Archive

March 2012

The construction, mining, oil and gas industries appear to be stabilizing following the recession and have begun hiring again, according to continuing research conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). But skill deficiencies might be making it harder to re-staff, particularly for positions that traditionally have been hard to fill, SHRM’s polling results show.

News Updates
March 30, 2012

Work habits of leaders tend to filter down through the troops. That is why it is important for leaders to develop a productive and positive work style. Motivated to please their boss, employees may unconsciously emulate their leader’s positive and negative work styles. Unfortunately, I have met leaders who make you think they would rather work, work, work and eventually drop dead at their desk rather than in the loving arms of their spouse or close family member.

March 30, 2012

There was a lot of great conversation happening at TLNT Transform in its inaugural year. There was one conversation, however, which stood out to me as being of particular importance. In a breakout session moderated by John Hollon, Nick Araco--co-founder and CEO of The CFO Alliance--discussed a very interesting trend. In the post-recession C-suite, an increasing number of HR chiefs are now reporting directly to the CFO rather than the CEO.

March 29, 2012

Back in the fall, We Know Next published my blog, Why HR and the CEO should be joined at the Hip. According to SHRM, the blog struck a chord within the HR community. Conventional wisdom suggests the CEO’s most valued C-suite confidant should be the CFO. I’m not arguing that. During my CEO days, I was fortunate to work with two outstanding financial executives. I’m simply pointing out that a CEO has more than one hip, and with culture finally getting its credit as a key success factor, the time has come for HR to occupy a seat at the C-Suite table.

March 28, 2012

Corporate leaders are making more demands on managers to maintain high levels of employee engagement, and HR professionals are drawing on a variety of strategies to get managers involved in nurturing an engaged workforce. Employee engagement has a direct impact on worker performance, dedication to mission and drive in helping an organization accomplish its goals.

Research has shown that employee engagement is higher when responsibility for sustaining it is spread throughout an organization.

News Updates
March 28, 2012

It's called many things: employer or employment branding, recruitment marketing, talent attraction, talent marketing, etc. It's a largely misunderstood thing that is really just about what your company looks like as a prospective employer to job seekers.

Wikipedia describes Employer Branding like this:

March 27, 2012

The joke at retirement parties at Stanley Consultants is "See you on Monday."

About 60 percent of the Muscatine, Iowa, company's retirees do, in fact, head back into work—as special project leaders or contract workers, or in a part-time capacity.

News Updates
March 27, 2012

Although the rate of health care cost increases, in the U.S. it is expected to remain stable in 2012. U.S. employers are taking more aggressive steps to manage their rising costs and improve employee health, according to the 2012 Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care by consultancy Towers Watson and the not-for-profit National Business Group on Health.

News Updates
March 26, 2012

The National Labor Relations Board stresses that employees must be able to discuss their jobs freely.

The National Labor Relations Board, which helps administer the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, believes that social-media policies are overly broad if they unfairly restrict employees -- union or non-union -- from engaging in protected concerted activity. In simple English, if employees can't discuss their jobs with one another, the Board has a problem.

March 26, 2012

In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next this week.

News Updates
March 23, 2012

Sexism is more than illegal. It is immoral and bad business.

There is more than a little bit of sexism in the roles portrayed in Mad Men.  So why are so many of us crazy about the show, even though we deplore the sexism that is part of it?

Of course, it is a TV show and not real life. And, the characters are not only psychologically interesting but also physically attractive.

March 23, 2012

To be successful, young workers need to develop a lot more than job-specific knowledge, experts say. Of the so-called soft skills needed for success in the workplace, communication skills are particularly critical.

News Updates
March 23, 2012

Social media is rapidly becoming an essential tool and an integral force in the workplace. Whether for human resources, sales & marketing, public relations or customer service, social media is now the megaphone for an organization’s corporate culture and employment brand.

For those companies that have embraced it, this new way of working and communicating has generated fresh opportunities, influenced new audiences, and increased productivity. It’s also created a few unforeseen fires.

March 22, 2012

Over the past year, I have been researching how companies are approaching wellness as we dive head first in the age of mobile. I’ve even written about it here.

March 22, 2012

Retaliation claims have increased dramatically in the last two years, creating the most significant legal risk to employers today, employment law expert Joseph Beachboard told those attending the Society for Human Resource Management’s Employment Law & Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2012.

News Updates
March 22, 2012

Like many Americans, Jeff T.H. Pon, Ph.D., HCS, knew someone who was affected by the Sept. 11 terror attacks. In his case, it was “a dear friend in the Pentagon.” In the troubling days after the attacks, “I found myself wondering: How can I serve? How can I give back?”

On a Saturday morning not long thereafter, he received a call from Washington, D.C., asking if he was interested in helping bring the federal government’s human capital functions into the 21st century.

News Updates
March 21, 2012

How do organizations manage social media effectively?

