HR Management

Five Talent Management Strategies For A Business Downturn

2009-04-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

We are clearly entering some form of economic slowdown. Our most recent index of talent management executives (January of 2008) showed some significant changes from May of 2007: 21% greater interest in cost-reduction, 18% lower focus on product introductions, and a significant increase in focus on building new leadership (18% increase). So let’s assume your business does see a downturn (and if you are in financial services or housing-related industries, this is already happening), what should you do?

First, a little history. I lived through severe downturns in several companies. I worked for IBM in the 1980s (1981-1992) and saw the company start to disintigrate as the computer business shifted from one of monolithic providers (IBM) to one of seperate product and software companies (Dell, Compaq, Microsoft, Cisco). The company had become far too complacent with its “deserved market share” and watched its businesses rapidly decline. For almost three years the company issued multiple early retirement programs, restructurings, sold off businesses, and lost many of its best and brightest. Luckily Lou Gerstner arrived in time to remind IBM that the company had strong core values in its customer service, innovation, and employee focus. In the subsequent years the company shed its money-losing technology businesses and emerged stronger.

I also worked for Sybase, one of the fastest growing companies in Silicon Valley. Sybase rocketed to almost $700M in revenues during my tenure, and became a magnet for many of the smartest, brightest minds in technology. One day Sybase woke up and realized that Microsoft and Oracle had “figured out” client/server computing (Microsoft had the benefit of actually licensing Sybase technology), and in a few quarters this fast-growing company ground to a halt. Sybase had beem through a torrid pace of acquisitions (one company a quarter for almost four years) and had done little to build the talent culture it needed to weather the downturn. When the tornado hit, there were tremendous layoffs (several waves of them), and the company whittled itself down to a core – losing many of the innovators who built the company. As the new management team entered they focused on one thing: making a profit. To do this the new Sybase leadership team continued to cut products, reduce sales commissions, and lose people. Eventually the company did become profitable, and only then could they start to implement a growth strategy to re-emerge.

A third company I lived through was DigitalThink. This company was also a high-flyer. When I entered the company it was a 300 person fast-growing developer of e-learning solutions. It felt like Sybase and IBM in the early days: the best and brightest were all there. The leadership team had big goals and the company was run like a huge rugby team: everyone took to the field, banged into each other, and marched down the field. Many of us had conflicting opinions about what strategy to pursue, but we had a big market ahead of us so we all focused on the areas we felt were most important. But the company had little or no real talent management program. When DigitalThink hit the wall, the company woke up one day and found itself in shock. Again, layoffs occurred, and again in painful stages. And the strategy which seemed so brilliant only a few months ago was in question. Today DigitalThink is gone, having been acquired by Convergys.

As I have studied many companies and talent management strategies over the years, I have learned many lessons. As we enter a rough spot in the economy, let me try to share a few of them here.

1. Downturns should be expected, so plan for them. Do not be surprised or panic.

The first lesson is simple: prepare now for a downturn. What would you do if you lost 20% of your revenue next quarter? What programs, organizations, and people would you cut? What program would you maintain? Would it challenge your business strategy? Or would you see it as an inevitable cycle? Where would you cut and where would you invest? Think about this now.

Every business and every market is dynamic. You must constantly expect challenges: new competitors, product cycles, buyer changes, and economic downturns. Plan now. And when the downturn occurs, pull out the plan and implement it.

One of the funniest quotes I ever read was this: “Only when the tide goes out do you know who has been swimming without a bathing suit.” (Warren Buffet I believe.) Dont swim naked. You should constantly investigate the weaknesses in your business and find the areas of long-term strength. Invest in them during good times and bad (Merck invested heavily in R&D during its recent downturn, HP invested heavily in its imaging technology during its hard times, and IBM never stopped its R&D labs throughout its tough times) — these are your “bathing suit” - you’ll need them when the waters thin.

When a down turn occurs, rather than cutting across the board, focus on building your strengths and cutting your weak areas. Invest in your strengths during a downturn, and cut the areas which were already weak, failing, or were perhaps propped up by the “good times.”

2. Maintain and invest in your talent programs. A downturn will remind you that “talent is all you have.”

We have studied hundreds of companies and constantly look at the maturity of their talent management strategies. Again and again I comment to people that the most well-developed talent management strategies happen to reside in companies that endured terrible economic or business cycles. These organizations have been forced to search their souls, and what they found (if they survived), was that “talent is all we have.”

Consider the rapid product cycles in almost every industry. Your organization’s success is totally dependent on your workforce’s ability to innovate, reinvent itself, provide excellent customer service, and remain loyal and dedicated when tough times come. You cannot build this culture during a crisis. You must build it before the crisis, and use it to weather the storm. IBM had an enduring culture far before its downturn hit. Sybase and DigitalThink did not.

This means several things: do not sacrifice your values, principles, and people. If you do need to lay people off, do it surgically - focusing on the people, projects, and organizations which most need change. Across-the-board layoffs will dramatically impact your employee loyalty and engagement. And the process of downsizing can be humane. I’ve lived through two unhumane examples and one humane example. When and if layoffs do occur, you do not want the “survivors” to worry. It must be done in a positive way.

And do not forget to reward your high performers. Even during a downturn you will find many people performing a high levels of performance. In fact you are likely to find that many people “rise to the occasion” and perform at greater levels during stress. Operations managers cut costs and improve productivity. Sales teams find new approaches to solving customer problems. Internal personnel find waste and manage internal projects aggressively. You should recognize and reward these people. Give bonuses and rewards. Recognize tremendous achievement. Such an approach will build an enduring culture, one which will help you survive a downturn and grow when the good times come back.

3. Continue to search for great talent. Consider this an opportunity.

If we do have a real broad downturn, the job market will soften. This means that many of the best engineers, sales people, marketing people, managers, and executives will be looking around. Rather than “freezing all hiring,” you should use this as an opportunity to upgrade your own organization. During the last economic downturn in my career (2000-2001), many of my most talented friends were looking for work. These were people who were “proven winners.” Keep looking for these people and hire them wherever you can. Consider it an opportunity to “upgrade” your workforce.

4. Communicate honestly and clearly.

One of the most powerful things that happens during a crisis is that people pull together. They talk to each other a lot. They look for leadership. They want to know what is happening. And if you are not communicating clearly and realistically, they will worry. This is your organization to clearly explain your “rainy day plan” - where you are going to invest - and how you plan to bring the company out of the problems it is in.

I have found that people are actually very loyal to their organization. If you clearly state the truth, and provide a clear, well-developed plan for survival and growth, most people will get on board. If people have been well managed in the past, they will rally to the cause.

This is when leadership is tested. Can you leaders clearly communicate a plan? Can they convince people to come together in the interest of the organization? Do they really understand what and where to cut, and where to invest? This is when your leadership development programs, culture, and core principles will really be important.

When IBM went through its dark days, I do remember that the company continued to invest in its people. Even though the company lost money, it did not eliminate its employee development programs or its R&D labs. The company’s strong culture of customer service remained. It took a new strategy to turn the company around, but once this strategy was clear, Lou Gerstner communicated it vigorously and clearly.

5. Turn outward, not inward.

Avoid spending time standing around the water cooler. When a downturn occurs there is a natural tendency to spend a lot of time and energy on internal efficiencies. While this must be done, you should make sure you spend even more time focusing on customers. Now is the time to remind youself what business you are in. What products and services are doing well? Which are not? How has the economy affected your customers? What are their new needs?

When we saw a downturn at DigitalThink, we rapidly shifted our product mix from “growth-enabling” solutions to “efficiency-producing” solutions. If you stay close to your customers they will tell you what to do.

In my personal experience this is often the hardest rule of all. When a company starts to lose money or market share there is an immediate reaction to “fix things.” While this must take place, it should also be an opportunity to “see new opportunities” and move into new markets. And if a broad economic downturn is affecting your customers, it is important to see this quickly, so you can adapt your business to go in different directions.

During the 1980s Intel, one of the most successful high technology companies in the world, went through a major upheaval. The company suffered major losses through its investments in the memory business and the delay of a major new product. It was a tough time, and several of my friends worked there. The company implemented what they called the “10% solution.” Every employee took a 10% pay cut and was asked to work 10% harder. The company buckled down and reinvested in its core. It spent even more time with customers. And it identified new strategies, eventually creating the Intel Pentium, one of the most successful products in the company’s history.

Five simple lessons:

Plan ahead. Don’t swim naked. Cut strategically.
Continue to invest in talent. Reward high perfomers. Keep the culture in tact.
Look for great hires. Dont freeze all headcount.
Communicate clearly and honestly.
Turn outward.
Living through a business downturn is not always fun, but it can be a tremendous opportunity. Consider this an opportunity focus on your core, strengthen your talent programs, identify weaknesses, and reinvent your company. As HR or business leaders, you can use these proven approaches to help your organization thrive if times get tough.

http://joshbersin.com/2008/02/09/five-talent-management-strategies-for-a-business-downturn/

Who Is Your Chief Performance Officer?

2009-02-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

This week Barack Obama appointed a Chief Performance Officer for the Federal Government, focused on assessing the performance of government programs and finding opportunities to reduce waste and eliminate low-performing investments. So who is the Chief Performance Officer in a business?

We have been studying this issue and I wrote about this topic several years ago in CLO Magazine, so lets revisit this issue in today’s economy. My thesis is that that strong Human Resources and L&D leaders have the opportunity to play this role in a highly strategic way.

Let us look at the three “owners” of performance in a business:

1. Business Leaders own operational business performance.

Unlike the Federal Government, where program managers are really “spenders,” in our companies the people who spend money are held directly accountable for results. The VP of Sales has a sales quota, the VP of Manufacturing has a production and quality quota, and the VP of Customer Service has a customer satisfaction and rate of response quota.

2. Finance Leaders own financial monitoring and budgeting.

In most companies the CFO or Finance organization monitors spending, headcount, and expenses. Their job is not to drive performance, per-se, but rather to monitor financial performance and give the business and HR leaders the information they need to quickly realign resources when things are not going well.

For example, when Starbucks realized its business was slowing last Fall, the CFO quickly announced a slowdown in sales, store traffic, and other information - this information was then used by retail operations and staffing to cut or reduce hiring and close strategic locations. Ultimately the work of improving performance goes back to the business leaders.

3. Strategic HR and L&D Leaders create Processes and Systems to drive performance.

When done well, strategic HR or L&D leaders (often the CLO, or VP of OD) actually know more about why performance suffers than many other leaders. They have the tools and visibility to understand where weak leadership, low engagement, mis-alignment, or skills-gaps are holding the organization back.

In addition, the tools of talent management (performance management, goal alignment, leadership and supervisory development, succession management, total rewards) are powerful levers over performance. Our research clearly shows that these “people processes” really matter.

How People Processes drive Performance

Consider some of our research findings over the years. Organizations with a strong “learning culture” are 12-15% more profitable over a 10 year period than those without such a learning culture (The High Impact Learning Organization®, 2008). Organizations with strong competency-based performance management processes drive higher revenue growth and profitability by industry (The Role of Competencies in Driving Financial Performance, 2007).

Consider the impact of people on expense and resource allocation. The typical business spends 60-70% of its total expenses on payroll, and of course employees make decisions every day about where to spend money. When people are unproductive or misaligned, vast amounts of money are wasted.

Finally consider the importance of decision-making in an organziation. Every day virtually every employee makes decisions about what to do, how to behave, how to deal with customer or internal problems, and how to share or interact with others. These individual decisions (like tiny little economies in the macro-economy) make up the lifeblood of organizational performance. When the people side of the business is not managed, dysfunctional and unproductive decisions are being made all the time.

Building the ”People Performance Model”

I would suggest that one of the most strategic things you can do as an HR or L&D leaders is to build your organization’s “People Performance Model.” Essentially this means uncovering the “secret sauce” which makes your organization perform. Let me give you an example.

This week I had the opportunity to talk with the Chief Talent Officer of Lowes. He told me that after a year of research among thousands of stores they found that the #1 driver of retail store financial performance is employee engagement. This is not a glib or simple conclusion. Similar research by Gallup (The Human Sigma), found that retail stores with high employee commitment levels generate 3.4X the return of stores with low employee commitment levels. In fact, this research found that retail employee engagement has a bigger factor on customer retention than satisfaction with the products themselves.

So in the case of Lowes, where the Chief Talent Officer analyzed store performance in detail, the company has now decomposed the level of engagement into three driving factors: employee-manager relationship, job fit and career opportunity, and total rewards. These findings are not rocket-science, but in the case of Lowes the correlation analysis is so strong that the company can go into each store, measure these three engagement elements, and predict how well a store will perform.

Lowes also found something else. There are two pivotal job roles which drive these three engagement indexes: the store manager and store sales manager. The store manager is a real manager; the store sales manager is actually an individual contributor who one would consider a strong “influencer” of in-store employee engagement.

This work is what one could call the “People Model” or “People Performance Model.”

