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Using LinkedIn to Strengthen Employer Brand | Part 5 of 5

2012-02-01T07:47:00.000-08:00

The reach of Linkedin as a professional network is growing at a rate of knots. As of November 2011, there were 135 million Linkedin users in over 200 countries across the world (Linkedin, 2011). With such an impressive uptake among professionals, it would be a mistake to neglect this social networking tool within your employer branding strategy. Here are some helpful hints to ensure you reap the rewards in 2012:

Create a company Linkedin page: This will provide jobseekers access to your company that is not possible on other social networks. You can attract followers, create a careers section and update your company status (just as you would for your individual account).

Join relevant Linkedin groups: This is a great way promote your company as an employer of choice – you can do this passively by contributing to discussions, providing advice and sharing relevant news stories. After a while you will find that interest in your company grows organically as a result.

Create a company Linkedin group: Create a group that is aimed at attracting prospective employees, current employees and alumni. Get the conversation flowing by starting interesting discussions. This is a great way to help prospective employees feel a sense of belonging and identity long before the application process begins.

So that’s that. Hopefully these tips will help you boost your employer branding strategy through the use of social media in 2012. Good luck!

About the Author: Catherine Gutsell is the Group Marketing Manager at the CK Group. She is passionate about all things digital, especially when it comes to recruitment and HR practices.

Using Facebook to Strengthen Employer Brand | Part 4 of 5

2012-02-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

This tool must not be forgotten – if used properly it can be a fantastic medium to attract the best talent to your business. According to TalentMinded 2011, over half of job seekers will ‘Like’ a company on Facebook in the hope that they will find a job. So, to help you start Facebooking in 2012, here are a few tips:

Share photos: This is the Facebook feature that we all love the most (including your next generation of employees), so start sharing photos of things like:

Social and team building events
Charity fundraisers
Employee birthdays
Pictures of your offices
Employee of the month photos
Award ceremonies

Communicate in a human way: If jobseekers post questions on your company’s Facebook wall, respond in a human way and with personality. After all, Facebook is a sociable site, so try to create the impression that you are a friendly and open company by responding to questions in chatty (but still professional and helpful) way.

Get people talking: Don’t just shout about how great you are. Post unique and useful content for your fans, you can even ask questions to help get the conversation going. Be as helpful as you can to create the best impression of your company.

Make it a team effort: Give your colleagues the freedom and trust to contribute to your corporate Facebook page. After all, satisfied and happy employees are the best brand ambassadors you will ever find.

About the Author: Catherine Gutsell is the Group Marketing Manager at the CK Group. She is passionate about all things digital, especially when it comes to recruitment and HR practices.

Using Videos to Strengthen Employer Brand | Part 3 of 5

2012-02-01T01:27:00.000-08:00

Video should be a key part of your employer branding strategy for 2012. It’s a great way of engaging potential employees by really showing them the human side of your company. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just invest in a Flip camera and get cracking! Here are a few ideas which could work for your organisation:

A ‘Day in the Life of…’ videos: These videos can be helpful by strengthening the recruitment campaign for a particular role you are recruiting for.

A tour of your offices: We all know that people love to be nosey and this is a great way to provide an insight into what it’s really like behind the scenes at your company.

Employee testimonials/Meet the Team videos: Encourage employees to talk about their backgrounds, experiences, how and why they joined the company and what they like about working there. This will help you to communicate the personality and camaraderie between colleagues within your organisation. Do be careful who you stick in front of the camera though (make sure they are engaging to watch and most importantly, like to smile!).

Update content regularly: Try to keep your videos looking fresh by producing new content at least once per month. Think about it, if potential employees come across dated looking videos that look like a flash back from the 80’s it’s more than likely they will steer clear of your company as a potential employer.

Some interesting employer branding videos which you could take a look at for inspiration include:

About the Author: Catherine Gutsell is the Group Marketing Manager at the CK Group. She is passionate about all things digital, especially when it comes to recruitment and HR practices.

Mercer to acquire Pensjon & Finans, Norway

2012-01-29T00:44:00.000-08:00

Reports suggest that Mercer has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Pensjon & Finans, a leading Norwegian-based financial investment and pension consulting firm. Pensjon & Finans was established in 1997 and has a solid market share in the institutional market both in the public and private sector.

The acquisition is said to strengthen the value proposition to existing clients of Pensjon & Finans.
It also strengthens Mercer’s leadership role in investment consulting in the Nordic market.

The acquisition represents Mercer’s commitment to investing in its investment business to serve European clients. As Espen Kløw, the CEO of Pensjon & Finans, will take up the role as Head of Mercer Investment Consulting in Norway after the acquisition is finalised. Caspar Holter, the Founder of Pensjon & Finans, will continue at Mercer and serve his clients as of today. The firm has 5 employees and is owned by the working partners.

Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other conditions. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Using Twitter to Strengthen Employer Brand | Part 2 of 5

2012-01-27T05:02:00.000-08:00

Two thirds of FTSE 100 firms use Twitter, however, research shows that it is often neglected within their employer brand strategies (People Management, 2011). This is a missed opportunity. Why? Twitter currently has 100 million users with 50% logging in every day (Mashable, 2011). The potential for you to use this tool to attract talent to your organisation is off the scale. So why not beat your competition to it and get tweeting in 2012? Here are some pointers to help you:

Your Twitter profile - the trick here is to be as visible as possible. Here’s how:

Your profile page must have a professional look which reflects the branding of your company.
Choose your profile picture carefully – we would recommend you use your company logo. Again, this will ensure you are easily recognisable.
Choose your Twitter name carefully – be sure to include your company name and possibly the words ‘jobs’ or ‘careers’ too. This will attract the most targeted and relevant followers.
Profile text: Here you have 160 characters to play with so you need to make it good. Here are some suggestions:

Write about your company and the service it provides
Write about how people can benefit from following you
Include your website URL
Include relevant keywords to help people find you

Tweets:

Mix it up a bit: Try to avoid using Twitter to only shout about job vacancies you have open. Whilst these can certainly feature, it is important to mix your tweets up a bit to keep your followers engaged. Try tweeting industry and company news, as well as careers advice. It’s all about giving your followers value-added information and creating the impression that you are a great company to work for.

Get everyone in the team tweeting: This gives a good perception of culture, collaboration and personality which are all attractive traits from a jobseeker’s perspective.

Set up a schedule for your tweets: Tweeting too regularly can be annoying, whilst not tweeting enough may mean people will start to forget about you. So try to get the balance here. We recommend once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening (if you’re ultra keen!).

Re-tweet others: Remember, it’s not all about you. To build credibility and trust among potential employees you must re-tweet posts from key opinion leaders in your industry.

About the Author: Catherine Gutsell is the Group Marketing Manager at the CK Group. She is passionate about all things digital, especially when it comes to recruitment and HR practices.

Using Social Media to Strengthen Employer Brand in 2012 - Listen, Plan | Part 1 of 5

2012-01-22T09:15:00.000-08:00

Since 2009 there has been a 209% increase in the number of companies using social media to communicate their employer brand (Global Recruiting Roundtable, 2011). But are you one of them? No? Well read on…

Today’s job seekers have the world at their fingertips (quite literally). Realistically, the types of people you are more than likely going to want to recruit have already clocked on to the fact that social media is the best place to find out the truth about your company. They might even already be talking about you online – so why aren’t you listening?

Not sure where to start? Here are a few tips from the CK Group to help you get your social media strategy kick started in 2012:

Listen:

Well first things first, you need to establish what is being said about you online before you start engaging with potential employees on social media. Here are a number on interesting tools you can use to do just that:

Google Alerts - Set up alerts direct to your inbox to find out exactly what people are saying about you online.
Social Mention - This software is free, and searches all real-time user generated content.
Glassdoor - Find out exactly what former employees have been saying about your company here.

Plan:

This leads us nicely on to the next step: planning! Now, take a step back and have a think about…

Your main goals and objectives: These must be clearly aligned with the goals and objectives of your organisation.

The main messages you want to communicate: Here are a few ideas to get your thought process started:

What makes your company stand out? Eg exciting and rare job opportunities, personal development schemes, team building days, dress down Fridays.
Your company achievements – Eg awards, charity fundraisers, company accreditations.
Experiences of existing employees as they can be great brand ambassadors for your organisation.

Which social networks are you going to use?

Remember, it’s quality not quantity that matters here. As a minimum, we recommend that you build your presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Linkedin to really step your employer branding strategy up a gear or three. In the next blog post I'd be outlining few tips from us to help you start planning your strategy for each one of these social networking sites.

About the Author: Catherine Gutsell is the Group Marketing Manager at the CK Group. She is passionate about all things digital, especially when it comes to recruitment and HR practices.

Adecco acquires Japan's VSN Inc.

2012-01-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

Adecco Group, the global leader in human resource services, has announced the acquisition of VSN Inc., a leading provider of professional staffing services in Japan, for an enterprise value of EUR 90 million.

"We are delighted that VSN Inc. has agreed to join the Adecco Group. This is a rare opportunity for us to expand our Japanese Professional Staffing business in the world’s second largest staffing market and it is an excellent fit with our global strategic priorities. The move will instantly double the contribution of professional staffing to Adecco’s revenues in Japan and reinforces our strong position in an attractive structural growth market." - Patrick De Maeseneire, Chief Executive Officer of the Adecco Group.

Adecco Japan is currently the fourth-largest player in the Japanese HR market, behind local players, with a strong position in the Office segment and leading profitability. VSN Inc. generated revenues of EUR 157 million in 2010 (fiscal year-end March 2011) and is focused mainly on the Engineering segment.

The transaction remains subject to certain closing conditions. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.

Rebuilding your Recruiting Function: A cost-effective approach

2011-12-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

During the recent Great Recession, many companies significantly scaled back their recruiting teams. As these businesses rebound, many are looking to rebuild their teams with an eye toward becoming as cost effective and flexible as possible. These organizations typically have three options:

Ask current staff to work longer hours, or simply work harder
Better utilize currently owned technology, or adopt new technology
Utilize outsourced recruiting support to augment their internal team

Most of us know where option #1 will get us: it can work in the short-term, and employees who take on extra responsibilities and larger workloads sometimes feel more invested in their employment and enjoy a bump in pay. But over the long-term this solution often times causes burnout, low morale, and high attrition.

Option #2, technology, can be used in two ways to help your team work more effectively and efficiently:

1. Get more out of your current technology: Almost all recruiting operations have some sort of technology they’ve invested in, even if it’s simply an applicant tracking system. And almost all recruiting operations aren’t getting all they can out of those tools. Most of the leading ATS providers are adding new features every year, and many of those features are included in the fees you already pay. A simple call to your rep might go a long way towards getting more out of what you already own.

2. Adopt new technology: Between new offerings from established recruiting technology companies and new entrants who are continually pushing the envelope, there are plenty of ways new technology investment can help you get more out of your current team. An example of the former is Monster’s 6Sense product line, and an example of the latter is BranchOut. Both are worth a look.

The 3rd option, outsourcing, has become more and more viable with the “flattening” of our world.

Outsourced recruiters can never replace your internal team, but they can help you significantly increase the productivity of your team, and the profitability of your business.

Most likely there are parts of your recruiting process that require a skillset that you can only find with an experienced internal recruiter. In all likelihood there are also parts of your process that aren’t as complex, and those are tasks that you can complete at about half the cost of doing it internally.

Take the example of a mid-sized IT company located on the East Coast. Prior to the recession this company had an internal research team that provided its recruiters a steady pipeline of candidates (which allowed its recruiters to spend more of their time speaking with, and placing, candidates). With the recession’s reduced hiring demand and intense cost pressures, the firm greatly scaled back the team at the beginning of 2009. As demand began to pick up again in 2010, the company decided to bring back the role, but with the pain of the recession still a fresh memory, they wanted to find an alternative to hiring fulltime internal resources, and decided to use PSG Global Solutions to staff the team.

This allowed the company to again enjoy the increased recruiter productivity the researcher role had previously brought, but with two distinct additional benefits:

Cost Savings: Once the company added in payroll taxes, benefits, bonuses, etc., PSG resources were 50% of the cost of hiring someone internally (not including additional savings from technology costs, office space, etc.)
Ease of Management: As company managers no longer have to recruit, on board, train and manage internal staff for the role, they can devote more management time to growing their business.

