Understanding What HR Does For You (and thinks about you)

Understanding What HR Does For You (and thinks about you) When I took my internship programming internal web stuff on the intranet for Simplot, a billion dollar private company, I worked a lot with and for HR. It was exciting to learn some of the ins and outs of HR, and what made a company run. Fast forward a few years and I was in a situation where I wanted to talk to HR because I believed I was in a hostile work environment. I was frustrated, my health was suffering, and I felt wronged. But I had been in enough meetings to know that HR was not there to protect or coddle me.  The #1 role of HR, as I understood it, was to protect the company.  Sure, they were nice people, but they werent there to help or protect me before they protected the company from lawsuits, harm, financial loss, etc. If you dont get that, read this article on Lifehacker: Understand What Your Companys HR Department Will and Wont Do for You And then read this article on Lifehacker: The Company You Work For Is Not Your Friend What does this mean? Well, it doesnt mean they are the enemy.  It simply means they are not your work BFF understanding where they fit and what their objectives are will help you understand how and why you would work/interface with them. Understanding What HR Does For You (and thinks about you) When I took my internship programming internal web stuff on the intranet for Simplot, a billion dollar private company, I worked a lot with and for HR. It was exciting to learn some of the ins and outs of HR, and what made a company run. Fast forward a few years and I was in a situation where I wanted to talk to HR because I believed I was in a hostile work environment. I was frustrated, my health was suffering, and I felt wronged. But I had been in enough meetings to know that HR was not there to protect or coddle me.  The #1 role of HR, as I understood it, was to protect the company.  Sure, they were nice people, but they werent there to help or protect me before they protected the company from lawsuits, harm, financial loss, etc. If you dont get that, read this article on Lifehacker: Understand What Your Companys HR Department Will and Wont Do for You And then read this article on Lifehacker: The Company You Work For Is Not Your Friend What does this mean? Well, it doesnt mean they are the enemy.  It simply means they are not your work BFF understanding where they fit and what their objectives are will help you understand how and why you would work/interface with them.