What Lowes can now do is filter all their HR and L&D investments against this model. In their case the Chief Talent Officer is looking at the company’s leadership develpment programs with a strong focus on what it takes to help store managers better coach, align, and communicate with employees. In this case the solution involves a very specialized, highly customized supervisory development program.

Why HR or L&D Leaders are so Important

I would argue that you, as a strong HR or L&D leader, must lead this type of effort. You, as an HR or L&D professional, best understand the way that performance management, leadership, rewards, learning, and systems fit together to drive high performing teams and organizations. By working with your leadership, you also have the closest understanding of your company’s “secret sauce.”

As I will be presenting at IMPACT 2009® this year, our latest research clearly shows that organizations which implement high-performing learning cultures, strong talent management strategies, and build a true “people plan” drive much higher long term (5-10 year) financial performance than those which have weaker or less mature people strategies. If you are an HR or L&D leader, you should rethink your role as the “Chief Performance Officer.” Rather than just “implement HR programs,” focus on understanding the core people model in your organization:

What are the critical roles that drive success? What is the profile of a high-performer in your organization? What cultural and leadership elements drive success? Why do people fail in your organization? How can you use this information to build HR and L&D processes which build, reinforce, and improve these factors?

If you think about your role in this way, I can guarantee that you will become a “Chief Performance Officer” - and such a focus will improve your career, your impact, and your organization’s success.

http://joshbersin.com/2009/01/09/the-chief-performance-officer-why-it-matters-to-you/

Human Resource Management

2008-11-15T01:12:00.000-08:00

The function of Human Resource Management contains a number of activities. The most important among them is to understand your small or home-based business�s recruitment needs. HRM is responsible for deciding that whether to hire freelancers or appoint full-time workforce for the business setup you have. Hiring and training the best workers, making sure that they are high performers, ensure your personal management practices and try to be conventional to various policies are some of the Human Resource Management activities.

Mostly commercial or non-commercial small or home-based businesses have to carry out the human resource activities by themselves, as they cannot afford recruiting human resource management at their early stages. Conversely they should make the employee certain about the terms and conditions and the corporate policies of your business. Usually, those rules, regulations and policies are mentioned in the appointment letter provided to them at the time of their hiring. Besides that, do not make the Human Resource Management (HRM) confused with the Human Resource Development (HRD). HRD is a much broader spectrum of which HRM is a part.

The functions of HRM can be dealt easily and effectively in a small or home-based business setup by the business owner. Yet, the Human Resource Management functions are different for small, medium or large size entrepreneurs, and it place emphasis on how leadership, organization and devotion played important roles in organizational success.

Next to the general management work, HRM practices are the most important activity in small or home-based business ventures. Study shows that smaller firms grow in HRM practices if giving importance to training of its employees and group-based incentives on a basis of total quality management strategy. But the HR practices have generally languished in small or home-based business.

In short it is better to say that Human Resource Management (HRM) is a sophisticated means of managing quality workers, benefits and wages within the organization�s budget.

Performance Management- Ten Steps to Bridge Strategy and Execution

2008-10-20T02:12:00.001-07:00

Performance Management- Ten Steps to Bridge Strategy and Execution
By Matt Angello and Ira S Wolfe

Many organizations struggle with executing their business plans. The root cause of this struggle can be as varied as the businesses themselves. The purpose of this document is to provide leaders with the ten essential steps to move an organization from strategy to execution.

Unlocking the potential of your organization requires discipline of definition, communication and alignment. Without these disciplines, your business “plans” will become at best, broken dreams and unfilled “hopes.” The following ten steps will guide your organization on the disciplined path to a successful future.

Step 1- Determine the Destination. Before an organization can move forward, every employee needs to know the destination. This destination is typically “charted” through clearly and concisely articulated vision, mission and values statements. Vision is an
organization’s reason for existence and long-term desired state. It answers the question “who are we and what do we want to be?” It often includes a reference to the competitive set, e.g. size, profitability, market share, positioning, etc. Without a vision, an
organization will lack purpose, passion and energy. Mission usually describes the enablers of the vision (“how” it will be achieved), often including references to customers, suppliers and employees. Finally, values describe the inviolable beliefs and guiding principles of the organization, which govern the behavior of everyone in the organization.

Step 2- Set the Course. Charting the course to the destination ensures that everyone is moving in the right direction. This is accomplished through strategic and operating plans. Strategic plans set the course over a time horizon, typically 3-5 years. These plans include detailed strategies for achieving the vision of the organization over time (market share, profitability, sales growth, product development, entering/exiting markets, etc). To be effective, the strategic plan must lay-out in clear terms what is expected, the current gaps to these expectations, detailed descriptions of the actions to close the gaps and the specified time to do so. Strategic plans are not broadly communicated to employees.

Operating plans are the distillation of the strategic plan over a shorter planning horizon, usually annual. They specify the deliverables of the strategic plan, including objectives and specific/measureable outcomes which must be achieved within specified time frames
and budgets. Operating plans must be broadly communicated to employees to ensure that everyone is on the proper course.

Step 3- Spread the News. Ensure that the key operating plan objectives are disseminated from executive management to employees. This is an opportunity with high engagementbuilding potential for many organizations. Because executive management spends so much time discussing the business with one-another, they tend to assume that employees share their understanding of the key priorities. Absent disciplined communication, this transfer simply does not happen. Start the process by establishing an “owner” for each of the objectives in the operating plan, and communicating the expectation to them. These individuals may or may not have been involved in establishing the objective as part of the planning process. This step ensures that there is no ambiguity as to who is responsible to champion and deliver the initiative. Diffuseness of responsibility is a sure-fire first step to non-execution.

Step 4- Be Clear. Ensure there is clarity around the delivery date and the financial value of the respective objectives. If dates and/or target values change after the creation of the operating plan, the owner of the objective needs to know.

Step 5- Name the Team. The owner of the objective must take the time to identify all of the participants who need to be engaged in the achievement of the objective through a “cascade” process. Additionally, they need to ensure (either directly or through a review process) that each participant has an appropriate success measure for their component and an agreed upon time frame for its delivery. Of course, the components and dates need to build in a logical progression to achieve the objective as outlined in the operating plan.

This is typically accomplished in the context of a project plan, which should readily identify all the individuals who have a role to play. The goal alignment process associated with any objective should not stop until the individual contributors to that
objective are identified. It is important to remember that all of the participants in the achievement of an objective will not necessarily fall into the reporting structure of the leader.

Step 6- First things First, Significant power results when every employee is linked either directly or indirectly to one of the operating objectives. Many linkages will be identified through the cascade process described above, but others will not. If they cannot, then identify other SMART objectives, tied closely to operating performance using the process outlined in the following steps.

Step 7- Define Success. Each employee should have no more than five SMART objectives, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. If the objective outgrows a project plan, the measures in the project plan should be used for the
individual employee. If not, then focus on objectives that are directly or indirectly tied to the attainment of operating plan drivers, and/or to the most important department deliverables. Avoid low impact, work tasks becoming listed as objectives.

 Step 8- Break Ties. It is possible that employees will have conflicting objectives. There needs to be a process to break ties. It cannot be as simple as the immediate manager review, because they may not share accountability with their employee for a particular objective. An example of this could surface in the project planning teams previously discussed, where a department employee, but not necessarily the manager, could play a critical role. In this case, the project manager needs to be involved in the decision as to which objectives take precedence. To ensure an adequate review of objectives, a twolevel approval process is preferred. This process requires that all objectives are reviewed and approved by the second level manager. To the extent that there is a conflict with a project team leader and a department manager, the conflict will be resolved with the second level manager.

 Step 9- Stay Fluid and Think Linked. Objectives are not evergreen. Priorities have a way of changing with the ebbs and flows of market conditions. Be aware that every time a critical business initiative changes in part or in whole, the objectives of all those
employees who are tied to that initiative must be revisited. To ensure that you do not miss the opportunity to stay linked to changing requirements, managers and employees should revisit their objectives on a regular basis informally, and formally once per quarter. Post the objectives in an obvious location and keep them top of mind. Managers and project leaders should ask to review the objectives when meeting with employees. There are a number of software solutions that are available in the marketplace to assist with this process.

 Step 10- Dance with Your Stars. Linking pay and incentives in part or in whole to performance against objectives has been demonstrated time and again to have a positive impact on their achievement and company results. High performers embrace such plans, particularly those that provide direct “line of sight,” meaning there is a direct relationship between the employee’s performance and their pay. Weaker performers do not like such programs for obvious reasons. A strongly aligned objective process, as described above provides the best basis for making development, pay and promotion decisions that motivate your star performers and establishes a foundation of performance excellence organization-wide.

About the Authors
Matthew Angello, Principal Consultant and Executive Coach
Matt Angello brings over 25 years of business experience to his practice as a consultant and executive coach, including several years as a Board-Level Executive Officer in Fortune 500 companies. He is an accomplished strategist with expertise in executive and team coaching, organization development, change management, performance and process improvement, and communications. He has experience as both an independent consultant/business owner and global business executive across multiple industries and for companies in various stages of their business cycle.

Matt is the Founder and Principal of Bright Tree Consulting Group, a boutique firm that offers an array of highly personalized and effective coaching and consulting services for executives and companies seeking to unleash their potential, move their performance to the next level and prepare for future challenges. He has partnered with many CEO’s, Boards of Directors and other “C-Level” executives to improve their effectiveness. His clients include start-ups, privately held companies and Fortune 500 global firms. He is an accomplished coach, strategist, team builder and people developer with a global track record. Matt is a recognized human capital expert, and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Human Resources Executive and other publications. He has been the featured speaker at many seminars and has served on the Board of Directors of national organizations. He received his BA from the University of Pittsburgh and an MS from Rutgers University.

Ira Wolfe, Assessment Consultant and Executive Coach
Ira Wolfe brings nationally recognized expertise in personality and skill assessment to his role at Bright Tree Consulting Group. As founder and president of his own consulting company, Success Performance Solutions, Ira has helped organizations across the United States find and hire the right employees, align people with business operating objectives, and identify high-potential leaders.

In 1999 Ira delivered a provocative and compelling forecast of the 10 and 20 year labor market. It wasn't long before Ira found himself speaking to audiences all over North America about The Perfect Labor Storm, resulting in the 2005 publication of a book by the same name. His newest book, The Perfect Labor Storm 2.0: Workforce Trends That Will Change The Way You Do Business has been described by readers as "fantastic," "outstanding," and "required reading for every Human Resource Professional, business owner, and elected official." Ira is also the author of Understanding Business Values and Motivators. Ira has trademarked a highly successful system, called CriteriaOne®, to assist organizations in job benchmarking, employee selection, and managing performance.

Ira is a highly sought-after expert for interviews in dozens of publications, including The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeekOnline, as well as being the frequent guest on several business cable news shows discussing workforce trends, employee hiring and retention strategies. Ira has been the featured keynote at a wide variety of conferences, conventions, association meetings and Chamber of Commerce audiences, reaching thousands of business leaders and human resource professionals every year.

Ira started his career as a highly successful dentist who grew a large practice in central Pennsylvania. The need to hire the right staff piqued his interest in assessment and he pursued this field with intensity, ultimately achieving his current prominence as a national expert. He received his B.S. degree from Muhlenberg College and his DMD degree from University of Pennsylvania. He is nearing completion of his Master's Degree in Leadership and Ethics at Duquesne University.

To contact the authors:
Bright Tree Consulting Group
www.brighttreecg.com
Matt Angello: mjangello@brighttreecg.com
Phone: (717) 892-6703
Ira S Wolfe: iwolfe@brighttreecg.com
Phone: (717) 333.8286

Choosing Your Career Path to Success

2008-09-21T06:52:00.003-07:00

Life is great till the point we are studying and gaining knowledge. The dilemma arises when its time to move step further and choose a career that will take us places professionally!

Making such a crucial career decision is not always easy, but it is one that needs to be made sooner or later. Many of us think that we know what it is that we want to do professionally.Such people usually fall into 2 categories -

1) Those who really know what they're passionate about and choose a career field for the right reasons.

2) Those who fail to make up their own minds and succumb to outside pressures, opting for a wrong career.

It is a known and accepted fact that people tend to excel in jobs that their interested in, excited about and passionate for. Whereas, pursuing a wrong career field for all the wrong reasons can make you frustrated, miserable and unhappy. It becomes impossible to do well in a job that just doesn't appeal to you.

Keeping these facts in mind, here are some simple steps you can follow to make the best career decision for yourself -

Clear your mind of preconceived notions.
Identify your interests and things that you are passionate about.
Draw a clear line between what your parents / family / acquaintances want you to do and what it is you would like to do. If both these are the same, that's good for you, However, even if it isn't, you still owe it to yourself to be truthful and practical.
Imagine what it would be like to be doing what you've chosen to do , say 5 - 10 years from now.

Once you have followed a practical and logical decision making process, you will feel closer to a balanced and right decision in choosing a career path to success.

Role of Recruitment & Selection

2008-09-21T06:52:00.001-07:00

THE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION PROCESS

Recruitment and Selection are perhaps the most important tasks for an organisaton.

