Human Resources Articles

Business » Human Resources | By Mary Murtha @ Friday, 28th July 2006 @ 2:31 AM

There exists a great deal of misunderstandings as to what the duties of a human resources department entail. Most people assume that HR deals with hiring, firing and employee complaints. Actually, human resources general involves far more than that. Human resources can include payroll, accounting, health benefits processing, labor-management relations, union issues, pensions and many, many other details. For many years, HR departments remained a major component of businesses in the Unite... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Wednesday, 26th July 2006 @ 5:28 PM

We recently heard someone authoritatively state that performance reviews were unnecessary if suitable numbers were in place. They were referring to a sales process that was, in itself, very logical, measurable, and had been proven to be effective. But what of the people who interact with those in the sales function who help make it effective? This is the danger of looking at one part of the business in isolation. People and processes interact with others across the business and an ef... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Sunday, 16th July 2006 @ 11:07 AM

With the looming shortage of talent we are facing, smart companies are taking action now. We feel the key actions are: • Keeping the good people you already have • Having the good people perform and • Recruiting well - finding the right people to meet your current and future needs One of the significant factors raised by Ken Blanchard in his book "Gung Ho" was Worthwhile Work. This fits in very logically with the process of planning. A useful process to follow for... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Mike Batta @ Friday, 14th July 2006 @ 9:42 AM

The outsourcing business has spread far and wide in India and other countries such as Germany, Australia, Japan and China. Still there is an unfulfilled demand that exists in many parts of the world. Some research studies have established the need for a combination of technical and business skills for a company to succeed in the outsourcing industry, especially if they have to tap the available market potential. It has been shown beyond doubt that these two skill sets are essential for t... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Dave Elger @ Thursday, 13th July 2006 @ 10:05 PM

It’s a fact of life that smokers take more breaks than non-smokers during work hours. In 2000 a Lansing, Michigan Research firm surveyed 17 area health care systems and discovered that smokers averaged 3 smoke breaks per day, each 13 minutes long. Recently I asked 18 individuals enrolled in a tobacco cessation class about smoke breaks. Several of the pack-a-day smokers admitted to taking a break about once an hour. If each break takes an average of 10 minutes; some smokers in my class (mostly... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Kip Goldhammer @ Tuesday, 4th July 2006 @ 8:45 PM

Think of the impact good office furniture has on a client visiting your office; and you will immediately realize the importance of office furniture. Since office furniture is part of the overall décor of your office, it plays an important role in creating a good first impression on your visiting clients. Moreover, good office furniture provides comforts to your employees and helps them concentrate on their work (thus increasing their productivity levels). However, good office fur... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Friday, 30th June 2006 @ 1:44 AM

There is forecast to be a shortage of skills and businesses are going to have to work hard at attracting and keeping the good people. The first of the baby boomers, those born in 1945, turn 60 next year. Dr Frank Gelber of leading economic forecasters BIS Shrapnel, says business is prospering and employment is rising strongly. There is the start of a strong and long upswing in business investment and there will be skilled labour shortages putting pressure on wages and salaries. ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Thursday, 22nd June 2006 @ 8:28 PM

The office was a very social place and the staff enjoyed a laugh. Jokes were told and after work drinks were a regular and enjoyable occurrence. Then it went just a bit too far. One of the email jokes forwarded upset the new girl and one of the men over did the celebrating at Christmas lunch and was too zealous in his approaches to another staff member. The email incident led to a resignation and a later claim for constructive dismissal and the lunch incident resulted in the otherwis... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Jeff Casmer @ Tuesday, 6th June 2006 @ 5:58 AM

When you must take on employees for your business, you will have to go through the hiring process. After preliminary interviews, you should be able to narrow the field to three or four top candidates. And that is the time to do a little detective work to insure you have the right (and honest) employees coming in. It's estimated that up to one-third of job applicants lie about their experience and educational achievements on their resumes or job applications. No matter how sterling th... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Roger Plachy @ Sunday, 28th May 2006 @ 8:08 AM

A Job description, while low on the sexy-management-tool scale, provides the most reliable base for hiring and managing employees. With a job description as the foundation the process is thorough, fair and legal. Job candidates and employees come in a variety of dimensions, so orienting on them is haphazard. A concrete, job-specific reference is required. The job description provides such a base for writing help wanted ads, stating job qualifications, interviewing job applicants, orientin... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Sunday, 28th May 2006 @ 5:50 AM