March 21, 2012

Although there are many reasons to celebrate the contributions of women, a series of reports released shortly before International Women’s Day, March 8, 2012, reveals a disparity between the number of women participating in the global workforce and the number holding corporate leadership positions around the world.

News Updates
March 21, 2012

Imagine yourself in a sandwich shop and you’re at the register.  The employee behind the counter has just asked for your order.  The conversation goes as follows:

You:  “I’d like a turkey on wheat with lettuce and tomato only.” 

Employee: “Do you want mayonnaise or mustard on that?”

You:  “No, just lettuce and tomato.”

Employee:  “What kind of cheese would you like?”

You:  “I don’t want cheese.  I only want lettuce and tomato.”

Employee:  “It comes with cheese, though.  Are you sure you don’t want cheese?”

March 21, 2012

On March 12, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule outlining a framework for state-run health care exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The exchanges are intended to offer private health insurance options that meet government standards and to coordinate the eligibility of low-income individuals for premium tax credits and other assistance.

News Updates
March 20, 2012

For a long time, analysts have looked at the temporary staffing industry as a bellwether for the U.S. economy. "Staffing is always the first to get hit and the first to come back," says attorney Joel Klarreich, head of the Corporate and Staffing Group at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP in New York City.

News Updates
March 20, 2012

Here’s how:

1. Stop fixing.

If your passion for excellence and success drives you to constantly fix people, stop it. Problem centered fixers invite self-protective restraint in others.

2. Compassion wins.

The pursuit of personal gain and glory doesn’t inspire; it threatens. Inspiration occurs when others believe you genuinely put them before yourself.

3. Share frailties.

March 19, 2012

Injury risk increases 37 percent for employees with difficult family issues, researchers reported.

News Updates
March 19, 2012

Successful brands serve as a promise about an experience that creates expectations in the hearts and minds of customers and employees. Culture will increasingly determine how effective you’ll be in keeping those promises. The ability to influence culture will define and determine the impact of your brand experience.

Videos
March 16, 2012

In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next this week.

News Updates
March 16, 2012

Implementing the requirements of the sweeping health care reform law means moving forward in the face of uncertainty, according to Amy Bergner, a partner with HR consultancy Mercer, speaking at the 2012 Society for Human Resource Management Employment Law & Legislative Conference held March 4-7 in Washington, D.C.

The two big unknowns are the results of a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling and impact of the November 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

Supreme Court to Rule on Constitutionality—or Not?

News Updates
March 16, 2012

I asked a manager recently, “Would you want to work for you?” Stunned, he stopped, wordless for once. Then meekly, he admitted, “No, I wouldn’t.”

Why this manager (and many others) answer “No”

Manager Mike knew he was difficult and habitually gruff. Demanding and impatient, he was often accused of being in a bad mood. He was constantly complaining to his employees about his boss, his peers, the company, the policies, and even the economy and politics. He was so busy managing up to his bosses and out to his customers, that he forgot to lead down and around.

March 16, 2012

It seems that more of us are thinking about retirement lately. And why not? Everyone enjoys dreaming of their eventual freedom from the working world: random trips to the beach, time to putter around the house and, ahhhhh, sleeping late!

News Updates
March 15, 2012

I am just back from the SXSW Interactive Conference where I spent time with tens of thousands of geeks, nerds, dorks, and techie wizards. Not everyone at the conference was a Gen Y hipster — although it felt that way. I was tremendously fortunate to meet amazing men and women of all ages who had impressive resumes and interesting stories.

The one unifying theme? Everyone in attendance was passionate about technology, mobile devices and digital media.

March 15, 2012

Check your calendar. Synchronize watches. Draw up the brackets. March Madness is here. The 67 games of the annual NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament begin March 13 and conclude April 2, 2012.

Fans can—and likely will—follow along on their computer, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and select smart phones to watch games and track brackets while at work.

Along the way, productivity will be impacted, Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John A. Challenger said in a news release.

News Updates
March 14, 2012

One-half (51%) of organizations reported that there had been incidents of bullying in their workplace. The three most common outcomes of bullying incidents that organizations reported were decreased morale (68%), increased stress and/or depression levels (48%) and decreased trust among co-workers (45%). This is part one of a two-part series of SHRM survey findings on workplace bullying and violence.

Research
March 13, 2012

Quite often, including here at We Know Next, when the term “flexibility” is used with respect to the workplace, it’s often in the discussion of worklife balance initiatives that serve as benefits to the employer and employee.  In this arena, we think about telework, co-working, ROWE, and other employer-supported program to give employees more control over how, when and where they work.  Having a flexible workplace is now viewed as something that smart companies do in order to support their culture, increase employee engagement and loyalty, and ultimately drive business success.