Recruitment refers to the process of searching and appointing prospective candidates in an organization. An organisation must undertake the recruitment procedure if it wants to appoint the right people under its employment.

There are many methods of recruitment that can be used by an organization. These include:

1. Internal Recruitment: vacancies are filled with people from within the organization.

2. Direct Recruitment: candidates are screened and short listed directly from the Institutes, also called Campus Recruitment.

3. Indirect Recruitment: vacancies are advertised in Newspapers and other media such as Television, Internet etc.

4. Placement Consultants: Companies place give their manpower requirements to Placement & Recruitment Consultants who undertake the job of identifying suitable candidates for the Company. It may include notification to employment exchanges etc.

5. Present Employees: may suggest their friends or acquaintances to fill a particular position.

Selection refers to the task of choosing or picking the suitable candidates by first asking for and gaining access to useful information about the candidate. i

The Indian Private sector Companies may undertake the selection process themselves or outsource the job to a third party. The Government and public sector may select through such bodies as Union Public Service Commission, Banking Service Recruitment Boards, etc.

In order to get selected for a position, job seekers have to go through and clear a number of procedures including written tests, screening, group discussions, interviews, reference check, etc.

Common Recruitment Techniques & Their Importance

2008-09-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

The process of recruitment is vast and made up of many different elements. Today, a number of organizations are using a more in-depth approach towards recruiting the ideal candidate than just the interview.

The trend is to invite a prospective candidate for a series of tests followed by the interview etc. Most large organizations realise that hiring the wrong person for a job can prove to be a very costly mistake and instead prefer to spend funds on using proven recruitment techniques to reduce chances of errors while recruiting.

Here are a few commonly used Recruitment Tests - Psychometric Tests:

Verbal Reasoning - tests are tailor made to test a candidate's ability to understand words and passages they have read. These are multiple choice questions and answers need to be marked clearly.

Numerical Reasoning - tests are meant to test your ability to work with and solve problems related to numbers. Questions may be presented in the form of graphs, tables, charts etc. Questions might seem similar but require to use your knowledge and understanding of numbers for each question.

Personality Tests - Such a questionnaire contains a set of questions about you and are meant to test and know your thinking style, forces that guide and motivate you as well as your thought process and ability to get along with others. While answering these questions, you must be honest with yourself rather than giving answers that you think are 'right'!

Besides these, you may be asked to get involved in group discussions and exercises where you would take part in discussions on a topic with others in the group. These tests are nothing but a means to judge how well you can voice your opinions and discuss topics without monopolizing the discussion. The group discussion may also be aimed at finding solutions to a problem together as a group. The proceedings of the group are watched by a person from the Company.

Presentation - In a presentation, a candidate is expected to address a live audience and present on a topic. This is meant to test your ability to talk publicly with self confidence and intelligence.

During a presentation, you must make sure that you are calm, focussed and relaxed. This is your opportunity to show to the employer that you have confidence to back your intelligence. Remember to maintain eye contact with your audience.

You may also be expected to use visual aids such as overhead projectors and charts etc during the presentation. The above mentioned are just some of the most commonly used tests that organizations rely on before calling you for that face to face interview. It is not uncommon to discuss with you how you think you fared in each test and your thoughts about each.

http://www.123oye.com/job-articles/career-planning/recruitment-techniques.htm

How To Handle Difficult People

2008-09-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

How To Handle Difficult People

The job of any manager is how efficiently & effectively he handles people at work. It is a challenge as a manager to form coalitions of willing, eager, & ambitious people within the realm of your responsibility. Handling people at work is not always as easy as it looks like, more so when a manager has to handle difficult people. They can destabilize you if you cannot understand & handle them properly. Every difficult person in the form of a boss, colleague, subordinate, friend that you come in contact with is an opportunity for you to grow & develop into a stronger, more resilient - & more serene- manager.

The coping skills need to be learned. If you get rattled with their behavior they might create a considerable damage in the smooth functioning of your department. Every organization, department, section has difficult people & these people have to be understood, handled & dealt with properly. Failing to act proactively might mean that you are scared to handle these difficult people & to make their presence felt they assume the role of a parasite slowly indulging in the act of gnawing & paralyzing the whole set up. Thus, it becomes a challenge for the managers to take these difficult people along with them while they are in the process of achieving concrete results.

How difficult people affect the work place

Difficult people waste a lot of time. They not only waste a lot of their time but waste a lot of your time.

Difficult people bring you down. Team efficiency suffers if you & your subordinates simply avoid the person causing the problems.

Difficult people affect you at all levels. The effects of difficult people vary depending on whether they are coworkers, subordinates, or your boss. The problems you encounter in dealing with a difficult person stem from one of the 2 sources. -

Conflicting Expectations. When you expect something from someone else increased sales, stepped up performance, higher productivity, or more help with your workload- you set yourself up for the possibility of disappointment. Offices are full of subordinates, coworkers, superiors walking around resenting each other over expectations they never discussed, negotiated, or agreed to. Subordinates, peers, & superiors become "difficult" when they stand between you & your expectations.

- Unclear Boundaries. Boundaries can be physical or emotional- that is, what you will & will not tolerate in the way others treat you or talk to you. People who cross these boundaries without permission can seem difficult. Ex: A subordinate crosses your boundaries when he walks into your office uninvited, cuts you off in meetings, sends out department-wide directives without consulting you, or makes unauthorized purchases. He becomes a classic difficult subordinate i.e., a difficult employee. The difficult people in what ever form they are in your organization therefore deplete energy. Deplete energy dampens enthusiasm. Dampened enthusiasm decreases personal performance. Decreased personal productivity diminishes organizational performance. Diminished organizational performance destroys profits. Hence, every organization & the manager need to have a certain strategies & language to deal with them. Before we really go ahead as to how to handle difficult people, we need to understand them. If you proactively make an earnest attempt to understand difficult people in your work place, the battle is half won. Focusing on improving & forging the relationship is important because you can't reasonably expect to change a difficult person-you can only hope to influence & change his behavior. Your power lies in your willingness to alter your own assumptions & attitudes.

When you take the initiative, you reap rich dividends.

The Slave Driver. One kind of difficult people who makes unreasonable demands on your time, resources, & attention.

The Black Hole. Some one who takes everything you can give & then asks for more.

The Minutiae Monster. Someone who is inefficient, unfocussed, & obsessed with details. The Busybody. Someone who doesn't respect personal & professional boundaries.

The Recluse. Someone who is isolated & does not communicate with coworkers.

The Bully. Someone who deliberately intimidates others.

The Liar. A person who deliberately breaks the rules & misleads you.

The Outlaw. Someone who doesn't play by the rules unless they're his own.

The Blamer-Complainer. Someone who blames you & others for his mistakes.

Know-It All. Someone who claims to know everything about everything. After going through the above, you now have a fair idea of the many ways people can be difficult to work with. Note that not all difficult people will fit neatly into one of the categories but they may possess one or more traits which makes them difficult to work with. These people will behave in the most unconventional & unpredictable ways imaginable-intentionally or not. Be ready. In any event, be prepared to act decisively. To be an asset to your company, you need to be a problem solver. In other words, you need to possess certain attributes at making problems go away. The more one does, the more he commands respect, the more he commands respect, and the more he would be given difficult & complex problems.

The more complex problems he resolves, the more he commands value in the work place, the more he commands value in his work place, the more he commands a price. Thus, his career graphs sky rockets to all time high. To manage all difficult people & the problems that come with them, you need to remember one basic principle: FIRST, YOU MUST SEPARATE THE PROBLEM FROM THE PERSON.

- The Constructive Confrontation Cycle. One of the best advices given by Henry Cloud: Go hard on the issue & soft on the person. In other words, when you need to confront a staff member, bring to the table both your high work expectations & standards & a sympathetic ear. Focus on what you want to get out of the confrontation. To solve the problem, make the relationship stronger, help the person develop & empower the development.

- In a constructive confrontation cycle engage difficult employee in conversation, create a written covenant or an agreement. Schedule & conduct regular feedback & monitoring sessions. Celebrate the accomplishment of short-term goals. Repeat process until long-term goals have been achieved.

- Progressive Discipline. If you have engaged in constructive confrontation with an employee who continues to be difficult, it's time to use the extensive counseling & documentation you've built up to begin a formal program of progressive discipline. Progressive discipline offers difficult employees a chance to turn their situation around, under the looming threat of dismissal.

- Give positive feedback in public, but give reprimands in public.

- Termination. Sometimes there is no other option left for the manager to deal with incorrigible people in the work place, termination is the only answer. Be as diplomatic as possible to avoid any further confrontation in your work place. Trust that you are doing the right thing for your business and then make sure you follow all the correct procedures with the support of your HR department.

- If you do need to terminate someone's employment, the best time is at the end of the workday, preferably at the end of the week; make a point to call a meeting the next workday to notify your other employees in person. Every Manager faces difficult people while they are in the process of achieving organizational objectives.

The focus of a manager should be the company's objectives & not the person who makes his job & your job difficult.

You need to skillfully pull out the weeds as & when they appear.

By Iyer Subramanian

Peak Performance

2008-09-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

Peak Performance

Hit your highest point / reach your zenith / reach your pick whatever is your deed.

When you are assigned with an important project by your boss it is essential that you establish a series of yardsticks or measures that you can use to evaluate your progress, day by day & hour by hour. The more clear & specific the measures you set, the more accurate you will be in hitting your targets on schedule.

If you want accomplish the project resolve to accomplish at least one specific part of a larger goal each day, & never miss a day. Without imposing yourself in the form of deadlines no task can be accomplished.

When you are focusing on a project your performance on the job is already at work. You need to give your best performance consistently & regularly to get superlative results. There are 3 keys to peak performance in achieving your goals.

 Commitment. When you make a firm commitment to achieve a particular goal, & you put aside all excuses, it is very much like stepping on the accelerator of your subconscious mind. You will be more creative, determined & focused than ever before. The people who are in the top positions are those who make clear, unequivocal commitments & then refuse to budge from them, no matter what happens.

 Completion is the second ingredient in peak performance. There is a big difference between doing 95 percent of a task & doing 100 percent of a task. In fact, it is very common for people to work very hard up to the 90 percent or 95 percent level & then slack off & delay the final completion of the task. This is a temptation that you must fight against. Instead you must continually force yourself, discipline yourself, to resist this natural tendency & push through to completion.

 Every time when you complete a small task, you feel happier. When you complete a large task, you feel happier still. When you finish the various steps on the way to the completion of a large task, at every achievement you get an endorphin rush. You feel continuously happy & exhilarated when you are working steadily toward the completion of an important job which your boss has given.

 Closure. The third C, after commitment & completion, is "Closure." Bringing closure to an issue in your personal or business life is absolutely essential for you to feel happy & in control of your situation. Lack of closure unfinished business, an incomplete action of any kind is a major source of stress, dissatisfaction, & even failure in business or at work. It consumes enormous amounts of physical & emotional energy.

 When you get your tasks done well in the said order you have earned the name of "depend-ability." When you are dependable in your place of work or getting the jobs done as assigned by your boss you will not only get paid or compensated more but will also be promoted faster. You will ultimately become extremely valuable than anybody else.

The happiness & the enjoyment which you achieve as a result of completing any project well are indescribable. The feeling of fulfillment, achievement puts you on a pedestal & you are eager to take on more & more difficult project as a challenge. Thus, your mental state will always be high & positive. Example: Just see any successful person in cinema, business, sports, music, and arts. They attach a lot of pleasure while performing their job & when you attach pleasure & happiness instead of pain while discharging your functions you tend to give out your PEAK PERFORMANCE.

Written By - Iyer Subramanian

http://www.123oye.com/job-articles/hr/peak-performance.htm

Creating the best work culture

2008-09-21T06:46:00.001-07:00

Creating the best work culture

The work culture is the key to high performance.

More important, influencing the work culture is a manager's best opportunity for creating high performance. "Culture" is a 24-hours-a-day training program that exists inside any organization. It's teaching and influencing all the time. Sometimes it's teaching what we like it to teach, and sometimes it's not. It's very difficult to "swim upstream" against the culture.

For example, you can teach value added and long-term relationships all you want, but if the work culture is really about short-term, adversarial relationships with clients, that's what you're going to get--that plus a lot of confusion.

The best of all possible worlds is a consistent, positive, reinforcing culture--and good sales managers are discovering that the best way to leverage their efforts is to manage the culture. After more than 10 years of research, we've come up with five factors that are critical to creating and maintaining a high-performance work culture. Listed in order of importance, they are:

1. A Shared Sense Of Mission Or Purpose. It's the culture equivalent to purpose. It answers the questions "What's expected around here, what do we do, and why do we do it?" If the only answer that you have is "making money," be prepared for your people to ask for as much as they can get for doing as little as they can. On the other hand, if you've taken the time to establish a mission--and especially if you've taken the time to involve your people in the process--that larger sense of mission will help people focus on achieving their part of the mission.