While most of us have at one time or another stretched our teams to grow capacity without growing headcount, for more and more companies technology and outsourcing are proving to be smarter alternatives.

Brian Cotter is co-founder and president of PSG Global Solutions, the world’s largest and fastest growing provider of outsourced recruiting support to the US staffing industry.

Emily King’s Field Tested: A guide to Recruit, Manage, and Retain Veterans

2011-11-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

Featuring Emily King’s new book, FIELD TESTED: Recruiting, Managing, and Retaining Veterans at HR World Today:

Veterans, who have proudly served our country are a tremendous source of untapped talent and embody a wealth of skills. Field Tested gives readers the insight and tools they need to recruit and retain veterans, and to maximize their value in any organization. With real-world examples throughout the book, Emily covers topics from recruitment, to on-boarding, to performance, to career development, and much more.

FIELD TESTED is an excellent guide that explains subtle, but critical, cultural differences between military and corporate environments/ workplace, and reveals how these differences can affect employee performance, satisfaction, and retention.

Complete with real-world examples, practical models, and savvy advice, Emily King’s FIELD TESTED shows readers how to do it right:

Attract and interview veterans
On-board them quickly and effectively
Position them for success
Ensure a smooth cultural transition
Manage performance
Help them develop lasting careers.

A must-read for leaders, managers, and human resources professionals across industries.

About the Author: Emily King is a nationally recognized expert on transition from military service to civilian employment. Prior to founding Military Transitions, Emily launched the successful organizational development consulting firm of King Street Associates, LLC, and worked as an internal consultant and coach at Booz Allen Hamilton, leading a variety of programs geared to building strong leaders and managers. Emily’s writing has appeared in Diversity Executive, T+D and Training magazines. She has been featured in segments by CNN and appears regularly on WJLA’s “Capital Insider” program. She has worked extensively with veterans and civilian hiring organizations, and is a frequent speaker at industry events including SHRM and ASTD. Emily completed her Master of Science degree in Organization Development at Johns Hopkins University and received formal training and credentials as a leadership coach from Georgetown University.

Cisco HR Webinar - London 2012 Olympics

2011-11-13T02:09:00.000-08:00

Cisco, Deloitte and Lloyds TSB have teamed up to help businesses address the staffing challenges of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Research from the ODA (Keep on running: Travel advice for business, Olympic Delivery Authority, November 2010) showed that, during the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games,

27% of employees took annual leave
22% worked remotely, and
18% travelled to and from work at irregular hours.

How will your business stay on track during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games?

Businesses need to be proactive to manage issues including absenteeism, travel disruption, the availability of temporary staff, flexible working and impact on productivity during the Games.

Cisco believes planning ahead is the key to keeping business moving at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. So how prepared is your business to cope with all your staffing challenges? Take part in this free hr webinar and you can gain insights from experts, learn from peers and enhance your preparations for London 2012.

To register visit facebook.com/HRWorldToday

Date and Time: 24th November 2011, 12:30pm

Host: Phoebe Leet

Speakers include:

Danny Bowerin
Deloitte, London 2012 Sponsorship Manager

Phoebe Leet
Cisco, Head of HR UK and Ireland

Chris Daniels
Lloyds Banking Group, Head of London 2012 Activation - Wholesale Division

To register visit facebook.com/HRWorldToday

Miss World 2011, Ivian Sarcos; an HR Graduate?

2011-11-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Reports suggest that Venezuelan beauty queen, Ivian Lunasol Sarcos Colmenares who won the Miss World 2011 title is a human resources graduate from Venezuela. It is also believed that she studied Diplomacy before becoming a beauty queen.

Ms. Sarcos Colmenares, 22, was orphaned at a young age and was raised by the nuns. She herself dreamt of becoming a nun but her life turned a new leaf.

Here's the video from the crowning moment of Miss World 2011. Ivian Sarcos from Venezuela crowned Miss World 2011.

Social Media Recruiting and Mobile Technology

2011-10-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Recruiters have always been quick on the uptake when it comes to new and innovative technology, especially if this technology makes it easier to stay connected. Lately, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding social recruiting and mobile recruiting – and many recruiters are blindly jumping on the bandwagon. But what’s just buzz, and what will become a permanent part of every recruiter’s toolbox?

Mobile Recruiting: Apps and More

Mobile recruiting allows recruiters to do what they do best: stay connected. How? Apps. There are a few recruiting apps that I really like:

JobScience puts the functionality of an applicant tracking system in recruiters' pockets.
Instant Customer is a handy gadget for business card and contact management.
Global Recruiting Roundtable gives users access to top industry news and trends, and allows them to plug in to a community of experts.
JobSpeek adds a new dimension to job postings: audio.

Mobile SMS and QR code recruiting is getting some serious attention. However, recruiting leader and sourcing consultant Geoff Peterson says, “The technology’s not 100% there.”

Social Recruiting: Plan for Your Slice of the Pie

Recruiting has always been social, but social media has opened a new can of worms. And if you want a piece of the social recruiting pie, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

You need a strategy. You may have a Twitter account, but that doesn’t mean you have a social recruiting strategy. You need clear goals, an execution plan and metrics for measuring success. Otherwise, you’re just filling my Twitter feed with white noise.
Don’t bombard, engage. Anyone can post “an exciting opportunity” on LinkedIn. If that’s all you're using your social media accounts for, however, you’re going to lose your audience fast. Share an article you enjoyed, link to something interesting you’ve come across, just don’t bombard them with jobs.
Keep the social in social media. You can get all the Facebook fans and Twitter followers you want, but unless you’re engaging your network, they’re just numbers. There are a number of communities out there that revolve around social media in a number of industries.

About the Author: Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice. He blogs about trends, technology and best practices in HR and recruiting by day, and drinks entirely too much wine by night.

Six Words about Work Contest

2011-08-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Mercer, the human resource consultancy, and SMITH Magazine have joined forces to start an engaging contest about work.

The contest asks people to submit their opinions, attitudes and stories about work in just six words. The winner gets their choice of an iPad2 or a Blackberry PlayBook!

To submit your Six Words about Work, visit: www.smithmag.net/work/

Adecco acquires Drake Beam Morin

2011-07-26T10:16:00.001-07:00

Adecco Group, the global leader in Human Resource services, today announced the acquisition of US-based Drake Beam Morin, Inc., a leading provider in the career transition and talent development services sector, for an enterprise value of EUR 149 million.

Combining Adecco’s Lee Hecht Harrison business with Drake Beam Morin, Inc. will create the world’s leading career transition and talent development services provider. The acquisition considerably expands the global footprint of Lee Hecht Harrison beyond its main markets, the U.S. and France, into new geographies, and enhances its scale in markets with an existing presence.

“I am very pleased that Drake Beam Morin, Inc. is joining forces with Lee Hecht Harrison. The combined businesses will provide a global presence in the outplacement and talent development services sector, enabling us to better serve our clients internationally. This fits very well with our customers’ increasing needs for global solutions across the full range of HR services. The move strengthens Adecco with an effective counter-balance to the temporary and permanent staffing business, given the counter-cyclical nature of the career transition sector.” - Patrick De Maeseneire, Chief Executive Officer of the Adecco Group

A JOB's gender - Time Well Spent

2011-02-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

Time Well Spent is a weekly cartoon series sponsored by Kronos Incorporated that illustrates the humorous aspects of workforce management.

Click to enlarge.

HR Performance Management - Time Well Spent

2010-09-21T04:38:00.000-07:00

Time Well Spent is a weekly cartoon series sponsored by Kronos Incorporated that illustrates the humorous aspects of workforce management.

Click to enlarge.

Haig Nalbantian, Richard Guzzo honored for 'Making Mobility Matter'

2010-09-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

Mercer's Human Capital consultants Haig R. Nalbantian and Richard A. Guzzo, have been honored by the Academy of Management for their March 2009 Harvard Business Review article, "Making Mobility Matter."

The two consultants received the organization's 2010 "Outstanding Practitioner-Oriented Publication" award at a ceremony during the Academy’s annual conference in Montreal.

Mr. Nalbantian, Senior Partner and Director of Mercer’s Global Research and Commercialization function and who is based in New York, was a founder of Mercer’s Workforce Sciences group. A labor economist, he has been instrumental in developing Mercer’s unique capability to measure the economic impact of Human Capital practices. Prior to joining Mercer, he taught economics at New York University prior to joining NERA in 1989.

Based in Washington, DC, Dr. Guzzo, is a Partner and leads Mercer’s Workforce Sciences group. Before joining Mercer in 1997, he was Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the University of Maryland. He received his PhD from Yale University.

About the award: The Outstanding Practitioner-Oriented Publication award is given in recognition of an article that provides the most significant contribution to the practice of management in the field of organizational behavior. The article was selected for the award by a committee of six well-known management scholars who reviewed management journals and other papers nominated by the Academy's membership.

Employee Health and Safety - Time Well Spent

2010-09-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge.

Time Well Spent is a weekly cartoon series sponsored by Kronos Incorporated that illustrates the humorous aspects of workforce management.

Larry King‎ steps down, Piers Morgan replaces

2010-09-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Larry King says he's stepping down this fall from the prime-time show that has anchored CNN's lineup for 25 years.

King said in a message he sent via Twitter: 'It's time to hang up my nightly suspenders.'

Piers Morgan is said to to replace host Larry King on CNN network.

"I have watched Larry King Live for much of the last 25 years, and dreamed of one day filling the legendary suspenders of the man I consider to be the greatest TV interviewer of them all" - Piers Morgan

Link to blogpost: http://hrworldtoday.blogspot.com/2010/09/piers-morgan-larry-king-cnn.html

Labor Day 2010 - Hilda Solis' Address

2010-09-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

This Labor Day, Secretary Hilda Solis talks directly with the American worker. Watch the video as Secretary Solis shares what she's seen and heard around the country... and what the US Department of Labor is doing to get America back to work.

Related Blogpost - August 2010 Employment Numbers - Hilda Solis' Statement.

Link to Blogpost: http://hrworldtoday.blogspot.com/2010/09/labor-day-2010-hilda-solis-address.html

August 2010 Employment Numbers - Hilda Solis' Statement

2010-09-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the August 2010 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past August, the economy gained 67,000 jobs in the private sector, and the unemployment rate increased to 9.6 percent. Total nonfarm employment declined by 54,000 over the month, as 114,000 temporary census jobs wrapped up between July and August and more than offset the private sector job gains."

"We have now added private sector jobs for eight straight months, totaling 763,000 private sector jobs since the beginning of the year. While we need to pick up the pace of recovery, erase the job losses and get Americans back to work, this encouraging growth shows that we are headed in the right direction. "

"As soon as we took office, this administration took action to stop the economic bleeding. To help put people back to work, we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which already has saved or created more than 2.5 million American jobs. The actions this administration undertook helped our economy grow for four consecutive quarters."

"It's important to remember how far we've come. When this administration took office, we were losing 750,000 jobs each month. The question was whether we'd enter another depression. This year, we've averaged 95,000 private sector jobs added each month, and the debate is about the pace of the recovery. But we know we still have a ways to go."

To support growth, it is critical to support our small businesses, which are key drivers of our economic recovery. Indeed, two out of every three jobs created in our economy are created by small businesses. So far, this administration has helped pass eight different tax cuts for small businesses, and we know there is more we can do to help. The Small Business Jobs Act, pending in the Senate, would provide a set of tax breaks and lending incentives to spur investment and hiring by small businesses. It would accelerate $55 billion of tax relief to encourage American businesses, small and large, to expand their investments over the next 14 months. We join the president, small business leaders and those Americans looking for work, and call upon the Senate to pass this critical piece of legislation to ensure that we continue on the path of recovery.

"At the Department of Labor, we continue to provide essential tools to help job seekers find employment. We recognize that in a tough labor market it can be difficult for the jobless to figure out what jobs they are most qualified for, or what kind of training can help workers successfully transition into a new career. So, this Labor Day we are unveiling "mySkills myFuture" – a new online tool to help job seekers do just that. By visiting www.myskillsmyfuture.org, job seekers can see exactly what skills and training they need, find local training and education providers, and view real job postings in their area.

"Without a doubt, we are climbing out of this recession and are on the road to recovery. The president and I have confidence in the American economy, and we have confidence in the American people. We will continue fighting every day to keep this economy moving forward."

