Archive

April 2013

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein and the Ba’athist ruling regime in Iraq in 2003, economic opportunities have begun to appear in the country, attracting foreign corporations to enter the still-turbulent state and undertake new operations. These opportunities have drawn primarily energy and construction firms focused on oil extraction and the connected infrastructure and logistical support these industries need.

News Updates
April 30, 2013

Work is complex.  So are the lives of today’s workers. 

Employers understand that the 21st century workplace requires a culture that encourages and supports flexibility. That’s why the smartest businesses have redefined where, when and how people do their best work.

April 29, 2013

Scores usher in era of ‘quantified employee’

Social media outlets buzzed in 2012 when Wired magazine ran a story about Sam Fiorella, a senior executive who said he lost out on a vice president position with a large Toronto-based marketing agency because of a low Klout score. According to the article, Fiorella admitted during his job interview that he didn’t know what a Klout score was—and claimed that after the recruiter showed him his Klout score (which was 34), the interview ended quickly.

News Updates
April 29, 2013

"Who do you want next to you in court?"

April 29, 2013

Having lots of data is good. Having data that can be turned into meaningful information is better. But having information that can be translated into action is what HR and organizations really need, an expert in workforce planning and analytics advised HR professionals in an April 10, 2013, HR.com webcast.

News Updates
April 26, 2013

Mobile is the next frontier when it comes to recruitment technologies. Our industries innovations follow in the footsteps of consumer and business industry trends. First, with data storage systems like the applicant tracking systems, and then cloud and SaaS based systems, and the use of social media as part of recruiting. Yes, mobile is the next frontier in the recruiting world, and slow yet steady progress is being made.

April 25, 2013

On April 24, @weknownext chatted with Justin Storch of The American Council on International Personnel (@ACIPimmigration) and Daniel Brown, Partner, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP (@DBrown367) on "What's Next for Work Authorization?"

In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat:

April 24, 2013

Did you know there are currently 1 billion gamers worldwide? And did you know that a 2012 Gallup survey revealed that 71 percent of U.S. workers are not engaged on the job? The connection between these two facts and the impact gaming can have on employee engagement and talent management were the subject of game designer and futurist Jane McGonigal’s April 16 keynote presentation at the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2013 Talent Management Conference & Exposition.

April 24, 2013
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Unquestionably, when it come to tackling the Americans with Disabilities Act, one of the biggest issues affecting the workplace and accommodating disabled employees is providing leave as a reasonable accommodation. Anecdotally, a question that plagues most employers is just how much leave is enough?

We know that an indefinite leave of absence is not a reasonable accommodation. But, what about when an employee takes one leave, after another, after another.

When is enough enough?

* * *

April 24, 2013

This should come as no surprise, but the HR department is crucial to the operations of any business. Identifying and onboarding the people responsible for delivering key objectives, keeping current employees engaged and working productively and ensuring all employees receive necessary training and development are just some of our more high profile functions. What is surprising, though, is how few HR professionals realize their value and their power to drive change.

April 23, 2013

Organizations (77%) are increasingly using social networking sites for recruiting, primarily as a way to attract passive job candidates. Fewer organizations (20%) use social networking websites or online search engines to screen job candidates.

 

Research
April 23, 2013

Immigration reform is fully under way as the “Gang of Eight," a group of Republican and Democratic senators, introduced its bi-partisan immigration reform bill on April 18. Human resources professionals around the country are paying close attention as passage of the bill could profoundly affect their internal processes and overall talent management strategies.  

April 22, 2013

A new program backed by GE and several corporate partners plans to match returning military veterans with manufacturing jobs.

News Updates
April 22, 2013
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Christine Lahey wasn’t sure at first what the cryptic text she received on her cell phone around 3 p.m. on April 15, 2013, meant. The message read: “I’m safe. Turn on the news.”

The text came from a co-worker who was watching the end of the Boston Marathon near the offices of Liberty Mutual Insurance, where Lahey is vice president of employee relations and human resource services.

“I was at home and received this text within 10 minutes of the blast,” Lahey recalled. “I didn’t know up until that point that there had been an attack.”