Most people know what takes up their time at work - but they are not often sure it is what the boss wants or the business needs. The subject of job descriptions often brings up opposing views. Some thinking they are necessary and others seeing them as a liability because people will use them as a defence saying "it's not on my job description". Properly constructed job descriptions can provide that final link between corporate direction and the individuals working to... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Roger Plachy @ Tuesday, 23rd May 2006 @ 1:54 AM

Writing a job description ranks with flossing teeth, taking out the garbage, and paying the heating bill—necessary but uninspiring tasks. However, unlike maintenance tasks that merely prevent problems, a well-written job description establishes a new philosophy for employment actions. A run-of-the-mill, human resource management job description details tasks to be performed. A Results-Oriented Job Description is more powerful, rewarding, and thorough because it elevates the manager’s and ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Friday, 19th May 2006 @ 3:36 PM

Would you fly on an airline that provided huge bonuses to pilots based on how many passengers and how much freight they could cram on their aircraft and on how few costs they incur? Not unless you were desperate. We really want those people up the front end of our plane to be hired on their skills and their tendencies to comply with regulations and place safety first. While the full details, and cost, of the National Australia Bank $360 million foreign exchange disaster may never surface... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Wednesday, 17th May 2006 @ 5:58 AM

Jim Collins in his book Good to Great talks about "getting the right people on the bus" before deciding where to drive it. A key factor in getting the right people is understanding what competencies we are looking for and how to find out if someone has these. Identifying knowledge and skills is relatively easy - those above water in our Iceberg model, (Milkovich and Newman), but those underwater -self concepts, traits and motives were more difficult. However, there is a t... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Thursday, 4th May 2006 @ 12:58 AM

Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great" researched companies that were already well regarded to discover what made some of them great. The criteria for great were well defined and the research to uncover how they became great was excellent. The book is a good read. One of the findings which, in some ways, presents a bit of a challenge is that many of the great companies focused on first getting the "right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus)" before decidi... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Tony Colon @ Tuesday, 2nd May 2006 @ 7:03 AM

A mentoring initiative is a business strategy that enables organizations to turn people into assets. Since every core business process and strategic initiative requires a Human Capital Management business strategy to execute it, improvements made in HCM systems and processes can notably impact an organization’s bottom line. A mentoring program is a standard of excellence that health care organizations must attain to consistently provide the highest quality of care. The mentors', mentees&#... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Thursday, 27th April 2006 @ 1:02 AM

A few Sally's pregnant, Hugh had an offer from another company he couldn't refuse, Des had just had enough and decided to retire early, poor Charlene is on indefinite sick leave due to a serious illness and you've just won a significant piece of business you've been chasing for the last two years. These are all common events that can throw up serious obstacles - in some businesses losing key people can be crippling. Quite often succession planning is done on an ad hoc ... more...

Business » Human Resources | By ian Williamson @ Saturday, 22nd April 2006 @ 3:44 AM

The more effort you put into dressing the part, the higher your chances of getting the job. This is one of the most fundamental and basic rules of impressing during an interview. This may be an old rule but even in this modern age, dressing to impress continues to play a major role in helping interviewers select the right candidate. When you put a lot of effort into your clothing for the interview, it tells the interviewer that the job is important to you or that you are serious about ge... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Paul Phillips @ Saturday, 22nd April 2006 @ 3:20 AM

We are often approached by clients wanting to link performance to bonuses – an apparently quite logical request. There is a desire to reward good employees and avoid paying too much to under performers. However, this is an area where the results wanted are not often achieved. After examining reasons for wanting to pay bonuses, many clients have been able to introduce a well designed incentive plan that is linked to business objectives and rewards the right people together with a salary s... more...

Business » Human Resources | By Bob Corcoran @ Sunday, 16th April 2006 @ 9:25 PM

Let’s start with a story. I had a client, an agent who had just moved to a new market, who wanted to make a fresh start with the profession. I worked with her to renew her approach to real estate, one that allowed her to see real estate as a business. A vital part of this plan was to get her to realize she couldn’t do it all. So before she started, we agreed that she would hire two employees: a buyer’s agent and an administrative assistant. It proved to be a powerful move. In one year, she was t... more...