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor.

August Jobs Report - Nancy Pelosi's Statement

2010-09-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the report that while there were job losses due to the temporary Census jobs, the private sector added 67,000 jobs in August, marking the eighth consecutive month of gains for America's workers:

"Today's jobs report shows America's private sector leading the way with the eighth consecutive month of private sector job creation. Yet, as Labor Day approaches, too many families are still struggling to make ends meet and we will continue to work to expand job opportunities and extend support for small businesses.

"To change course from the Bush Recession – the worst since the Great Depression – Democrats enacted tax cuts for 95 percent of working Americans, eight small business tax cuts, and job-creating investments nationwide. And our efforts are moving us in the right direction, despite solid opposition from Republicans.

"Today, Democrats in Congress continue to act to strengthen our middle class and small businesses. We've passed legislation to unleash lending and credit for small businesses that is being blocked by Senate Republicans; to keep teachers, firefighters, police officers, and nurses on the job; and to create jobs here at home through our 'Make It In America' manufacturing strategy. At every turn, Republicans say no, siding with big corporate special interests and voting to ship American jobs overseas.

"Republicans promise to take us back to the failed Bush agenda that got us into this mess in the first place. We must keep America moving in a new direction – not back to the reckless policies that cost us more than 8 million jobs and weakened the value of our homes, retirements, and college savings. We are not going back."‪‪

SOURCE: Office of the Speaker of the House.

PC Scheduling - Time Well Spent

2010-09-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge.

Time Well Spent is a weekly cartoon series sponsored by Kronos Incorporated that illustrates the humorous aspects of workforce management.

Phil Fortino appointed HR Head, Tropicana Entertainment

2010-09-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

Tropicana Entertainment has named Phil Fortino Vice President and head of human resources. Fortino, who until recently owned and managed Global Work/Life Solutions, a human resources consulting firm, will report to CEO Scott C. Butera.

At Global Work/Life, Fortino relied on two decades of human resources experience as a foundation for delivering strategic counsel to companies doing business in the hospitality, gaming and service industries. His clients included Boyd Gaming and Isle of Capri Casinos.

Prior to his consulting assignments, Fortino was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Resorts International, a hotel and casino company with over 13,000 employees. He has overseen hotel and casino operations in most US gaming jurisdictions as well as in Canada, Greece and Argentina.

In addition, Fortino has held executive level positions with Hilton Hotels Corporation, Empress Entertainment, Hyatt Gaming, Sands, and Harrah’s.

Fortino earned his bachelor’s degree from Juniata College in Pennsylvania.

About Tropicana Entertainment: Tropicana Entertainment Inc. is a publicly reporting company that, along with its affiliates, owns or operates nine casinos and resorts in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Jersey. It owns approximately 6,000 rooms, 9,000 slot positions and 250 table games. The company is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

GEICO's Tips for Job Seekers

2010-08-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

It never hurts to be prepared when it comes to a job search. Here are some suggestions from GEICO to help get you ready.

Resumes:

Remember, you’re telling a story – a very important story – about your work life. Let it show a little of your personality and your enthusiasm.
Highlight the relevant experience you have for the job you want. Tailor the resume to that particular job.
Be specific about the work you’ve done. Show the results of projects you’ve worked on and the success stories.
Keep it short. Add some details, but not too many, especially if they won’t be useful to the job you’re seeking.
Be positive. You’ve accomplished much in your past work experience, and we’d like to see that pride.

Interviewing:

Be prompt for your interview.
Be prepared.
Be courteous.
Make eye contact.
Have a firm handshake.
Listen carefully.
Be clear about what value you would bring to the company and the job.
Be honest with the company.
Be honest with yourself and ask yourself ‘is this really the right job for me?’
Thank those you interview with for their time and the opportunity to meet them.

A job search is very stressful. Take good care of yourself while you’re looking for your next job. Find ways to relax that will help keep you positive, focused and confident.

Related blogpost: GEICO, Tucson Hiring - Sales, Service and Claims positions

If you’re applying at GEICO, they’ve made it very easy for you. Just go to the online Careers site at http://careers.geico.com/ to learn about the company, what GEICO can offer you in terms of career growth and benefits, and which positions are waiting for someone – maybe you – to step right into.

Teresa Davis, human resources manager in Tucson, says they like to hear from applicants who understand the importance of customer service and who are enthusiastic about a career with GEICO.

Halliburton Louisiana Job Fair - Oil and Natural Gas sector

2010-08-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

Halliburton will host a job fair in Lafayette, Louisiana on August 18 and 19 with the intention of interviewing applicants to fill open positions worldwide.

Approximately 50 Halliburton hiring managers will be available to interview applicants during the Halliburton Job Fair to fill positions covering numerous disciplines within the oil and natural gas services sector. The company is seeking experienced personnel in the following disciplines: reservoir engineering, drilling, fluids services, measurement while drilling and well completions. In addition, there are positions open for mechanics, field operators, sales people and related jobs.

“Halliburton is ramping up its hiring – particularly in the U.S. onshore – in order to provide a full suite of specialized services to our customers,” said Jeff Miller, Halliburton’s senior vice president for the Gulf of Mexico region. “We’re hosting this large-scale job fair in Louisiana because we know there is a deep bench of experienced oil and gas professionals throughout the state and we want those individuals to know that Halliburton is hiring and, more importantly, that we are an employer of choice.

“We’re looking for the best talent in the industry and in return, we have a wide range of job opportunities in a number of locations outside Louisiana where we can put people to work now,” said Miller. Potential new hires may be offered positions in other states such as Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado or North Dakota, or internationally in order to staff ongoing Halliburton projects.

“Halliburton has a long history in Louisiana and as part of our effort to give back to the region, some Halliburton employees are spending parts of their work day volunteering their services with area non-profits. I am proud of both Halliburton’s strong commitment to retain employees and proud of our employees for the work they are doing to support their local communities.”

Attendees at the Halliburton Lafayette Job Fair will be given an opportunity to apply for open positions and speak with a Halliburton hiring manager to discuss career opportunities and conduct interviews. The event will be held August 18 and 19, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days, at:

Hilton Lafayette Hotel,
1521 West Pinhook Road,
Lafayette, Louisiana.

For more information about employment opportunities with Halliburton visit www.gohalliburton.com.

About Halliburton: Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With more than 50,000 employees in approximately 70 countries, the company serves the upstream oil and gas industry throughout the life cycle of the reservoir – from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production through the life of the field. Visit the company’s Web site at www.halliburton.com.

GEICO, Tucson Hiring - Sales, Service and Claims positions

2010-08-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

GEICO plans to hire more than 80 new associates in its Tucson, Arizona, office between now and the end of the year thanks to a steady increase in the number of drivers who switch to GEICO.

Several GEICO employees are very glad they’re already there. Tucson resident Michelle Sproule, a recently-hired claims service representative, put it this way, “My last company had to cut back because of the rough economic conditions. And it’s like that for a lot of people in this area. Companies staff up and then they have to tell some employees that they can’t keep them. I feel secure at GEICO about having a stable job at a stable company. And I’m optimistic because I’m launching a new career for myself.”

Another GEICO associate Jaymes Petty of Tucson is an Internet sales representative who joined GEICO’s Tucson office when it opened its doors in 2003. “It is very comforting to know there is a place I can come to every day because GEICO will still be here tomorrow. GEICO has also been great for my family. We’ve been able to buy a home and that means a lot to me. I would recommend anyone who is looking for a long lasting relationship with a great company to apply at GEICO. There is a bright future for everyone here.”

Tucson residents Michelle Sproule, right, and Jaymes Petty, left, meet up with a GEICO colleague to discuss their work day at the auto insurer. (Photo: Business Wire)

Martha Furnas, vice president of the 900-person Tucson staff, adds, “Despite the uncertain economy, GEICO continues to grow steadily throughout the country. We need outstanding people with great attitudes to take advantage of the opportunities we can provide.” GEICO will be hiring people to fill positions in sales, service and claims positions. Please visit the GEICO Careers website at http://careers.geico.com/ for more information.

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies and is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. GEICO provides auto insurance coverage for 9 million policyholders and insures more than 16 million vehicles.

In addition to auto insurance, GEICO offers customers insurance products for their motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and mobile homes. Coverage for life, boats, homes and apartments is available through the GEICO Insurance Agency. Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection are also available. As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial strength by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys.

Former Boss' DVD Recommendation, how's that?

2010-06-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

Even as the job market improves, with unemployment still hovering around 10 percent, job seekers have turned to unconventional methods to stand out from the competition. According to a new survey from CareerBuilder, nearly one-quarter of hiring managers (22 percent) reported that they are seeing more job seekers try unusual tactics to capture their attention in 2010 compared to last year. This is up from 18 percent of hiring managers who said the same in 2009 and 12 percent in 2008.

"While we are seeing positive signs in the job market as employers gradually add headcount, competition is still high for open positions," said Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser at CareerBuilder. "While these tactics may work occasionally, they still need to be done with professionalism. That way, candidates are remembered for what they can offer an organization and not just for an unusual antic."

Some unusual job search methods:

Candidate brought in a DVD of his former boss giving him a recommendation.
Candidate applying for a casino table game position came into my office and started dealing on my desk while pretending to talk to players, which showed me her guest service skills.
Candidate sent in a letter that explained how to solve an issue our company was having with a certain type of technology.
Candidate who was a prospective teacher brought in a box of props to demonstrate her teaching style.
Candidate came prepared with unique business cards featuring our logo and a self-introduction brochure.
Candidate wrote a full business plan for one of our products with his resume submission.
Candidate created a full graphics portfolio on our brand.

Survey Methodology: This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,778 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions; non government) ages 18 and over between February 10 and March 2, 2010. With a pure probability sample of 2,778, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.86 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

If you were to use an unusual job seeking tactics, what would it be? If you've already put it to practice, was it effective?

May Jobs Report - Nancy Pelosi's Statement

2010-06-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement in response to the report that the economy added 431,000 jobs in May and saw the unemployment rate fall to 9.7 percent:

"Today's jobs report marks another step forward for our middle class, working families, and small businesses, but it is not enough. We must do more to strengthen our private sector, support our small businesses, and keep our economy moving in the right direction."

"Last month, the unemployment rate fell and private sector jobs expanded; we have added jobs in six of the last seven months. This year, we have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month, a majority in the private sector, a stark contrast to the Bush Administration record of losing an average of nearly 750,000 jobs per month in its last three months."

Click to enlarge.

"Democrats in Congress will continue taking action on our number one priority: creating good-paying jobs for the American people. Last week, the House passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act – to create jobs, close loopholes that allow companies to ship jobs overseas, cut taxes for our middle class, and help Americans who lost work through no fault of their own. We will work with the Senate to complete this legislation and take more steps forward for our economy, such as expanding lending for the small businesses that are the engine of our economy."

"While congressional Republicans do the bidding of Wall Street, Democrats will keep fighting for Main Street. While Republicans side with special interests and Big Oil, Democrats will side with the people's interest and investments in clean energy and innovation. While Republicans threaten to take us back to the failed Bush policies that produced devastating job losses, record deficits, and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Democrats will stand up for middle class families, workers, and small businesses."

Alicia Yi appointed MD, Strategic Client Services at Korn/Ferry International

2010-06-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Korn/Ferry International, a premier global provider of talent management solutions, has appointed Alicia Yi as Managing Director of Strategic Client Services based in Singapore.

Ms. Yi will lead and develop the Consumer market in Singapore and engage with global and regional clients to build their leadership teams. She will also co-head Korn/Ferry's Human Resources Center of Expertise in Asia Pacific.

Ms. Yi brings with her a long standing reputation working with foremost global and regional clients in Asia Pacific. Combined with Korn/Ferry's global network and teams, Ms. Yi's appointment boosts Korn/Ferry's business in two key sectors - Consumer and Human Resources.

"Alicia is a highly experienced professional with strong strategic, business and leadership acumen. Her knowledge of the region and Consumer sector is vastly sought after by local and multinational companies looking to expand and build their operations in Asia," said Charles Tseng, President, Asia Pacific for Korn/Ferry.

"Building leadership and talent in Asia Pacific may be the single most important initiative for global and regional companies who are all positioning to benefit from Asia Pacific's growing middle class and rising economies," said Yi. "I look forward to working with our Korn/Ferry colleagues to help clients identify, attract and retain the best talent to succeed in this competitive environment."

