HRBlog » Editor’s top 5 HR articles

Editor’s top 5: Performance management

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:05:20 +0000

At the most basic level, performance management/reviews are like any other business tool – necessary to gauge how your company is performing. The difference is, however, that dealing with people and all their complexities is not quite the same as crunching numbers in a spreadsheet.

Below are five blog posts containing some very relevant and intuitive information on how to manage not only annual reviews, but how to integrate and encourage performance and commitment every day.

Performance management can’t be seen as a mere tool for business, but a tool for enabling your staff to reach their full potential.

Top 4 New Year’s resolutions to breathe life into performance appraisal systems

By admin on Bullseye Evaluation

Do you truly believe in your performance review system? If not, change it!

This post highlights areas that HR need to pay attention to, including challenging the traditional attitudes towards ‘performance review processes’ rather than seeing them as a valuable tool for success.

Performance management process checklist

By Susan M. Heathfield on About.com

Performance management is all about being hands-on; managers need to be proactive in encouraging, assessing and garnering feedback on employee performance all the time, not just when it comes to ‘review time’.

This blog post discusses how to do that, plus has some great information on how to structure reviews.

The ideal employee evaluation from my manager

By Pat Bell on Bullseye Evaluation

This post is a first-hand account from an employee who valued and appreciated her manager’s style, technique and overall attitude to her performance review.

How do you stack up?

Managing employee performance

By Sean Conrad on Employee Performance Solutions

This post talks about motivation – what it is and the importance of even the greatest managers needing to find new ways of motivating their staff, and the difficulties that in itself can create. Not everyone is motivated by the same thing.

(Yes, it’s a software company site and has a plug for an out-of-date webinar at the bottom, but it has some good information!)

Top 10 ways to encourage employee work balance

By Susan M. Heathfield on About.com

Employers can’t be responsible for how employees manage their work-life balance, and ultimately they shouldn’t have to be.

But, in the interests of the well-being of their staff and the fact content workers perform better, there are ways companies can encourage a healthy work-life balance in their workforce.

Editor’s top 5: Talent management

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:59:49 +0000

Talent management is all about retaining and developing valuable employees. It is also about developing current and future leadership, which is vital in the retention of top talent.

Culture comes from the top – meaning it is even more important to have engaged, authentic leadership to retain and grow effective teams.

These blog posts look at how commitment to people’s development and acknowledging feedback and input are crucial to talent management.

There is also a post looking at 2012 and some issues that could face recruitment and talent management over the next year.

Innovation is everyone’s job

By Ron Ashkenas on HBR

How to create a culture of innovation and build a strong, cohesive team in the process.

How to align hands-on learning with business objectives

By Amit Bhagria on Young HR Manager

How you can streamline employee development while also focusing on the bigger picture of overall business objectives.
This post has some interesting examples of companies that have done just that in terms of executive training. Where’s the first place to start? The commitment to developing people.

Manage through culture: Inspiring performance in the Chinese workforce

By Heather Daigleon on DDI

Managers and leaders must be genuinely committed to the culture they are trying to implement into their teams and businesses. They must also be aware of people’s personal ambitions and that if culture is left up to chance, those personal ambitions can threaten team and business success.

To grow, leave what you know behind

By John Coleman on HBR

The world needs greater problem-solvers – and more question-askers in its leaders.

10 predictions for 2012: The top trends in talent management and recruiting

By John Sullivan on ere.net

Companies can no longer stroll to keep up with a changing world, but must break into a steady, fast-paced jog.

In this blog post John Sullivan looks at what he believes will be the top issues in talent management for the coming year.

Editor’s top 5: Recruitment

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:00:56 +0000

Recruitment is an ever-changing beast and it is important to stay up with the play.

We can thank daily updates on apps, new technologies and where people go to find their information – be it on a new job, or the latest music.

Below are some blog posts that are, hopefully, looking slightly outside the box in terms of recruiting. There are some fantastic resources out there and it is a topic that many people seem to be keen to share their thoughts on. So the more reading and information you can gather, the more you can stay ahead of the pack – and snap up that talent before the competition!

Strategic market research: What you don’t know can kill your recruiting

By John Sullivan, on ere.net

Part 1
Why is recruiting like sales and marketing? This post looks at how important it is to know your target market – i.e the top talent, regardless of whether they are currently job hunting or not.