2. Clear And Attainable Goals. People perform best when they have specific goals. Goals that are reachable yet that stretch them. Don't tell people what to do, or how to do it, but give them the map, the destination, and sometimes the general direction in which to start.

3. Frequent Objective Feedback. People learn quickly and work well when they are told how they're doing. Debrief and summarize every joint call you make. Don't assume that people know how they're doing or know what you think. Lead with positive information first, but always be honest, objective, and specific. Help your people learn from every selling experience.

4. Positive Rewards For Appropriate Or Approximate Performance. Selling is like playing tennis: Very few people get it right the first time. Sincere, positive reinforcement ("You did that really well." "You really understand this." "You're doing a great job.") helps people learn. Catch people doing something right, and tell them about it.

5. Timely Support And Help When Requested Or Needed. This is an issue of priorities for most sales managers. It's deciding what your job is. Are you there to track numbers and quotas, or are you there to support your people? Clearly, both jobs have to be done, but the job of coach is the critical job in creating a high-performance team.

Author: Smitha

Email: smi_blore@yahoo.co.in

Great Managers Understand Their People

2008-09-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

Average managers treat all their employees the same. Great managers discover each individual's unique talents and bring these to the surface so everyone wins. An excerpt from Harvard Business Review.

by Marcus Buckingham

"The best boss I ever had." That's a phrase most of us have said or heard at some point, but what does it mean? What sets the great boss apart from the average boss? The literature is rife with provocative writing about the qualities of managers and leaders and whether the two differ, but little has been said about what happens in the thousands of daily interactions and decisions that allows managers to get the best out of their people and win their devotion. What do great managers actually do?

In my research, beginning with a survey of 80,000 managers conducted by the Gallup Organization and continuing during the past two years with in-depth studies of a few top performers, I've found that while there are as many styles of managers, there is one quality that sets truly great managers apart from the rest: They discover what is unique about each person and then capitalize on it. Average managers play checkers, while great managers play chess. The difference? In checkers, all the pieces are uniform and move in the same way; they are interchangeable. You need to plan and coordinate their movements, certainly, but they all move at the same pace, on parallel paths. In chess, each type of piece moves in a different way, and you can't play if you don't know how each piece moves. More important, you won't win if you don't think carefully about how you move the pieces. Great managers know and value the unique abilities and even the eccentricities of their employees, and they learn how best to integrate them into a coordinated plan of attack.

This is the exact opposite of what great leaders do. Great leaders discover what is universal and capitalize on it. Their job is to rally people toward a better future. Leaders can succeed in this only when they can cut through differences of race, sex, age, nationality, and personality and, using stories and celebrating heroes, tap into those very few needs we all share. The job of a manager, meanwhile, is to turn one person's particular talent into performance. Managers will succeed only when they can identify and deploy the differences among people, challenging each employee to excel in his or her own way. This doesn't mean a leader can't be a manager or vice versa. But to excel at one or both, you must be aware of the very different skills each role requires. [...]

Managers will succeed only when they can identify and deploy the differences among people. Make the most of strengths. It takes time and effort to gain a full appreciation of an employee's strengths and weaknesses. The great manager spends a good deal of time outside the office walking around, watching each person's reactions to events, listening, and taking mental notes about what each individual is drawn to and what each person struggles with. There's no substitute for this kind of observation, but you can obtain a lot of information about a person by asking a few simple, open-ended questions and listening carefully to the answers. Two queries in particular have proven most revealing when it comes to identifying strengths and weaknesses, and I recommend asking them of all new hiresand revisiting the questions periodically.

To identify a person's strengths, first ask, "What was the best day at work you've had in the past three months?" Find out what the person was doing and why he enjoyed it so much. Remember: A strength is not merely something you are good at. In fact, it might be something you aren't good at yet. It might be just a predilection, something you find so intrinsically satisfying that you look forward to doing it again and again and getting better at it over time. This question will prompt your employee to start thinking about his interests and abilities from this perspective.

To identify a person's weakness, just invert the question: "What was the worst day you've had at work in the past three months?" And then probe for details about what he was doing and why it grated on him so much. As with a strength, a weakness is not merely something you are bad at (in fact, you might be quite competent at it). It is something that drains you of energy, an activity that you never look forward to doing and that when you are doing it, all you can think about is stopping.

Although you're keeping an eye out for both the strengths and weaknesses of your employees, your focus should be on their strengths. Conventional wisdom holds that self-awareness is a good thing and that it's the job of the manager to identify weaknesses and create a plan for overcoming them. But research by Albert Bandura, the father of social learning theory, has shown that self-assurance (labeled "self-efficacy" by cognitive psychologists), not self-awareness, is the strongest predictor of a person's ability to set high goals, to persist in the face of obstacles, to bounce back when reversals occur, and, ultimately, to achieve the goals they set. By contrast, self-awareness has not been shown to be a predictor of any of these outcomes, and in some cases, it appears to retard them.

Great managers seem to understand this instinctively. They know that their job is not to arm each employee with a dispassionately accurate understanding of the limits of her strengths and the liabilities of her weaknesses but to reinforce her self-assurance. That's why great managers focus on strengths. When a person succeeds, the great manager doesn't praise her hard work. Even if there is some exaggeration in the statement, he tells her that she succeeded because she has become so good at deploying her specific strengths. This, the manager knows, will strengthen the employee's self-assurance and make her more optimistic and more resilient in the face of challenges to come.

You can obtain a lot of information about a person by asking a few simple, open-ended questions. The focus-on-strengths approach might create in the employee a modicum of overconfidence, but great managers mitigate this by emphasizing the size and the difficulty of the employee's goals. They know that their primary objective is to create in each employee a specific state of mind: one that includes a realistic assessment of the difficulty of the obstacle ahead but an unrealistically optimistic belief in her ability to overcome it.

And what if the employee fails? Assuming the failure is not attributable to factors beyond her control, always explain failure as a lack of effort, even if this is only partially accurate. This will obscure self-doubt and give her something to work on as she faces up to the next challenge.

Repeated failure, of course, may indicate weakness where a role requires strength. In such cases, there are four approaches for overcoming weaknesses. If the problem amounts to lack of skill or knowledge, that's easy to solve: Simply offer the relevant training, allow some time for the employee to incorporate the new skills, and look for signs of improvement. If her performance doesn't get better, you'll know that the reason she's struggling is because she is missing certain talents, a deficit no amount of skill or knowledge training is likely to fix. You'll have to find a way to manage around this weakness and neutralize it.

Which brings us to the second strategy for overcoming an employee weakness. Can you find her a partner, someone whose talents are strong in precisely the areas where hers are weak? Here's how this strategy can look in action. As vice president of merchandising for the women's clothing retailer Ann Taylor, Judi Langley found that tensions were rising between her and one of her merchandising managers, Claudia (not her real name), whose analytical mind and intense nature created an overpowering "need to know." If Claudia learned of something before Judi had a chance to review it with her, she would become deeply frustrated. Given the speed with which decisions were made, and given Judy's busy schedule, this happened frequently. Judi was concerned that Claudia's irritation was unsettling to the whole product team, not to mention earning the employee a reputation as a malcontent.

Always explain failure as a lack of effort, even if this is only partially accurate.
An average manager might have identified this behavior as a weakness and lectured Claudia on how to control her need for information. Judi, however, realized that this "weakness" was an aspect of Claudia's greatest strength: her analytical mind. Claudia would never be able to rein it in, at least not for long. So Judi looked for a strategy that would honor and support Claudia's need to know, while channeling it more productively. Judi decided to act as Claudia's information partner, and she committed to leaving Claudia a voice mail at the end of each day with a brief update. To make sure nothing fell through the cracks, they set up two live "touch base" conversations per week. This solution managed Claudia's expectations and assured her that she would get the information she needed, if not exactly when she wanted it, then at least at frequent and predictable intervals. Giving Claudia a partner neutralized the negative manifestations of her strength, allowing her to focus her analytical mind on her work. (Of course, in most cases, the partner would need to be someone other than a manager.)

Should the perfect partner prove hard to find, try this third strategy: Insert into the employee's world a technique that helps accomplish through discipline what the person can't accomplish through instinct. I met one very successful screenwriter and director who had struggled with telling other professionals, such as composers and directors of photography, that their work was not up to snuff. So he devised a mental trick: He now imagines what the "god of art" would want and uses this imaginary entity as a source of strength. In his mind, he no longer imposes his own opinion on his colleagues but rather tells himself (and them) that an authoritative third party has weighed in.

If training produces no improvement, if complementary partnering proves impractical, and if no nifty discipline technique can be found, you are going to have to try the fourth and final strategy, which is to rearrange the employee's working world to render his weakness irrelevant. This strategy will require of you, first, the creativity to envision a more effective arrangement and, second, the courage to make that arrangement work. But the payoff that may come in the form of increased employee productivity and engagement is well worth it.

Excerpted with permission from "What Great Managers Do," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, No. 3, March 2005.

Marcus Buckingham (info@onethinginc.com) is a consultant and speaker on leadership and management practices.

Ajit Chouhan

Body Language for Successful HR

2008-09-21T06:44:00.001-07:00

Even people, like the Prince of Wales, who are trained to deal with difficult situations can display the wrong body language when under pressure and ruin the message they hope to convey. Anna Burges-Lumsden reports on the importance of non-verbal cues.

Prince Charles' body language said it all at a photo call in Klosters on 31 March 2005. With a forced smile through gritted teeth, a defensive posture and eyes desperate to avoid contact with Fleet Street's finest, his distaste for the media could not have been clearer.

Prince William, by contrast, appeared relaxed, poised and confident of the image he was presenting. And so in one dramatic photograph the importance of body language was laid bare.

What the Prince of Wales really needs - apart from a lecture on the dangers of speaking near a microphone - is some serious body language coaching. Like thousands of other people in positions of responsibility he would benefit from expert help on non-verbal communication.

Words account for less than 10% of a message's impact. The rest comes from non-verbal cues.

According to Mike Petrook, public affairs manager of the Chartered Management Institute, 90% of the messages we convey are through body language.

He said: "Half of what we communicate is transmitted through our bodily positions and movements, so understanding physical gestures and ex-pressions can help us work more efficiently at all levels of the workplace.

"Being aware of people's body language will help you learn more about your colleagues and how to work better with them," he said.

Mary-Louise Angoujard, CEO and founder of Rapporta, who is specialist in executive communication and body language, believes body language is only part of the whole picture.

"Non-verbal communication not only includes body language, posture, facial ex-pressions and eye contact, but also vocal ex-pression, tone, pitch and pace." And she said that to communicate successfully you must "ensure congruence with your words in all these areas".

During negotiations or when you need to maintain authority in a meeting, Angoujard affirmed the importance of being clear of your objectives and the messages you want to communicate.

"Preparation is key," she said. "And gathering all facts and documentation and pre-empting all possible difficulties or concerns will ensure confidence and a feeling of positive self-control. As so much of body language is unconscious on our part, this will help to ensure your non-verbal communication sends out the right signals."

Angela Mortimer, who runs her own international recruitment consultancy, believes that maintaining good eye contact is also essential.

"People talk about eye contact and active listening, but staring someone out can be negative," she said. "You can divert your eyes when you're thinking and make eye contact again when you're talking."

When conducting interviews, Angoujard emphasised the importance of building rapport with the individual and establishing an environment where they feel at ease.

"This is the only way you will be best served in discovering their real strengths and skills and whether they will be a good match for the role and your organisation," she said.

During difficult situations such as making redundancies, Angoujard recommended greeting the employee in an appropriately pleasant but serious manner.

She said: "Welcome with a pleasant ex-pression, however maintain a demeanour that reflects the serious nature of the discussion and your respect for the situation and the individual."

Angoujard also stressed the importance of the environment in which the redundancy takes place. She suggested that when possible, conduct the meetings on neutral ground such as a meeting or conference room rather than someone's office, and that being seated around the corner of a round, oval or square table will be less 'confrontational' and more 'collegiate'.

Petrook warned, however, that body language is hard to fake and even someone who has developed a good understanding of the importance of gestures and gesticulations cannot completely disguise their own thoughts.

"There are some elements of behaviour that will remain controlled by the subconscious and are involuntary," he said.

Angoujard said that because so much of non-verbal communication is subliminal in nature, the best solution is to understand first your own attitudes, intentions and objectives and then speak accordingly.

This way, the messages you send involuntarily will be congruent with your conscious words, tone and gestures, she said.

"When you believe your own message, the impact is much greater and others are more likely to believe you mean what you say," Angoujard said.