Prior to Korn/Ferry, Ms. Yi was the Managing Partner of the Heidrick & Struggles' Singapore office. She was a key leader in building the Consumer practice and was a trusted advisor to key executives in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail and hotel sectors. She also established and led the regional Human Resources functional practice across major Asia Pacific countries. In addition, Ms. Yi was the CEO and founder of a strategic HR consulting firm and the Head of Compensation Practice in Chicago and Singapore for Towers Perrin, a leading global HR consulting firm.

A true global citizen, Ms. Yi has lived and worked in three continents – Asia, USA and Europe and is an active member of the Young President Organization (YPO). Born in Korea, she grew up in the U.S. and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University.

About Korn/Ferry International Asia Pacific

Korn/Ferry International, with a presence throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is a premier global provider of talent management solutions. Korn/Ferry was the first major global executive search firm to operate in Asia Pacific when it opened its doors in Tokyo in 1973 and today has 18 offices in key business centers throughout the region, including: Auckland, Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Wellington. Based in Los Angeles, the Firm delivers an array of solutions that help clients to attract, develop, retain and sustain their talent.

California Nurses Strike - June 10, 2010

2010-06-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

Nurses Cite Concern over Safe Patient Care Staffing. Rallies Scheduled from Sacramento to San Diego

More than 12,000 California registered nurses remain scheduled to strike for 24 hours next Thursday, most of them at University of California hospitals, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced today.

The strike will affect RNs at the large UC medical centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, and Irvine, UC student health centers in Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Riverside, and Santa Barbara, and at three non-UC hospitals in Los Angeles County, Citrus Valley Medical Center, Covina, Little Company of Mary Medical Center, San Pedro, and Marina del Rey Medical Center.

Strike notices have been cancelled at three small hospitals, Olympia Medical Center, Brotman Medical Center, both in Los Angeles, and Dameron Hospital in Stockton, where nurses had also planned to participate in a one-day walkout.

At the center of the strike is safe nurse-to-patient staffing, which is critical to both patient safety and retention of experienced RNs and recruitment of new nurses.

"UC administrators have repeatedly shown an arrogant disregard of the nurses' serious concerns about ensuring safe staffing for UC patients at all times, and even refused to meet the recommendations of a neutral fact-finder chosen jointly by the University and CNA," said Beth Kean, CNA's UC Division Director. "It is unconscionable that the University continues to drag its heels in resolving this core issue of staffing."

At UC Davis, for example, internal staffing documentation from last year found that one-third of the shifts were short one or more RNs in each unit than what was required by the individual patient acuities on those shifts.

"We are often short staffed and there is no break relief coverage," said Shirley Toy, an RN and member of the bargaining team at UC Davis. "We need break relief RNs on every shift on every unit. Our patients deserve uninterrupted patient care when RNs are on break or lunch."

UC San Francisco RN Maureen Dugan criticized administrators for failing to meet their own commitments to improve staffing. "Nurses are at the core, the heart of care at UCSF. Yet every day we fight to get basic resources to do our job. We extend ourselves again and again to meet every major and minor need of all our patients. Clearly, the University is not interested in negotiating or working with it's RNs to resolve our differences," Dugan said.

"Nurses give everything we have to our patients," said Valerie Verity-Mock, an RN at Citrus Valley Medical Center, and a bargaining team member.

Major strike rallies scheduled June 10

CNA also announced plans for major rallies at many of the strike lines on Thursday.

All the UC rallies will be at 12 noon, with the nurses joined by other unions representing UC employees, as well as elected officials and community leaders.

UC rally sites:

UCLA-Westwood, 757 Westwood Plaza

UCSF-Parnassus, 505 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco

UC San Diego, Hillcrest. 200 West Arbor Dr.

UC Davis. 2315 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento

UC Irvine, 101 The City Drive South, Orange

UC Berkeley, 2222 Bancroft Way

UC Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street

UC Riverside, Campus Health Center

UC Santa Barbara, Student Health Service

Other hospital rallies:

Citrus Valley, 210 West San Bernardino Road, Covina, 3 p.m.

Little Company of Mary, 1300 West 7th St., San Pedro, 1:30 p.m.

SHRM 2010 Annual Conference, San Diego

2010-06-06T01:34:00.000-07:00

SHRM's 2010 Annual Conference and Exposition, June 27-30 in San Diego, California.

China Miner Gorman's Special Message

2010-06-06T01:26:00.000-07:00

China shares a few words of appreciation to SHRM members, staff & friends.

Workplace Pet Peeve 2010 - Poor Time Management Skills

2010-05-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

Employees would rather deal with gossiping co-workers than with colleagues who have poor time management skills, according to Randstad, a leading staffing firm and workforce solutions provider. The company’s new Work Watch survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs among more than 1,000 employed U.S. adults, revealed the top three workplace pet peeves to be: people with poor time management skills (43 percent), gossip (36 percent) and messiness in communal spaces (25 percent).

The results show a slight, but interesting, shift in employee sentiment on this subject since the last time Randstad conducted a similar survey on workplace pet peeves in 2007. In that survey, gossip ranked as the biggest workplace annoyance, followed by others’ poor time management skills and messiness in communal spaces.

“The economic occurrences of the past 18-plus months seem to also have impacted what annoys people at work,” said Eileen Habelow, senior vice president of organizational development for Randstad. “Whether it is budget cuts or staff layoffs, employees are being asked to do more work with fewer resources, which directly affects how they view their time in the office. Employees are looking for ways to increase their value at work, so it would only make sense they would be a bit bothered by coworkers who they believe are having an impact on their time, and, possibly company productivity.”

Other workplace pet peeves making the 2010 list include: loud noises (21 percent), potent scents (20 percent), overuse of personal electronic devices in meetings (15 percent) and misuse of email (12 percent).

Since the original Randstad survey on workplace pet peeves was conducted in 2007, social media use, whether for personal or professional reasons, has exploded onto the scene. Additionally, America experienced a presidential election and a recession, each spurring a number of political hot button issues. These events prompted Randstad to add two additional choices for respondents to consider when identifying their top workplace pet peeve. Interestingly, social media use and political conversations didn’t rank in the top six selections of respondents pet peeves.

Peeves About Time Management: So what, exactly, do employees find most annoying about colleagues time management practices? The survey revealed that 22 percent of respondents listed people who take excessive breaks – long lunches, smoking breaks, online surfing – as their chief aggravation. After that, “pet peeve parity” kicks in as roughly one in ten workers named the following as their top time management frustration:

people who abuse sick days (11 percent)
meetings without agendas or structure (11 percent)
meetings that cut into personal time, including starting before or ending after traditional work hours (10 percent)
meetings that start late or run over (10 percent)
people who are distracted on their Blackberry or who text during a meeting (10 percent)
people who consistently miss deadlines (9 percent)

Not surprising, employees under age 35 were more likely than those who are older to say that their biggest time management pet peeve is when meetings cut into personal time (16 percent vs. 7 percent). However, 13 percent of respondents say that none of the above pet peeves bother them.

Social Media Impact: With only 12 percent of respondents saying that personal use of social media sites in the workplace was among their biggest pet peeves, it’s reasonable to say that this activity has either become a part of the “everyday” at work or that companies are now cracking down on social media use through formal policies. When asked what was most annoying about people’s personal use of social media during work hours, the top two responses were the amount of time wasted that should be spent on work assignments (28 percent) and when it causes users to ask others for help with their workload or responsibilities (20 percent). “This makes sense as both of these activities could impact a worker’s ability to manage, or not manage, their time,” added Habelow. “Just as telling is the fact the survey also found that 27 percent of respondents don’t have any concerns over people’s personal use of social media during work hours which again could be because of workplace policies or general acceptance.”

How Pet Peeves Are Being Addressed: Just as workers have a variety of pet peeves, they also tend to deal with them in different ways. In most instances, employees say that they typically deal with their pet peeve by saying something directly to the person involved (29 percent). Additionally, the survey found that very few opt to directly email the person (2 percent) when dealing with their pet peeve. The next best way for most workers to deal with or respond to pet peeves is by venting about it to co-workers (19 percent). Only 9 percent say something to their boss/supervisor and even fewer, 1 percent, leave an anonymous note or vent on a social networking site. Interestingly, more than a quarter of respondents (27 percent) stated they ignore the situation completely.

Additional findings from the survey included:

Workers under 35 are more likely than those 55 and older to say that loud noises (25 percent vs. 16 percent) and political conversations (15 percent vs. 8 percent) are pet peeves
When it comes to email pet peeves, forwarding chain emails and jokes topped the list (19 percent)
Women are more likely than men to be annoyed by unnecessary “reply alls” (15 percent vs. 10 percent)
Workers aged 18-34 are more likely than workers 55+ to be bothered by people who ask a question that was just answered in previous email (12 percent vs. 3 percent)

Hilda Solis - 'Equal Pay Day '

2010-04-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on Equal Pay Day:

"Nearly a half century after the Equal Pay Act was enacted to ensure equal pay for equal work, this form of discrimination continues to impinge upon women's rights in the workplace. As women hold nearly half of this nation's jobs, their earnings have become even more central to families' economic well-being.

"Pay equity is not simply a question of fairness; it is an economic imperative with serious implications not just for women, but for communities and the nation's economic recovery. My vision of 'good jobs for everyone' includes increasing incomes, eliminating wage and income inequality, and helping workers who are in low-wage jobs find a path into the middle class.

"The first piece of legislation that President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. In signing the bill, he said, 'Equal pay is by no means just a women's issue — it's a family issue. . . . And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paychecks to simple discrimination.'

"Currently, the Paycheck Fairness Act has passed the House and is gaining momentum in the Senate. If passed, it would be the first ever comprehensive update of the Equal Pay Act. It would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the earlier legislation, create stronger incentives for employers to follow the law and strengthen federal enforcement efforts.

"Several efforts are underway within the U.S. Department of Labor's agencies to advance progress on this front. For example, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has renewed its emphasis on the identification and elimination of gender-based discrimination at the worksites of federal contractors. In addition, the Women's Bureau is conducting research and analysis, providing technical assistance and building partnerships to increase women's incomes, narrow the wage gap and reduce income inequality.

"This Equal Pay Day, I want to recognize that, although progress is being made, equal pay is still far from a reality for millions of working women and their families. We must continue to pursue pay equity with passion and determination."

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor.

HR Placement Consultant in Mumbai, India

2010-04-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

HR People Recruitment is India’s first and the country’s only specialist human resources recruitment firm that specializes in serving the employment needs of Human Resource professionals and the HR-specific personnel requirements of client companies, across industry sectors.

Email: hrpeoplerecruitment@gmail.com
Website: www.hrpeoplerecruitment.com

Facebook: Join Facebook Page

Manpower Recruitment Consultant in Mumbai, India

2010-04-20T22:49:00.001-07:00

Employment Agency in Mumbai, India

2010-04-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Recruitment Agency in Mumbai, India

2010-04-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Workforce Attrition = Loss of Organizational Knowledge?

2010-04-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

According to recent research from the Manpower group of companies, employers and employees and are not in synch when it comes to their expectations for attrition in the coming year. Employers may be the ones to pay the price for this disparity when the keepers of their organizational knowledge – a key competitive advantage – walk out the door.

In a recent Manpower survey of 2,000 North American hiring managers, 80 percent indicated that they expect less than 5 percent of their employees to leave the company voluntarily in 2010. Conversely, a survey of employees by Manpower subsidiary Right Management revealed that 60 percent of people intend to pursue new job opportunities if the economy improves this year. Furthermore, Manpower's survey showed that 31 percent of employers do not have a proactive process in place to capture employees' job knowledge.

"These survey results are a wake-up call to employers," said Jorge Perez, senior vice president of staffing for Manpower, North America. "As soon as the job market gains momentum, we will see a high volume of workers leaving their roles for new positions. Given that most companies are operating with slimmed-down staff levels, there is little redundancy in jobs roles, and that puts employers at high risk of losing critical organizational knowledge."

Given that the total cost to replace an employee, including training and productivity loss, can range from 90 to 200 percent of an employees' annual salary, planning for workforce turnover is clearly critical to sustaining business performance. To help employers minimize the knowledge loss and financial impact that comes with attrition, Manpower has developed a paper titled "Knowledge Retention and Transfer in the World of Work (Right click and Save as....) ."