Part 2
The second part of this post goes through the steps of how to address the need for more information, plus examples of what you can implement to make it work. It also pin-points the most important areas to focus on.

Recruitment evolution, not revolution

By Richard Long on jobblog.co.nz

The recruitment landscape is changing and once again it reinforces the importance of communicating your company’s culture to the outside world.

We did something about the candidate experience

By Chad Godhard for ere.net

‘First impressions’ is a two-way street. This post details what one US company did when they realised many good candidates were falling through the recruitment cracks into the ‘black hole’.

Why companies aren’t getting the employees they need

By Peter Cappelli on The Wall Street Journal

This post looks at the importance of hiring companies searching for candidates with potential, rather than trying to find the ‘perfect’ recruit – because chances are, you won’t find them.

Here is proof that social recruiting is right here, right now

By Andy on SironaSays

Know your target talent pool and where they seek their information. This post addresses how to use social media wisely and why one size does not fit all.

Editor’s top 5 HR articles: Employee engagement

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:07:25 +0000

Success in business ultimately comes down to employee engagement and how willing staff are to work hard for you.

In the current economic environment, there has been a shift from focusing on bottom line profits to focusing on the people aspects of business.

But how do you encourage employee engagement? Below are some interesting blog posts looking at just that – and basically, it comes down to pure human nature: everyone wants to be acknowledged and valued for their contribution.

Top 10 ways to make employee empowerment fail

By Susan M Heathfield on About.com

Susan looks at why strategies for empowering employees often fail and how much of it comes down to leaders needing to walk the talk (and understanding what they’re talking about in the first place!).

To increase employee engagement, consciously build relationships

By Dan Saint on Innovation Partners International

This blog post by Dan demonstrates the importance of building personal relationships in order to encourage engagement and how effective it is as a strategy. Even making an effort learn people’s names has a huge impact on employees.

Increasing employee engagement through workplace communication

By SkedX on The SkedCast

A recent survey shows that more and more companies are focusing on employee engagement rather than productivity in the current economic environment. Of course, both relate to the other, but with a people-focused approach rather than looking directly at the bottom line, success is far more likely.

This post also reinforces the idea that communication is king and suggests social media as a powerful tool to encourage internal communication.

Wellbeing critical to employee engagement

By Devon Shane on UpMo

This post discusses the fact that psychological wellbeing has a lot to do with employee engagement. In order to encourage healthy engagement in the workplace, employers need to look at the root cause of low engagement in staff.

Employees also need to feel their work has meaning and purpose; that their efforts are important to the company as a whole.

Getting engaged – Three simple cures for employee engagement

By Dustin Walling on Making things happen

Employers are ultimately responsible for the level of engagement in their company, having hired and trained the employees that work for them.

This blog post has three key tips on how to turn around employee engagement through teamwork and smart hiring.

Editor’s top 5 HR articles: Social media recruitment

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:20:36 +0000

Social media is taking over many of the traditional ways of communication and it is no different for the art of recruitment.

But recruiting through social media is a delicate business, not one that can be learnt overnight or launched without careful strategies and objectives in place.

Below are five of the many blog posts on this particular topic, including a post on the reality of how social media is used in New Zealand – not well, to put it plainly.

There are a huge range of issues to be aware of, many of them legal, but the potential for ‘social’ is huge and one well worth the investment it needs.

Using social media to redefine recruitment

By Nick Dean for Bristol Editor

This is blog post is information straight from a social recruitment master. Nick looks at how social media has changed the way we recruit and also how we measure its success.

Is your social media recruitment letting you down?

By Justin Flitter on Justinflitter.co.nz

Justin’s blog is a very interesting post about his thoughts on social media and how well (or not-so-well) it is being utilised in New Zealand.

He believes most companies are going about it the wrong way and to really make the most of the social medium, companies need to recruit specialist social media staff.

Tips for recruitment using social media

By Naina on Buzzom.com

Advice on how to easily and effectively filter job listings through social networking sites.

Social networks a hotbed for hiring discrimination

By Meridith Levinson for CIO.com

This blog post looks at some of the legal pitfalls that can come from learning about candidates’ personal lives on social networking sites, plus what information hiring managers can use in the hiring process.

Top 5 myths about social recruitment

Although this blog post is in part helping to promote a conference in the UK, it has some fantastic insight into some typical attitudes about recruiting through social media.