Body language for tricky situations

In negotiations

Prepare well
Control environment
Offer a warm greeting
Understand your position
Have an upright, confident posture
Open body language (relaxed not stiff)
Build rapport
Maintain good eye contact - no eyeballing
Ask good quality, open questions
Speak in a clear, measured manner
Show empathy
Display controlled energy.
Avoid

Unremitting eyeball to eyeball
Ignoring members of the group
Coldness or harshness in your voice
Closed body language (arms folded, head down, avoiding eye contact).
Making redundancies

Offer a pleasant but serious greeting
Provide a round, oval or square table and sit on the corner not opposite
Use an appropriate voice tone, pitch, pace
Display open, neutral body language
Give reasonable eye contact
Present a respectful attitude
Offer empathy but stay businesslike
Provide meaningful consultations
Use a calm voice at a slow pace
Use a businesslike demeanour
Supply third-party reference facts
Don't be

Distant or intimate
Superior or inferior
Offensive or defensive
Maternal or paternal
Unfeeling
Maintain unbroken eye contact
Display overtly closed or defensive body language
Display too much joviality or friendliness
Conducting interviews

Use open body language
Present a straight, relaxed, confident posture
Maintain good eye contact so that you look pleasant and engaged
Offer a firm handshake
Show sincerity in voice tone
Speak a suitable pace
Explain expectations
Take charge
Express interest in person & their experience
Ask framed, contextualised questions
Listen attentively and nod occasionally
Don't

Give a flimsy or bone-crushing handshake
Sit across a table
Stand too close on arrival
Invade personal space
Say: "Tell me about yourself"

Body Language at Work

What people say is often very different from what they think. We've all learned that honesty is not always the best policy. Keeping your cards close to your chest is seen as the most basic workplace survival strategy. Is body language the chink in all our armour?

What really matters most to your boss posture or performance? Body language specialists argue that the two are inter-related. If you come across as disorganised or lacking composure, your colleagues will dismiss your ideas and efforts.

Spot the difference
Laurel Herman, author of Managing Your Image In a Week, provides one-to-one body language consulting. She put her belief in body language theories to the test. When planning an important speech on the subject, she decided to give her audience a graphic demonstration. 'When I was announced I scurried on to the stage and then began speaking in a high-pitched, squeaky, breathless voice, allowing my words to trip over themselves. As I spoke I maintained a hunched shoulder posture and gesticulated wildly. After a few sentences, I abruptly sat down to a horrified silence. The shock was palpable. Then I got up again, and standing quite upright, hands neatly by my side, addressed the audience in a calm, authoritative voice.' From then on, her relationship with the audience was completely transformed: 'They listened attentively to every word.'

Expert findings
This is backed by psychologist, Albert Mehrabian. He claims that it's not what you say, but how you say it that really matters. In the 1960s he conducted extensive communication research and discovered that words account for a tiny seven percent of a message's impact. The rest comes from non-verbal cues, such as voice tone and facial ex-pression.

But in the real world of work how much does all this really matter? A growing number of workers use technology to communicate. Phone calls, faxes and emails don't betray whether we're sitting up straight or lounging comfortably at our desks.

People who work from home are even more out of the picture. 'There's a significant section of the workforce who don't need to consider their body language,' says Kathryn Bullock, founder E-Womenforum.com. 'They may still see some people but, on the whole, they can get on with their jobs, and get on with them very well, without ever having to think about how they look.

Many workers do have to deal with clients and colleagues on a face-to-face basis. Here body language plays a 'massive role', says Judi James, author of BodyTalk At Work: 'Knowing how to give the right body language signals and knowing how to read those around you can actually boost your career.' Judi explains the most common examples of bad body language:

Tightly crossed arms, high on the chest, looks defensive and uninterested
High-pitched, fast-paced voice may sound girly and lack authority
Rolling on your heels looks like you are insecure and childish
Lazing about on a chair appears arrogant and lazy
A shoulder shrug signals that you don't believe what's been said, even if it was you that said it!
Playing with your hair implies an inner build-up of anxiety
Pulling your ear gives the impression you're struggling to reach a decision
Touching your face is a sign of nervousness or possibly even dishonesty
Stroking your neck can make you seem stressed or flirtatious
Wringing your hands shows concern
Fidgeting suggests worry
Foot tapping impatience
Pen drumming boredom

The sceptics
'You've got to put it into perspective,' says Gene Crozir from the Institute of Management. Nick Isle, from the Industrial Society agrees. 'Body language is just one element of communication and communication itself is just one element of the skills required to succeed in today's workplace.' Both point out that the importance of body language can be overstated or simply misunderstood. 'A lot of people don't understand it and, even if they did, most don't have time to analyse it properly. They're too busy getting on with their jobs,' says Crozir.

Is body language winning?
The Looking Good, Sounding Right: style counselling in the new economy report highlights that certain aspects of body language are becoming increasingly important in the growing service sector. The physical impression given by staff in this sector is becoming inextricably linked with brand awareness and success. The report suggests that looking and sounding the part may count more than one's experience or ability.

Sujeet Kumar
Strategist: HR, Training & Development

http://www.123oye.com/job-articles/hr/body-language-for-successful-hr.htm

Can HRD really be quantified ?

2008-09-21T06:43:00.001-07:00

Can HRD really be quantified? by Gowri Joshi

" Mum, please help me pack. My company is sending me on a month-long tour to Canada. I will miss you all. "

" Sweetheart, I will be going to office on weekends as well, for the next couple of weeks. We have an audit coming up ! "

The corporate sector (where we feel so proud to belong to) is an artificial society. It is a whole new world like the glamour industry which dazzles to outsiders and only the insiders know it all! Once you enter the rat race, seldom you will jump out of it. It is like the quicksand. If you attempt to play with it, it will engulf you and if you stay still it does lesser harm. Of course, this is just one side of the story. The entire picture is not so dreadful as it may seem.

If we apply our minds and question ourselves, the answer stares back at us. Any business venture is set-up primarily for financial gains. Mind-you, this might be the most pursued goal but is certainly not the only one. It may often appear to be the overriding one but I can site a dozen of illustrations off-hand, to drive home the point that financial gains (or " profits " as they call it in business) are not the only goals. The most common and striking reason why a young-budding entrepreneur gets into a business venture is the free entrepreneurial spirit. It is the sheer risk-taking ability and the confidence in one self that frees and individual from a 9 to 5 (should I say 5 to 9) job. This perspective makes me believe " Exploring one's potential and realizing it " is the hidden and real goal of business. The " risk taker " dives into an ocean of challenges without kowing how deep the concerns are or how strong the waves could be!

Every business, which today stands as a full-fledged business empire, was born, because of one such leader an entrepreneur, who had the dream, the vision, the determination and above all the passion of realizing his inner potential. It is worth mentioning a few names like the Tatas and Ambani who opened the world of job opportunities to thousands of people.

We owe it to such business tycoons, that today India has a name in the global business scenario. If we look t such pioneers of business in India, the one thing common about most of them is " a genuine humane approach " to people and life. Greatest of people have also been the simplest of all. Deep in their hearts was an authentic, warm and caring attitude towards mankind. We need no research evidence to state that a man truly altruistic at heart succeeds the most in life. And of course success to such men is not bank balances but fond memories of a well-spent life.

If the core of business is this humanistic passion, then surprising that it is enveloped by bitter layers. Layers of manipulation, politics, favouritism, and many more It is said - we can't market if we are unwilling to lie. We have also heard you have to cheat to make profits and that you cannot be a good businessman if you are humble at heart. These are the bitter layers that hide the inner core which is so pure and so real!

A business does not necessarily mean a manufacturing plant or a service out station. Even hospitals and educational institutions are business entities whose humane goals are probably more obvious.

In a school we have different organizational members viz. the principal, HODs, supervisors, teachers and the students. Apart from imparting knowledge the teachers play another important role of understanding the uniqueness of each child, his strengths and limitations, helping him "grow" and mould his personality. May be this is the reason why " female " teachers are more acceptable to young children than the traditional " father figures ". The academic training is just one of the roles a teacher plays; the others being more abstract or intangible; which touches much more deeper into the child's life.

In one way, the teachers in schools are like the HRD professionals in the corporate sector who take up the task of nurturing the organizational members who commit themselves to understanding each employee's uniqueness, his talents and his shortcomings, who enrich the environment - making it conducive for the employee's growth.

I haven't come across any school which attempts to measure or quantify this abstract or intangible role the teachers play in the lives of students. Observations are made and the child's progress is assured. The improvement may not be apparent in a year or two; but may take years for the bud to bloom and spread its fragrance in this world. It requires patience, consistent efforts and above all belief in the cause or intention.

Today HRD professionals seem to be struggling for survival. It is a trend these days o talk of HR being business driven or " Making HR a business process " all energies focused on proving the effect of HR on the bottom-line. All these smart captions begin and end at Quantification measuring the human capital. Splendid work is done to understand HRD issues like communication, motivation, team building, and leadership more scientifically more objectively. Pseudo jargons are coined and the old wine is sold in a new bottle. This happens day in and day out.

We need not attempt to justify HRD if we are convinced about its contribution into the business. Neither does a mother attempt to nor does a teacher. Very similar is the role of an HRD professional to nurture people. Every business tycoon (as discussed in the earlier section of this article) was an ideal HRD manager simply because he cared enough.

Gone are the days of Intelligence Quotient, today Emotional Quotient is given more importance. Why? Maybe because people have realized in tough times heart rules the head. Intelligence strikes the sight but integrity wins the soul. There is ample research done to prove that people with the right attitude more than the aptitude attain success at workplace.

We need to focus our energies into development and not into management, that too management of figures to win us our bread n butter!

Like the teaching profession HRD is also a noble one and deserves due respect. In every profession, there are black sheep. The unprofessional HRD people have contributed much for HDA to be labeled as undeserving or disabling rather than a nurturing department. An appeal to individuals who claim to be a part of the HRD community please do not poison this treasure which the entrepreneurs of today's business empires have left us with and an appeal to the business community at large please do not attempt to measure or quantify all HRD processes as

" the most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or touched, but are to be felt by the heart. "

Written By - Prof. Gowri Joshi

Top 10 Qualities of an Excellent Manager !!!

2008-09-21T06:42:00.001-07:00

An Excellent Manager taps into talents and resources in order to support and bring out the Best in others. An Outstanding Manager evokes possibility in others.

1. Creativity
Creativity is what separates competence from excellence. Creativity is the spark that propels projects forward and that captures peoples' attention. Creativity is the ingredient that pulls the different pieces together into a cohesive whole, adding zest and appeal in the process.

2. Structure
The context and structure we work within always have a set of parameters, limitations and guidelines. A stellar manager knows how to work within the structure and not let the structure impinge upon the process or the project. Know the structure intimately, so as to guide others to effectively work within the given parameters. Do this to expand beyond the boundaries.

3. Intuition
Intuition is the capacity of knowing without the use of rational processes; it's the cornerstone of emotional intelligence. People with keen insight are often able to sense what others are feeling and thinking; consequently, they're able to respond perfectly to another through their *deeper understanding. * The stronger one's intuition, the stronger manager one will be.

4. Knowledge
A thorough knowledge base is essential. The knowledge base must be so ingrained and integrated into their being that they become *transparent, * focusing on the employee and what s/he needs to learn, versus focusing on the knowledge base. The excellent manager lives from a knowledge base, without having to draw attention to it.

5. Commitment
A manager is committed to the success of the project and of all team members. S/he holds the vision for the collective team and moves the team closer to the end result. It's the manager's commitment that pulls the team forward during trying times.

6. Being Human
Employees value leaders who are human and who don't hide behind their authority. The best leaders are those who aren't afraid to be themselves. Managers who respect and connect with others on a human level inspire great loyalty.

7. Versatility
Flexibility and versatility are valuable qualities in a manager. Beneath the flexibility and versatility is an ability to be both non-reactive and not attached to how things have to be. Versatility implies an openness this openness allows the leader to quickly *change on a dime* when necessary. Flexibility and versatility are the pathways to speedy responsiveness.

8. Lightness
A stellar manager doesn't just produce outstanding results; s/he has fun in the process! Lightness doesn't impede results but rather, helps to move the team forward. Lightness complements the seriousness of the task at hand as well as the resolve of the team, therefore contributing to strong team results and retention.

9. Discipline/Focus
Discipline is the ability to choose and live from what one pays attention to. Discipline as self-mastery can be exhilarating! Role model the ability to live from your intention consistently and you'll role model an important leadership quality.

10. Big Picture, Small Actions
Excellent managers see the big picture concurrent with managing the details. Small actions lead to the big picture; the excellent manager is skillful at doing both: think big while also paying attention to the details. ~:~ By Jan Gordon ~:~

Lucy Doss

If you want to contribute an article (share your views, experiences and thoughts) write in to us at info@123oye.comsend us your jobs / career related articles. We promise to give you a chance to put your thoughts across to our visitors.

Why Aren't I Getting Interviews?

2008-09-21T06:38:00.001-07:00

Why Aren't I Getting Interviews?

