HRGuru

"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is not only the name of a popular song from the 1960s, it also describes the feelings of most employers who, because of competition, business costs or our current bad economy must reduce the size of their employment budget. By the time an employer has to "downsize," the economic factors driving that decision have already ...

Employers are looking for HR professionals who can add value to the company, so it falls on recruiters to sift out the wheat from the chaff. As HR attempts to justify its place at the top table in boardrooms across the country, recruiters are faced with finding commercially aware, strategic HR professionals, as well as tightening margins in a candidate-heavy market. ...

Background I'm currently doing a Master of information Technology Management at the University of Wollongong (Australia).  One of my subject, Managing People in Organisations, set a essay assignment of reviewing leadership characteristics / compentencies and discuss the critical characteristics to successfully lead an organisatin during turblent financial times.  I have attached a PDF version of the essay that I submitted for ...

The answer is: yes, if you want to be like other high-performing companies. With many human resource departments still grappling with how to become more strategic, a recent study by i4cp revealed several opportunities based on how HR is typically organized. In the study, respondents were asked to specify how their HR organization was structured on a regional, functional and team ...

I was asked the other day by a senior colleague of mine how we could improve morale in one of our client organizations. The answer was easy - make them happier. There is a very simple secret to long-term employee loyalty and retention which isn't money, perks, stock options or even expense accounts (unless you are a British MP that is). ...

You need more business! We’ve heard it loud and clear. In today’s economy many are struggling, but there are some who are doing very well. The key is the principles which one applies. Here are some important steps you can take right now to generate more business — and one to avoid at all costs. Apply these principles and notice how ...

You finally make your decision. You’re going to go for it. You’re going for the dream. You’re opening the restaurant you always dreamed of having. You’re pursuing your passion for art and design. You’re going freelance and finally leaving the world of 9-5. You’re taking your “side business” and investing in it to make it your full-time business. You’re taking a ...

Job shadowing provides a better understanding of organizations, develops skills, facilitates succession planning and helps retain employees. Despite those benefits, most companies don't offer this opportunity to their employees, according to a recent study by Dude, Seriously, Facebook Could Cost You a Job

The context for leadership is dramatically different from what it was even five years ago. Customers are harder to get and to keep, profit margins tend to be slimmer, and lots of employees live in a state of anxiety, stressed by overwork and worries about their jobs. What's a leader's role in these trying times, and what competencies do leaders need ...

If you’ve seen all of the tips for how to communicate effectively, you’ve likely seen a gem like “Ten Tips To Listen Better Than Ever” before. With tips like “repeat back what the person said”, “give visual clues that you’re listening” and “ask interesting follow up questions even if you think you understand”, it is like the writer is purposefully trying ...

As a professional organizer, if there’s one source of stress I see over and over again with clients, friends and business associates alike, it’s overcommitment. To truly simplify and regain control of your life, a realistic time management plan, free from overcommitment, is a must. It’s that simple. There’s just one problem. To prevent overcommitting, you have to learn to say ...

Only 27% of employers believe monitoring and controlling return on investment (ROI) for their employee benefits spend should be a formal business objective. Just one in 10 organisations, meanwhile, said they had formal procedures in place to measure ROI, according to research published by HSBC Actuaries and Consultants (HACL). A number of organisations also said they lacked the policies and procedures ...

It could become the next great piece of parental advice, following "don't run with scissors" and "eat your vegetables." Watch what you post online because it could cost you a job. Dismiss if you like, but there's evidence to suggest that this is not just good advice but critical advice. A recent survey of companies by CareerBuilder.com found that 45 percent ...

 Join the University Social Responsibility Alliance I'm writing to introduce you to an international organization dedicated to improve through learning venues the quality of our lives. This organization, the University Social Responsibility Alliance (USR Alliance), is a global network of universities who are interested in actively participating in programs throughout the world committed to creating learning venues that hold to the ...

Forty-six percent of newly-hired employees will fail within 18 months, according to a new study by Leadership IQ. (Failure is being defined as: being terminated, leaving under pressure, receiving disciplinary action, or having significantly negative performance reviews.) But it's not because they don't have the right skills to do the job. Instead, the study found that 26% of new hires fail ...

Networking, networking, networking. We've all heard about it and we're sure you're all doing it — but are you doing it right? Trying to develop job leads and new business contacts the wrong way can be just as damaging as not trying at all, if not worse. You want to (net)work smart, not hard, so make sure you’re making all ...

Job seekers take note: One false stroke at the keyboard could send your resume into the "circular file." Three out of four (76 percent) executives interviewed said just one or two typos in a resume would remove applicants from consideration for a job; 40 percent said it takes only one typo to rule candidates out. The survey was developed by Accountemps, ...

You've adhered to the job-seekers' bible by networking with friends, family, the guy seated next to you at the ballgame and anyone capable of providing a connection to get you off unemployment and back on a payroll. The payoff, or at least a smidgen of hope, comes the day a network source comes through with the direct telephone line of a ...

BOSTON - Many American businesses are unprepared to deal with widespread employee absenteeism in the event of an outbreak of swine flu, according to a Harvard School of Public Health study released Wednesday. The survey found that two-thirds of the more than 1,000 businesses questioned nationwide said they could not maintain normal operations if half their workers were out for two ...

Even in good times, employers look for cost-effective ways to enhance compensation packages in order to keep employees happy and productive. In these challenging economic times, cost control becomes a matter of survival. Overtime costs are a major concern, particularly where there have been staff reductions. This article will discuss how scheduling may affect OT costs and three Fair Labor Standards ...