Despite evidence that cultural awareness and preparation can improve the success of cross-border ventures, many international companies still fall short in developing their employees’ global competencies.
Archive
June 2013
By Joe Coombs
Technology’s impact on the recruiting process is having both positive and negative effects on employers of all sizes. Bob Corlett, president of Olney, Md.-based recruiting firm Staffing Advisors, says subtle changes in job-seeker behavior have left many small businesses in the dust when it comes to catching the eye of top talent.
At the same time, employers large and small are missing out on connecting with qualified candidates by not embracing mobile applications, which are increasingly being used by those on the hunt for new gigs.
June 28, 2013
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Windsor, found unconstitutional Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which had prohibited the federal government from acknowledging marriages between same-sex couples. Same-sex marriages were recognized as legal by 12 states and the District of Columbia at the time of the ruling.
News Updates
June 27, 2013
By Chip.Luman
Though not always apparent to the rest of the company, the job of the HR professional is a multi-faceted one. As the HR department continues to play a larger role in key organizational decisions, we are often expected to extend our expertise beyond the traditional scope of our function. For that to happen, however, we must enhance our personal development and improve our business skills.
June 27, 2013
Employers are continuing to make gradual shifts to their benefits plans as they confront legislative changes, escalating costs, slashed HR budgets and an uneven economy, according to the findings in SHRM’s 2013 Employee Benefits survey report, released on June 14. The report was sponsored by Colonial Life.
The survey of randomly selected SHRM members was fielded in February 2013. Noteworthy benefits trends highlighted in the survey report include:
News Updates
June 27, 2013
On June 26, @weknownext chatted with special guest @MarenHogan about HR's Social Capital.
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat...
June 26, 2013
On June 26, @weknownext chatted with special guest @MarenHogan about HR's Social Capital.
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat...
June 26, 2013
Every so often, I get a call from an employee. The call goes something like this:
"I need an employment lawyer. Are you an employment lawyer?"
"Yes."
"Good. Because I am dealing with a hostile work environment."
"Well, I generally only represent employers. So---"
"--- But, my hostile work environment is bad. My manager is so mean. He yells at me. He gives me lots of work. He's terrible. Do I have a case?"
"How did you get my number?"
June 26, 2013
One description of a typical office’s youngest employees might be something like this: They’re Facebook junkies bent on getting the next promotion; they’d rather text than talk; they openly tweet at meetings; they tend to have "me first" mentalities and self-entitled natures.
But they’re not all stereotypical brats. In fact, that skinny- jean-clad worker whose smartphone serves as a second brain is actually crucial to company growth.
News Updates
June 26, 2013
For the past two years, SHRM has invited several HR social media aficionados to serve on a special annual conference team that educates attendees on the importance of social media, and answers questions ranging from “What’s Twitter?” to “How do I use social media to create and promote our employer brand?” We call it “The Hive” and offer it to all attendees as an additional opportunity to learn about how HR is using social media to be more efficient and effective in their organizations.
June 25, 2013
By Steve Browne
SHRM13 has wrapped up and it was honestly the best National SHRM Conference I’ve attended. The vibe was cool and people seemed to be at ease and engaged at the same time. Just prior to the Conference kicking off, my good friend, Mark Stelzner, put a challenge out on Facebook to see if anyone could come away from the event with 5 new ideas.
June 25, 2013
By Dana Wilkie
They can be charming, presentable, socially skilled, professionally successful and well-regarded by superiors. They can also be workplace bullies.
Despite employer policies that discourage and punish bullying, many workers manage to strategically abuse colleagues while still having successful careers, winning promotions and earning outstanding performance evaluations, according to the first academic study to measure the relationship between bullying and job performance.
News Updates
June 25, 2013
By Allen Smith
Fifty years after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, in 1963, women still earn less than men. “Ultimately, no matter how you look at the data, a persistent pay gap remains,” according to a June 2013 report from the National Equal Pay Task Force, which blamed the wage gap partially on men dominating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs and a so-called motherhood penalty.
News Updates
June 24, 2013
This morning HR Professionals across the world catapulted themselves through the office doors full of inspiring new ideas. The SHRM annual conference has concluded, now it is up to us to carry the well-lit torch of knowledge into our organizations. We came to Chicago to learn and share. Through human consensus, however, I can tell you that HR's greatest challenge is ending the stigma!
