Articles tagged 'HR trends'

Weekly Wrap: A Little Help Coping With Workplace Rules & Regulations

by John Hollon on May 24, 2013, 1:27 PM | No comments yet

social-media-policy rules list do's and don'ts

I’ve attended quite a few HR and talent management-related conferences this spring, but the one that really got my brain going came wrapped up in the wonderfully warm, dry Arizona desert right before the heat of the summer kicks in.

Yes, it was in that marvelously pleasant environment that Littler Mendelson, the largest U.S. labor and employment law firm, had their annual Executive Employer Conference.

It was two days of panels, presentations, and discussions that were forthright and fascinating, and although the subjects might be different, the underlying message from all of them was basically the same:

There’s a lot of regulation and legislation coming out of Washington right now, and more to come, so you better be on your toes and ready to deal with it before it deals with you. Read more…

Recruiting and Staffing

A Few Smart Hiring Lessons From Summer Blockbusters

by Josh Tolan on May 24, 2013, 10:15 AM | No comments yet

Summertime is the season of box office blockbusters, when theaters abandon more intimate fare for movie spectacles.

Just because these sunny summer films contain fast cars and big explosions, however, doesn’t mean they don’t also include lessons you can apply to your hiring practices.

As the weather heats up and the inside of the cool theater beckons, here are just a few valuable hiring tips you can pick up from some of the biggest summer movies.

You might not be a superhero, but some of these tips might just help you save the day when it comes to finding and hiring the best people. Read more…

HR News & Trends, Legal Issues

EEOC Settles First Lawsuit Under Genetic Nondiscrimination Act

by Mark Toth on May 24, 2013, 8:53 AM | No comments yet

Employer liability for violating the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is no longer theoretical.

The EEOC has announced its first-ever GINA settlement. A large fabric distributor agreed to pay $50,000 and provide other relief to resolve alleged violations of GINA and the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

What did the employer do wrong?

According to the EEOC, it erred when it asked an employee for her family medical history as part of its post-offer medical exam. The claimant was required to fill out a questionnaire that inquired whether she had any family history of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other conditions. Read more…

Classic TLNT

Job Titles Gone Wild – Why It’s Silly to Call Yourself ‘Director of Fun”

by Lance Haun on May 24, 2013, 8:03 AM | No comments yet

Editor’s Note: Sometimes, readers ask about past TLNT articles they may have missed. That’s why on Fridays we republish a Classic TLNT post some of you have asked about.

“Director of Fun.”

That was the title I was looking at on a resume for a marketing director position. As I read through the applicant’s accomplishments and responsibilities, I could see that it was clearly a marketing-type position. It stuck out, just not in a good way.

What may have seemed like a great little thing to have on a business card as an attention getter had now turned into a liability. Nobody knows what a “Director of Fun” does. And sure, maybe “Marketing Director” isn’t all that specific on its own, but give me some context (industry, company size and market) and I can pretty quickly figure out what you’re doing.

Using these fun titles externally is a mistake. Read more…

Recruiting and Staffing

The Essence of Savvy Recruiting: Getting Top Talent For Bottom Dollar

by Don Charlton on May 24, 2013, 7:00 AM | No comments yet

Start-ups and small businesses need creative ways to recruit top talent.

The same could be said for any size company, but the smaller guys need to find talent in a different way. If your company has three employees, the next person you hire is effectively 25 percent of your entire staff.

That’s a big deal. But how does a small company find the rich talent they need on their restrictive budgets?

You gotta be cheap and you need to be good. Pitch your company with the things that don’t carry a price tag. Read more…

Talent Management

A Few Workplace Lessons From the Failed Chase For the Triple Crown

by Betsy Winkler on May 23, 2013, 12:15 PM | 2 Comments

The legendary Triple Crown in horse racing consists of the same horse winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes all in the same season.

No horse has accomplished this feat since 1978. Once again, 2013 will not have a Triple Crown winner either.

But, you should still care about the process of trying to reach a Triple Crown in 2013, however, and here is why: Read more…

HR News & Trends, Talent Management

What’s the No. 1 Worry For HR Executives? Surprise! It’s a Talent Issue

by Mark Toth on May 23, 2013, 11:25 AM | No comments yet

Want to know what’s reeeeeeally going on in the world of work?

Right Management, the talent and career management arm of ManpowerGroup, has released a flurry of study results in recent weeks. Here are the highlights:

What’s the No. 1 Worry?

For the third year in a row, a lack of high-potential leaders is the top concern for U.S. HR execs, 32 percent of whom put it at the top of their list.

“The year-to-year consistency in our findings tells us that future leadership or lack thereof is top of mind for organizations nearly everywhere,” says Gerald Purgay, SVP of Right Management. Read more…

HR Insights, HR Management

The Uncomfortable Reality of HR As It Exists Today

by Lance Haun on May 23, 2013, 10:20 AM | No comments yet

I’ve been out of day-to-day HR for four years.

It was one of the best decisions that was ever made for me. That’s not just because it set me on my current career path (whatever that may be), but it opened up a space for someone who liked doing HR.

I’ve obviously stayed close to the space in that time. This week though, I got a little closer than comfort to the function. HR software provider Silkroad invited me (and, for full disclosure, I paid my way) to their annual user conference in Florida. Read more…

HR News & Trends

Survey: Half of Companies Report Higher Turnover Than Last Year

by John Hollon on May 23, 2013, 9:14 AM | 5 Comments

For years, there have been worries that there was a big employee exodus coming — when the economy finally started to show some improvement and began growing jobs again.

Yes, this has been the worry — and why employee engagement is such a hot topic — but given the mediocre recovery, there hasn’t been all that much to really worry about.

Until now.

A new survey released this week from OI Partners, a global coaching, consulting and leadership development firm, says that half of companies are reporting higher turnover this year compared to last, and three-quarters are bracing for still more employees to leave. Read more…

Talent Management

3 Good Reasons Why Employee Engagement Surveys Fail

by Derek Irvine on May 23, 2013, 7:00 AM | 3 Comments

Sometimes, we need to air our HR dirty laundry.

Let’s bring into the light of day how surveys are traditionally conducted and then acted upon. Indeed, let’s stop torturing our employees with bad surveys – especially bad employee engagement surveys.

Frankly, the survey itself is rarely the problem. The questions are usually quite good in terms of defining the information you and the organization want to learn about employee attitudes, satisfaction and engagement.

Let’s look at the three most common failures of employee surveys as typically implemented today: Read more…