The paper outlines the impact of workforce mobility and steps for building a broad knowledge retention and transfer strategy. Manpower is also launching an interactive web tool to help companies evaluate their current strategy. The paper, tool and other interactive elements, including audio clips, are free and available at http://us.manpower.com/knowledgeretention.

Manpower Inc. is a world leader in workforce solutions; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. In the United States, Manpower is more than its core of industrial, contact center and administrative recruiting, assessment and selection. Under the Manpower Professional brand, the company provides innovative project solutions and places temporary and permanent talent in areas such as information technology, scientific, engineering and finance verticals. Manpower leverages its expertise in staffing and consulting for the U.S. federal government through Manpower Public Sector, and provides clients with managed service programs, business and recruitment process outsourcing offerings, and other integrated solutions through Manpower Business Solutions. More information on Manpower is available at us.manpower.com.

Alicia Keys' Hiring! Blogger Job Search

2010-04-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Grammy Award-winning musician and globally conscious entrepreneur Alicia Keys has partnered with Monster.com - a national hunt for the Head Blogger of her forthcoming website IAAS.com (I Am A Super Woman). “With IAAS.com, I’ll be displaying my ‘voice’ in a different way and need just the right person to help me express a point of view that I don’t think exists yet in the blog world,” comments Alicia Keys.

IAAS.com will launch officially in July, 2010 with the goal of creating a fun, inspiring online neighborhood for super women to check in with what other super women are thinking, doing, feeling, working on, eating, buying, wearing and laughing about, and to prompt discussions on things the modern super woman cares about. The site, which is in its early stages of development, will launch in July once the Head Blogger position is filled. Over the course of the next year, it will grow into a full, editorial site with a unique point of view. IAAS.com is the first major undertaking for AK Worldwide, Inc. the company Alicia opened as the home and incubator for a number of ventures developing outside her career in music.

How to Apply?
The process to apply for this position at Alicia’s company kicks off from April 6 and continues to May 3. Candidates can log onto http://jobview.monster.com/Head-Blogger-Job-New-York-NY-US-87284537.aspx to apply and find more information on IAAS.com.

"We help match great people with great jobs every day and Alicia has given us the opportunity to help a talented blogger get the coolest job in social media," said Ted Gilvar, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Monster.com. "Most employers are swamped with resumes so imagine Alicia's challenge with this job. Fortunately our precision search technology will help match the best candidates from the thousands that will apply.”

Here’s how the IAAS.com Super Search powered by Monster.com works: Monster.com will use its proprietary 6Sense™ Semantic Search technology to efficiently comb through the thousands of resumes that are expected to be received for this job. A select group of applicants will then be asked to submit videos and writing samples to a prestigious Advisory Panel including Alicia Keys, her core team of executives and Ted Gilvar, global chief marketing officer for Monster.com.

By May, the top 10 candidates will be selected and flown to New York by American Airlines to meet the Advisory Panel in person. The top three candidates will then be sent to London (also by American Airlines) to meet Alicia and tasked with their final assignment: to blog about The Black Ball UK on May 27th, Alicia’s black tie charity event benefiting Keep a Child Alive. The new Head Blogger will be announced on June 25th in New York City.

Alicia is a multi-platinum, 12x Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer signed to MBK/J Records with five acclaimed albums to her credit; Songs in A Minor (2001, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), Unplugged (2005), As I Am (2007) and The Element of Freedom (2009). Also an acclaimed actress, Alicia has appeared in starring roles in The Secret Life of Bees, The Nanny Diaries and Smokin’ Aces. Keys is the co-founder and Global Ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa and India. Her company AK Worldwide, Inc. was launched in October 2009.

HR People Human Resources Recruitment Services - Company Profile

2010-04-01T02:49:00.000-07:00

Founded in April, 2010, HR People Recruitment is India’s first and the country’s only specialist human resources recruitment firm that specializes in serving the employment needs of Human Resource professionals and the HR-specific personnel requirements of client companies, across industry sectors.

Email: hrpeoplerecruitment@gmail.com
Website: www.hrpeoplerecruitment.com

Facebook: Join Facebook Page

'Clean Energy = Jobs, Self Reliance, and Security': Barack Obama

2009-10-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

The United States President, Barack Obama challenges America to lead the global economy in clean energy in order to create new jobs at home, free citizens from dependence on foreign oil, and make people more secure.

Kenneth Feinberg's Pay-Cut Ruling = Corporate America's Compensation Model?

2009-10-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration's special master for executive compensation, talks with Bloomberg's Peter Cook about pay reductions he has demanded at seven taxpayer-rescued firms.

Feinberg is ordering pay cuts of an average of 50 percent and caps on benefits for top executives at seven companies that still owe the government billions of dollars from taxpayer-funded bailouts. Feinberg says his ruling should become the model for the rest of Wall Street and corporate America.

Watch the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrmmaPLiJwA

Nell Minow, John Cornell: 'Feinberg Compensation Cuts, Appropriate'

2009-10-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

Nell Minow, editor of the Corporate Library, and John Cornell, a partner at Jones Day, talk with Bloomberg's Carol Massar and Matt Miller about pay reductions demanded by the Obama administration's special master for executive compensation Kenneth Feinberg.

Feinberg is ordering pay cuts of an average of 50 percent and caps on benefits for top executives at seven companies that still owe the government billions of dollars from taxpayer-funded bailouts.

(This is an Bloomberg excerpt. Watch the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH_clvZrSRw)

'Slash Executive Pay': Government to Seven Firms

2009-10-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Treasury Department on Thursday ordered seven companies that received billions of dollars in government bailouts to halve total compensation for their top executives.

CWU Royal Mail's 'no alternative' Strike

2009-10-22T03:38:00.000-07:00

Dave Ward, the CWU's Deputy General Secretary, says that postal workers have 'no alternative' but to strike, to 'stand up' for UK postal services.

David Cameron tackles Gordon Brown over Royal Mail

2009-10-22T03:36:00.000-07:00

The Tory leader has accused the PM of "an appalling display of weakness" after apparently dropping legislation to reform the Royal Mail.

Mandelson urges Union, call off Royal Mail walk-outs

2009-10-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

Lord Mandelson has urged union members to call off planned walk-outs at Royal Mail, warning that industrial action would be "totally self-defeating".

GM's Hummer sale to China's Tengzhong to preserve Jobs

2009-10-12T03:26:00.000-07:00

Jim Taylor, chief executive officer of Hummer, told Bloomberg's Matt Miller and Greg Miles about General Motors Co.'s sale of its Hummer sport-utility vehicle brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.

Disposing of Hummer is a victory for GM in its post-bankruptcy restructuring after the sale of the Saturn unit to Penske Automotive Group Inc. fell through last week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-v4zeCBkEo

BMW Simple Concept: Futuristic urban mobility?

2009-10-12T03:18:00.000-07:00

Simple is the acronym for sustainable and innovative mobility product for low energy consumption, a vehicle concept combining features and advantages of both motorcars and motorcycles. The concept owes its protective passenger compartment to motorcars whereas the streamline shape, the two occupants seated one behind the other and the uniquely driving experience are naturally owed to motorcycles.

Whilst researching ideas for futuristic urban mobility combined with the prerequisite of reduced consumption (less than 2l /100 km eqals more than 120mpg) and emission values (50g CO2 /100 km), the BMW Group spawned this concept vehicle featuring the extremely low weight of 450 kg and aerodynamic drag properties (0,18 drag coefficient), which of course also fulfilled all the BMW Group premium brand demands: sheer driving pleasure, innovative vehicle configuration, technology integration and a sense of comfort and spaciousness.

Alan Mullaly: Matching Production with Economy

2009-10-06T04:01:00.000-07:00

Eric Bolling talks with Ford CEO, Alan Mullaly on how Ford remained a sector leader during the recession.

Muhtar Kent on Healthcare

2009-10-06T03:58:00.000-07:00

Coca-Cola CEO, Muhtar Kent argues current health-care costs are not sustainable.

Creating Jobs & Finding Cures: The Recovery Act at Work

2009-10-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

Learn how $5 billion in Recovery Act funding will not only allow 12,000 medical research projects to continue, but create tens of thousands of jobs associated with them.

MNREGA - Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

2009-10-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

NREGA renamed after Mahatma Gandhi.

Panchayati Raj in India completed its Golden Jubilee today. 50 years ago on 2nd October, 1959, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the 1st Prime Minister of India laid the foundations of Panchayati Raj at Naguar in Rajasthan. To mark the occasion a National Convention was organized at Vigyan Bhawan.

The occasion was a witness to the two major announcements – the renaming of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) after the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and observing the year 2009-10 as the “Year of Gram Sabha” by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in presence of the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister,Dr. C.P. Joshi and a large number of Gram Pradhans, Sarpanchs and village representatives from all over the country.

In his key note address, the Prime Minister said that the decision to rename National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is a humble tribute to the Father of our Nation.

On observing year 2009-10 as the “Year of Gram Sabha”, the Prime Minister said that the Gram Sabha provides a forum for the villagers to discuss, deliberate, accept or reject the proposals of Gram Panchayat. Highlighting the fact that peoples’ participation is a must to implement the Government’s programmes and schemes in a transparent and effective manner, he called upon the Panchayati Raj institutions to take the lead.

PC Bhardwaj appointed, India's Vice Army Chief

2009-10-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj, took over as Vice Army Chief at South Block, New Delhi. An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Indian Military Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College, Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj was commissioned into First Battalion the Parachute Regiment on 14 Jun 1970. A specialist in Special Operations he was the first person from the Indian Army to undergo the rigorous Commando Divers Course at Naval Diving School. He excelled on the course, qualifying as an instructor. He has also attended the prestigious Special Forces Officers Course at Fort Bragg, USA doing well again and earning an instructor rating.

As a 2Lt in the 1971 war, he was awarded the Vir Chakra for conspicuous bravery. He commanded his parent unit, 1 PARA (Cdo) in CI Ops in the East and was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for a daring rescue operation. He commanded a Mountain Brigade in Nagaland and also the elite Parachute Brigade. As a Major General he commanded Counter Insurgency Force Delta in Doda/Kishtwar and thereafter was appointed as the General Officer Commanding Delhi Area, where he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service. The General Officer commanded 14 Corps, responsible for the vast areas of Ladakh and the Siachin Glacier before assuming command of Northern Command on 01 March 2008. For his distinguished service rendered, he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 Jan 2009, making him the most decorated soldier in the Indian Army.

He has held many prestigious Instructional and Staff Appointments. He served as an Instructor at Infantry School Mhow and at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School. He has been a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade and Deputy Director General at the Directorate General of Military Operations, Army Headquarters. He was appointed as the Defence Attache at Embassy of India, Yangon (Myanmar) from 1994 to 1997.

General PC Bhardwaj is married to Mrs Deepa Bhardwaj. Their two daughters, Ms Shivani and Ms Shveta are married and in UK and USA respectively.

David Letterman Extorted for Sex with Female Employees

2009-10-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

David Letterman Admits to Sexual Affairs with Female Staffers.

"I have had sex with women who work on this show," Letterman told a studio audience in New York which at times appeared unsure whether the confession was part of a skit - AFP.

The Italian Job Lottery

2009-10-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

An Italian supermarket chain is offering its customers the chance to win a job as a reward for their spending.

Gandhi's Spinning Wheel generates Rural Employment

2009-10-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

'Charkhas' or spinning wheels provided by the General Secretary of India's ruling Congress, Rahul Gandhi to women in Amethi under the Rural Employment Scheme is said to have generated employment; engaging around 2500 women in spinning jute fibres.

Ana Dutra's Human Resources Strategy

2009-09-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

As the economy recovers, Ana Dutra, CEO of Leadership & Talent Consulting at Korn/Ferry International talks about the opportunities in the external and internal talent market. Ms. Dutra also gives her thoughts on some strategies HR practitioners can adopt in order to prepare for the recovery.