June 21, 2013
The training and development profession, like the human resource profession, has changed significantly during the past decade, and so have the skills and knowledge that practitioners need to be successful in the field. The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), an association for learning and development professionals, has updated its competency model to guide training professionals’ career development.
News Updates
June 21, 2013
Becoming More.
That was one of the overarching themes of the 2013 SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition. A theme meant to encourage us, as HR professionals, to think about how we can bring ourselves and our profession to the next level.
June 21, 2013
Wanna see a bunch of HR people cry? Put them in the an expo hall the size of an airplane hanger and put Mr. Blake Mycoskie on stage. We HR folk are often called upon to put our emotions in-check....no such luck on Monday morning in Chicago!
June 20, 2013
We’re just a few weeks away from the Summer Solstice. The cold, hard winds of early January are long forgotten. Yet if we reflect back just a few short months, every year, Baby New Year personifies the passing of time. He is often a young boy, pictured in a diaper, top hat, and sash to stand for a fresh start and clean slate – a new beginning. He is celebrated across the country with new parents aspiring to give birth to the first baby of the New Year.
June 20, 2013
By Mark Roberts
Asia’s evolving landscape of business growth is altering the region’s executive-development needs significantly. Asian companies are seeking to expand beyond their home markets more than ever before, and in this high-growth environment, many businesses are placing executives in senior leadership roles before they’re ready, which, in turn, is spotlighting the critical nature of talent development.
News Updates
June 20, 2013
By Ryan Estis
I have been getting asked the same question a lot lately. I get a version of the question after almost every speaking engagement I deliver. The question usually goes something like this:
How did you go from what you first did as a career to doing what you do now?
I know career advice is a tricky subject, especially when it comes to completely changing lanes. Every professional has to navigate their own unique situation. I’ll share a few lessons that I learned on my own career leap from ad agency executive to entrepreneur.
June 20, 2013
On June 19, @weknownext chatted with the NextChatters about the topic "Rewarding Failure."
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat...
June 19, 2013
Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords were our keynote speakers on Wednesday morning at #SHRM13. Check out what attendees had to say about them...
News Updates
June 19, 2013
By Allen Smith
Yahoo is in the news again—this time for providing employees with paid maternity and paternity leave, instead of its announcement earlier this year that it was limiting telecommuting.
Moms are granted more paid leave than dads at Yahoo. Both receive eight paid weeks to bond with a child, but mothers can take another eight weeks’ paid leave after pregnancy.
Lawful Policy
News Updates
June 19, 2013
By Emily Jasper
Attracting millennials has turned into a “best places to work” battle. Improving the work environment to increase employee engagement was the first step. Companies are now seeing that an upgraded office space can attract top talent.
June 19, 2013
SHRM’s Board Chair Bette Francis delivered a thought-provoking address on HR and innovation to #SHRM13 attendees on June 18. She encouraged HR pros to create and foster cultures of innovation within their organizations.
We hear a lot about innovation and its importance to employee engagement and staying one step ahead of the competition, but what’s the best way to encourage innovation within your organization?
June 18, 2013
Daniel Pink was our keynote speaker on Tuesday morning at #SHRM13. Check out what attendees had to say about him...
News Updates
June 18, 2013
I am sure when we talk about employee engagement most of us talk from a broader perspective but fail to address how to impact the bottom line. Some organizations get it wrong when they think money and benefits can cover everything. But they fail to realize there isn’t any one formula that works for your engaged and disengaged work force.
June 18, 2013
By Allen Smith
It’s tough to stop smoking, so wellness programs are being encouraged to give smokers a second chance to stub out their last cigarette.
Smokers are often the target of wellness plans. In fact, the most common form of outcome-based incentives in wellness plans is awarded for smoking cessation, according to a 2010 survey by National Business Group on Health and Towers Watson. The survey found that 25 percent of responding employers offered a financial incentive for employees to quit smoking.