5 Essential Steps to Develop Your Team

5 Essential Steps to Develop Your Team When I first became a manager, I really struggled with figuring out the best way to develop my team. I was so used to doing it all myself, that I didn’t realize that I had to unlearn a few of the “best practices” that had gotten me to the next level. I soon realized that as a manager, your teams’ success equates to yours. And not only that, but your ability to inspire and develop people is actually critical to your own future, as the higher you climb up the leadership ladder, the more you depend on the success and strengths of others to achieve key objectives and goals. So, whether you’re on-boarding entry-level hires or working with a long-standing team, here are five “don’t miss” steps that managers of all experience levels can use to develop a strong, cohesive team. 1) Ensure that each person truly understands their role. Many employees know the basics of what their role entails, but do not have an in-depth understanding of it. Oftentimes, people get hired, onboard, and start working without anyone having taken the time to clearly spell out what they are fully expected to do or how their role fits into the success of the team and company. Take the time to meet with each person and do a thorough briefing. Be sure to ask them how they perceive their role, detail what the expectations are, discuss their career goals, and outline what needs to be achieved to accomplish those goals. A clear understanding of one’s role and a definitive roadmap to advancement are essential to development. 2) Provide training and development tools. Based on the individual’s current skill sets and abilities, customize training to ensure they understand how to be successful in their current role at your company. Then, continue to offer additional development tools, classes, trainings, and assignments to build upon their experience and shape their competencies for a future role. 3) Step away and let them do their job. Many managers struggle with trusting their team to get the work done. We are all very busy, so as managers we think the job will get done better and quicker if we just do it, right? Not, exactly.  No one will benefit from that behavior.  For me, this was the toughest part of becoming a manager. I trusted my team, but I always thought that if I kept taking things on, I was helping them, when in reality it actually had a negative effect on them.  I was not letting them do their job, and I was getting burnt out from trying to do too many things at once. The tendency to be a high performer through personal productivity is a skill that enables managers to get to a manager role, but has to be unlearned as work is done through your people. Be sure you’re people are trained, know the expectations, then let go, and let them handle it. You’ll need to be available and provide supervision, but the more you trust them, the more confident they will become. Empower them to make decisions and to handle the responsibility of their roles. 4) Meet with team members regularly to discuss goals. Development won’t happen without accountability. Provide a regular check-in where monthly goals are reviewed and new goals set. Be sure to celebrate success and to provide honest feedback on areas where progress needs to be made. Each employee has different learning curves and styles, so be sure to customize the approach to fit their style. Remember, their success is your success, so create a supportive, open, honest environment where feedback is appreciated, and make it clear that their improvement impacts their success. Many managers shy away from giving constructive feedback as they do not want to offend their employees, but what some managers do not understand is employees yearn for constructive feedback. It is imperative that they know what continuous improvements they need to make so they can meet their goals. Before wrapping up your meeting, clearly articulate what they need to work on for the next time. Being vague will not benefit either party, as people cannot develop wha t they cannot measure. 5) Game plan for their growth. As much as you need your team intact and functioning well, it’s your job to make sure you are developing people who can advance to the next leadership level. Not every team member will have that potential or even desire a promotion. But for those who do, focus on providing stretch assignments, reviewing the challenges and expectations they will face at the next level, and measure their development progress. Don’t be afraid to let go when they are ready to move up. Many managers make the mistake of developing people who are “almost there” and then never allow them to move on because it disrupts the team. Be proud of their success, and celebrate that you helped them get there. Development is a continual process and, if done across the organization, it ensures a steady flow of leaders moving up through the organization. The last thing I want to emphasize is a caution. None of this will work if you don’t focus on building trust among your team. Your team needs to know they can trust you. Treat them with dignity, respect, and let them know that they are each valuable. If they know their success matters to you, they will respect your development feedback and reward you with the effort of improvement. And that’s one of your most important responsibilities as a manager â€" one that can be very rewarding as you help people achieve their personal best. Author:  Donna DeCosta  is a Strategic Director for Seven Step RPO. She has more than seven years experience in the RPO industry, and currently oversees large, high-volume accounts while providing strategic consulting to client stakeholders. Donnas expertise includes team building, client relationship development, mentoring, and operational delivery. Image credit: Shutterstock

