Talent management strategy needs to be customized and aligned with an organization’s business challenges and unique operating environment to ensure its positive impact on the bottom line, said several experts speaking at a conference here Feb. 13, 2013.
“There really is not a cookie-cutter approach to installing a workforce strategy,” said Michael Haid, Right Management’s executive vice president for talent management, at The Conference Board’s Talent Management Strategies Conference.
On February 27, SHRM @WeKnowNext chatted with Nisha Raghavan (@TheHRBuddy) about the topic: "The Tangled Web of HR and Recruiting."
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat:
It’s important that we surround ourselves with others that can encourage and inspire us to see things from a different perspective. We’ve heard folks tell us that “It’s lonely at the top.” We’ve had discussions with many leaders who have shared their personal stories of feeling lonely, and that they were the ones who took on the bulk of what happens in our organizations because it seemed as if no one else cared as much as they cared.
Taking cues from social media trends, recruitment firms diversify service offerings
Internet job portals and recruitment firms are following the lead of popular social media platforms and adding personal touches to the services they offer their clients in order to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.
All In: How the Best Managers Create a Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results 
To have any hope of succeeding as a manager, you need to get your people all in.
The number of employment-related immigration bills that state legislatures enacted in 2012 declined from 2011, according to a report the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released Jan. 29, 2013.
In 2012 Immigration-Related Laws and Resolutions in the States, the NCSL said states put immigration “on the back burner” while focusing on budget deficits and redistricting. In addition, the NCSL said, states “hit the pause button” because they were awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Arizona v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2492 (2012).
There have been countless books, articles and blogs written about “leadership.” A Google search brings 457,000,000 results. Well, I’m going to make it 457,000,001. I’ve had the good fortune to have worked for some fantastic leaders and each one had unique characteristics that made them great. They were humble, self-aware and fair. These may seem obvious and simple, but these traits are routinely overlooked when hiring for such an important role.
A majority of business leaders polled said they believe that identifying the right talent is critical to success, but more than half of respondents said there is a shortage of talent in their industry, according to survey results released Feb. 6, 2013, by HR services provider NorthgateArinso (NGA).
Most people in the corporate world are fluent in a second language, and they don’t even realize it. Those fluent in business jargon request “face time” with clients, grab “low-hanging fruit” and aim “at the end of the day” to reach their “target audience.”
When an organization sets out to find the best and brightest talent, the collaboration between HR and recruiters is critically important. Unfortunately, friction often exists between the two groups as they attempt to meet numbers and reach goals. This unfortunate dynamic increases the cost per hire and negatively impacts the success of the organization.
Experts representing industry, government and educational communities supplied testimony about what they are doing to remedy the workforce skills gap and improve the country’s educational system during a Feb. 5, 2013, hearing held by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The witnesses also testified that the federal government could do more to quell economic uncertainty and accelerate job growth and to make it easier for states to align their education systems with labor-market needs.
On February 20, SHRM @WeKnowNext chatted with Sabrina Baker (@SabrinaLBaker) about the topic: "Does HR Have Skills Gaps, Too?"
At this point in the 21st century, if you’re not actively engaged in social media to help boost your practice, you’re missing out. While not all tools will be appropriate for all HR consultants, there are three in particular that deserve a look: LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
Sharing.
That’s right - Sharing. Not sharing staplers or a filing cabinet drawer. I’m talking about sharing information.
In his book The Collaborative Organization, author Jacob Morgan says collaboration efforts have a direct impact on business performance. The results show as high as 36 percent. Morgan explains the result is linked to the role collaboration plays in helping employees solve company problems.
Well-crafted employment policies are a good thing: They inform employees of expected and appropriate behavior and help employers deal with workplace situations consistently and fairly.
However, sometimes employers can find themselves in murky waters or create problems by adhering to a policy too strictly, especially in situations where employees run afoul of a workplace rule by following their conscience or trying to act ethically.
Hey HR folks! Is the first word that comes out of your mouth when you head into work – “Ugh!” Seriously, does the dawning of a new day in your corner of the HR universe generate excitement and anticipation, or drudgery and a loathsome feeling?
The answer most people reading this would say – “It depends on the day!”
You know, that’s fair. The question you have to ask youself is: What mood or tone do you regularly set as an HR pro? As a department? Do people like interacting with you, or do they do the classic, “Shhhh, it’s HR!”
Employers need not do more than necessary to satisfy health care reform's affordability requirements
With the U.S. unemployment rate at the lowest it has been in more than three and a half years, employees’ confidence in the U.S. economy—and their ability to find and keep a new job, should they leave their current employer—appears to be stabilizing, according to the Glassdoor Fourth Quarter 2012 Employment Confidence Survey.
Company Culture, Employer Brand, Employer Value Proposition - there's been much written and spoken about these ideas and concepts in the last few years and for the most part a general acceptance has emerged that organizational leaders need to be very aware of internal culture, and its effects on morale, engagement, productivity and performance.
Even as stock prices rise, unemployment drops and overall recovery takes hold, more U.S. workers than ever are planning to delay retirement, according to a 2012 report from The Conference Board, an independent business membership and research association.
Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is one of the most critical and challenging issues faced by HR professionals today. Most large Fortune 500 companies (for example Microsoft and Ernst and Young) have extensive diversity messages on their websites and dedicate tremendous time and effort to building a diverse team that more closely reflects the makeup of he world.
I have three kids, ages three and under. So a vacation for me is the half hour of quiet time I get in the bathroom every morning.
It's not like the old days.
I remember Spring Break '97 in the Bahamas. Sun, beach, water sports, and a couple of adult beverages.
If managers relied on popular vote to keep their jobs, many would be packing up their desks, according to a recent informal Monster.com worldwide survey.
