1. Decide what level of support you will provide and how much budget you can allocate

One-to-one support is not cheap. Budget £2-4K per person or £1k per day for group support. Cheaper options include inviting Job Centre Plus and local agencies to deliver presentations, along with paying for their CV to be typed up professionally (typically £200.) 

2. Decide if you will deliver support in-house

If you have the resources, then this is a cheaper option however:

• Time consuming

• Emotionally draining

• Potentially a conflict between providing consultation, the final message and the same person providing 'help'

• Difficult to provide up-to-date career support, particularly if you have not been in their situation

3. Do you offer cash in lieu of outplacement? 

If an individual is highly marketable and more than able to progress unaided, then consider adding the amount you would have spent, to their redundancy package.

4. Decide on the timing

Mandatory consultation has taken away the traditional need for 'crisis support' immediately after the message. However waiting at least 30 days before any help is provided can be a disadvantage, if in reality those at risk are very likely to go. As they will all be applying for jobs in a panic, discuss with the consultation group whether they feel it is appropriate to offer support before the end of consultation.

5. Set up a dedicated room

If more than a few people are affected, then try to allocate a discrete office, with a PC, photocopier and colour printer. Post local jobs on the wall and offer time for individuals to go to the room to work. Use this room for the outplacement support.

6. Select an external provider (if appropriate)  

Talk to previous clients and individuals supported by the provider, to get feedback. Ask the provider:

• If they just offer generic advice or if they tailor it for your local or business market

• How much one-to-one support is offered in addition to any group sessions

• Do they simply advise on CV design or actually help with its revision?

• Do they provide emotional support or just practical?

• Do they provide career planning advice or just job finding tips?

 The more proactive and tailored the support the better.

7. Emotional support

Losing a job, particularly after a long time with an employer is like being left by their spouse. They might ask repeatedly:

• Why me?

• What can I do to make this go away?

This is often followed by a period of denial that it will actually happen, followed by anger and frustration when it’s obvious that it will. 

HR often deliver the bad message, so might not be best placed to provide emotional support. If you use an external employee support line, then ensure they have the number and see if you have other options to provide this help.

8. Financial support

Explain very clearly how their redundancy package will be calculated and when it will be paid. Explain the tax free element and that this means they will get more than they think, e.g. three months' redundancy pay tax free is like four months' normal salary.

See if you can maintain any benefits after they leave, such as their company car or private medical insurance, as often these are on annual contracts and it costs no more to continue it. 

Get them a pension statement and suggest that they talk to a pensions advisor, as sometimes pumping money in to AVC’s during your last few months is a tax efficient way of saving if they don’t need the cash. 

9. The following  areas should be part of your support

• CV design- proactive help to make their CV standout and sell them

• How to tailor a CV or letter to the competencies identified in the job advert or job description

• Tips and tricks for registering a CV on sites such as Monster.com.For instance including all searchable key words and withdrawing and re submitting the CV every 30 days, as most employers just search for recent ones

• Advice on how to find jobs (everything from networking to internet searching)

• Career advice. Redundancy is a great opportunity to review where a career is heading, however most people panic and apply for the same sort of job they have now.

• Interview practice. This can be generic advice and role play however once they get invited to an interview, try doing a dry run. Anlayse the job advert and look for competencies and ask them to give examples of their experience in those areas. Teach them how to control the interview and how to deal with a poor interviewer.

10. Get feedback and adapt

Check that the support is actually meeting their needs and adapt quickly if not. Try to send employees away with a positive impression of the company, despite having been made redundant. Word soon spreads around the region if employees are seen to have been poorly treated.

• The atmosphere of gloom turns into one of hope and excitement as people start getting interviews and job offers

• Employees thank HR for the support they were given

• Former employees don’t bad mouth your company at interviews

• You reinforce to remaining employees that even at times of hardship the company will support them

Author: Michael Coates, Protester Leadership Development 

Author: Michael Coates, Protester Leadership Development

10 Ways To Make Your Interviewer Love You!

It can be tough to be an interviewer. Clients on your back to be thorough, yet fast in creating employees they want. So they will need your help - and that can, in turn, help you too! And then to make a pretty important judgment of the capability of the individual. It’s a tough life on the end of an assessment sheet!