April 22, 2013

What is the ultimate goal of talent management?  The answer depends on whom you ask within the field.  For recruiters, they may say it is to find the best people for the job.  For trainers, developing employees for success in their current and future roles may be the end goal.  At the HR director level, the goal may be retention and succession planning for the best and brightest.  Talent management has many different facets, making it tempting to focus on the most immediate and salient goals within an HR professional’s job responsibilities.  But all of these facets have one very important t

April 22, 2013

I’ve discussed the issue of aging parents numerous times and am currently at the place in life where I’m starting to put a plan together to make sure that if and when something happens to either of my parents, the transition will be a smooth one. Whether an illness, an accident or perhaps my parents come to the point they can no longer take care of themselves, proactive preparedness is a much better approach than avoiding the inevitable.

April 19, 2013

Current and former employees have the information that could prevent accidents and disasters and it’s up to HR to gather it and help solve the problems that could lead to catastrophe, according to Beth Carvin, an expert on employee retention and the use of exit interviews.

News Updates
April 19, 2013

One of the most interesting HR roles I’ve had was being the vice president of human resources for a global HR consulting firm. On one hand, it’s great to work with people who truly “get” your job – because they’ve been there themselves. On the other hand, everyone has an opinion about your job for the same reason – they’ve been there.

Dr. Jeff Pon is in the exact same situation.

April 18, 2013
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For the second straight year, New York ranked as the lowest-risk city in the world for recruiting, employing and relocating employees, according to results released by Aon Hewitt, a global human resources solutions provider.

“New York retained its title as the world’s lowest-risk city due to its world-class educational institutions, training facilities and availability of a large pool of qualified and experienced talent,” Aon Hewitt said in a news release.

News Updates
April 18, 2013

On April 17, @weknownext chatted with Donna Rogers (@DonnaRogersHR) about "The Extinction of Great Leaders."

In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat ...

April 17, 2013

Leadership and organizational effectiveness expert David Rock, Ph.D., is the director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, a global initiative that brings together neuroscientists and leadership experts to build a new science for leadership development. In an interview with Jyoti Singh Visvanath, managing editor at SHRM India, Rock explained how neuroscience is helping us understand and optimize the brain at work. Below is an excerpt.

News Updates
April 17, 2013

On March 11, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule that will enable plan sponsors and insurers to calculate their liability under the transitional reinsurance fee provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

News Updates
April 16, 2013

The week of April 15-19 is SHRM’s Advocacy Team (A-Team) blog week. The theme is “comp time”.  Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) has introduced a comp bill, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R.1406). The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to allow employers to provide comp time, that gives private sector employers the option of offering their hourly employees the choice of paid time off for overtime hours worked.  

April 15, 2013

When an employee requires a period of leave because of a medical issue or disability, the situation is not always straightforward, and the best way to manage it is not always clear. Adding to the confusion is that employers face an ever-changing alphabet soup of federal and state laws and regulations, starting with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

News Updates
April 15, 2013

When I look out today across the HR landscape, I see something that is a great opportunity! Those in the HR social media community have the chance to truly bridge the gap with the profession as a whole.

April 15, 2013

Access to voluntary and other ancillary or nontraditional benefits provided through the workplace varies greatly according to employer size, region and industry, highlighting the importance of using local benchmarking data in benefits planning, a new study finds.

News Updates
April 12, 2013
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There’s so much talk about employee engagement these days. Companies are bending over backwards to attract, retain and engage the best talent with interesting work and top-notch benefits. They offer health insurance, 401Ks, tuition reimbursement and EAP.

April 12, 2013

For HR professionals, ensuring their company maintains compliance with all regulatory requirements is a key aspect of the job and necessary to avoid compliance issues and the resulting penalties. Yet, it is easy to get lost in all of the legal verbiage and numerous acronyms; keeping track of policies like FMLA, ADA, ADAAA, ENDA, FSLA, ADEA, IRCA, ERISA may have you asking: HUH?

April 11, 2013

As the federal government has shifted the focus of worksite enforcement from unauthorized workers to the employers who hire them, there has been a steady uptick in government investigations, resulting in increased civil penalties, as well as criminal prosecutions of company executives, owners and managers. Yet employers who take the extra step of requiring additional documentation to verify a worker's legal status could face a different set of legal problems.

News Updates
April 11, 2013

No one likes to gamble on talent.  It’s expensive!  And in today’s super-competitive, skills-starved and ever-changing talent landscape, the odds are stacked against HR.  

In order to place the best bets on talent, it’s critical for HR pros to stay on top of talent management trends.  There are many avenues to find great information, and of course, we at SHRM think that our Talent Management Conference and Exposition is the best.  

