Human Resources Articles

Business » Human Resources | By Kevin Muir @ Thursday, 15th February 2007 @ 4:00 AM

In any workplace, despite the number of employees, there are instances of employee misconduct. As a manager, you cannot hide from it when it happens. And you must deal with it consistently, fairly, and quickly. It is critical to workplace morale that you manage this problem properly. Otherwise it will cost your company in both time and money. Forms of Employee Misconduct There are several forms of employee misconduct. This article will just discuss a few major ones. First, an e... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kevin Muir @ Tuesday, 13th February 2007 @ 2:57 PM

Firing an employee can be tough for some people. Even if he or she is the worst employee imaginable, you will still find yourself reluctant to fire that worker. But to be an effective employer, you will eventually have to let an employee go. A bad employee can exhaust not only the morale of the other employees, but eventually the profit and efficiency of your company. You cannot compromise like this, and therefore you must know the proper employee dismissal techniques. Dismissal... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kevin Muir @ Friday, 9th February 2007 @ 12:21 AM

Many entrepreneurs are not aware that embezzlement exists in their businesses. However embezzlement is common in most workplaces and you should accept that your office is probably no exception. Instead of having parasites eat into your business, you should take steps to save your firm. Reasons For Embezzlement Studies show that embezzlers are usually long-term employees who do not begin with their crime until they have been with a company for several years. Typically, employers do... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kevin Muir @ Thursday, 8th February 2007 @ 12:28 AM

The difficulties that come with a problem employee may seem easily corrected by termination. However, if you believe the employee's performance can be altered, counseling employees is an intermediate step before firing. Counseling employees takes a strong attitude and a plan of action. Your plan of action must effectively alter your employee's behavior so their work performance improves. Too often, however, employers mistake disciplinary action as disciplinary counseling... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kevin Muir @ Wednesday, 7th February 2007 @ 5:41 PM

Employers operating in California should understand California at-will employment. It's a simple idea, but one that's often misunderstood by employers and employees. At-will employment is a term applied to any employee who doesn't have a clearly defined contractual employment agreement. It means, essentially, than an employer can dismiss an employee at any time without cause. If you are dealing with a troubled (or troublemaking) employee, this can be a blessing beca... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kevin Muir @ Tuesday, 6th February 2007 @ 7:04 PM

If you're not sure whether you are an at will employer it can be helpful to find out. The basic idea of at will employment allows an employee to quit a job without advance notice and without worrying about breach of contract. So it also allows employers to hire as well as fire employees for any reason - at least as long as you're not violating any other laws in doing so. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employees file more than 80,000 complaints ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kevin Muir @ Tuesday, 6th February 2007 @ 7:02 PM

Why is it the worst at will employees, the ones that you simply must fire, are always the ones most likely to sue you? Many small business owners and Human Resources Managers find themselves asking this question. They must know how to terminate an at will employee while limiting their liability if the case goes to court. With the sue-happy nation we live in, it is easy for a terminated at will employee to bring a case against you and claim that you had no real ground for termination. In fact, th... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Thursday, 1st February 2007 @ 12:23 AM

Implicit in most jobs with the title manager and people reporting to them is the responsibility of managing their people. However, for many, this is often seen as an extra chore that gets in the way of doing their functional job such as selling, accounting, marketing or manufacturing. "The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say "I". And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say "I". They don't think "I"... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Thursday, 11th January 2007 @ 3:20 AM

Some of us thrive on a bit of pressure - it can improve our performance because that's the way we're designed. However, too much over an extended time can take its toll. In Victoria, 8% of all workers' compensation claims are stress related - and these cost double the amount of other claims. The total cost in Australia for stress related workers' compensation is estimated to be $200 million every year. Add to this sick leave, low productivity, staff turnover and other... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Karine Schomer @ Friday, 5th January 2007 @ 10:58 AM

When I present seminars on Indian business culture to American managers and technical professionals involved in offshoring or offshore outsourcing to India, someone inevitably asks, "So what are our offshore teams and counterparts in India being taught about American business culture?" The answer is, "More than they used to, but seldom at a level deep enough to inculcate the attitudes, thought patterns and behavior norms that would ensure optimal effectiveness in working with ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Ray La Foy @ Friday, 29th December 2006 @ 12:19 PM

