We make friends, network with colleagues and plan our retirement years based on our active lives in the workplace. But for all the time we spend at work, how healthy is the work climate? The answer to this question has become the focus for a growing number of companies that provide employee assistance programs. Everyone has experienced a cold or flu, which was "going around the office", or had allergic reactions to cleaning flui... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Turo-Shields @ Monday, 18th August 2008 @ 12:09 AM

Work can be stressful at the best of times, so longer hours on the job often mean more stress and, as a result, more work-related injuries. These can include muscle and joint pain resulting from long hours sitting in the same position, repetitive strain injuries from performing (as the name suggests) repetitive tasks, work errors due to stress and fatigue, and illnesses aggravated by stress, including physical problems such as colds and flus and mental health problems like depression and anxiety... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Turo-Shields @ Monday, 18th August 2008 @ 12:03 AM

In Chinese, the word for crisis has two characters. One character is for "problem," the other for "opportunity." As absenteeism, disability claims and employee turnover increase, we find ourselves in a workplace health-care crisis. In a 2001 study entitled, Increasing Participation in Corporate Wellness Programs: A Segmentation Study of Employee Differences, Paula Haynes of the University of Tennessee underlines how important it is to provide a wide variety of services in... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Turo-Shields @ Monday, 18th August 2008 @ 12:01 AM

Work site wellness for their employees, employers are discovering, is good for the health of their businesses as well. Health and wellness programs help to cut the costs associated with poor employee health, which include absenteeism, loss of productivity and poor work quality. A recent Hewitt Associates survey of over 500 US companies indicated a significant paradigm shift in how companies view health benefits for their employees. Of those surveyed this year, 88% are committed to inst... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Turo-Shields @ Monday, 18th August 2008 @ 12:01 AM

Emotional health is a state of wellness that comes from understanding and acknowledging our emotions and finding appropriate ways to express them. As employees, we often bring emotional problems from our childhood or current family life into the workplace because we haven't dealt with them effectively outside of work. This can seriously damage workplace relationships and lead to poor performance and negative feelings all around. Many tools and techniques exist for helping us improve... more...

Business » Human Resources | By john mce @ Wednesday, 13th August 2008 @ 12:20 AM

It makes sense to reduce the probability of employees leaving through dissatisfaction. It also makes sense to maximise the contribution and satisfaction from your most engaged employees. However, in many ways, it makes even more sense to focus your efforts on the bulk of employees who are neither engaged nor disengaged. The Corporate Leadership Council is a membership of senior executives with a shared commitment to steward enterprise-wide human resources management. This membersh... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kimberly Schenk @ Tuesday, 5th August 2008 @ 1:48 PM

I prefer to discuss my contingency fee for delivering a great candidate when I've located the Decision Maker and am about two-thirds of the way through completing a job order form. My client has done 90% of the talking up until this point and provided the exact information I need before deciding what my fee will be for this search. While my client has been talking I've been listening closely and taking notes. The beauty of working as a Recruiter lies in our ability to des... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kimberly Schenk @ Monday, 4th August 2008 @ 1:37 AM

There are dozens if not hundreds of ways to source for candidates. Often sourcing comes down to your budget and your personality. There are many helpful, industry specific websites. Independent contractor websites, networking websites, and topic specific chat rooms, are starting points. I always consider ROI and that includes my investment of time. I know companies who spend wisely on traditional media print ads and utilize every scrap of information that's generated from those ads. ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Cash Miller @ Friday, 1st August 2008 @ 11:04 AM

It often seems like a good idea to bring a friend or family member into your business. You've known each other for years and believe that you can rely on them. But being friends with someone or being related to them doesn't mean they will make a good employee. And as is often the case they could bring with them more problems than they solve. So here are a few things to consider. The first is you need to ask yourself what will happen if something goes wrong. It might be that thin... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Arnold Hernandez @ Monday, 14th July 2008 @ 11:44 AM

Many employers attempt to avoid having to comply with federal and state laws by mis- classifying their employees. Instead of giving them their regular titles they are promoted in title to managers, supervisors, and assistant managers. They then pay them salaries instead of hourly rates and pay no overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Human resource managers should be keenly aware of this as many large business have been successfully sued. A job title of manager d... more...

Business » Human Resources | By MIKE SELVON @ Wednesday, 2nd July 2008 @ 5:56 AM

There are many small to mid-size companies that have times of fast growth and turn to human resources, or HR, outsourcing, rather than hiring new HR staff members internally to deal with their growth spurt. HR outsourcing can be a very effective way of meeting the demands of strategic growth and expansion of a business and can cut the overall costs by allowing the current and experienced staff to focus their expertise on the things that they are best and most productive at doing. In this... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Ronald Young @ Monday, 30th June 2008 @ 2:12 PM

Gas prices, inflation, war, and foreclosures are all factors that can be considered either the causes or the signs of a slowing U.S. Economy. But, what about the fact that in the next seven years 43 percent of the engineers in our workforce will be eligible for retirement? These are the professionals who, in large part, are responsible for our technologically driven culture and even the vaunted U.S. armed forces. This could spell Trouble (with a capital T). These jobs are skill-spec... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Lee Salz @ Monday, 23rd June 2008 @ 10:45 AM

My wife Sharon and I dated for exactly two years before I proposed to her. Over our two year courtship, I got to know her likes and dislikes. I understood her goals in life and her aspirations. She knew the same about me. On July 24, 1996, in the White House Rose Garden (true story), I asked Sharon to marry me. She excitedly agreed. What might have been her response if she didn't feel like she knew me well enough to make that kind of commitment? Would she still have accepted? What if... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Gregory Smyth @ Friday, 20th June 2008 @ 5:33 AM

The on-going expansion of national economies across Asia is giving birth to new companies and ratcheting up demand for Asia experienced executives. It is also producing the kind of headlines that indicate to the region's executive recruiters that their best days are still very much ahead of them. If anyone requires further convincing that the Asia-Pacific region indeed represents the new combat zone in the global war for management talent, just consider these facts: Hong Kong recent... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Gregory Smyth @ Friday, 20th June 2008 @ 5:07 AM

In a survey conducted recently, 600 chief executives of multinational companies with businesses across Asia said a lack of qualified staff ranked as their biggest worry in China and South-East Asia. It was their second-biggest concern in Japan after cultural differences and the fourth-biggest in India after problems with infrastructure, bureaucracy and wage inflation. Across almost every industry and sector the situation is not different either. Old Asia-hands may find it easy to realize why ... more...