April 11, 2013

On April 10, @weknownext chatted with Ben Eubanks (@BenEubanks) about "The Ratings Game."

In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat...

April 10, 2013
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When someone wrongs you, how do you react? Are you angry, vindictive, ready to pounce? For most of us, the answer is “it depends.” We’ll take a breath and then decide the best course of action.

However, when it comes to employees, we often forget to breathe first. We jump to the nearest set of policies and then comb through them to see what level of discipline needs to be metered out. It amazes me as an HR person that when employees slip up, the reaction is usually swift, harsh and doesn’t take anything into consideration – really.

April 10, 2013

There seems to be a reluctance to release the performance review handcuffs in the HR world. Let's be honest: we conduct performance reviews so that we have legally binding documentation in the event we need to fire someone.

That's that!

In reality, effective performance management requirements are directly in-line with Tom Chatfield's 7 Ways that Games Reward The Brain:

April 10, 2013

 

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). And about 10,000 sudden cardiac arrests occur while victims are at work, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data.

Placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the workplace, along with providing a proper management system and training for employees on how to use the devices, can mean the difference between life and death, proponents argue.

News Updates
April 9, 2013

Hiring optimism for the second quarter of 2013 prevails in two recently released employment forecasts.

News Updates
April 8, 2013

Recently, employers such as Hearst Corp., "The Charlie Rose Show" and Fox Searchlight Pictures have been named for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state labor laws by failing to pay interns who assumed significant work responsibilities. These cases should serve as a wake-up call to all employers that use unpaid interns.

News Updates
April 8, 2013

Being from an Indian family where 80 percent of men are working in the Middle East and some others in the U.S., I pretty much know how their international job search process was.

April 8, 2013

A players, B players... green, yellow, and red.   Every organization has a system for rating their employees.  Right or wrong, these systems can affect employee engagement, productivity and retention. 

April 5, 2013

While only two out of five U.S. workers would strongly recommend their organization as a “great place to work,” those who did so were three times more likely to be satisfied with their benefits, according to MetLife’s 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends.

News Updates
April 5, 2013

Although their journey to global HR and talent management roles took different paths, a panel of female executives recently reflected on common themes in their ascent: a solid foundation, a belief in oneself, authenticity, having mentors and setting work/life priorities.

Several said key factors in their rise were getting experience across different lines of the business and understanding the business.

News Updates
April 4, 2013
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My pal the great Paul Hebert had a fantastic piece over on Fistful of Talent titled 'What HR Should be Thinking About in 2013', an examination of some of the most important and interesting business and product/service challenges facing organizations, and how HR departments can or should be responding to these challenges.

April 4, 2013
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On April 3, @weknownext chatted with Joey Price (@JVPSaid) about "HR, What's the ROI on your RBI?"

In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat ...

April 3, 2013

This week I was part of a #SocialAgency Cool Tools Hangout with some UK friends, courtesy of Colleague Software and Louis Welcomme. Joining us on the call was Amanda Ashworth.

April 3, 2013
Most companies don’t have the business intelligence they need to execute their business strategies successfully, according to a global survey sponsored by BTS, a strategy-implementation consulting firm.
News Updates
April 3, 2013

Half of new employees surveyed reported they are experiencing buyer’s remorse after accepting a recent job offer, according to global research findings about hiring trends published by Pittsburgh, Pa.-based management consulting firm Development Dimensions International (DDI).

And they are not alone: With one in eight new workers employed during a 12-month period having proved to be a bad hire, many employers that DDI surveyed also are questioning whether they have made wise hiring decisions, according to the study.

News Updates
April 2, 2013

Recently, I was without a computer for a better part of two days. I had anticipated only being off-line for 30 minutes, as our IT department applied a few “enhancements” to my machine. Those minutes turned into days and my anxiety level rose. I experienced some depression-like feelings and I even tweeted about it. A friend texted me and ask if I was ok, and if I would please step back from the ledge. 

April 2, 2013
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I am happy to be with our employees today in bricks and mortar rather than in the clouds. You truly are our most valuable resource.

I am sorry that we had some systems issues when we reached out to you.  But we are agile, so we created a work around to connect with all of you today, so that we can call out to you a new initiative that will result in a knowledge share.

I want to share with you, our key stakeholders, a new value added initiative that will help build bridges. It is a proactive response to the problems you have raised as engaged participants.

April 1, 2013