Brad Sears - H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

2009-09-25T03:59:00.000-07:00

Brad Sears, Executive Director of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, testifies at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

David Saperstein - H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

2009-09-25T03:58:00.000-07:00

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of The Religious Action Center, testifies at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

Stuart Ishimaru - H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

2009-09-25T03:57:00.002-07:00

Honorable Stuart J. Ishimaru, Acting Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, testifies at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

Tammy Baldwin - H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

2009-09-25T03:57:00.001-07:00

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin testifies at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

William Eskridge - H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

2009-09-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

William Eskridge, John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School, testifies at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

Vandy Beth Glenn - H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

2009-09-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

Vandy Beth Glenn was fired from her Georgia state legislative job when she told her supervisor she was transitioning from male to female. She testified at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

Barney Frank - H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

2009-09-25T03:54:00.000-07:00

Rep. Barney Frank testifies at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009: George Miller's Opening Statement

2009-09-25T03:46:00.000-07:00

Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, delivers an opening statement at a hearing regarding H.R. 3017, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 on September 23, 2009.

Jobs added, lost: Both Sides of U.S. Job Loss Equation - Employment Statistics ("JOLT Data")

2009-09-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

Solving a mystery of the jobs question, the author looks at "Jobs Opening and Labor Turnover" which gives us an idea of job addition vs. separation.

This statistic has not been covered by major media outlets and it provides (an imperfect) window to the missing side of the job equation. (How Many Jobs has the economy added?). Turns out that year over year the economy has lost 5.3 million jobs. Have the jobs been lost to the structure of our economy? If so then job loss may be a leading rather than a lagging indicator.

VP, Human Resources killed by company Workers, India

2009-09-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Labour unrest at Coimbatore-based auto instruments maker, Pricol, took an ugly turn with the company's vice-president (human resources) Roy J George succumbing to injuries he sustained after he was allegedly assaulted by a section of agitating workers.

Lynched to death by sacked labourers.

Sean Woodroffe, Sun Life's Human Resources Head

2009-09-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial Inc. announced that Sean Woodroffe has been appointed Head of Human Resources for the U.S. business. “Sean has a keen understanding of the intricate balance that exists between achieving business goals while providing for employee needs, and we are pleased to have him lead our U.S. Human Resources team,” says Wes Thompson, President, Sun Life Financial U.S. “As Sun Life continues to focus on building our brand and U.S. businesses, maintaining a strong, engaged employee base will be vital to achieving our goals. Sean’s proven success and expertise in HR strategy development and talent recruitment will greatly enhance these efforts.”

Prior to joining Sun Life, Woodroffe was Division Head for the United Bank for Africa’s Human Capital Management Business Partnership, where he oversaw the seamless delivery of all HR services to business heads and more than 17,000 employees globally. He has also served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Administration for Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, and worked in numerous HR roles during an 18-year tenure at Merrill Lynch, where he rose to First Vice President, Head of International Human Resources in London.

Woodfroffe earned his BA in International Relations from Shaw University and has completed the Strategic Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story'

2009-09-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

'CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY' is a crime story. But it's also a war story about class warfare. And a vampire movie, with the upper 1 percent feeding off the rest. And, of course, it's also a love story. Only it's about an abusive relationship.

It's not about an individual, or a corporation, or even an issue, like health care. This is the big enchilada. This is about the thing — the economy.

"I made this movie as if it was going to be the last movie I was allowed to make. It's a comedy." — Michael Moore.

Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline, Vince Beltrami

2009-09-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Addressing the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations Convention, Vince Beltrami, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO offers support of Resolution #10, the green jobs resolution, and briefs the convention and seeks support for construction of an Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.

U.S. Air Force Recruitment, 1950

2009-09-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

United States Air Force recruitment commercial from the 1950's.

$5000 a year.

Ivar Chhina, Recreational Equipment's CFO

2009-09-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

The picture below would surely make you .... (let me know what effect did it have on you). As for myself; it made me think - HR World Today is not branching out into adventure sports, is it?

The above photo release by Recreational Equipment is that of Ivar Chhina, the company’s new Chief Financial Officer. Currently a project-based partner with a San Francisco Bay Area private equity firm, he is also serving as a board member and interim CEO of a Texas-based health care organization. Previously, Chhina was chairman and CEO of a retail dental practice management franchise with 130 retail locations in eight western states. Chhina holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Nevada – Reno, and a master’s degree in International Policy Studies from Middlebury College Monterey Institute.

In addition to mountaineering and rock climbing, Chhina is an avid mountain biker, road cyclist, backpacker and fly fisher, and also enjoys backcountry and cross country skiing.

President Barack Obama's New Retirement Savings Initiative

2009-09-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

In this week’s address, United States President Barack Obama will announce new steps to make it easier for American families to save for retirement. These new initiatives will complement the president’s major legislative proposals to boost participation in IRAs and match retirement savings.

The new initiatives will:

Expand opportunities for automatic enrollment in 401(k) and other retirement savings plans,
Make it easier for more than 100 million families to save a portion or all of their tax refunds,
Enable workers to convert their unused vacation or other similar leave into additional retirement savings, and
Help workers and their employers better understand the available options for tax-favored retirement saving through clear, easy-to-understand language.

Together, these steps will expand the range of choices for workers who want to save and will make saving easier for millions of Americans.

“If you work hard your whole life, you ought to have every opportunity to retire with dignity and financial security. And as a nation we ought to do all we can to ensure that folks have sensible, affordable options to save for retirement.” - President Barack Obama.

Listen to the full audio of the Weekly Address, Saturday, September 5, 2009:

Attached is a fact sheet that outlines the new initiatives for retirement savings. The fact sheet will be live on the website at 6AM tomorrow morning.

Labor Day: Honoring America's Workforce

2009-09-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

United States Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement for Labor Day:

"On Monday, Sept. 7, we will celebrate a great American holiday - Labor Day. Over the years, it may have become a time for backyard barbecues. But the real intent behind today's holiday is honoring the contributions of American workers. Labor Day differs significantly from other holidays. It is devoted to no particular gender, individual, battle or religious observance. Simply put, it's a day shared by all. That's an especially important notion at a time when workers are feeling more anxiety than festivity."

"With the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent, it is no secret that Americans are facing monumental challenges during this economic crisis. I know that every job lost, every hour cut from the workweek, means another family having to make difficult decisions. That's why we are attacking this problem head-on, and we're beginning to see the tide turn. The Recovery Act, along with a comprehensive set of other economic policies, has helped cushion the blow of this recession and started getting economic activity back on track. We know the tough times are not over. But we also know that without the steps we have already taken, the pain would be far worse."

"Over the past seven months, I have met employers, labor and faith leaders, community organizers, elected officials, students, educators and activists - Americans of all stripes and perspectives. I've seen, heard and felt their hope and optimism. Many of them have re-invented and re-educated themselves for careers in allied health, renewable energy and information technology. And I have witnessed youth from all over our country enrolled in Job Corps programs that are putting them on paths to secure and sustainable careers. These workers renew my faith that we will overcome our challenges and that our country will once again rebound stronger than before."

"We should all think about those families struggling during this Labor Day, and I'd like to suggest that we use this day not as a day 'off' but a day 'on'. We can still have picnics and barbecues, and use the day to do last minute back-to-school shopping, but let's do something else, too. Let's use Labor Day as a day where we all personally commit to play a role in the recovery of our economy and our nation. Let's use the day as an opportunity to mentor a young person, or volunteer at a veterans center or maybe help a friend looking for a job. Let's all do the work that will get America working."

"I wish everyone a safe and prosperous Labor Day." - U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

Hilda Solis on August 2009 Employment Numbers

2009-09-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

United States Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the August 2009 Employment Situation report issued today:

"This past August, the economy lost 2,16,000 jobs - fewer than what most experts expected. The overall unemployment rate is now 9.7 percent. Last month's jobs loss is an improvement from the average 7,00,000 jobs our economy was losing every month when this administration took office, but is still by no means acceptable. These numbers are a sobering reminder that our economic conditions continue to cause pain for many Americans and that families are having a difficult time simply covering their daily necessities, much less planning for the future."

"At the Department of Labor, one of our principal goals is to help those people that have lost their jobs until there is a full recovery that includes sustained job growth. With that goal in mind, we have acted quickly to protect workers by extending the number of weeks available for unemployment insurance and increasing the monthly benefit amount by an extra $25 a week. We also have strengthened our social safety net by subsidizing 65 percent of COBRA premiums so that the unemployed can more easily access health insurance."

"At the same time, we are moving swiftly to provide new training opportunities for workers. We are investing nearly $4 billion in federal Recovery Act funds in training workers through the local workforce system. This includes $220 million for training and placement in high growth and emerging industry sectors like health care. It also includes $500 million for green jobs training, which will not only help jumpstart our economy, but also lay the foundation for our long-term competitiveness and reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

"We are not only providing sound investments for American workers, the Recovery Act has provided much needed aid to states and has spurred work on shovel-ready projects. Yesterday marked the 200-day milestone of the Recovery Act, and Vice President Biden announced that all 10 agencies met or exceeded their commitments in our roadmap to recovery."

"The results show that we are keeping and creating jobs for America's workers. The Department of Education kept more educators in our schools - meeting its goal of funding more than 1,35,000 education positions across the nation. The Department of Justice put more officers in our communities - funding 4,699 law enforcement officers' salaries and benefits for three years. And at the Department of Labor, we exceeded our goal and placed more than 2,25,000 young men and women in summer youth jobs."

"The recession has done more damage than could have ever been fixed in a half a year. And as we enter the Labor Day weekend, a time to mark the contributions that American workers make to the strength, health and prosperity of our nation, we need to remember that the Recovery Act is helping to pull our economy back from the brink. We still have a long way to go until we can say that the economy is back on track and everyone has access to a good job, but I am confident that we will reach that goal. And I will make sure that the Department of Labor is standing by, supporting workers every step of the way."

HR World Today Weekly Roundup - August Week # 4

2009-08-30T02:50:00.000-07:00

Classic Sunday Video

Pixar Human Resources: Classic Sunday Video
Randy Nelson, Dean, Pixar University, speaking at the Apple Education Leadership Summit on Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age.
The Jobs Miss P Couldn't Have
"The Jobs I Couldn't Have," Miss P.

News

Marty Peters, Retires after 63 years service
Long before dawn today, in his brown uniform for the last time, Marty Peters head for his final day on…
Edward Kennedy, 'champion of working people'
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis had issued the following statement regarding the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy: "... we…
United States Postal Service Negotiates Incentive Plan
In a decision to save hundreds of millions of dollars in labor-related costs, the U.S. Postal Service negotiated an agreement…

Appointments

Jayne Parker appointed Chief HRO, Walt Disney
Jayne Parker has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for The Walt Disney Company, it was…
Christine Deputy appointed Dunkin' Brands' Senior VP, Human Resources
Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of two of the world's most recognized and loved brands, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, announced…

Jobs

1,300 IBM Jobs at Iowa
At a ribbon cutting ceremony, IBM and leaders of Iowa's business and governmental communities announced that the new IBM technology…

Off-Beat

Testosterone levels affect Career decisions?
The 'Battle of the Sexes' rages on, this time from the trading floor. While there has long been debate about…
20 Strangest Employee Complaints
In the midst of a stressful employment environment, hiring managers took some time to bring a little levity to the…

FridayToons

Oh, thats Lynch!
Have you ever witnessed a "repurposed" fellow employee at your workplace. If yes, comment below and share - in what…

Pixar Human Resources: Classic Sunday Video

2009-08-30T02:30:00.000-07:00

Randy Nelson, Dean, Pixar University, speaking at the Apple Education Leadership Summit
on Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age.

The Jobs Miss P Couldn't Have

2009-08-30T02:21:00.000-07:00

"The Jobs I Couldn't Have," Miss P.

Edward Kennedy, 'champion of working people': Hilda Solis, United States Department of Labor

2009-08-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis had issued the following statement regarding the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy:

"... we lost a hero, and I lost a friend. The passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy is an indescribable loss for our nation and the world."

"In 2000, I had the great honor of being presented the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award by the senator. And, I will always remember his insights and advice during my confirmation hearing.

"A tireless champion of working people, Sen. Kennedy dedicated his life to making America a better place. Over the past half century, his efforts shaped every major piece of legislation advancing the labor and civil rights, education, health and economic well-being of past, current and future generations. His leadership, commitment and ability to work across the aisle set the standard for policymakers. And he made progress a reality for everyone in America."

"It is difficult to think of our country without 'Ted Kennedy.' Such is the passing of one who has done so much good for so many. Our hearts go out to his wife, Vicki, and his children, Ted Jr., Patrick and Kara. And we find comfort in knowing his legacy will endure as long as justice, fairness and opportunity for all remain the core of America's values."

