Dec 31, 2011
Making Social Media a Policy
Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Tumblr. The time has come for companies to embrace them instead of push them away. I’m not talking about using them for business purposes, I’m talking about implementing an HR policy that these must be used. Right about now most of you are saying, “Those have been proven to be time wasters in the workplace, terrible idea!” Well, you’re absolutely right. They do tend to waste a little bit of time, but they also spark collaboration and creativity. At the end of the day, that’s a tradeoff that...
read moreTweet Set off Social Media Tsunami
When female tech developer Adria Richards heard a group of men sitting behind her at a conference make sexist comments, it grossed her out. She tweeted their picture to her 9,000 followers with the caption “Not cool. Jokes about forking repo’s in a sexual way and ‘big’ dongles. Right behind me.” Richards asked conference managers to deal with the men, citing the conference’s rules of conduct. Administrators escorted the men out of the ballroom. Richards’ tweet set off a social media tsunami and led...
read moreIn Moments of Crisis
Our hearts go out to those who are experiencing shock and tragedy with what occurred in Boston and Texas. We lift our many readers up who are from or have friends or family in these areas or those affected by the unthinkable events. It was Maxwell Maltz who said, “Close scrutiny will show that most ‘crisis situations’ are opportunities to advance, or stay where you are.” As we watched the events unfold on television we witnessed the great opportunity to advance by coming together. We felt the pain, the frustration of unanswered...
read moreMultitasking: Friend or foe?
“I’m good at multitasking” is a phrase we hear often, but what does it really mean? Multitasking is not only the ability to juggle different things at once, but it’s also the aptitude to stay organized and on track. Some say that maintaining a balancing act throughout the work day is a productive way to get the job done, while others think that a more streamlined focus yields better results. Human resources professionals are faced with a variety of tasks in any given day. They must connect with internal hiring managers, read through...
read moreBullies in the Workplace
When “Jim” accepted a job with an oil services company, he didn’t realize he was putting his career at risk. He’d heard stories that his new boss “Bill” was one tough son of a gun and that those who got on Bill’s wrong side didn’t last long. Jim didn’t worry, he was tough too. “Anne” didn’t benefit from the same forewarning. When she landed what she thought was a dream job, she quickly bonded with her charismatic boss “Karla.” When Karla liberally poured wine at an informal evening out and said “tell me...
read moreThe Office Ambience, Choose Wisely
One of the decisions that a HR department has to make is the office mentality. Traditionally, offices have been filled with cubicles and silence. However, as businesses are evolving as the younger generations join the work force, the office environment is becoming more free flowing. Lean and Six Sigma practices also call for a reconsideration of how processes are structured to ensure a maximization of workflow. There are benefits to both types of work places and it comes down to what HR decides will be more effective. This is coming from...
read moreLeveraging Collaboration Software for Business Results
Do you know what one thing all the companies out there have in common? They all have employees and they all have problems caused by poor organization. It’s understandable, because when all the tasks are scattered across whiteboards, meetings and post-in notes, emails and Skype sessions companies suffer from such problems as: budget overruns, missed deadlines, priority confusion, poor visibility and so on. Luckily, most of these problems can be solved by implementing workflow collaboration software. Before we dig into all collaborative...
read moreImpact Workplace Trust: 5 Effective Communication Skills
“Without trust…people will do their jobs, but they will not offer their ideas, or their enthusiasm, or their souls.” R. C. Solomon and F. Flores, Building Trust in Business, Politics, Relationships and Life. In my 20 years of observing leadership behaviors, I’ve seen many who are effective and ineffective in leading others. No matter the years experience, the degrees or what they do for a living, this one key factor to be true — Those who are destined for failure of obtaining workplace trust, lack in delivering effective...
read moreDoes Religion Play a Part in Your Business?
John Anderson applies for a job and is a devout Morman. Although he has good qualifications he brings up his religion twice during the interview process, first when asked about outside organizations to which he gives time and second when he mentions his last employer’s company culture, particularly the drinking at beer Fridays, made him feel uncomfortable given his religious tenants. Although your company’s management team has nothing against any religion, you decide not to hire John as he brought up religion twice. Did you make a...
read moreGamification: 5 Steps For a New Relevancy
Recently, I have been giving a lot of thought to gamification. Part of my core belief is that, as leaders, one of our key obligations is to provide opportunities for others and to encourage participation. Consider the combination of opportunity and participation. An average performer, when presented with meaningful opportunities, generally chooses to participate. I say average performer, because, above average performers generally exhibit a work style that naturally includes participation. How do we push increased participation? One way is to...
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