Human Resources 101

DBM presents:
WHEN IS SEPARATION A RETENTION STRATEGY?PROTECTING EMPLOYER BRAND DURING DOWNSIZING
Thursday, September 20, 2007 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern

Most organizations don’t connect a downsizing to their retention initiatives. But consider what’s at stake if you don’t:

Protecting your company’s brand with retained and departing employees
Retaining key talent during transition
Employing recruitment strategies that [...]

From the book, Volunteer Management: Mobilizing All the Resources of the Community, by Steve McCurley and Rick Lynch

Don’t involve management in the decisions as to if and how to utilize staff within the agency. Everybody loves a surprise.
Don’t plan in advance the job descriptions or support and supervision systems for the staff. These things [...]

This suggestion comes from Tricks of the Trade. Break out the old suggestion box; either real or virtual, and have employees submit feedback in writing.
If you manage a large number of people who are always offering suggestions, insist that feedback be submitted in writing. Blame your faulty memory, if you want to be diplomatic. [...]

While looking for a book yesterday I came across a fourteen-year-old book of business survival tips by Richard Moran called, Beware of Those Who Ask for Feedback: And Other Organizational Constants. I had circled some of the tips and find that they’re just as valuable now as they were then. Here’s a baker’s dozen from [...]

This morning, this article popped on to my must-read list from a couple of different sources. Dan Bobinski posts a good overview of fundamental principles that will build a better workplace.
When discussions come around to what it is that makes an excellent workplace, the answer could fill a library. But most of us don’t have [...]

Pierre Lebrun worked at OC Transpo, the public transit company in Ottawa. He stuttered badly. Cruel teasing and ridicule from his co-workers rained on him without let-up. Finally, in retaliation, he slapped one of his tormenters. He was forced to apologize—a further humiliation. Later, after he had been let go, Lebrun returned to his workplace, [...]

Ed Kohler riffs off something Steve Rubel posted to Twitter and asks the question, “Are Sports Metaphors Appropriate for Business?” Ed lists some examples of when the sports metaphor falls flat and the importance of matching the metaphor to the audience.
My biggest problem with sports metaphors is the concept of team in the workplace. It’s not [...]

It doesn’t matter how engaged your employees are, if they don’t have the tools and environment to do their jobs, you’re probably not getting the most out of them. In the April 2007 Hay Group Insight Selections (pdf), Mark Royal and Tom Agnew look at the disconnect between engagement and effectiveness and what steps manager can take to [...]

Unless you’ve been living in a cave in the woods, you’ve heard of blogs and blogging. Increasingly, blogs are becoming a valuable tool for collaboration, communication and learning. Many in the H.R…

Fear Of Firing – Business Week Online on the blurring of the “at will” lines in U.S. employment.
If You’re a Canadian Employer You Should Seriously Consider Using Employment Contracts – Michael Fitzgibbon posts some thoughts on using employment contract with no concept of at-will employment in Canada.
Crabby’s 10 ways to ease your boredom at work – [...]