United States Postal Service Negotiates Incentive Plan; Save $500 Million

2009-08-29T03:16:00.002-07:00

In a decision to save hundreds of millions of dollars in labor-related costs, the U.S. Postal Service negotiated an agreement with two of its employee unions to offer select employees a financial incentive to retire or resign before the end of the fiscal year. The one-time offer is a strategic move to accelerate targeted staffing reductions for employees represented by either the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) or the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU).

Because the number of addresses grows by 1.5 million each year, letter carriers represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association were not extended this offer.

Advances in mail processing technology and the continuing recession have led the Postal Service to more aggressively match work hours with work load. The majority of employees eligible for the incentive work in mail processing facilities.

The incentive provides eligible employees $10,000 to be paid during the first three months of Fiscal Year 2010, creating salary and benefit savings for the next nine months. The same employees will receive a second payment of $5,000 in Fiscal Year 2011. Fiscal Year 2010 starts Oct. 1, 2009. As many as 30,000 employees could take advantage of the incentive offer. Savings to the Postal Service could be as much as $500 million next year.

The employee incentive offer is the latest in a series of cost reductions the Postal Service has made this year. Cost savings during 2009 are expected to total more than $6 billion, including the following actions:

Cutting more than 100 million work hours, the equivalent of 57,000 positions;
Halting construction of new postal facilities;
Closing six district offices;
Negotiating an agreement with the National Association of Letter Carriers that adjusts letter carrier routes to reflect diminished volume;
Instituting a nationwide hiring freeze;
Reducing authorized staffing levels at postal headquarters and area offices by at least 15 percent;
Selling unused and under-utilized postal facilities;
Adjusting Post Office hours to better reflect customer use; Consolidating mail processing operations; and
Freezing salaries of all Postal Service officers and executives.

"This decision reflects our desire to provide a fair and equitable opportunity for some of our longest-serving employees," said Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president. "It is important to the Postal Service that we take appropriate measures to address our current financial situation."

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.

Oh, thats Lynch! | FridayToons - August 28, 2009

2009-08-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever witnessed a "repurposed" fellow employee at your workplace. If yes, comment below and share - in what many ways?

Cartoons by Andertoons

Marty Peters, Longest-Tenured UPS Employee Retires Today

2009-08-28T03:15:00.000-07:00

Long before dawn today, in his brown uniform for the last time, Marty Peters head for his final day on the job at UPS; marking the end of a remarkable career. Peters, who turned 87 on August 10, is the longest-tenured employee in the company’s history, retiring with 63 years, five months and 29 days of service. He’s retiring today i.e. August 28 - UPS Founder’s Day, the company’s 102nd anniversary - and has seen much of the company’s history first-hand.

“Marty Peters is the quintessential dedicated UPS employee,” said Scott Davis, UPS’s Shairman and CEO. “This is a man who went the extra mile, and kept right on going. We sincerely thank him for his many years of service and congratulate him on this incredible achievement.”

When Peters started work at UPS in March 1946, the first Baby Boomers were still in diapers. And now, in an age when the average job tenure in the United States is barely four years, employees like Peters are rare indeed.

“I’ve treated every package as if it were my own,” said Peters, who joined UPS straight from service in the U.S. Army and World War II. “There must have been about 10,000 of us coming out of the Army and trying to get a job,” Peters recalled. Competition was fierce then for delivery jobs that paid 95-cents an hour. “That was a lot of money.”

During the 1940s, Peters braved frigid Michigan winters in an air-cooled White Horse delivery truck without a heater or a defroster. After that, he held a variety of jobs from sorting packages and loading trucks to logging more than 1.4 million miles driving a tractor-trailer on a route between Detroit and Grand Rapids.

A resident of Macomb Township, Michigan, Peters for many years has worked a 3:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. shift at UPS’s Woodbridge Center in Detroit as a “shifter” and a clerk. He spends most of his time behind the wheel of a tractor truck, moving 50 to 70 trailers each day between loading docks at the center. Later, Peters moves inside to help incorrectly addressed packages reach their intended destinations.

Peters has seen a lot of changes in the way UPS drivers do their jobs. Chief among them was the introduction of the Delivery Information Acquisition Device, or DIAD, the small handheld computer that replaced the pen and paper used by drivers to record pickups and deliveries.

An earlier technological change that had a major impact on Peters? The ballpoint pen, which he said eliminated the need to carry a pocketknife for sharpening pencils.

Peters and his wife, Christine, have been married since 1950 and have four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

1,300 IBM Jobs at Iowa Global Technology Delivery Center, Dubuque

2009-08-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

At a ribbon cutting ceremony, IBM and leaders of Iowa's business and governmental communities announced that the new IBM technology services delivery center - located in the historic Roshek Building in downtown Dubuque, Iowa - is now operational. IBM has hired several hundred people to work in the new facility and intends to employ up to 1,300 by the end of 2010.

The new facility joins an extensive network of more than 80 IBM delivery centers worldwide where employees maintain, monitor and support computer hardware, software and manage information technology services for thousands of IBM clients.

"IBM's global delivery centers are critical in delivering information technology services to our clients around the world. Today we celebrate the opening of a new center in Dubuque, Iowa, that will be a key hub in our delivery network, serving clients in the United States. We are delighted to partner with the city of Dubuque and the state of Iowa and look forward to a successful and enduring relationship," said Mike Daniels, senior vice president and group executive, IBM Global Technology Services.

IBM is said to continue to work with institutions of higher learning in the tri-state area of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin to recruit and train potential employees. In addition, IBM will continue look for opportunities to partner with these schools to enhance their curricula to better prepare students for opportunities in the information technology industry, including the types of roles found at IBM.

Update: Dubuque-based newspaper journalist, Brian Cooper reports via NewsConference - "The first 300 employees are working in the renovated Roshek Building downtown, with another 300 due to be hired by the end of 2009. Another 700 or so are to be hired in 2010."

To apply for job opportunities visit: www.ibm.com/careers/us or www.accessdubuquejobs.com or www.iowajobs.org.

The Carnegie-Stout Public Library located at 360 West 11th Street, sent me a note stating, "....we invite IBM'ers new to Dubuque to bring their families and friends to Carnegie-Stout Public Library to get library cards." So please go ahead and avail the generous services of Dubuque's well-known public library.

"I am committed to bringing high-quality jobs to our state, and I want to thank IBM for their partnership. IBM's decision to locate their new technology delivery center in the region makes the company a key player in Iowa's growing information technology economy. I am pleased to welcome them to our state," said Governor Culver.

"I'm thrilled to see IBM's new facility open today and bring with it good jobs to Dubuque. IBM's renovation of the Roshek Building is a model for downtown revitalization and sustainable development, and I hope it inspires similar efforts across Iowa and the U.S. This project shows that Iowa has the skilled workforce and the willingness to invest in the jobs of the 21st century," said U.S. Representative Bruce Braley.

In January 2009, IBM announced the signing of a 10-year lease, with optional extension years, to occupy the Roshek Building. The City of Dubuque, Dubuque Initiatives and IBM have worked together to upgrade the facility to make it a "green" building.

Jayne Parker appointed Chief Human Resources Officer, The Walt Disney Company

2009-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jayne Parker has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for The Walt Disney Company, it was announced by Robert A. Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. Ms. Parker will be responsible for areas that include leading Disney's overall human resources strategy including global talent attraction, staffing and retention, leadership development, diversity, organizational design and cultural development, employee education and development, compensation and benefits and employee relations. The heads of human resources in Disney's business units will report to Ms. Parker as well as to the leaders of their respective business units.

"Disney is successful because of its people – their commitment, their creativity and their passion. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Parks and Resorts division and am honored to now work on behalf of all Disney cast members and employees to continue to attract diverse talent and develop future leaders for all of our businesses," said Ms. Parker.

Previously, Ms. Parker served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. In this position, she had responsibility for all human resources-related services for nearly 1,00,000 Cast Members, Crew Members and Imagineers globally, including: employee/labor relations, diversity and inclusion, compliance, recruitment, talent planning, learning and development, organizational development, compensation, benefits and workforce planning.

Ms. Parker began her Disney career in 1988, developing the programs that became a part of the Disney Institute. Over the next 20 years, she took on positions of increasing responsibility, including Manager and Director of Disney University, Director and Vice President of Organization Improvement and Vice President of Organization and Professional Development.

Prior to joining Disney, Ms. Parker was a consultant with Wilson Learning Corporation, where she was responsible for designing and developing media based programs and management development seminars for education and assessment. Ms. Parker holds Degrees in Communications and Education, a Master's in Instruction Design and Technology and an MBA, all from the University of Central Florida.

Ms. Parker assumes her new position on September 1.

Christine Deputy appointed Dunkin' Brands' Senior VP, Human Resources

2009-08-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of two of the world's most recognized and loved brands, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, announced two key additions to the company's leadership team - Christine Deputy, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, and Karen Raskopf, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications; reporting directly to Dunkin' Brands' Chief Executive Officer Nigel Travis.

Ms. Deputy, who joins Dunkin' from Starbucks, brings nearly twenty years of human resources experience to her new role on the Dunkin' Brands leadership team where she will lead the team responsible for employee recruitment, compensation, benefits, leadership and development, policy development, and employee health and wellness at the corporate level. She will also develop tools and programs to attract, hire, train, develop and grow store managers and crewmembers at the retail level.

At Starbucks she served in Hong Kong as Vice President, Partner Resources, Asia Pacific Region. In more than a decade with Starbucks, her responsibilities included global staffing, talent management and field human resources. Prior to Starbucks, Ms. Deputy spent eight years with Thomas Cook based in Canada, the United States and England. She graduated with a Degree in Psychology from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

In June, Dunkin' Brands celebrated the opening of its 15,000th store worldwide. The company's steady and strategic growth strategy includes expanding in existing markets while entering new cities throughout the world.

Note: Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins are actively seeking qualified franchise candidates in several states, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. In addition, Baskin-Robbins is seeking franchisees in Indiana, North and South Carolina, Colorado, Texas, Utah and California, among others.

Testosterone levels affect Career decisions?

2009-08-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

The 'Battle of the Sexes' rages on, this time from the trading floor. While there has long been debate about the social and biological differences between men and women, new research by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the University of Chicago's Department of Comparative Human Development explores how the hormone testosterone plays an important role in gender differences in financial risk aversion and career choice.

Prior research has shown that testosterone enhances competitiveness and dominance, reduces fear, and is associated with risky behaviors like gambling and alcohol use. However, until now, the impact of testosterone on gender differences in financial risk-taking has not been explored.

The new paper, "Gender differences in financial risk aversion and career choices are affected by testosterone," has been published in the Aug. 24, 2009 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research was conducted by Paola Sapienza, Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; Luigi Zingales, Robert McCormick Professor, University of Chicago Booth School of Business; and Dario Maestripieri, Professor in Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago.

"In general, women are more risk averse than men when it comes to making important financial decisions, which in turn can affect their career choices," said Sapienza. "For example, in our sample set, 36 percent of female MBA students chose high-risk financial careers such as investment banking or trading, compared to 57 percent of male students. We wanted to explore whether these gender differences are related to testosterone, which men have, on average, in higher concentrations than women."

The researchers, using an economic-based measure of risk aversion, found that higher levels of testosterone were associated with a greater appetite for risk in women, but not among men. However, in men and women with similar levels of testosterone, the gender difference in risk aversion disappeared. Additionally, the researchers reported that the link between risk aversion and testosterone predicted career choices after graduation: individuals who were high in testosterone and low in risk aversion chose riskier careers in finance.

"This is the first study showing that gender differences in financial risk aversion have a biological basis, and that differences in testosterone levels between individuals can affect important aspects of economic behavior and career decisions," said Maestripieri. "That the effects of testosterone on risk aversion are strongest for individuals with low or intermediate levels of this hormone is similar to what has been shown for the effects of testosterone on spatial cognition."

"This study has significant implications for how the effects of testosterone could impact actual risk-taking in financial markets, because many of these students will go on to become major players in the financial world," said Zingales. "Furthermore, it could shed some light on gender differences in career choices. Future studies should further explore the mechanisms through which testosterone affects the brain."