March 13, 2012

There was an unscientific experiment conducted in the 1950’s by Candid Camera to determine the impact of group behavior on individuals. The experiment took place in an elevator in what appears to be an office building.  Without knowing they were being filmed, each subject walked into an elevator with complete strangers.

March 12, 2012

Most U.S. companies plan to increase the dollar value of the incentives they offer employees to participate in health improvement programs in 2012, according to an employer survey conducted by Fidelity Investments and the not-for-profit National Business Group on Health.

News Updates
March 12, 2012

In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next.

News Updates
March 9, 2012

Many organizations have migrated toward telecommuting and virtual work due to rising travel costs, a global customer base, and the dispersion of talent. While numerous organizations have made significant investments in virtual teams and the technology to support them, a surprising number of virtual teams are not successful.

March 9, 2012

Smart phones, mobile sites and business applications continue to impact the way employees use technology at work. Many organizations are shifting away from company-issued devices and adopting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies, which allow employees to use the mobile technology they’re most familiar with. There's a lot of buzz around the benefits of BYOD in an increasingly mobile workforce, but little discussion around the policies needed to establish rules and guidelines for usage.

March 8, 2012

Half of manufacturing companies and a quarter of service-sector companies polled plan to expand their payrolls in March 2012, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey.

News Updates
March 8, 2012

As talent demands and searches become increasingly global, organizations face growing pressure to deploy talent strategies that can scale for size and efficiency and focus on regional markets, according to recently released research from Deloitte Consulting.

News Updates
March 8, 2012

I opened my eyes 5 minutes before the alarm clock sounded. 5:25 a.m. Atlanta. Still half-asleep. I was into the third day of a 3 city, 3 keynote speeches on 3 different topics stretch. Time to help a national sales organization kick of their annual Sales Summit. We finished our sound check around 7:30. Attendees were starting to fill the room to an upbeat playlist. Coffee. Breakfast. Name tags. Networking. You know the drill.

My client, the CMO of the organization walked over, smiled nervously and asked if I was ready. I smiled and answered in the affirmative. Then she added:

March 7, 2012

With more human resource professionals using mobile devices as their go-to communication tools, it stands to reason that there would be more HR applications or “apps” than ever before for business use anywhere, anytime. While most of these apps once were concentrated in the recruiting arena, in 2012 there are apps for analytics, time-and-attendance tracking, performance feedback and more.

But which of these myriad apps are most useful? Industry analysts, HR practitioners, leading consultants and others offer their take on what separates wheat from chaff in the market.

News Updates
March 7, 2012

Increasing numbers of U.S. workers say they would be willing to trade some of their pay for more secure and generous retirement benefits, according to a survey by consultancy Towers Watson.

News Updates
March 6, 2012

Since the demise of the Employee Free Choice Act (or “card check bill”) following the 2010 midterm election, the Obama Administration has increasingly pushed labor-management relations policy through the executive branch. Throughout 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued significant case decisions and substantive regulations.

March 6, 2012

The second annual Telework Week, taking place March 5-9, 2012, encourages businesses, government agencies and individuals to telecommute. Individuals and organizations can visit Telework Exchange, a public-private partnership, to calculate potential commuter cost and environmental savings and to pledge to telework.

News Updates
March 5, 2012

Over the years, I have been involved in several trench advocacy campaigns on issues related to workplace flexibility.  Whether it was responding to a Department of Labor request for information on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations, garnering support for SHRM’s efforts to clarify the FMLA rules, or challenging the need for a one-size-fits-all paid sick leave mandate, I’ve engaged in my fair share of workplace flexibility lobbying battles on behalf of the HR profession.

March 5, 2012

In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next.

Mike Aitken, SHRM’s Vice President of Government Affairs, shares his thoughts on key issues surrounding the 2012 political landscape as they relate to HR and business professionals.

Meanwhile, U.S. military veterans are being hired, yet not targeted in recruitment, according to a recent military poll conducted by SHRM.

March 2, 2012

Much has been made about the ROI of business coaching with most studies returning a 5-to-8 times return on investment, as well as numerous intangible benefits. Additionally, the stocks of companies that spend aggressively on employee development and training outperform those that do not, further evidence for the dollars and cents value of coaching and development.

March 2, 2012

A 67-year-old man was worried that his age would hurt his job search. So, says Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR, “he sent out a simple e-mail to five people and attached his resume. [The e-mail] read, ‘Hey, I’m looking for a job and here are four companies I’m interested in. If you have a relationship or connection there that could help me in my search, I’d really appreciate it.’ That one e-mail sent to five people led to an interview and a job,” she recalls.

News Updates
March 2, 2012

A poll addressing military employment conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) showed that companies that are hiring have hired U.S. military veterans within the past 36 months. But a sluggish economy and the lack of awareness of resources for connecting with veterans appear to be major causes for not putting more soldiers to work.

News Updates
March 1, 2012