Don't Underestimate The Power Of A Resume You may have spent hours searching for your dream job and applied for a job in every promising company you came across. In spite of your sincere efforts to find a job, you may not have received an interview call yet. Have you ever stopped to wonder why none of them have ever bothered to call you? One possibility could be that you did not have the necessary expertise to qualify for the jobs that you applied for. This problem can be solved to some extent by upgrading your skills or enrolling in a course that could make you eligible for the job. On the other hand, it could also be possible that your resume never got noticed. No matter how qualified you are, your resume will not be considered if it is not structured properly. Generally, most companies receive hundreds of resumes on a daily basis. In order to simplify the recruitment process, employers and recruiters generally screen applications on the basis of resumes. All those resumes that are badly written are discarded first - making way for well-written, attention-grabbing resumes. Is your resume one of the latter?

Think hard before answering. And then get your resume evaluated by a professional career coach. Avoiding Common Resume Mistakes Most people underestimate the power of a dynamic resume and often overlook their importance during their job search. Your resume speaks volumes about you and can make or break your chance to make that all-important first impression. Avoid writing long and boring resumes, as employers do not have that much time to go through them. Ideally, your resume should be limited to one page. Do not use fancy ink or fancy paper to advertise yourself. Make sure you have what the employer is asking for. If you don't have the required skills, it doesn't matter how fancy your resume is. Keep it simple and use normal, legible font. Resume Content The content of your resume should be relevant. If you are applying for a job in a law firm, that lemonade stand you ran in the 12th grade has no business on your resume.

Think about it it just makes sense. Outdated information should be strictly avoided when preparing your resume. Make sure that the content is arranged properly and in the right order so that your employers can easily find the details they are interested in. You must have the necessary documents that can support the qualifications and achievements mentioned in your resume. Do not write elaborate explanations to justify why you had to leave your previous job. Before submitting your resume, ensure that there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Do not forget to attach a crisp cover letter with your resume. A cover letter is as important as a resume and you can't afford to overlook its significance. If you're not getting interviews, you need to stop to think of the possible reasons why. Don't just keep on doing the same thing that isn't working. The tips above will help you to correct the problems and finally start landing you some interviews.

By Heather Eagar

Tips on Behavioural Interview

2008-09-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

Tips on Behavioural Interviews

Definitions:The behavioral interview technique is used by employers to evaluate a candidate's experiences and behaviors in order to determine their potential for success.?

"The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour"

Behavioural Interviews are very common today. Behavioural interview questions are designed to find out how you would react (or have reacted) in specific situations. The idea is that past behaviour is a good predictor of future behaviour. You must be prepared for some of these questions; they are often quite difficult to answer well without preparation.

A behavioural interview is one of the methods recruiters use to establish your potential to succeed. In the majority of cases, the company will prepare specific questions for you to answer. The answers you give will then be used to determine your potential and your ability to perform the role you are applying for.

The "behavioural interview" is based upon the premise that past behaviour is the best indicator of future behaviour.

The central role of interviewing in most selection processes demands that the interviewer is skilled to collect the most relevant and valid behavioural examples from candidates to

Behavioural interviews are commonly used by larger international companies to get a better sense of how a candidate approaches tasks and solves problems. This type of interview usually focuses on a number of individual 'behaviours' or 'competencies' that the company has identified as being particularly important for the job. These competencies would include teamwork, creativity, persistence, communications and so on.

The technique that the interviewer uses is to ask the candidate to describe situations that they have actually experienced. For example, if they want to examine the issue of teamwork they might ask you about your best team experience and why you consider it the best.

The basic idea is that past performance determines future performance and if you have strong teamwork capabilities or tendencies this will come through when you describe your best team. A candidate who prefers to work alone will find it difficult to think about and describe an effective team.

The Behavioural Interview - Some Tips

The interviewer asks specific questions about a candidate's skills, character and preferences based on examples of past behaviour. During the behavioural interview, questions are directed towards specific experiences. Some examples are shown below:

"Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult person at work."

"What proactive steps have you taken to make your workplace more efficient and productive? Specifically describe a policy, project or system you created or initiated."

"Describe a high pressure situation you had to handle at work. Tell me what happened, who was involved and what you did in terms of problem solving."

"Some situations require us to express ideas or opinions in a very tactful and careful way. Tell me about a time when you were successful in this type of situation."

Helpful Hints:

The key in behavioural interviewing is to paint a picture of the reasons and think about the decision or behaviour without bringing in unessential details. It is expected that forming an answer will take time. Think your examples through.

Be aware of the tendency to become too relaxed and reveal information that you didn't intend to share. You need to do your part to foster the conversational tone, but don't become so relaxed that you start straying from the point. Be friendly and remain professional.

BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEW PREPARATION:

Behavioural interviewing is a structured interview style based on the premise that ?past behaviour predicts future performance.? Many employers use this interview style. As an increasing number of employers are starting to recognize its value, the behavioural interview is growing in popularity.

The Behavioural Interviewing Technique is being used by most reputable organizations.

Interviewers using this technique will ask questions to draw out examples of situations that you have encountered and how you handled them. Prior to the interview, your prospective employer has already identified the skills necessary for the position. The interview questions are then carefully designed to probe into your experiences. The goal of the interviewer is to determine if your skills are the best match for the position.

Sample Behavioral Interview Questions

One of the keys to success in interviewing is practice, so we encourage you to take the time to work out answers to these questions using one of the suggested methods, such as the STAR approach.

Here is one list of sample behavioral-based interview questions:

Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.

Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.

Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.

Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.

Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.

Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.

Please discuss an important written document you were required to complete.

Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.

Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.

Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.

What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.

Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).

Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.

Give me an example of a time when something you tried to accomplish and failed.

Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.

Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.

Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.

Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.

Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.

Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.

Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.

Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.

Please tell me about a time you had to fire a friend.

Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).

STAR Technique for Behavioral Job Interviews:

One strategy for preparing for behavioral interviews is to use the STAR Technique, as outlined below. (This technique is often referred to as the SAR and PAR techniques as well.)

Situation or

Task Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Action you took Describe the action you took and be sure to keep the focus on you. Even if you are discussing a group project or effort, describe what you did -- not the efforts of the team. Don't tell what you might do, tell what you did.

Results you achieved What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn?

Employers use the behavioral interview technique to evaluate a candidate?s experiences and behaviors so they can determine the applicant?s potential for success. The interviewer identifies job-related experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities that the company has decided are desirable in a particular position. For example, some of the characteristics that few companies looks for include:

Critical thinking
Being a self-starter
Willingness to learn
Willingness to travel
Self-confidence
Teamwork
Professionalism

Here's a good way to prepare for behavior-based interviews:

Identify six to eight examples from your past experience where you demonstrated top behaviors and skills that employers typically seek. Think in terms of examples that will exploit your top selling points.

Half your examples should be totally positive, such as accomplishments or meeting goals.

The other half should be situations that started out negatively but either ended positively or you made the best of the outcome.

Vary your examples; don't take them all from just one area of your life.

Use fairly recent examples. If you're a college student, examples from high school may be too long ago.

Try to describe examples in story form and/or PAR/SAR/STAR.

What's behind behavioural interviews?

Good behavioural interviews are put together after careful on the job research. The recruiter "benchmarks" top performers in a role, isolates in detail the competencies required to perform that role, then writes questions to allow the interviewee demonstrate those competencies.

How are you assessed in a behavioural interview?

You are judged on the "quality" of the example you provide. Under each competency there's a set of behaviours that the recruiter will mentally, if not physically, be ticking off as you answer each question. You may be asked the same question in different ways to verify that your skills are well developed and that you've used them consistently.

However if you find coming up with the examples easy, then you're likely to be a good fit

List of typical behaviors that employers might be trying to get at from job-seekers in a behavior-based interview:

Desired Behaviors:
Adaptability
Communication-Oral
Communication-Written
Analysis
Decisiveness
Delegation
Development of Subordinates
Flexibility
Independence
Initiative
Innovation
Integrity
Judgment
Leadership/Influence
Listening
Motivation
Negotiation
Organizational
Sensitivity
Management
Planning and Organizing
Rapport Building
Risk Taking
Sensitivity
Strategic Analysis
Teamwork
Work Standards

Written By Sheshendra Bhadauria

http://www.123oye.com/job-articles/interview-tips/behavioural-interview.htm

Three Tricky Interview Styles - And How To Ace Them

2008-09-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

Three Tricky Interview Styles - And How To Ace Them

In this day and age, as job competition has increased, interviewing techniques have also gotten tougher. Larger corporations often adopt multi-layered interview techniques from initial screening until the job offer stage.

Interview Styles and How to Handle Them Confidently

The need for different interview styles has evolved with the increasing complexities of jobs and work environments, as a scientific means to testing candidates.

Behavioral Interview

This style of interview uses the premise that past behavioral and performance history reveals enough indicators for a prediction of future performance. This type of interview can begin with concealed questions, such as asking you to narrate a tricky situation you have handled in the past. For example, "Please let us know your best accomplishment and how you were able to accomplish it." However, the questions will not necessarily be limited to your past. Look at this one: "If you had to purchase accounting software, how would you choose it?" This question aims at bringing out your software knowledge, as well as the decision making process that you may use.

Case Study

A slightly refined technique within the behavioral interview is the case study style. Expect to encounter a real-life situation here. Something like "evaluate different accounting software as a precursor to purchase and implementation" should not surprise you. If you take this question with an open mind, you will be able to produce the best answer without getting flustered. You will recollect different variants of software that you are acquainted with through years of usage. From your current knowledge, you will make the right choice by analyzing various aspects like robustness, customizability, user-friendliness and cost effectiveness. You may even brainstorm with your team of users.

But what does all this signify to the interviewer? Simple - it speaks of your:

. Experience
. Confidence
. Willingness to engage people
. Team spirit
. Composed and robust decision making style
. Problem solving ability
. Perseverance

Stress Test

You will probably face questions like "why are there so many job changes in your career?" or "why weren't you promoted in your last job despite being there long-term?" These are clever questions, designed to make your squirm in your seat. They will make unprepared candidates go speechless. But the interviewer is watching you closely and observing changes in your face, behavior and body language.

Quite naturally, these are hard questions that require time to remember exact scenarios and find ways to simplify and shorten your answers. Give precise answers, including specifics about the question. Since there are no wrong answers in the stress interview, what they are really looking for is how you respond to unexpected stressors.

These are three prevalent types of interview styles. However, in actual practice, you may come across a blend of one or all three. Use the information above to be successful, and you will be able to give the interviewer exactly what they are looking for. In this day and age, as job competition has increased, interviewing techniques have also gotten tougher. Larger corporations often adopt multi-layered interview techniques from initial screening until the job offer stage.

Email: assistant@heathereagar.com

By Heather Eagar

Five Tips For Your Exit Interview

2008-09-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Five Tips For Your Exit Interview

Exit interviews are sometimes held at inopportune times, especially from the viewpoint of the employee when he or she is either laid off or fired. Nevertheless, they are a must for progressive companies that want to look inward for reasons for an employee's exit.

There are different viewpoints about these interviews as to the need for them in the first place. Should the exiting employee participate in it? If yes, how will it benefit him or her? Secondly, an exiting employee can hardly afford to ignore the fact that his or her revelations can be used against them, especially if they are in writing.

Participating In the Exit Interview Is Your Prerogative

When you are faced with the interview, you need to think carefully about what you are going to say or write, as it can jeopardize any possibility of your re-employability, if there is any. Even if you are assured that your comments will not be used against you but for company analysis, you should still be diplomatic.

Five Tips To Help You Confidently Face The Exit Interview

On the surface, exit interviews serve to help organizations to correct themselves by collecting information such as possible discrimination, lack of opportunities, etc. So, picking up the motivation behind the exit interview will help you to know how to approach one.

1. Attending Is A Courtesy: On your part, attending the exit interview is usually not mandatory. Even though you are not going to gain anything from it, you must make sure that the interview is not being used against you. If at any time you suspect this is the case, simply excuse yourself.

2. Maintain Your Composure: Maintaining your composure is critical. The questions may appear trivial, although this may not be the case when you are being laid off or fired. Treat this as your chance to make them think again (and perhaps be sorry) for having fired you.

3. Do Not Sign Papers Hastily: There will probably be more than a few documents that will need to be signed, such as acknowledgement of your resignation or separation, and receipt of your final paycheck. But if you are asked to sign anything questionable, ask for time to review them, and to read and understand the contents. Ask whether it is mandatory. Any organization can always wait for a few more days.

4. Return Any Company Property: This could be documents, keys etc, but list all of them on paper and get the interviewer to acknowledge receipt of these things.

5. Commenting On Superiors And Colleagues: Typically, these interviews are well structured and come down to the core issues. Remember, it is unnecessary for you to comment on someone (negatively) who you are not going to see for much longer.

Remember that the exit interview is probably not mandatory. If you don't have time, or feel uncomfortable about the company's motives, just politely decline the invitation to attend.

By Heather Eagar

EFFECTIVE INTERVIEW SKILLS

2008-09-21T06:33:00.001-07:00

EFFECTIVE INTERVIEW SKILLS

Life is full of challenges. We meet many confront in our daily life. When we are at the stage of entering school/college/university, we face many hard nut cracking challenges and learn many lessons of practical life through them. After acquiring graduation/post graduation, students usually move towards their specialization or adopt a profession of their choices, according to their own interest, keeping in view the market demand. Talents and Skills are the only tools, which could lead an individual towards the door of success in this challenging time. To qualify for a professional degree or a job, one should have strong past educational background along with integrated multi dimensional skills. It's of no use acquiring higher degree without building character, confidence, and expressive personality.