Asked who they would vote into their manager’s position—at either their current or most recent job—only one-fourth of the 577 respondents said they would vote to retain their current boss. Thirty percent voted for themselves, 25 percent said they would vote for a colleague and 21 percent hoped for a new candidate to enter the race.
On February 13, SHRM @WeKnowNext chatted with Matt Stollak (@akaBruno) about "Transitioning to a Career in HR."
Keep communication lines with job applicants open, hiring process transparent
Recruiters and hiring managers can do more to fill the void that job candidates often get sucked into when applying online for a position, said one recruitment and staffing expert during a Jan. 23, 2013, webcast presented by BraveNewTalent, a San Mateo, Calif.-based social media platform for job seekers.
There are a lot of components to leadership. The characteristics that go into making an effective leader are vast. If I asked for a list, I bet I would get pages and pages. We look for a lot in our leaders.
For the first time, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released a table indicating the type of discriminatory action alleged by statute, and it is a treasure trove of information.
Unsurprisingly, discharge claims led the pack under the three main EEO laws—Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
“Retirement is for sissies” reads the tagline on former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new movie. In the “Governator’s” latest go-round as an action hero—“The Last Stand”—he plays a long-in-the-tooth sheriff charged with stopping a drug kingpin from reaching the Mexican border.
Imagine coming to work and receiving, on your desk, a card from your boss that says:
"You’re my everything, all the time, forever, but especially on this Valentine’s Day."
"Tell me your Dreams of us being together forever… and I’ll tell you my dreams about yours coming true. Happy Valentine’s Day!"
"It’s Valentine’s Day… a day of love… the very special day we set aside for wishing things in a very special way."
While the framework for a comprehensive overhaul to the nation’s immigration laws has captured the attention of lawmakers, the media and the public, the federal agencies charged with administering the current immigration system are keeping busy in 2013 implementing employment-based regulations and programs.
Remember when companies were run as dictatorships? We simply cannot do that anymore. There are too many people in too many places with too much work to be done. Nowadays, one man or woman cannot run a start-up -- let alone a global corporation.
In the past, while formulating an employee engagement strategy I would often hear, "The CEO wants it that way, so that's the way we are going to do it." Today, the CEO-centric program may be the very thing that drives tomorrow's talent away.
At the start of 2013 the global economy has two speeds: sluggish growth in the developed economies of Western Europe and North America and rapid economic expansion in developing nations. These two economic speeds are creating myriad challenges for business leaders and human resource practitioners as they seek to find the right mix of talent to remain competitive and adapt to the highly volatile global marketplace.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals may not be the right place for everyone. It says so right on the company’s website.
“We like being different,” said Ross Grossman, Regeneron’s vice president of human resources, who outlined the company’s culture-driven recruitment campaign as part of a “smarter workforce” track at IBM’s annual conference for clients, held here Jan. 28-30, 2013.
When interviewing candidates for a new Head of HR position at HireVue, I had a simple question for each applicant: If you could have a clean slate and start the talent acquisition process totally anew, what would you do? Surprisingly, the majority of candidates were unable to provide a good answer. Most just talked about doing things the old way, but using new tools.
On February 6, SHRM @WeKnowNext chatted with Janine Truitt (@CzarinaofHR) about "Building Better HR".
Some of the best and brightest folks in the human resources profession jumped into the chat to share their ideas.
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat:
Employers have plenty of reasons to encourage healthy behaviors at work, but letting employees exercise while they work—using treadmills or exercise bicycles fitted under elevated desks—poses many challenges for HR to consider.
“Anytime we can incorporate wellness into daily work activities, we’re bound to have a healthier employee,” said Beverly Haskins, vice president of human resources for Advanced Testing Laboratory in Cincinnati.
By Lisa Horn (@SHRMLobbyist), SHRM’s Senior Government Relations Advisor
By now you’ve heard that this week (Feb. 5) marked the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This landmark federal leave statute has no doubt afforded countless new parents opportunities to bond with children while allowing other employees time off to recover from major health issues or to care for seriously ill loved ones – all without fear of losing a job.
The background-screening industry is facing greater scrutiny over the accuracy of its reports, according to industry experts. In 2012 some job seekers claimed that inaccurate criminal background checks prevented them from finding employment.
Accuracy of background-check-report information and greater scrutiny of the screening industry are the No. 1 trend for 2013, said attorney and background-check expert Lester Rosen.
With changing cultural trends, the rise of the knowledge worker, and technology-catalyzed speed of ramp-up, we're seeing more and more examples of younger leaders, managing folks older than them. This was once unheard of. Tenure, not tenacity, once trumped all. Not anymore.
Why build your “fan base?” A village to raise a child, a world to make that child a success.
I'm a sucker for the storyline in which a single man or woman rises up above all odds, then gets to bask in the sweet glory of showing up those who doubted them.
In the dysfunctional world that has become the nation’s capital, something as rare as a unicorn racing across the National Mall has appeared—lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for agreement on comprehensive immigration reform.
On Jan. 28, 2013, a bipartisan group of eight senators announced the framework of their legislative direction with four pillars:
A set of frequently asked questions and answers (FAQs) issued by federal regulators on Jan. 24, 2013, will limit the use of employer-provided health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to fund employee purchases of individual (nongroup) coverage on government-run health care exchanges, scheduled to launch in 2014.
HR professionals often work so diligently at improving the culture of the organizations in which we serve that we often forget to take care of each other and our own profession. We spend so much time creating opportunities for employees that we forget we need development, too. With so much work and so little time, how can HR pros foster a culture of continuous improvement and find ways to help and support each other internally, nationally and even globally?