While it's true public records laws vary from state to state, there are certain documents that are open to anyone to peruse. These documents can help people who bother to look into them find out a world of information that can guide good decision-making. Whether it's a public records check for an employment situation or a man or woman checking another person out to make sure they're a "safe" date, a check on a person's background isn't out of the question in this... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Thursday, 21st December 2006 @ 2:08 PM

We tend to think of succession planning as having a few plans in place for if a key person gets hit by a bus or someone retires. In practice it has to be more than this if you want to avoid continually trying to "catch up". Unless you have a particular desire or need to be continually recruiting at varying levels in your organization, growing your own is usually a far better strategy. Certainly in some industries it is necessary to bring in outside current expertise for key jobs b... more...

Business » Human Resources | By elias georgi @ Friday, 8th December 2006 @ 9:17 AM

Many businesses that begin in the garage or a room in the home quickly expand and suddenly they have taken over the entire basement, hired employees and are dealing with expansion issues. This short article discusses several issues associated with hiring employees, contractors and casual workers. You may have been working with your small business out of your home for some time, business has been good and now you are ready to expand. Suddenly you are dealing with employment issues such as ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Friday, 8th December 2006 @ 4:33 AM

There seems to be a constant flow of new buzz words popping up and a recent one is "talent management" - logically following on from "the war for talent". Depending on where you look, you will find various definitions of it. We won't try another definition here but let's assume it is about finding talented people, having them perform well and keeping them in the organization. This implies an integrated approach to human resources management which starts f... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Steve Meade @ Thursday, 7th December 2006 @ 6:32 PM

Comedy hypnotist shows are a blast! Have you ever seen one? Well, if not you owe it to yourself to see one someday. They are absolutely hilarious and can make a great form of entertainment for a corporate holiday party... But watch out! There are some key things to look out for when hiring a hypnotist to perform a stage hypnosis show for your group. First, how do you find a great hypnotist? The fastest way to accomplish this is to do a search on the web for corporate hypnotists or co... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Susan Jan @ Monday, 4th December 2006 @ 4:46 PM

Post 9/11 the world as we knew it changed forever. With the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks, the world has become filled with distrust and suspicion. With the increased emphasis on security issues today, it has become commonplace in almost all sectors, for companies and employers to take extra caution by running employment background checks into the credentials and records of potential employees. Background checks are not limited to just new applicants; even current employees may underg... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Sunday, 3rd December 2006 @ 9:14 PM

Many companies pay bonuses or incentives and many people look forward to receiving them. What would happen if they weren't paid? In some cases, nothing would change, in others there would be a rush for the door. Definitions Let's firstly try and define the difference between a bonus and an incentive. We use the following. An incentive is a contractual arrangement. If you do this - we'll pay you this amount. A bonus is discretionary. If we have a good year we... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Poon @ Friday, 10th November 2006 @ 9:21 PM

Not all jobs are created equal. A US citizen working in a any state in the country might not need to worry about obtaining a work permit, but there are instances when you will need one before you can officially go to your first day on a particular job. Basically, a work permit is a document which authorizes a person to seek employment and hold down a job. This is not needed in every instance, especially for local employment, but if the employee is not a citizen of the country where he or... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Poon @ Monday, 30th October 2006 @ 2:22 AM

There was one movie where a teacher gave all of her students an initial grade of A. When asked why she did that, she said that it is harder to maintain this high grade rather than starting from scratch and earning it. The same principle can be applied in the corporate world. It is easy enough to hire new employees rather than keeping them satisfied in the workplace and making them stay on their current jobs. Take a look at these quick facts: - Companies find it ten times ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Poon @ Sunday, 29th October 2006 @ 3:34 AM

The success stories of most of the multimillion dollar companies start out from something small. From being a labor of love of one or two individuals who are working on a project at the garage of their home, a company can grow to such extent that they become a worldwide phenomenon. Without the help of a dedicated staff or workforce, not one of the bigwig enterprises that exist now will be what they are today. One of the major factors that contribute to a company's success i... more...