To meet the challenges of professional life, one has to be familiar with many skills to grab the attention of an interviewer, out of which Interview skills are the basic necessities to meet up the future challenges with success. Either you are applying for a job or want to qualify an entrance examination for a professional degree; you should have to be prepared in advance for an interview. It's the only way you through which you can gain the trust of an interviewer. An interviewer always attempt to decide that why they should select you? What are the qualities, which you have and other do not have? How can you benefit their organization? If you can show your trust, your confidence, your commitment, and appropriate skills, then you could win a successful future. Interview is a form of oral communication. It's one to one, or one to group interaction, where an applicant proves themselves as a unique person to be the part of an organization. Remember that interview is always pre-planned and structured. It's a formal presentation between an interviewer and an interviewee. Only those pass it with flying colours, who are original and show their interest with confidence and who present themselves appealing.

There are many types of interview like Information gathering interview, appraisal interview, exit interview, hiring interview, college/ university interview, persuasive interview, counseling interview and many more. In this article, we are going to learn about College/ university entrance and Hiring interview.

Hiring/Entrance Interview is one of the best known and the most widely experienced type of interview, where an interviewer is taken by Human Resource Manager/ Educational Expertise. To reduce your chances being rejected, here are some basic professional skills, which will lead you towards the path of success in your interview.

BEFORE INTERVIEW

First of all, prepare your mind in advance, that you are going to have an interview next morning. Relax yourself and do not get nervous, tense or tired at any cost. Before going for an interview, pre-planned few things:

1. Learn about the company, organization or educational institution and do some research in advance.

2. Why should you perform an advance research?

3. Simply to develop good answers and to prove yourself unique.

4. What you have to Research?

5. You can gather information about organizational structure; type of their clients/ students; departments and its branches; past and present achievements etc. Simply search yellow pages or ask your friend or family member/relative who are familiar about organization or you can collect information through newspapers and websites.

Prepare answers to typical questions. Practice your answer and never rote learn it. Here are few of the sampling questions, which you can practice in advance.

1. What do you feel about our organization?

2. What are your weaknesses?

3. Why do you want to become a part of our organization?

4. Tell me about your self and about your hobbies.

5. Who is your role model and why? If you are lucky to know the name of a person, who will interview you, then memorizes his/her name properly. Decide what to wear. Remember to Dress simply but elegantly. Dress should be well ironed without crease. Wear comfortable shoes. remember to wear basic hosiery. You can even check what management wears and dress similarly without over kill. Do not Dress casual or wear Athletic Shoes. Do not spray lots of cologne or wear lots of jewellery. Do not wear wrinkled attire or flashing tie. Prepare your file having your portfolio, educational degree copies and extra copies of your resume. Find proper address in advance, that where are you going in the morning. Last but not the least;get a good night sleep.

ON THE DAY OF INTERVIEW

Take a bath. Do not apply heavy makeup. Always carry a purse or a small handy briefcase with you. Do carry your portfolio file. Dress effectively. Do not eat anything containing garlic or onion in your breakfast. Arrive 15 minutes earlier to show your prompt and seriousness. DURING INTERVIEW Start it off winner. Offer your hand and give a firm shake, else greet them with your pleasant smile. Take a permission to sit on a chair. Show a positive confident attitude and introduce yourself. Don't get tense. Be comfortable and face the interviewer effectively. Listen to their questions effectively and answer it genuinely. Answer every question with confidence. Have a proper eye contact towards your interviewer. Remember that the interviewer might be more than one, so keep your eye contact with every individual interviewer to make them feel unique. Whatever you want to answer, speak clearly with a normal tempo voice. Do not shout. Show your confidence level at every moment of an interview. Show your certifications or achievements only when they ask you to show. Always sit straight. It might help them to analyze your personality and your traits. Use the medium of answer, in which you feel comfortable. Remember to use good grammar and strong vocabulary with neutral accent. Always clarify your answer. Do not say Yes or No. Never complains about your past organization or employees. While giving effective answers. Do not argue and always give respect to your interviewer. Always keep neutral thinking and try to mould your answer according to your interviewer personality. Do not eat chewing gum, while answering questions. If they give you a chance to ask any query or question, only ask relevant question.

TRADITIONAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Few of the traditional interview questions, which an organization might ask are

1. Tell me about yourself (in two minutes).

2. Why do you feel that you will be successful in ...?

3. Why did you decide to interview with our organization?

4. Are you willing to relocate?

5. Tell me about your scholastic record.

6. Tell me about your extra-curricular activities and interests.

7. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

8. Why should we hire you?

9. Why did you choose to become a teacher, nurse,...?

10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

11. Why do you want to leave your current job? AFTER INTERVIEW With a pleasing smile, say thanks and ask about the next step in the process. Follow up. Call them if you do not get a call within a given time frame and don't forget to write a thank you letter to an organization for taking out their precious time for your interview. Few reasons for not getting a job. Might be you lack oral communication skills or writing skills. Your inappropriate attitude could also let you down in your interview. Lack of knowledge about the working world. Lack of confidence. Inappropriate/fake degree. Lack of experience. Lack of motivation. PRACTICE INTERVIEW SKILLS. CHIN UP AND GEAR UP FOR YOUR NEXT INTERVIEW !

By MUNIR MOOSA SEWANI munirmoosa@yahoo.com

10 Best Practices for Employee Surveys

2008-09-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

10 Best Practices for Employee Surveys

Well-orchestrated surveys lead to hight return rates. Here's how to conduct the orchestra.

By Patrick Gilbert, David Slavney, and David Tong

Employee motivation is vital to business success. Increasingly, it distinguishes companies that thrive from those that fail to survive. A highly motivated workforce delivers superior products and services, and this in turn leads to greater customer satisfaction and improved sales performance.

Given the implications for business success, the measurement of employee motivation and commitment through the use of employee surveys continues to increase, from an estimated 50 percent of U.S. organizations in the 1980s (Delaney, Lewin, and Ichniowski, 1988) to more than 70 percent in the 1990s (Paul and Braken, 1995). Survey findings have become a valued management information tool and are often used to identify and prioritize issues for action, monitor the effectiveness of change initiatives, establish performance objectives for managers, and provide metrics for the "people" quadrant of the balanced scorecard.

Because survey results are increasingly being used to guide management decisions, it is important to achieve a high level of participation to ensure that the findings accurately reflect the key concerns of employees. When response rates are low, the validity of the results will be called into question, and sufficient data may not be available for organizational subgroups or locations, hindering local action planning and follow-up. Moreover, a low response rate sends an ominous message that the workforce is disengaged and employees feel they lack a collective voice in communicating their concerns to management. All of this diminishes the return that an organization receives on its considerable investment in the survey research effort.

Participation in an employee survey is a direct result of how well the survey process is designed and implemented. Simply put, well-orchestrated surveys lead to higher return rates. Following are 10 "best practices" for survey design and implementation and the implications of these best practices for employee response rates. Also included are key questions to ask at each step to ensure that your organization is adhering to these practices.

1. Establish clear goals and objectives. In the early planning stage, articulate the overall goals and objectives of the survey and define the anticipated return on investment. These objectives should be developed with management input and clearly communicated to employees in order to demonstrate the importance of the process. Without long-term objectives that are clearly linked to company performance, the survey may fail to elicit the management support and secure the
resources required for success.

Key question: What does the organization hope to achieve and what are
the implications for company performance?

2. Develop a communication plan. Prepare a comprehensive communication plan to support each stage of the survey. The plan should include a schedule of communication "events" as well as a budget and formally assigned responsibilities. In the absence of a communication plan, employees may not recognize the importance of the process or see the connection between survey findings and subsequent follow-up actions.

Key question: Who should prepare and issue survey-related messages
and when should these messages be communicated?

3. Brand the survey process. The survey should be "branded" with a tag line and an identifiable graphic logo. The branding will help to provide continuity across each stage of the survey and establish the process as an ongoing activity, rather than a one-time event. When possible, the survey should be linked to other ongoing change initiatives. Without branding, the survey may be seen by employees as
an unconnected initiative that will have limited consequences for the organization.

Key question :What theme does management want to convey through the
employee survey and how is this integrated with wider company change
initiatives?

4. Allocate sufficient resources. Estimate the resources that will be required to develop and implement your survey and to support follow-up actions. These resources should be budgeted at the start of the process and be taken into account in business plans. When this is not done, the survey follow-up stage will lack the support required to be effective and will often meet with resistance from line management. In addition, employees might be convinced to participate in one
survey, but if they see no tangible evidence of change after the survey, they are not likely to make the effort to participate again in the future.

Key question: Who will be required to manage and support the survey and what resources will be required for the process to be successful?

5. Define roles and responsibilities. Support your survey by creating a network of internal survey champions with responsibility for identifying the requirements for their part of the business, managing data collection, and supporting follow-up actions. Survey champions must be sold on the value of the survey and given a clear description of their role requirements so that they can budget their time accordingly. Similarly, managers who receive survey results for their areas of operation also should be given clear instructions regarding their responsibilities for survey follow-up. When this is not done, management is less likely to communicate survey results to employees or take action in response to the findings, and employees are less likely to have faith in the value of the survey process.

Key question: What are the specific responsibilities of the survey champions and what are the requirements of managers who receive survey results for their areas of operation?

6. Demonstrate management commitment. The research process will have greater credibility if employees believe that it is endorsed and supported by senior management. Senior management commitment can reassure employees that their views will be taken into account and acted on. When management commitment is lacking, employees may view the survey as a public relations exercise designed to project a "caring" management style rather than a process for identifying and
acting on employee concerns.

Key question: Who is the principal sponsor of the employee research and how is this person's commitment to the process demonstrated?

7. Ask the right questions the right way. The survey should be designed to measure areas that are of concern to management and employees. Even when the questionnaire includes standardized items, the wording should be modified to reflect the culture of the company. An "off the shelf" instrument that fails to address issues of concern or that fails to reflect the language and terminology of the
organization will be seen as lacking in relevance and will fail to engage employees.

Key question: What are the topic areas that should be covered in the survey and how should these questions be asked?

8. Collect data the right way at the right time. Consider the data-collection methodology that is best suited to your workforce. Traditionally, surveys have been administered using printed questionnaires, but the technology is now readily available for conducting online surveys that make data collection easier, more
efficient, and less costly. Ease and convenience translate into higher response rates.

In addition, unless there is a specific need to coordinate with other business processes or a budgeting cycle, a survey generally should be administered at a time when it will pose a minimal disruption to the business and when a maximum number of employees are available for participation. Times of peak business activity or when employees are likely to be on vacation should be avoided. Similarly, data collection generally should not be undertaken during times when management and employee relations are tense--for example, during a contract negotiation, industrial action, or downsizing initiative.

Equally important, survey administration should be scheduled so that the findings are available in time to be included in business plans. This will position the survey as a business-planning tool and secure the necessary budget for follow-up actions. Poor scheduling for survey administration will invariably reduce line-management support for data collection and may result in data being available too late to influence budget or other business decisions.

Key question: What is the optimal time of the year to administer the survey and when will data have to be available for the business-
planning process?

9. Take clear follow-up action. The most effective way to build confidence in the survey process, and thereby improve participation rates for future surveys, is for the organization to take clear and visible action based on survey results. A realistic number of areas should be targeted for follow-up action to allow the organization to concentrate and focus resources on issues that will have the greatest impact on performance. Failure to take action will create apathy toward the survey, and targeting too many issues will diffuse the effectiveness of follow-up actions.

Key question: What are the key areas for action and which actions are most likely to affect performance?

10. Review and audit the process. A formal audit process should be planned to monitor the effectiveness of follow-up actions and to measure progress against objectives. Actions that meet with success should be widely communicated and celebrated. This audit should also include an assessment of the ROI associated with follow-up actions in order to determine where investments should be increased, reduced, or discontinued. Measuring the effectiveness and ROI of follow-up actions will enhance the business relevance of the survey for both employees and managers. It sends out the signal that the survey isn't simply a nice thing to do--it's good for business.

Key question: How effective are the survey follow-up actions and what is the ROI for the company?

Enhancing employee motivation has become a business imperative and is essential to compete effectively in today's market. The employee survey can be used to develop a strategy for creating a high-motivation work environment and improving business performance. Achieving a high response rate ensures that the survey findings are valid and can be used for local as well as organization-wide action
planning.

Adopting the best practices outlined above will engage both management and employees in the survey process and can serve as a catalyst for cultural change, creating an environment in which employees are involved and have a productive and open dialogue with management.

Raman Bharadwaj

http://www.123oye.com/job-articles/hr/employee-surveys.htm

When Is An HR Department Necessary ?

2008-09-18T01:51:00.000-07:00

When Is An HR Department Necessary?