The key to success? It takes time and effort to build up an online presence and without it, you’re not going to attract the right kind of readers, let alone talent.

Editor’s top 5 HR articles: Workplace culture

Thu, 26 May 2011 03:14:51 +0000

Workplace culture is often hard to describe, because it means something different in every organisation and many times employees feel it’s ‘just the way things are’. But so often it can define a company and when it’s not working well, everyone knows about it.

Below are some blog posts on what culture in the workplace is and how to positively cultivate it throughout your business. The happier an employee is at work, the more productive they are.

It’s never too late to make improvements.

Culture: Your environment for people at work

By Susan M Heathfield on About.com

Susan explains what organisational culture is and why it is a lot like a personality. She also talks about the different cultural concepts you will find and how each is manifested within a company.

Cultural fit interview questions

By Susan M Heathfield on About.com

In another blog post by Susan, she runs through some interview questions you can ask potential employees to help you assess how they will fit into your company’s workplace culture.

When recruiting, it is just as important to gauge whether a job applicant will fit into your company’s culture, as it is to gauge their fit for the specific role.

Focus on your employees, the key to marketing success

By William Powell on TalentCulture

Perceived workplace culture is part of your brand. Your biggest target market for getting it right? Your employees.

William’s blog post talks about why marketing a healthy, positive culture to employees is vital to a healthy business and where the best place to start is.

Workplace branding: Four ways to use culture to recruit and retain

By Meghan M Biro on Glassdoor.com

This blog post follows on from Susan’s on the importance of defining a job candidate’s fit within an organisation.

Meghan explains why defining workplace culture before any recruiting takes place is so important and how it sets the foundation for the company’s overall brand.

Find out how to address workplace culture branding and steps for working it into your organisation.

When corporate culture becomes an obstacle

By Jeremy Nichols on Dynamic Business

Change within an organisation, whether it be structural, managerial, or high growth, can disrupt workplace culture. It is important to put strategies in place not only for this change but also to retain a healthy business culture.

Editor’s top 5 articles: Disaster management

Mon, 09 May 2011 22:29:40 +0000

It shouldn’t take a catastrophic event to initiate a review of disaster protocols, but unfortunately that is often the case.

In the wake of the local and global events of the past year or so, it is imperative that your company employees know exactly what to do in a disaster situation and know what to do after the event, when access to work may not be possible. Do you have a central communication hub for employees to externally access information on the status of their job and company? Do you pay your employees through a disaster when working is not possible?

Below are some blog posts that have tips and information for planning for the un-planned, including a first-hand description of a business going through and surviving the Christchurch earthquakes, plus why social media should be part of your survival strategy.

Small business – how to prepare for disaster recovery

By Dan Weedin on Weedin360

In the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Dan shares five points every business – big or small – should do to avoid downtime and disaster. Some of it is as simple as getting back to regularly practicing emergency drills, like most of us did at primary school.

Strategic synergy: HR, social media and business continuity

By Kit Jeffrey for the Portland HR Management Association

Kit explains why social media is important to include in your continuity plans, one reason being it is an effective way to get information to those who need it when other communication systems may be affected by a disaster.

She also points out that HR is even more important when disasters strike.

The Christchurch earthquake – How we survived

By SpaceBug for The Ezypay Lounge

This is a fantastic post from the front-line. Read about one business who went through the Christchurch earthquakes and what recovery strategies they implemented to get back on track and survive the carnage.

It also includes a first-hand experience of the February earthquake and the importance of people coming first, despite everything else that is at stake.

Disaster preparedness – Key to business survival

By Paul J. McGovern

Paul provides a checklist of what you should address when planning for disaster, whether it be man-made or of mother nature’s doing.

Nine Tips for Disaster Preparedness

By Eric Davis from i4cp

Although this is an older blog post including information from the Japanese disasters, it has some fantastic tips on what to include in strategies for dealing with disasters.

Eric also makes the point that although your business might not be directly affected by a disaster, there may well be ripple effects, as we have seen with the Christchurch earthquakes. Be prepared and make sure management aren’t the only ones that know what to do in a disaster.

Editor’s Top 5 posts: Remuneration and compensation

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:42:30 +0000

In the June issue of the HumanResources magazine we focused on remuneration and compensation. To follow on, below are some interesting blog posts with tips and information on non-salary remuneration and also a very interesting post about how important it is that management show respect for their employees, rather than it just being the other way around.

