Introducing S.E.T.H., the future of work

My goal is that these blog posts will make you think or examine your current practices. Maybe, you’ll find that they don’t impact you, but before you just post a job, consider these trends…

Dealing with end of summer burnout

I love fall! As summer nears its end, I start to feel exhilaration and a sense of renewal. This is when I sit down and plan out my year, make goals for myself and start to feel revitalized. But with the renewal of fall also comes the post summer burnout. I read a great article that talks about ways to energize your team for the latter part of the year.
Not all of these points may be relevant for you and your company, but I hope at least one helps your team work efficiently and productively through to the holiday season.

Give new employees a learning plan

One of the most valuable HR lessons I’ve learned from my new job is the value of a learning plan.  By that, I mean a training timeline for new front-line staff.  It is understandable that new staff cannot be given all the training they require in one day.  To learn the job-specific and site-specific skills [...]

When cash is king and people are not.

Why do we treat money like gold and people like scrap metal? During the recession, it was all about cost cutting and people were the first ones on the chopping block, whether it was a cut to their hours, pay, training or entire jobs.  Unfortunately, CFOs forgot that living breathing people are required for an [...]

It’s your job to motivate me

Managers: Your job is to remove roadblocks for your employees and help them make progress at work. Progress = Motivation. In other words, if your employees aren’t motivated, chances are that it’s your fault.

My 2010 wish list

Other HR bloggers at this time of year are making their predictions for 2010. I’m not going to even attempt that one! But I will document for you my hopes and dreams for HR for 2010. I look forward to revisiting this list next December and seeing how far we’ve come!

These are a few of my favourite things

I missed out, big time, on a blog topic so readily available to me – Canada’s Thanksgiving Day, back in October.  Well call me an opportunist, I’m hopping on the American Thanksgiving bandwagon for today’s theme:  Things I’m thankful for in my job! 1.  I work with a great group of people.  I empathize with my fellow [...]

Top Companies to Work For

Have you ever worked for one of the “Best Places to Work”? I have. And you know what, it really wasn’t… you can’t imagine my excitement when I was hired to work for the company. Unfortunately, in my case, I soon realized that while this company had all the niceties anyone could ask for, it really wasn’t a great place to work after all. So, that being said – you might wonder what the problem was then?

When Gary calls in tired, what do you do?

While we’ve all had those “I’m exhausted and totally unproductive” days, who would seriously put their job or reputation at jeopardy by being totally honest to their bosses? It’s easier to come up with an acceptable but dishonest rationale than being upfront.

Knock Knock! >> Who’s there? >> Your CFO!

I previously covered some ground about whether or not non-HR people can or should work in HR. The conclusion: yes, they can and they should. However, I would much prefer to invite them in and hand them their agenda, not have them forced upon us.

In management we trust

Your manager is a walking nightmare.  They demand absolute perfection each and every time, bark orders, require your absolute attention and dedication, even when you’re sleeping.  They belittle you in front of your peers for being human and messing up once in a while.  At their worst, they curse at you for simply showing up [...]

Are your employees wearing the corporate badge proudly?

The news for HR has been pretty heavy lately, what with the layoffs, corporate scandals and the questioning of corporate spending on compensation, retention bonuses, employee perks, and leadership development retreats.  Let’s take a breather for a second to talk about something a little lighter – recognizing your staff with corporate logo gear.  This post [...]