1. Interview Questions to Determine Behavioural Competencies – Looking at past experience is a strong predictor of future performance. this is a list of questions to help dig into a candidate’s past experience.
2. Strange Tales From the Employment World – Robert Smithson’s semi-annual list of some of the weird things that occur in the employment context.
3. Top CEO Pay in Canada – On average, the best-paid 100 CEOs make more than 218 times as much as a Canadian working full-time for a full year at the average of weekly employment earnings.
4. A Checklist for Internal Investigations – A checklist of issues that you should consider before undertaking an internal investigation
5. 16 Keys to Interviewing Success – It’s not just about the questions you ask a candidate.

Viadeo, one of the world’s largest business social networks with over one million members across Europe and 750,000 members across China, has today launched free private social networks for business and alumni associations within its worldwide business community. The private co-branded areas or ‘Community Groups’ will allow business and alumni associations to network with their members with the option to forge contacts with other like-minded people using Viadeo’s extensive business social network.

While the private Community Groups will be developed and hosted by Viadeo, the business associations will own, run and co-brand their own private area, as well as setting the rules for membership and participation within the portal. The private Community Group will also have its own exclusive URL for the association.

Business benefits

Association members will be now able to communicate, debate, find information and organise events with other members, old colleagues or friends within their private hubs for the first time. A range of networking tools, such as blogs, forums, mailshots, and RSS will be available to facilitate fast and easy communication within the Community Group. The Community Groups will also benefit from chat and VoIP services due to the imminent integration of Jabber in the Viadeo network.

Additionally, business and alumni associations will now have a direct and efficient communication tool with their members, by issuing newsletters, personalised or group emails, information about events, job adverts and offers for members through the Community Groups. Moreover, business and alumni associations will be able to attract new members by promoting their activities through Viadeo’s extensive social network.

“Business associations and alumni groups may struggle to keep in touch with their members, as people change their jobs and re-locate around the world,” says Peter Cunningham, UK Country Manager, Viadeo. “However, now business and alumni associations can run their own dynamic and interactive communities using Viadeo’s Community Groups. By creating their own private areas on Viadeo, it is now possible for business and alumni associations to promote their brand to members and other like-minded business people all over the world.”

Viadeo

Many in the H.R. community have recognized the benefits of blogging. Frank Roche, at KnowHR Blog, has written a couple of posts explaining how to start mining the wealth of H.R. information available in blogs.

• What Everybody in HR Ought to Know About Blogs and How to Read them Fast
• What Everybody in HR Ought to Know About RSS

To give you some idea of blog growth: in the first of those posts, dated April 13th, Frank links to a search at Technorati (blog tracking service) for blogs about Human Resources. The search returned 709 blogs. That same search today, three weeks later, returns 1,065 blogs about Human Resources.

• Five Worst-Case Interview Scenarios – and how to recover from them.
• Twelve Rules for Self-Management – Rosa Say reminds us, before we can presume to manage others, we must learn to manage ourselves. If you want to move your life or career forward, you need to see how you are meeting these 12 rules.
• 10 Ways for HR to Think Different – Challenge ingrained practices.
• Balance: The New Workplace Perk –  Forbes.com adds a piece on work-life balance.
• Five Recommendations for Employee Satisfaction Surveys – Get results you can depend on.
• The Office on NBC: Tell Toby about your HR issues. Did your coworkers pull a prank? Did you experience a Diversity Day gone awry?
• The No Asshole Rule – some quotes from Bob Sutton’s book, The No Asshole Rule.

Human Resources Q&A archive

Accommodating persons with disabilities: What HR managers should know
Dealing with difficult people
Succession Planning: What you didn’t know you need to do
Are you being bullied at work?
Nurturing Creativity: A priceless tactic toward innovative organizations
Capturing charisma: Reflecting on past management
Strategy – A Process of Problem Solving & Decision Making
Changing of the guard
Motivating the Project Team
Hell hath no fury like a micromanaged workforce
Negotiating Through Conflict: Creating win/win solutions
Making the move to a nonprofit organization
The care and feeding of ideas
Why nonprofits need creative employees
Managing Conflict in a Female Dominated Workplace
Running More Effective Meetings
An Introduction To Competency Based Hiring
Attracting Top Talent in the Nonprofit Sector
Am I a workaholic?
The True Meaning of Progressive Discipline
At First Glance: How to Read Grievances
Succession Planning and Management
More trouble in the workplace
The Trouble with Bosses
Motivation at the Margins: Gender Issues in the Canadian Voluntary Sector
Interview questions that really work!
Painless Performance Appraisals
Retiring baby boomers and the looming workforce shift
Ten steps to successful interviewing
To Stay or Leave: Job satisfaction and turnover
Managing anxiety in the workplace
Attracting talent – Living your values
Everyday solutions for training and development
Hiring the Senior Executive: tools and resources for every organization
An orientation plan in three phases
A human resources strategy
From survive to thrive: Team building for a small shop
What is a strategic plan?

Canada’s New Government Appoints Expert Panel to Study Labour Market Conditions that Affect Older Workers

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, January 23, 2007—The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, has announced the appointment of an expert panel to study labour market conditions affecting older workers. The Panel will look at potential measures to help older workers, including improved training and enhanced income support, such as early retirement benefits.

Speaking at the Public Policy Forum’s Conference on improving Canada’s business environment and competitiveness, Minister Solberg announced the appointment of the Honourable Erminie Cohen, a retired Senator, as Chair of the expert panel. Ms. Cohen will be joined by three other members, also selected for their experience in studying policy issues: Bill MacKinnon, Chief Executive and Senior Partner, KPMG Canada, LLP; Craig Riddell, Professor, University of British Columbia; and Diane Bellemare, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Conseil du patronat du Québec.

“The fact is that seniors and older workers have helped build this country,” said Minister Solberg. “Our population is ageing and we are facing labour shortages. Now is the time to look at issues faced by older workers and make sure that they have the knowledge and tools they need to contribute to a strong Canadian work force.”

“It is important to promote the continued participation of older workers in Canada’s labour market,” said Senator Marjory LeBreton, Secretary of State (Seniors). “I welcome the announcement of the panel and their work on issues of interest to older Canadians.”

“My colleagues and I are eager to get started with the work that lies ahead. Older workers are often an overlooked asset in the work force. Our objective is to provide the Government of Canada and Canadians with an impartial assessment of the needs of older workers,” said Ms. Cohen.

The panel will consult extensively with provincial and territorial governments, as well as with employers, labour representatives, academics and other stakeholders and advise the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development on their findings.

The panel’s study is the second part of Canada’s new government’s overall strategy to address adjustment issues faced by older workers.

Canada’s New Government Appoints Expert Panel to Study Labour Market Conditions that Affect Older Workers.