Five tips for effective employee recognition

By Susan M Heathfield on About.com
Employee recognition is a powerful communication tool, because when you recognise people effectively, you reinforce the standards of behaviours, actions and outcomes you want other staff to adhere to.

This blog post looks at tips for effectively recognising staff and the positive effects it can have on morale and company success.

Communicating compensation, total rewards and meaning

By Derek Irvine on Compensation Cafe

It is well documented (and blogged about) that many employees seek meaning over money. But, many employees also don’t instantly know what benefits they are receiving. Make sure employees understand the compensation they receive, as it will help them to realise how valuable to the company they are. Some employees only see what is written on their paychecks.

Engaging employees with RESPECT

By Paul Marciano on SmartBlog on Leadership

Ever thought about how perks don’t necessarily encourage employee engagement for the long term?

In this blog post, Paul has some fantastic tips to help engage staff and it all comes down to R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Find out what it means to your employees and your business.

Heighten employee morale and loyalty

By Op_biz_communicator for Orange Point

This blog post recounts why one specific employee left his company and reinforces how important recognition and remuneration are in keeping talented staff engaged and happy.

7 wellness benefits employees want most

By Christian Schappel on HR Morning

Wellness benefits are valued by many employees as a form of remuneration. Find out what the top benefits are, according to a recent survey and if you can adapt any into your current compensation regime.

Editor’s top 5 posts: global HR

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 01:44:07 +0000

In the global and technologically advanced world we live in, knowing how to deal with international HR issues – and what is expected of HR teams – is imperative.

And with so many potential employees, especially Kiwis, looking to work and travel, how companies harness that experience either at home or abroad can be a huge competitive advantage.

The blog posts below cover just some of the issues that arise when working on an international scale and also contain advice for HR professionals wanting to stay ahead of the times.

Employing women expatriates

By Nicole Le Maire on Human Resources Global

Expatriate workers are often thought of as “commercial glue” – they help pollinate ideas across countries and establish consistency of standards. But women looking to work and live in a foreign country often don’t get the same opportunities as men.

In her latest blog Nicole Le Maire looks at companies’ attitudes towards women expatriates, who are in fact increasing in number, as more women look to improve their international career prospects. International companies are also starting to realise that actively drawing these types of women into employment gives them a distinct competitive advantage.

Giving international mobility a home

By Andrew Chapman on PwC Switzerland Blog

Talent liquidity is becoming more important in this day and age, making it easy for people to go to the right role anywhere – either at home or overseas.

This is even more important for the new generation of workforce, according to Andrew Chapman, who he calls the millennials. These workers see overseas work as a right of passage both personally and professionally, even more so here in New Zealand because we are so far away from the rest of the world.

As a result, Andrew believes that international mobility is likely to become a necessary recruitment offering in the near future.

Managing international assignees during a crisis

By Warren Heaps for the International HR Forum

Exit strategies are important – whatever you’re doing. But what does a good crisis management plan involve for staff working overseas?

Do you know where all your assignees are? What about their families?

Although this blog post is a couple of months old, it carries some powerful information. With countries so easily thrown into chaos without warning – just look at Japan and Libya, or closer to home with the Christchurch earthquake – it makes having detailed exit strategies imperative. And as HR, that’s probably your role to co-ordinate the relevant people to have input.

Global salary grades or global salary structure

By Warren Heaps for the International HR Forum

Another blog post by Warren Heaps looks at the salary side of having a global workforce. First up, Warren clarifies commonly confused definitions when it comes to salary structures/grades/bands/groups….

How do you know you are setting the benchmark straight throughout the global organisation?

Navigating the barriers to global mobility

By Hector A. Chichoni on HR Hero

HR is essential to the strategic management of a globally mobile workforce. This blog post offers some of the most important variables and barriers HR need to know in order to have smooth global transfers.

Top 22 HR Tweeters in New Zealand and Australia

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:51:47 +0000

We were asked for a list of the top Tweeters in the HR and recruitment scenes ‘down under’ here in New Zealand and Australia… and here it is.

Check out the HR and recruitment tweeters who are ahead of the pack when it comes to sharing information, news and views – and who you should be following!

The list was compiled using a formula that incorporates the number of tweets and number of followers to gauge influence and activity and is in no particular order below.

>>> Do you follow an HR or Recruitment professional on Twitter, that you think should be included on the list? Let us know.