SHRM Blog

Modern Day HR: What Companies Should Be Doing on Social Networking Sites

by Laurie RuettimannOn September 29, 2011 0 comments

The world of Human Resources is a weird place filled with contradictions, confusion, and cognitive dissonance. We tell our CHROs and SVPs to be more strategic and create a department of thought leadership and entrepreneurialism; however, we still ask our HR department to oversee personnel management, payroll, and compliance issues.

Good luck working in Human Resources in 2011. You have your work cut out for you.

A new trend in Human Resources has emerged—social networking and brand management. Because those concepts are much more appealing than employee relation’s issues and OSHA investigations, many HR professionals are coming...

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No Trust, No Team: Building Trust in a Virtual Setting

by Rick LepsingerOn September 28, 2011 0 comments

OnPoint Consulting’s global study on virtual collaboration found that top performing virtual teams reported higher levels of trust than teams that were less successful, which means that trust is an essential ingredient for virtual team success.

Despite the importance of trust to virtual collaboration it can take much longer to build trust when working from a distance because team members rarely see one another and, quite often, have never met in person.

While we typically rely on interpersonal trust, which is based...

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Eldercare: The New Childcare?

by Susan AvelloOn September 27, 2011 0 comments

The U.S. is getting older. Americans are living longer, and there are more seniors in the workforce. That means more care-giving responsibilities for everyone.

SHRM’s research shows that members feel two key demographic trends are the growth in the number of workers with eldercare responsibilities, and those with both childcare and eldercare responsibilities.

Statistics tell us that more than 65 million people—29 percent of the U.S. population—provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year, averaging 20-40 hours per week.[1] According to a MetLife study,...

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Life Meets Work

by Ryan EstisOn September 26, 2011 0 comments

A few months ago I had the opportunity to coffee shop with an executive who, ironically, had decided to resign from her job the very same morning of our meeting (see my post about her decision: Resignation Day). It was bold decision and beginning of an entirely new chapter in her professional journey. I didn’t know her then. I do now. I am proud to call Teresa my friend.

When I first wrote about Teresa I referenced a “transformational event in her personal life” serving as a catalyst to move her toward meaningful change. Teresa isn’t just a...

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An Employer's Response to a Social Media Nightmare

by Eric B. MeyerOn September 23, 2011 0 comments

Earlier this year, a local teacher was suspended after her school learned about nasty comments on her personal blog concerning her students. And that story became national news. Now, word has it that the school is considering a social-media policy. Well, it's about time!

Social-media policy? We don't need no stinkin' policy! Then again...

According to this report from Christina Kristofic of The Intelligencer, the draft social media policy prohibits district staff from engaging in 21 different "improper electronic communications." Among the forbidden activities are calling students on personal cell phones, sending text messages to students, emailing...

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Polite Meetings are a Waste of Time

by Dan RockwellOn September 22, 2011 0 comments

Poorly run, ineffective meetings frustrate everyone except the people running them.

Recently, I interviewed Robert Herbold, former chief operating officer of Microsoft and author of “What’s Holding You Back.” Bob’s quiet, gentlemanly tone shifted toward disdain when I brought up wasting time in poorly run meetings.

I loved hearing him explain, “Many meetings are useless religious ceremonies controlled by highly organized, meaningless ritual after meaningless ritual.”

Effective structure:

I asked Bob how he ran meetings and he mentioned Bill Gates’ method at Microsoft.

Have short agendas. Leave plenty of room for discussion. In

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Trust is Not Blind Faith

by Sharlyn LaubyOn September 21, 2011 0 comments

Several months ago, one of my favorite bloggers -- Charlie Judy, author of HR Fishbowl -- wrote a post titled "Trust? Screw that." It's a powerful read and one I suggest you take a look at.

In the post, Charlie talks about trust and its place in the work environment. I totally agree with him that trust in the workplace is evaporating. Quickly. And once there's an aura of distrust, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to get working relationships back on solid footing.

But I wanted to add a little something to the conversation about trust. Because...

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Outside the Box Engagement Tools

by Matt CharneyOn September 13, 2011 0 comments

If you’re doing the obvious stuff when it comes to social media recruiting or engagement (Facebook fan pages, branded Twitter account, blog, etc.), you’re fighting an uphill battle.

It’s a crowded space out there: after all, if there’s a fundamental reason for social media’s appeal as a business and marketing tool, it’s the truism that everyone’s on it.

And with upwards of a billion users speaking dozens of languages updating millions of closed, interdependent communities (which is, pretty much, the definition of that ‘network’ part...

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Crisis Management: The Ultimate Test of a Leader

by John BellOn September 12, 2011 0 comments

The sudden, unexpected and potentially catastrophic event that threatens a business is a CEO’s greatest challenge. Ever since the Tylenol tampering recall 30 years ago, the performances of companies in crisis have come under public scrutiny. The entire world was touched by the most environmentally destructive business crisis of all time — BP’s oil spill in the Gulf. Everyone watched as CEO Tony Hayward made blunder after blunder while their crude killed. Three weeks after the explosion, Hayward called the spill "relatively tiny" in comparison with the size of the...

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Great Employers Depend on Great HR Teams

by Hank JacksonOn September 9, 2011 0 comments

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is proud to congratulate the 50 winners of this year’s AARP Best Employers for Workers over 50 Award and the great HR teams behind them.

We at SHRM, the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management, applaud the winning organizations as models for all U.S. businesses, many of which face the challenge of competing in an increasingly global marketplace. The organizations being honored by AARP appreciate that engaging and retaining older workers is crucial to succeed over the next decade.

More broadly, inclusive people management strategies will...

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