Quick Cash For Your Company 4 Sources

Quick Cash For Your Company 4 Sources When you run your own company, you quickly learn just how difficult keeping your finances in check can be. There are often times when it looks like the cash in your bank account might not be able to stretch for the next few months. However, things usually work out. But what about those times when you push things as far as it can go, and it starts to look like you might bleed your account dry? You don’t have to apply for bankruptcy just yet. There are plenty of ways to get a quick injection of money into your company. Here are four of the most common ways to give your bank balance a boost. Company Loans If you have a great credit record, then you should easily be able to get a loan from the bank. If all goes well, you should have the loan transferred into your account just a few hours after your meeting with the bank manager. Be sure to double check the interest rate before you commit to the loan. As this could end up making the credit much more expensive than what you originally anticipated. And if the repayments are too big, you could end up back at square one. If you have trouble getting a loan from your bank, think about non-traditional options. There are many online companies who now offer business loans, such as www.businesslendermatch.com. Tap Into Personal Savings If your personal finances are doing great, you could use these to help out your business for a month or two. The simplest way to do this is to just transfer some cash from your personal account to your business one. You need to be careful how much money you move, though. Too much, and you could end up paying tax on it. You can also fund your business by releasing personal assets. So, for example, you could sell a car and use the cash in your company. If things are really tight, and you need to take drastic action, you can always remortgage your house. However, that can put your family home at risk. Don’t do that unless you have discussed it with your partner. Lose Some Employees This is a latch-ditch attempt to raise some cash and should only be tried if everything else you have done has failed. No boss likes to get rid of employees, but unfortunately, in some situations, it is the only solution. What type of business do you run and what type of contract are the staff employed on? In some cases, you may be legally obliged to offer them a redundancy package. This could include a sizeable lump sum. So you need to take this into consideration if you are thinking about letting people go. Sure, you may save money in the long term because you won’t be paying a salary. However, you need the cash to pay their lump sum right now. Launch Another Product To increase your company’s value, think about adding another product or service to your portfolio. The whole reasoning behind this is that it will help to generate an alternative income to your usual one. There are two main ways you can do this. Firstly, think about launching a product or service similar to the one you currently sell. This should appeal to your current customers, so you won’t have to do much extra marketing on top of what you already do. Lastly, you should also consider a completely different product or service. That way, you can attract new business, and more people will find out about your brand. You can find plenty of tips on how to launch a new product at sites like   www.fastcompany.com/3004920/10-steps-successfully-launching-new-product-or-service. So next time you feel strapped for cash, don’t start panicking just yet. These tips should hopefully see you through the rough patch. And if you don’t, that still doesn’t mean you need to stress. Keep your head above the water for as long as possible. Eventually, you’ll be thrown a business lifeline! Most of the time, these rough patches are just a sign that the economy and all markets aren’t doing so well. If that’s the case, you can be safe in the knowledge that this lean period will eventually be over. But while your business is doing well, it’s always best to make hay while the sun shines. This way, you can prepare for a nightmare situation. If there is money in the bank, you’ll get through it! Image Source; Image Source; Image Source;Image Source

Why negative information is so darn powerful Marla Gottschalk

Why negative information is so darn powerful Marla Gottschalk Have you ever heard of the criticism sandwich? This communication strategy purports that if you present negative information in the midst of positive information, it will cushion the impact of the less than stellar bits. Well think again. Our brains seem to be hard-wired to pay much closer to attention to negative information likely a product of evolution and the survival of the fittest. When we hear negative information, it carries more impact and seems to stick with us longer. In my latest post on LinkedIn, How to hear what you dont want to hear, I explore methods to cope with negative information, opinion or feedback. Managing the stress that comes with the territory is key. But take heart you are not alone. Do you have a strategy to cope with negative information that works for you? Please share it with us well all be grateful. Dr. Marla Gottschalk is a Workplace Psychologist. Connect with her and continue the conversation on Twitter and Linkedin.

Making Sales Using Resume Writing As A Coaching Strategy

Making Sales Using Resume Writing As A Coaching StrategyCan you use resume writing to help you make sales? I'm sure that a lot of people are asking themselves this question as a result of the fact that they've seen these sites and wondered if the same techniques would work for a resume as they would for a social networking profile. It seems to me that what you see here is exactly what you'll get with a resume.In many ways, the world is moving so fast these days that people have started to get lazy, or even become uninterested in learning to be on the internet as well as interacting with others on the internet. This has caused many sites to evolve to move to more conversational sites, and the only way to do this is to change the format of the site. Now, a lot of people don't like it when I say this, but if the format of a site is set up in such a way that it's not natural for people to communicate with each other then it won't matter how good a product is on the site. If it looks and feels like a home page instead of talking to someone, then it will be useless to the point where it won't be worth it for them to read your resume.Now that you've learned that the way to create a resume is the same as the way to put a social networking profile together, let's look at how you can make sales using your resume as well. One thing that you must do is to have an idea of the type of resume that you're looking for. When people see your resume and they like what they see, they are more likely to do business with you. If you aren't selling yourself, you will not succeed.The best way to find out what types of clients' resumes are selling is to go on eBay and watch what other buyers are doing. You might be able to find a buyer who is interested in what you're selling and you can easily give them your resume in exchange for their services.Another way to do this is to find a professional website that will allow you to sell your resume. This website will allow you to list your res ume on its website and will charge you a very small fee to do so. You don't have to worry about having the site pays you because you won't be earning anything from it.You may also want to try writing your own signature. This will allow you to be able to sell your resume to other people without having to advertise in the traditional way that will cost you money. All you have to do is create a simple email address and you can send your resume for free to anyone who wants to purchase your resume.Another way to sell your resume for free is to sign up for a membership site that offers a unique service. They will have articles posted on their site that will show how to write a resume as well as how to market your resume. You can also get to know how to use the various tools available on the internet.In conclusion, if you want to make sales as a successful salesperson, you must learn to use resume writing to help you get started. These skills are vital for any salesperson whether you're de aling with sales, consulting, or training and your resume can help you take your career to the next level.