How many employees should a company have before there is a need for an HR Department? As companies grow, there is a need to administer the HR function, but that doesn't necessitate an HR Department. In fact, 30 years experience has shown that until the company has at least 50 employees, that "department" -- really a function -- can consist of or be handled by one person...often much to the dismay of that one person.

Between outsourcing such things as payroll and the initial writing of an employee handbook, and with the plethora of software for HR today, one person should be able to develop and administer the function.

Of course, there are variations to this theme. In some companies where recruiting has been a major activity, there may well be a need to have an HR administrator or "Benefits Clerk" and a recruiter. But in most small companies an Office Manager can suffice.

Historically, what necessitates an HR Department are the functions and responsibilities which no one else either wants or is capable of doing. From recruiting to orienting new employees, from writing job descriptions to tracking attendance, and from instituting and monitoring policies to monitoring benefits, there has been a need for an HR generalist to assist senior management in both establishing a structure to holding down costs of administration. In fact, I have felt for some time that the initial title for the HR person should be "Administrative Manager."

Let's say that you have been hired or requested to establish an HR function. What do you need to do?

The first step is to determine what the expectations are of the manager who realized the necessity of the function. In very small companies, this is often the owner or most senior manager who just returned from a seminar or workshop where an attorney -- or a whole herd of attorneys -- has scared the hell out of him or her by pointing out the complexities of complying with federal and state labor codes. Using some of the responsibilities listed below, develop a job description with that manager which at least outlines what the job entails.

After that, determine the compliance issues which pertain to your company. The most basic of these have to do with wages and hours of work, classification of employees, the I-9, COBRA (down from 20 to two employees in California and New Jersey, by the way), leaves of absence including maternity and family leaves which differ from state to state, ADA, harassment, and a host of others. (Charts and attendant articles - including a 2005 job description - are found only in the subscriber's section.)

Then, determine whether or not you need to have an employee handbook or other formal policies and procedures manual to cover everything from establishing the company as an at-will employer to benefits. If a handbook already exists, be certain that it is in compliance with federal and state regulations and that the policies and the way they are written are in the best interests of the company.

Are all the basic policies included? These can be thought of as grouped into conditions of employment, benefits, and disciplinary processes. Is there a balance between stated corporate and employee rights and obligations?

Take a look at existing employee files or, if no files exist, gathering all the papers into coherent personnel files. Minimally, you should have an Application for Employment form or resume, a W-2, any insurance forms that the employee may have signed, and performance appraisals. I also like to see start dates, dates of reviews, dates of promotions, and all the changes in wages or salary. Because personnel still runs on paper and paperwork, do not rely too heavily on computerized files. (Besides, such files seem to disappear with regularity nowadays.)

Who takes care of payroll? There used to be an ongoing fight between HR and accounting as to who gets payroll. I have no idea why anyone would want it and it does belong in accounting more so than in HR but, should the question arise, the answer today is to outsource payroll to a payroll service (or a bank which offers such a service). There are still responsibilities such as informing the payroll service of changes in individual wages or salaries, docking, and final pay, but payroll services are definitely the way to go. They do vary in quality and quantity of services, so you will have to compare. Do not let a payroll service sell you more than what you need...which means that you'll have to do some research into what you need.

Benefits administration is and should be separate from payroll. Even if you have the best broker in the world (who you only have to monitor on a semiannual basis), there is always internal administration of such packages. Further, you will have the responsibility of being the source for answering questions about all forms and types of insurance, the differences in options, and the cost to employees. One of the ways that HR can contribute to the company is by keeping the costs of benefits down, and this means auditing the policies periodically to be certain that there haven't been increases in premiums either directly or indirectly through a decrease in benefits.

One person should be responsible for new employee orientation. In order to inform new employees of their benefits and the policies of the company, you will very simply have to be the expert in benefits and policies of the company.

Does the company have a compensation system or is it pretty much a hit-or-miss proposition? Are there job descriptions? Job specifications? Is compensation tied to responsibilities? Are increases in pay tied to contributions to the company, i.e., pay-for-performance? Do you need a graded compensation system? Contrary to popular opinion, I am not certain that a compensation analyst from outside the company is needed to set up a system in a company with fewer than 50 employees. I know that one is not necessary for companies with fewer than 20 employees. On the other hand, all these questions were rhetorical.

What you will have to do is become proficient in writing or formalizing job descriptions. We can help as part of a subscription to ewin.com.

HR has an information function that you should think through. Changes in policies, changes in benefits, even changes in laws must be communicated to all employees. Major changes may call for training such as in harassment a few years back. Major changes in medical insurance benefits (as opposed to unemployment or SDI -- for those in states with SDI) have to be disseminated to all affected employees. Therefore, HR becomes a kind of pass-through in the information cycle.

I've left recruiting for last because it can be, but is not always a major function in smaller companies. Some small companies are very stable, hiring perhaps as few as one new employee in a 12-month period. Others are in very competitive industries where recruiting can be a function unto itself. Interviewing, selection, and placement are part and parcel of recruiting and a knowledge of the techniques involved is very important. Hiring the wrong person(s) is extremely expensive. Therefore, if recruiting is a major function, it may be in the company's best interest to have a professional recruiter and another employee to handle all the other functions. (The recruiter must also have a knowledge of benefits and policies and procedures, but his or her primary function would be to find and hire the best person at the "best" salary, i.e., one that satisfies the applicant and is affordable to the company.)

Certainly there are other responsibilities, but they should be considered as secondary. While diversity may be high on the list of the more "social-minded" managers, don't ever expect to sit at the executive table if you emphasize issues (or non-issues) such as this. Insofar as possible, stay with those areas having to do with risk management, planning, and costs.

Delegating the Christmas party and company picnic to someone else should be your first priority. Don't get caught up in becoming the company's "cruise director." You've got better things to do.

Ethan A. Winning

http://www.ewin.com/articles/whnHR.htm

Talent management concept - definition and explanation

2008-09-18T01:31:00.000-07:00

Talent management concept - definition and explanation

In this article, Derek Stockley outlines his personal definition of talent management and explains the growing importance of the concept.

The current increased discussion about skill shortages and the population growing older means that organisations, if they have not done so already, should be reviewing their approach to talent management.

Talent management definition

I define talent management as:

A conscious, deliberate approach undertaken to attract, develop and retain people with the aptitude and abilities to meet current and future organisational needs.

Talent management involves individual and organisational development in response to a changing and complex operating environment. It includes the creation and maintenance of a supportive, people oriented organisation culture.

Importance of talent management

Like human capital, talent management is gaining increased attention.

Talent management (TM) brings together a number of important human resources (HR) and management initiatives.

Organisations that formally decide to "manage their talent" undertake a strategic analysis of their current HR processes. This is to ensure that a co-ordinated, performance oriented approach is adopted.

Quite often, organisations adopting a TM approach will focus on co-ordinating and integrating:

Recruitment - ensuring the right people are attracted to the organisation.
Retention - developing and implementing practices that reward and support employees.
Employee development - ensuring continuous informal and formal learning and development.
Leadership and "high potential employee" development - specific development programs for existing and future leaders.
Performance management - specific processes that nurture and support performance, including feedback/measurement.
Workforce planning - planning for business and general changes, including the older workforce and current/future skills shortages.
Culture - development of a positive, progressive and high performance "way of operating".

An important step is to identify the staff or employees (people and positions) that are critical to the organisation. They do not necessarily have to be senior staff members. Many organisations lost a lot of "organisational knowledge" in the downsizing exercises of a few years ago. The impact of the loss was not immediately apparent. However, it did not take long for many companies to realise their mistake when they did not have people with the knowledge and skills to either anticipate or solve problems that arose.

The current discussions about skill shortages and the ageing population are also helping organisations to focus on the talent management issue. It may not be possible to simply go out and recruit new people to meet operational needs. Many leading companies have decided to develop their own people, rather than trying to hire fully skilled workers.

In summary, every organisation should be implementing talent management principles and approaches.

Your comment

If you have a comment you would like to make, or would like to share your experiences, please send the comment

http://derekstockley.com.au/newsletters-05/020-talent-management.html

When Is An HR Department Necessary ?

2008-09-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

When Is An HR Department Necessary?

Let's say that you have been hired or requested to establish an HR function. What do you need to do?

What you will have to do is become proficient in writing or formalizing job descriptions. We can help as part of a subscription to ewin.com.

Delegating the Christmas party and company picnic to someone else should be your first priority. Don't get caught up in becoming the company's "cruise director." You've got better things to do.

Ethan A. Winning

http://www.ewin.com/articles/whnHR.htm

Performance Management: Useful Metrics for Evaluating Employee Performance

2008-07-20T08:21:00.001-07:00

Performance Management:
Useful Metrics for Evaluating Employee Performance

Increasingly, human resources departments are utilizing powerful metrics to determine the productivity of companies' workforces. A relatively new concept, the application of metrics to an employee base is surprisingly effective not only in developing a clear picture of current performance levels, but also enhancing performance in the workplace. That's because once they are held directly accountable for their output levels, employees are more likely to produce results more effectively.

But how, exactly, are metrics to be used? Interestingly, quantifying the results of employees' efforts comes from a system that everybody is quite familiar with academic grade. In addition to grades, the scorecard has come into prominence in the human resources sector only after it was proven to be effective in providing accurate numbers for company performance.

Now, in the workplace, metrics evaluation tools that have typically assigned to the accounting and overall management endeavors have had great success in their recent application to human resources departments.

By utilizing both rating and ranking systems, a human resources team can determine the metrics of employee performance through simple arithmetic. The tricky part of the process begins when deciding what, exactly to begin measuring.

That's why the scorecard system includes a wide variety of features that extend far beyond the over-simplified input-output model. Indeed, when considering that human resources deals with the business of people, the equation naturally becomes a bit more complex.

So while one of the key measurements in the metrics evaluation process includes productivity as a function of training for example, how much return on investment one can get from an employee after 6 months of training there are other factors to consider. One of these happens to involve the pace at which an employee acquires the knowledge and skills necessary for the workplace. If an employee with no prior industry experience can quickly excel to the level of a five-year veteran, then such a metric should not be overlooked.

Advanced Human Resource Management

2008-07-20T08:17:00.001-07:00

Advanced Human Resource Management
Managing employees through effective communication during a period of change

A top priority for managing corporate change is carried out through effective employee communication. Whether companies are consolidating their departments, downsizing their workforce or undergoing a corporate merger, sticking to an effective and results-based message creation strategy can help to ensure the smooth and successful transitioning from one point to another.

The best practices for employee communication are rooted in good leadership, precise goals and clear methods of carrying out these goals. With this in mind, it is important to align the employees' goals with those of the business during a time of change. By providing a well-communicated plan of action that details workforce requirements from beginning to end, employees will clearly understand their roles throughout an entire course of change.

One of the more important features of a well-executed employee communication plan involves specifically targeting the audience?or audiences?in question. While many companies exhaust all their resources on creating an enterprise-wide message that generally explains the change about to occur (or sometimes, as it is occurring), it is far more important to tailor an instructional feed of communication to the individual departments within a company.

The best features to include in this targeted employee communication include:
Achievable goals
Timeline for completion
Detailed benefits
Guided participation

By providing the right list of objectives - along with the best ways to go about accomplishing them - human resources management is able to complete one of the most important steps in clearly communicating change to employees. Not only will employees be prepared for the change, but also they will know precisely what their roles are in it.

In order to make sure these objectives are carried out on time, an active calendar for their completion is crucial to the progress of the change. As always, clear detailing of the benefits provided to employees for their efficient participation in the change is essential. Often these benefits can be presented through an in-depth explanation of the increased ease of job function and productivity that is to be gained by successful participation.

Perhaps the most important feature of successful employee communication is the emphasis on the importance of each employee. This is especially true in the case of a corporate merger, where all too often the acquiring company's communication to the workforce of the company being acquired is poorly planned.

Indeed, badly-communicated change can lead to ill will and resentment among the employee base of the acquired company, a situation which has the potential to derail the entire operation.

Case Study : Merger with poor communication of the change management process
Take, for instance, a recent California merger that collapsed in 2003 due to a poorly-managed human resources plan. How did this happen?
Looking back, the most of the failure can be ascribed to one important factor: bad management/employee communication. What it lacked was the required level of sensitivity needed to successfully integrate the employees of the company that was being acquired. These employees ended up receiving the distinct impression that there was a bias against them. This was in part due to the dictatorial nature of the acquiring company's message, which resulted in minimizing incentive to help participate in the merger as a whole.

Not only did the bad employee communication come across in the official memos and broad-based messages, but? even more importantly?it was manifested on an individual basis. Team leaders of the acquired company were often sidelined by those of the acquiring firm, and their input was routinely left unacknowledged.

Not surprisingly, investors were quick to catch word of the ill will and resentment spreading through the workforce. In this particularly devastating case of poor human resources management, the deficient strategy caused a steep devaluation in the share prices of the combined firms. This drop was so severe that in 2004 a smaller competitor was easily able to buy them both up.