Methodology: To investigate the relationship between testosterone and risk aversion, the authors measured testosterone levels in saliva samples (as well as markers of prenatal testosterone such as finger length) from approximately 500 MBA students at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The uncharacteristically large sample-which was global in demographic scope-was familiar with financial risk by virtue of their education, and many pursued financial careers after business school. Also, the participants were relatively homogeneous in age, cultural and educational background, and socioeconomic status, thereby minimizing the effects of other non-biological variables.

As part of a mandatory MBA course, the students were asked to participate in a laboratory experiment to measure the relationship between risk and hormonal levels. Over two days in October 2006, the participants were asked to play a computer game that evaluated their risk aversion attitudes. They answered a series of questions that asked them to choose between accepting a guaranteed monetary award or choosing a risky lottery with a higher potential payout. Students had to choose repeatedly between the lottery and a fixed payment at increasing values. Two saliva samples were collected, once before the session and once after the test was completed, to measure hormonal changes over that time period.

As expected, more risk-prone participants chose the lottery more often, whereas more risk-averse individuals preferred the guaranteed payout. Overall, men exhibited significantly lower risk aversion than women in the study, and also had significantly higher levels of salivary testosterone than women.

20 Strangest Complaints Employers Received from Employees

2009-08-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

In the midst of a stressful employment environment, hiring managers took some time to bring a little levity to the workplace. More than 2,600 hiring managers participated in a nationwide survey from CareerBuilder, citing examples of the oddest complaints they received from employees.

Highlights include:

Employee is too sun-tanned.
Employee has big hair.
Employee eats all the good cookies.
Employee is so polite, it's infuriating.
Employee suspected co-worker was a pimp.
Employee is trying to poison me.
Employee's body is magnetic and keeps de-activating my magnetic access card.
Employee is personally responsible for a federally-mandated tax increase.
Employee was annoyed the company didn't provide a place for naps during break time.
Employee only wears slippers or socks at work.
Employee's aura is wrong.
Employee smells like road ramps.
Employee breathes too loudly.
Employee wants to check a co-worker for ticks.
8:00 a.m. is too early to get up for work.
Employee wore pajamas to work.
Employee has bells on her shoes and it's not the holidays.
Co-worker reminded the employee too much of Bambi.
Employee spends too much time caring for stray cats around the building.
A male employee keeps using the ladies' room because the men's room is not as tidy.

Survey Methodology: This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between May 22 and June 10, 2009 among 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions; non- government) ages 18 and over. With a pure probability sample of 2,667 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.9 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

2009 HR Florida Conference - Laurie Ruettimann vlog

2009-08-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

Laurie Ruettimann at the 2009 HR Florida Conference & Exposition, Orlando.

Related: 2009 HR Florida Conference: Video Blog - Part 1, 2 and 3.

CEO with keen eye for derail, seeking no-profit career

2009-08-20T05:27:00.000-07:00

Job seekers take note: One resume error, one false stroke at the keyboard could send your resume into the "circular file."

Executives were asked, "How many typos in a resume does it take for you to decide not to consider a job candidate for a position with your company?" Their responses:

One - 40%
Two - 36%
Three - 14%
Four or more - 7%
Don't know/no answer - 3%

"Employers view the resume as a reflection of the applicant," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. "If you make errors on your application materials, the assumption is you'll make mistakes on the job."

Unfortunately, typos and other slipups are easy to make, and spell-check won't always catch them. To illustrate the point, following are some real-life errors made in resumes, applications and cover letters.

"Hope to hear from you, shorty."
"Have a keen eye for derail."
"Dear Sir or Madman."
"I'm attacking my resume for you to review."
"I am a rabid typist."
"My work ethics are impeachable."
"Nervous of steel."
"Following is a grief overview of my skills."
"GPA: 34.0"
"Graphic designer seeking no-profit career."

Accountemps offers the following tips for creating error-free resumes:

Get help: Enlist detail-oriented family members, friends or mentors to proofread your resume and provide honest feedback.
Take a timeout: Before submitting your resume, take a break and come back to it with a fresh set of eyes. You might catch something you missed the first time.
Print a copy: It's easy to overlook typos or formatting mistakes when reading a resume on a monitor, so print it out for review. Read through it slowly and pay close attention to font styles and sizes, in addition to spelling and grammar.
Try a new perspective: Sometimes readers inadvertently skip over parts they have read previously. Review your resume backward to help avoid this problem.
Read it aloud: Your ears might catch errors your eyes have overlooked.

Survey Methodology: The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with 150 senior executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies. With more than 360 offices worldwide, Accountemps offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com.

2009 Nonprofit Human Resources Conference

2009-08-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

Increasingly, nonprofit organizations are faced with complex human resources challenges that require unique responses and solutions. From a growing employment crisis, to a shortage of qualified human resources professionals with sector specific experience, to the lack of sufficient funding for infrastructure support, many nonprofit organizations are confronted with very real workplace concerns.

The 2009 Nonprofit Human Resources Conference brings together nonprofit human resources practitioners, executives, thought leaders and researchers to discuss human resources issues of critical importance to the nonprofit sector. Keynote and workshop sessions will be conducted by practitioners and experts in the field of human resources.

When?
October 4-6, 2009

Where?
Washington, DC

Keynote Speakers:

Robin L. Robin, Director of Human Resources, Girls Incorporated.
Phyllis Segal, Vice President, Civic Ventures.
Robert L.E. Egger, Founder and President of DC Central Kitchen, Inc.
Paul Schmitz, President & CEO, Public Allies.

Nonprofit HR Solutions is a full-service human resources consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Founded in 2000, the firm has worked exclusively with the nonprofit sector, generating results for organizations of all sizes and missions. For more information on Nonprofit HR Solutions, visit www.nonprofithr.com.

ENERCON Engineering Jobs, Baton Rouge

2009-08-18T07:30:00.002-07:00

Engineers and designers in the greater Southern Louisiana area are invited to a job fair Tuesday, August 18 and Wednesday, August 19 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Marriott, 5500 Hilton Ave., Baton Rouge.

ENERCON, an employee-owned engineering services firm with 900 employees and 25 years of power plant design has 15 offices nationwide.

Who should attend?
Technical professionals interested in challenging engineering careers for operating and next generation nuclear power plants. Engineers, including nuclear, and designers are invited. Opportunities are available in our Baton Rouge office. Excellent benefits, career advancement, EOE, U.S. Citizenship required.

Jobs ENERCON hopes to fill are: Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Engineering Project Managers, Designers and Nuclear Engineers.

If you cannot attend, e-mail resumes in WORD format to careers@enercon.com or visit www.enercon.com.

3 Ways to Find Work in a Tough Economy

2009-08-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Note: The views expressed hereunder are not necessarily those supported by HR World Today.

Finding work in the current economic climate can be challenging, whether you are entry-level, or quite experienced in the workforce. It is an absolute must to think outside of the box in order to succeed in a job search. These five creative ways can help almost anyone find work in a tough economy.

1. Volunteer: Working for free may seem counter-intuitive; however, volunteering can oftentimes help you get a foot in the door. When a position becomes open, you will be a known and trusted entity versus merely one unknown name in a sea of resumes.

2. Start a new career: This could be the time to start doing what you always wanted to do but were always afraid to try. What is your undiscovered passion? Is there a career field that has always intrigued you? The time is right to pursue your passions and change careers.

3. Don’t just apply for advertised jobs: If there is a company that you have always wanted to work for, don’t discount them just because you don’t see any advertised job openings. Check out their website, as there could be positions listed on their Website that aren’t advertised elsewhere. Network with industry organizations, and let your professional and personal networks know that you are looking for a job and what kind. They may know of an unadvertised (or soon to be open) position that is perfect for you.

Source: VIPdesk.

Workforce Optimization: What Is It and How Do I Do It? - Free Webcast

2009-08-17T07:43:00.002-07:00

TAPFIN Process Solutions, a leading business process outsourcing provider of end-to-end human capital management solutions, and the Human Capital Institute (HCI), a global professional association and think tank, will present a joint webcast showcasing best practices in workforce optimization. This webcast - titled “Workforce Optimization: What Is It and How Do I Do It?” - is part of a research and best practices series featured in HCI’s Integrated Resource Fulfillment research practice area.

TOPIC: Integrated resource fulfillment combines the traditionally disparate units of recruitment process outsourcing, vendor management and services procurement. When effectively managed, this combination can produce a significant competitive advantage. This webcast will be devoted to best practices on workforce optimization..

WHEN: Tuesday, August 18, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: This one-hour webcast is geared towards any human capital professional looking to manage their workforce in a more holistic fashion.

PRESENTERS: The webcast will be moderated by Allan Schweyer, Executive Director and Senior Vice President, Research, at HCI.

Panelists include:

Kip Wright, President, TAPFIN Process Solutions.
Brian Bules, Head of Global Talent Solutions and Effectiveness, GlaxoSmithKline Talent Center of Excellence.
Jared Flynn, Senior Manager, Workforce Planning and Analytics, T-Mobile.

For registration and additional information - Click here.

Price: This live event is FREE, on a first-come, first seated basis - so bring your entire team, or invite your clients and prospects.

If you have questions about this event, or would like to register by phone, please call 1-866-538-1909.

How to Select the Right Workforce Optimization Solution: Free Webinar

2009-08-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

GMT Corp., a global industry leader in enterprise workforce management and performance optimization solutions, will share information on leveraging advanced workforce optimization solutions for competitive advantage during a complimentary webinar entitled, “Top Ten Tips for Selecting a World-Class Workforce Optimization Solution,” on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009, at 11 a.m. EDT.

Attendees will learn how to improve customer satisfaction, increase sales and reduce labor costs through more efficient workforce management tools and techniques.

During this webinar, Kevin Hegebarth, vice president of GMT, will share specific examples of how GMT’s clients have benefited from their workforce optimization investment, including:

Increasing schedule adherence by as much as 60 percent.
Increasing occupancy rates by as much as 25 percent.
Improving scheduling efficiency, which resulted in $2,50,000 annual cost savings.
Reducing operating costs in excess of 15 percent, while maintaining service levels.

“Today, companies are looking for any competitive advantage that will set them apart from others in the market, and a sound workforce optimization strategy will do just that,” said Hegebarth. “By partnering with the right workforce optimization technology provider, companies can improve customer service and sales across their enterprise, while decreasing labor expenses and enhancing agent work-life balance.”

Register for this webinar - Click here.

Perspectives - Company Profile

2009-08-17T00:57:00.000-07:00

Perspectives Ltd. is a Chicago-based workplace resources firm specializing in the nationwide delivery of employee assistance programs (EAPs), managed behavioral healthcare, work/life services, organizational development and wellness. The company believes in taking an individualized approach with each customer organization and creating tailored solutions that have practical applications in their workplace. Blog: WORKING WORLD CAFÉ.

At a Glance:

Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
CEO: Bernie Dyme
Organization: Independent
Website: www.perspectivesltd.com
Phone: 800.866.7556

Awards:

2009 Best Places to Work in Illinois (Best Companies Group).
2008 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.
2007 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.
2007 Leading EAP Providers Hot List (Workforce Management Magazine).
2006 Top EAP Providers (Workforce Management Magazine).

2009 HR Florida Conference: Video Blog - Part 1, 2, 3, and 4

2009-08-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

Christina Tierney, Regional Director, Digital Solutions, Bernard HODES Group getting ready to discuss Employee Engagement at the 2009 HR Florida Conference & Exposition, Orlando.

Ms. Tierney would be at Booth 418 on the Expo floor and speaking in the Hodes Sponsor Spotlight with Sean Broderick.

Christina interviewing Pamela Cartwright, PHR, Senior Human Resource Specialist.

Interview with Mike VanDervort of Human Race Horses Blog.

Top human resources bloggers viz. Sharlyn Lauby, Kris Dunn, Jessica Lee, Jessica Lee, Laurie Ruettimann (I frequent her blog), and Michael VanDervort (Aha! :) Mike is HR World Today's Facebook fan) are going to as talk about blogging and its impact on organizations and the HR profession.

hrQ - Company Profile

2009-08-14T05:03:00.001-07:00

hrQ provides organizations with high caliber human resource professionals on a national search, contract HR staffing and HR consulting basis. The firm was established in 1998 and is headquartered in Denver, CO with offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Francisco.

For more information, visit www.hrQinc.com