News Updates
June 18, 2013
By Dana Wilkie
You’re the HR director at a national bank whose switchboard operators are good at selling products when clients call with account questions. Your firm’s acquired a regional bank whose operators get high marks for customer satisfaction. Turns out, the regional bank operators don’t like pushing products during customer-service calls; they think it’s rude.
What do you do?
News Updates
June 17, 2013
By Steve Boese
The NBA Finals are underway, and as I write this post the San Antonio Spurs are still enjoying a 1-0 series lead, primarily due to the steady play of their veteran stalwarts, Tim Duncan and
June 17, 2013
By Steve Bates
Six in 10 American workers say they’ve found aspects of a new job different from what they expected, indicating they may have felt misled during the interview process.
News Updates
June 14, 2013
Every profession has its own words—words that we use and, at times, over use.
When does the use become overuse? Well, when lots of us are together!
So as we enjoy SHRM’s Annual Conference next week, we need to be careful of HR lingo. What are some of the words and expressions to avoid?
I have narrowed it down to a “Top 10.” Out of respect to your colleagues, please avoid:
June 14, 2013
I will be joining the #SHRM13 Social Media Team this year at the SHRM Annual Conference in Chicago. In years past, I worked on an exhibitor booth team. Here’s my take on the vendor mindset and how you can maximize your exhibitor hall experience.
By the way, you can meet me at “The Hive” (located in the South Building of McCormick Place in HALL A right next to the SHRMStore) for a social media tutorial:
• Monday 2pm - 4pm
June 14, 2013
Be sure to check out our SHRM Party Guide and Text ‘SHRM’ to 55678 to receive text alerts and reminders of speakers, parties and other happenings directly to your phone. Jessica proudly supports SHRM and has been a member since 2001.
June 13, 2013
U.S. employers accustomed to American-style employment at will face a significant challenge when dismissing an overseas employee who enjoys generous protections under employee-friendly foreign legal regimes. Before pulling the trigger on a dismissal abroad, an employer needs to understand and comply with a number of specific dismissal obligations under foreign law.
News Updates
June 13, 2013
By Joe Coombs
Millions of goods-producing jobs have been eliminated in the past 20 years, and although the manufacturing industry has bounced back in recent months, the most consistent growth in the labor market has been tied to the service sector for the past several quarters.
June 13, 2013
On June 12, @weknownext chatted with John Bell (@JohnRichardBell) about the topic "Is there still a place for bold, top-down leadership?"
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat...
June 12, 2013
Companies that mobilize their entire workforce to develop new ideas and that measure the performance of innovative initiatives tend to see better returns on their “innovation investment,” a recent Arthur D. Little report found.
Getting a Better Return on Your Innovation Investment, the 8th Arthur D. Little Global Innovation Excellence Study, cited a number of practices that stand out as “innovation success” drivers across industries.
News Updates
June 12, 2013
By Ben Eubanks
Every once in a while I share things here that I’ve put out to our managers. Why? Because I know that many of you struggle with getting your managers on board in some areas, too! The message below is one that I recently passed to our supervisors in order to help them understand the end of the recruiting process.
June 12, 2013
NEW YORK—Setting aggressive financial goals that employees can’t make, having “bad barrels” instead of a few “bad apples” and watching a high performer violate rules are a few signs that an ethical workplace culture may be at risk, experts said recently.
News Updates
June 11, 2013
The most common mantra heard from job search experts around the globe is network, network, network. Job seekers everywhere are given advice over and over about the power and necessity of networking. And I certainly do not disagree. Networking, like so many other things, can be a very powerful piece of a job search strategy. But what do you do at networking events? How do you go about ensuring that you are leaving a lasting impression? I’ve compiled a short list of things you must have at a networking event to be able to work the room properly.
June 11, 2013
Employee engagement appears to be just as important in tough times as it is during good ones.
Despite a global recession that has led to widespread layoffs and restructuring, the link between engagement and key organizational results has remained remarkably consistent regardless of the organization, industry or country, a recent Gallup Inc. study found.
News Updates
June 10, 2013
By Matt Stollak
Advice has already starting flowing in about what to do while in Chicago for the big event. In case you missed it: China Gorman provides some excellent advice about maximizing your SHRM Conference experience. Jessica Miller-Merrill provides you with the top 10 things to do while you are in Chicago and not going to the conference.
