Strategic Planning

Set salaries with help from most reputable web sites

05/12/2011

As hiring picks up due to the firming economy, organizations want to offer competitive salaries that aren’t inordinately lower or higher than those available from competitors. Here are the most reputable web sites that track pay for hundreds of professions and specialties.

4 ways to make telework work

05/03/2011

More than 33 million Americans now work remotely at least one day per month, according to the nonprofit WorldatWork. Here’s how work-from-home arrangements operate in organizations nationwide, according to a recent survey. Plus, learn what managers must do to make the most of their teleworking staff members.

Training budgets bounce back: Where to spend

03/22/2011

The recession taught many employers to save on training by experimenting with video, teleconference and online learning—cost-effective alternatives to traditional stand-up courses. Follow these 10 steps to develop your organization’s training. Tip: Invest in your own online learning with the HR Specialist LEAP Symposium interactive webcast.

Tap employee affinity groups to build bottom-line results

02/23/2011

An old employee-relations idea has found new purpose in today’s tumultuous business environment: Employee resource groups (ERGs)—also known as affinity groups or employee networks—are on the rise in companies large and small.

What keeps HR awake at night?

02/22/2011

Rising health care costs, implementing the new health care reforms, rapidly changing business and labor markets, growing regulatory complexity and managing the aging workforce top the list of challenges HR pros face. That’s what the Society for Human Resource Management found when it surveyed more than 9,000 practitioners.

Shift recruiting, retention priorities to beat ‘talent paradox’

02/17/2011

The challenges facing HR pros who specialize in talent, compensation and benefits are dramatically different today than they were just a year ago. At Deloitte Consulting, we call it “the talent paradox”—the apparent contradiction that occurs when unemployment is still relatively high, yet companies still are seeing significant shortages in critical talent areas.

How to push ideas past naysayers

02/14/2011

Nearly every office has a person who shoots down ideas before they even get off the ground: the naysayer who always pinpoints the reason your idea won’t work. The only way to defeat a naysayer is to be ready for her. Know how to respond to every one of the blockades she puts in your way.

10 ways to rev up training for the recovery

02/09/2011

Training budgets are back. Many organizations that made double-digit cuts in training funding in 2008 and 2009 increased spending on employee development last year. If your organization is ready to reinvest in training, follow these 10 principles:

How to prevent succession planning from triggering discrimination complaints

02/04/2011

Many companies design succession plans so they can spot the next generation of leaders early and develop current employees to their full potential. If your organization is involved in such a process, step back and look: Does everyone who is tapped for special treatment come from the same race or gender? Or does the chosen group exclude older workers or the disabled?

Safety for all: Ensure evacuation plans comply with the ADA

02/02/2011

Although we usually think of the ADA in terms of helping disabled people perform their jobs with or without accommodations, the law also has important workplace safety implications. Under the ADA, you must make sure your emergency evacuation plans take into account the needs of disabled employees. Some issues to consider: