When employers and their former employees are trying to settle disputed issues arising out of a termination of employment, there are many monetary factors to address. Perhaps surprisingly, it isn’t always the money which is the stumbling block to reaching a settlement. A very important aspect to any part of a settlement for a departing employee is receiving a reference letter. Often, the employee will insist on getting a reference letter and the employer will be reluctant to provide it. [Read More]

Last year, we saw a powerful shift in the communications industry, particularly in human resources and recruitment. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn continued to grow and benefit the HR communications industry by reaching passive and active candidates. Job seekers, already active on these sites, were drawn to branded employer pages that advertised open positions and content broadcasted through blogs, microblogs and status updates. [Read More]

We need to hire employees, but we’re so busy working in the business to replace the employee(s) who just left that we don’t have time to recruit. Sound familiar? For many businesses having to recruit means that they are or soon will be short-staffed. In this situation, many small business owners find themselves struggling as they are suddenly drawn back or further into the daily operations of the business while simultaneously trying to run the business and of course, recruit quality candidates for the job. [Read More]

If you are a recruiting leader or recruiter who is constantly on the lookout for new recruiting trends, practices, and tools, you have surely already heard of QR codes. QR codes are a second-generation barcode that allows potential candidates to quickly and directly access supporting materials and websites using only a camera equipped smartphone. QR codes have many uses, but are most often used to direct target audiences to online content that cannot be easily conveyed in print. You can of course provide a printed URL, but if you have ever tried to enter a long URL into a mobile browser, chances are you wouldn’t do it again. [Read More]

Many years ago, I had the good fortune of working for a manager in an organization that took the whole new employee orientation and integration process very seriously. I stayed with the organization for 18 years. Of course, I didn’t appreciate what kind of an impact this type of employee integration and solid leadership would have on me throughout my working career until I went on to work with others. Let me explain . . . [Read More]

Companies are increasingly using social media in recruiting, a trend known as social recruiting. The 3 main platforms to leverage for sourcing candidates are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Finding candidates won’t happen overnight, though. You must set up your profiles and work to build a community before you broadcast job openings. Start early, build your network and then leverage that network. [Read More]

Employers who grasp the connection between marketing techniques and talent attraction stand to gain the upper hand. Strong brands know who they are and engender consumer loyalty by living a life of alignment. This helps consumers know what they stand for and understand how to interact with them. To illustrate the point, let’s use the McDonald’s brand. No one would walk into a McDonald’s restaurant in search of a spaghetti dinner. Nor would we sit down at one of their molded plastic tables and expect wait staff to arrive with an order pad. We know McDonald’s for what their brand is: speed, a fairly consistent menu across geographies, and a standard ordering process that begins at the cash register. [Read More]

I recently provided a workshop for a client on workplace accommodation and a couple of the participants came to me afterward to talk about specific situations they were having in their respective worksites. Both of them were working with employees who had been off sick for an extended period of time and they seemed fearful to seek information from the returning employees. [Read More]

It’s that time of year when good boys and girls start looking ahead to receiving gifts and their parents anticipate the seasonal office party. Controlling alcohol consumption at those parties substantially increases the odds of parents, and their employer, having a happy and healthy holiday season. [Read More]

I know that there are some folks who don’t believe a job description is necessary anymore and of course, that is the decision of the organization to make. I do believe in job descriptions – and let me tell you why. A job description helps a business in understanding what the needs are of a particular position. What are the functional responsibilities and skills required in the position? How will you know what a reasonable amount of pay should be if you don’t have some sort of understanding of the duties? How would you classify the role? Who would the person report to and who would be responsible to manage the incumbent? For that matter, how will you hire someone into a position that has no description? How would you construct a set of interview questions that would be relevant to the role? [Read More]

The workplace is always evolving. The recession, in particular, has hastened and highlighted many of these changes, including the growing age gap among the current workforce. According to a study from the Pew Research Center, over the past 20 years the number of older workers has steadily risen, while younger adults are waiting longer to enter the labor force. This means that the workplace is becoming even more diverse in the age groups it contains, and leaders are now dealing with the added strain of catering their retention and recruitment efforts to this varied palette of employees. [Read More]

Can’t find the time to travel to a conference? Interested in connecting online with other HR professionals? We've compiled a list of free webinars being offered over the next week. [Read More]

Facebook has 500 million, Twitter 190 million, LinkedIn 70 million. It’s undeniable that social media has changed the way the world communicates. The business community has embraced new media, with marketing and sales leveraging a variety of platforms to connect with and engage their customer. In many cases companies have also worked on perfecting their employer brand, attempting to appeal to potential recruits through Facebook and LinkedIn. But what have companies been doing for their current employee base? [Read More]

Total wellness recognizes that all thoughts, words, and actions affect one’s overall health and well-being. Wellness is an integration of the mind, body, and spirit, permeating all areas of a person’s life—including work. This idea is further supported by Sorrentino’s definition of wellness: the achievement of the best health possible in the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of one’s life. Many theorists describe wellness as a holistic and comprehensive concept that involves interdependent balance of five dimensions: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social health [Read More]

To attract your future skilled and productive employees, make your first impression count. No matter who you hire, you’ll be investing resources, training, time, and money, so sourcing skilled candidates is the first step to getting a solid employee ROI. Solid candidates looking for a progressive organization, and meaningful work experiences, will overlook opportunities if you’ve failed to provide them with important information-qualitative information about who you are as an organization, your culture, values, offerings, and how you treat employees. People are looking for more than ‘just a job’. [Read More]

More and more small businesses are popping up due to the economic downturn. People are realizing that they need to become more reliant on themselves to be gainfully employed. As these startup businesses increase, there will be some challenges that must be considered. One of many challenges will possibly be in hiring a strong and stable group of employees. The reality is that you will probably not be able to compete with larger employers that offer higher salaries; benefit packages; stock options; flexible work-weeks, etc. For a while, folks are going to try to hold out for these positions and may very well turn you down. [Read More]

Every organization at some point in time will have to announce some type of change in the workplace. It’s right up there with death and taxes – we can count on it! The changes may be new or updated technology; changes in leadership (a new supervisor hired in a department); or changes in policies for one reason or another. The way in which changes are communicated will determine how successful the changes are understood and adopted by the employee group. Having been involved in a number of change initiatives in various organizations I can tell you with from experience, communicating effectively is a must! [Read More]

Ever consider offering flexible working? If you’re like 88% of Canadian companies, you are already. Flexible working, whether telecommuting or allowing employees to work schedules that are personally customized, is part of the evolution that is taking place throughout the modern workforce. The workplace has evolved. As the traditional definitions of ‘work’ have changed, so has the way it gets done. [Read More]

Finding the right person for your job isn’t easy. If it were we’d all be happy and businesses would be humming along contentedly without any conflict whatsoever because we’d all be living in the fantasy world as illustrated in the satirical movie, “The Stepford Wives”. So, we need to be honest here and figure out what you can realistically do to ensure you find the right person. What I am going to suggest may sound to some of you like it’s too much work – but my years of experience have taught me that doing the work up front will save you ten-fold as you begin to move forward and people are indeed doing what it is you hired them to do. [Read More]

A couple of years ago, UBC conducted a study where 6,000 mock resumes were sent to employers in 20 job categories throughout the Greater Toronto Area. While resumes were tailored to the job and showed similar educational background and experience, those with English-sounding last names were 40% more likely to receive interview requests than those with non-English names. [Read More]

When conducting employment interviews, having a well developed job description and knowing in advance what questions you can and cannot ask will enable you to gather the information you need to make a well-informed hiring decision while protecting the human rights of individuals. The purpose of a job interview is to meet job candidates as well as validate and perhaps seek additional information to what is provided within their resume in order to determine whether or not they are qualified and would be a fit for the position and the organization. [Read More]

Recruiting new employees is never an easy task. From initial screening, through interviews and contract negotiation, the process can be time consuming and taxing and it’s only upon hire that the real fun begins! Building a successful team is an ongoing task, and it is important for all members to contribute to the department’s ongoing success. Building in a probationary period for new employees will help you manage the onboarding process and should benefit both the new employee and the company. So how does one ensure a successful probationary period? The following seven steps will help you get started. [Read More]

Barely 2 weeks old and the buzz of Google+ has already taken over technology blogs, business sites, and my personal Facebook feed (invites anyone?). According to a recent article in PC World, estimates for the social network’s user base run as high as 5 million (not quite the 200 million of Twitter or 750 million of Facebook, but it’s only been 14 days). I recently received my own invitation and can’t stop reading anything and everything about the new social site. Like its social networking cousins, Google+ has the potential to further revolutionize business – from new marketing and advertising techniques to personalized and quick customer service responses. But what effect will Google+ have on the recruiting world? [Read More]

My kids have always summed up my career in this fashion: “People pay mommy lots of money to find other people”. They have never questioned the logic of this. Mommy plays a mean hide n seek. Now that my baby has graduated from Kindergarten, I have come to realize that really, some of the most important elements of recruiting he has now mastered. Since school let out I’ve been watching him interact with his friends – and here’s what I’ve found... [Read More]

Many managers view hiring as one of the easier decisions they have to make. Problem is, it’s also one of the hardest decisions to unmake! Here’s a common scenario for busy managers. A vacancy is posted on the web. Some promising, skilled candidates apply–you interview, conduct a reference or two, make an offer and you’re done. [Read More]