June 10, 2013
By Dana Wilkie
At PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, senior partners regularly pair up with women of color who are managers or directors and begin grooming them for more responsibility. The partners act as mentors, provide coaching, introduce the women to a broader network of business associates, give them high-profile assignments and provide feedback on their job performance.
The mentoring was among the reasons Working Mother magazine this month chose the New York-based consulting firm as one of this year’s “Best Companies for Multicultural Women.”
News Updates
June 7, 2013
Most executives of companies that have divested a business consider employee retention key to a successful transaction, but they often aren’t using the most effective techniques to keep workers on board, a recent Ernst & Young LLP survey found.
News Updates
June 7, 2013
By Susan Avello
I wanted to research all the posts I had written from the last two SHRM Conferences I've attended and see what I could come up with. I found some pretty cool stuff.
For those of you that don't know, I've been privileged to be a part of the Blogging/Press team for the past two years as well as a regular monthly contributor here at WeKnowNext.
June 7, 2013
By John Bell
In a recent New York Times article “Tough Guys Rule for a Reason,” Alan Goldman argues that “Aggressive, bold, top-down leadership directly associated with the male animal may be under attack but it is still quite effective,” and that “despite current attempts at demonizing old school male behavior, it continues to rule.”
June 6, 2013
On June 5, @weknownext chatted with all the official #SHRM13 bloggers about the upcoming 2013 SHRM Annual Conference in Chicago from June 16-19.
June 6, 2013
On June 5, @weknownext chatted with all the official #SHRM13 bloggers about the upcoming 2013 SHRM Annual Conference in Chicago from June 16-19.
June 6, 2013
Latin America is poised to be the next region to experience growth on the scale of that seen in China, but companies must understand the various countries’ complicated labor laws in order to be profitable and successful.
News Updates
June 6, 2013
Assigning someone to a global role who is unprepared or disinterested in it can have long-term effects on both the individual and the company.
June 6, 2013
Learning has developed a bad reputation, perhaps as a result of those painfully boring lectures we all endured in school, those grueling exams or pop quizzes we took or those long hours of memorizing information we’ve never once had the opportunity to use. But think about how you felt when you were learning to tie your shoes, drive a car or master a new hobby. Didn’t you have an insatiable curiosity about that skill that would serve you well or provide hours of entertainment?
News Updates
June 5, 2013
A few weeks from now you will grab your favorite travel accessories in preparation for the 65th annual Society of Human Resource Management Annual Conference. I’m sure you are bursting with excitement to get to Chicago to learn, network, and build your strategic toolbox. By the time you return from the Windy City many of you will be recertified or adding a letter to your post name credentials. Whether it’s your first SHRM conference experience or your 65th, maximizing your time is essential.
June 5, 2013
By Chip.Luman
Succession planning has typically been a very politicized process – decisions about who should be advanced are often kept in the board room, where managers discuss in private the merits of their various employees. Behind closed doors, they often use subjective methods and play favorites. Yet, to be most effective, succession plans should be derived from objective data to ensure that the most qualified employees – those than show the greatest skills and aptitude to take on a leadership role – are advanced.
June 4, 2013
New penalties for fully insured plans that favor highly compensated employees
Although employers can be forgiven for focusing on the more pressing elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that take effect in January 2014, there is another provision of the law that is not yet getting much attention—and it should.
News Updates
June 4, 2013
"My model for business is the Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people." – Steve Jobs
When it comes to recognizing employees an either/or scenario is often presented: “Should we recognize only our top performers, or should we recognize all of our employees?” The answer is both…and more.
June 4, 2013
New Five-Year Visas for Doing Business in China
China’s Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council issued a proposal on May 3, 2013, that would introduce two new visas for qualified foreigners. Each visa would be valid for up to five years, significantly longer than the current options.
News Updates
June 3, 2013
Jason Collins has become the first male professional athlete from a major professional sport to acknowledge, publicly, that he is gay. That he is the first, and it is 2013, speaks volumes of the apparent homophobia in professional sports.
But Collins' coming out is not an isolated event. It is part of a trend in which LGBT employees are increasingly open in their workplaces about who they are.
June 3, 2013