Unfilled Jobs, Unskilled Labor - CareerAlley

Unfilled Jobs, Unskilled Labor - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to identify and land your dream job. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search

Industries Where Overtime Violations Are Common - CareerAlley

Industries Where Overtime Violations Are Common - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Keeping up with every minute of time on a payroll can become difficult for industries where overtime violations are common. When the job of payroll accounting is not delegated to one particular individual, employee pay can get lost. According to WageAdvocates.com every year thousands of employees realize that their employer has not paid them fairly when it comes to overtime pay. Even though it is legal, to round time down from 1 to 7 minutes, this creates problems if used excessively. Industries Facing The Most Violations Although the software is designed to make things easier, wage theft still happens in many industries. This is not always done on purpose, but in some industries, this is the norm. The biggest culprits are industries hiring people on the lower spectrum of the wage scale: Health care facilities 73.6% Textile industries 71% Manufacturing 71% Restaurants 69.7% Hotels 69.7% Home health care 73.6% Cleaning contractors 69.7% Personal repair industries 91.8% Many industries have an overtime violation rate of 70 to 90 percent with personal services being the highest. These employees work off the clock or have break time and tips deleted from payroll checks. Sometimes, employees are paid less than minimum wage. When the average person thinks of industries, where overtime violations are common, hired personnel is thought to be the guilty parties; but not so. The people in charge of managing the companys time tracking are shorting employees of hard-earned money. Being On The Wrong Side Of The Law The Department of Labor deals with numerous lawsuits against companies accused of a lack of tracking time for payroll accountability-correctly, either willingly or by accident. According to studies, over 76 percent of people work more than 40 hours a week yet, fail to receive adequate compensation that is owed them by law. A company without proper analysis may not always reflect overtime problems. A strategy for many companies is to maintain a budget. If overtime adds up, then the company budget is pushed beyond the financial limits of the business. Janitorial staff in hotels and private cleaning services are sometimes victims of wage theft. Companies have found themselves on the wrong side of the law in many instances. Lawsuits have cost companies in the millions for back wages. This might include mileage, tips or double time pay. Overtime violations happen regularly in: Private households 86.6% Security services 62.6% Grocery stores 65% Ground services 62.6% Transportation services 51.9% Situations Where Overtime Occurs Industries, where overtime violations are common, are not required to include vacation pay but must comply with working hour pay rules set by the Department of Labor. Seminars might be included in a workers pay if the following guidelines are not provided: Attendance is in fact voluntary The course, speech, or seminar is not directly linked to the employees job Appearance is outside employees regular working hours The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance Personal households, hotels, and restaurants are exceptionally busy during the holiday season and may find a problem with overtime violations. Ultimately, savings add up quickly for employers when a staff of 10 people or more are hired. These funds accumulate into thousands of dollars; depending upon employee numbers. During busy shifts restaurant employees may work through breaks, extend time on the job waiting on customers or taking care of added tasks while actually off the clock. This may seem unimportant yet, when employees are not paid for time worked, but this is in violation of labor laws. According to studies, out of 3,000 people, almost 2,700 have experienced some form of wage theft. This is a growing problem for both employee and employer. Governmental figures have initiated safeguards to protect workers. Therefore, employers must show care in adhering to guidelines in order to avoid litigation. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+