So, the big opportunity for you is to get in their and make their life so much easier. By doing this, not only will you stand a far better chance of being successful, because you get to tell your story, but you will also get them onside for you when it matters.

And, did I mention that you will go into the meeting, clear on your tactics, in much more control than you might have before. Which gives you confidence - all the more important then?

So what can you do.

Here are Ten Ways to successfully have someone interview you!

1. You listen well and pay full attention

By paying full attention you show your interviewer that they matter; they are important and above all, you care and respect them!

2. You just as interested in them

Tricky in an interview as they want to know about you, but it needs to be what they see! Self-preservation and looking after yourself are the most important and primitive of behaviors - but in building great relationships, it’s vital to show the other person is the one that matters most in the moment!

3. You keep promises and do what you say you will

By answering fully, giving information they need, you are delivering what you say you will, which is a big asset for you, as long as you are completely consistent and true.

4. You are supportive of them in the conversation

By working with them to give them the information they need it will be to your advantage. This is not the time to get awkward and be difficult. Be on their side, help them to help you!

5. You share resources

Sometimes, during an interview you will sense that you know more about something than they do - and often its resources that you have and they don’t. By offering to supply these to them after the event, you will create a two-way process and that emotionally binds them to your side.

6. You aren’t judgemental, but very objective

This is a big talent, if you can do it. IT’s so easy to judge and make assumptions when you are under pressure (some people do this all the time), yet if you can suspending that sort of behavior is of value. It leads them to realize that you are generous and understanding as well as capable of making decision based on real fact and not on hearsay.

7. You talk less than you listen (see a pattern here!)

In an interview, this is pretty difficult and, of course should be. Its going to be your job to do most of the talking. Yet, there will be moments where you can listen and showing that you are doing make the interviewer-interviewee relationship much stronger. Also bear in mind that you can show this off to it’s full potential before and after the formal process.

8. You make time for them

A little like the point above - and more. Sometimes in a conversation, formal or otherwise, you can sense when someone wants to talk a little about something. Being generous enough to make that space for them, despite your own challenges on the day, is a really strong and memorable relationship builder. By asking the open questions to find out more to encourage their thinking, works well.

9. You say ’yes’ when you can and ’no’ when you can’t - and are honest about it

It can be easy to make the wrong call here. Interviewers recognise integrity - and a lack of it. By agreeing or disagreeing to something, when your body language, voice and general demeanour say otherwise, is a clear indication that you are not being completely honest.

10. You are encouraging, enthusiastic, supportive and challenging

During an interview you will have the opportunity to use all these - and by doing so you will be able to show yourself off for who you truly are. The real you needs to be able to demonstrate them, in your control, in your 15 minutes of fame here.

Great relationships are hard to come by - yet in us all is the potential to create unlimited numbers of wonderful allies - including those who take the time and energy to interview us.

By: Martin Haworth

Choosing the right career path is one of the most defining decisions we can make in life. Our job not only says a lot about what kind of person we are, but will influence what type of car we drive, what kind of house we live in, the people we associate with, and more. But above all these things, is the fact that we spend most of our waking moments at work!. Which means that if our job does not fulfill us or does not allow us to pursue our life goals, than it is not the career we should spend the rest of our life doing.

Unfortunately most people go to work everyday and put in a mediocre performance, day after day because their heart is just not in their job. They're not interested in learning more about the field that they work in, they don't get excited about new developments, and they just do what is absolutely necessary to keep their job. Most people live for the weekend and are robots during the week. That's 5 days of being a robot and 2 days of doing what you want to do. Why not pursue a passion for 5 days, while adding value to the lives of others, and leave 2 days for recreation and relaxation?

Life is just too short and fleeting to be spending so many precious hours each day doing something that makes us unhappy. It is impossible to do a job that we do not like and to feel fulfilled as a person, because our jobs take up such a large amount of our time. Our job is a big part of who we are.

We have to get clear about what it is that gives us fulfillment in life, what fascinates us, or what we are passionate about. Once our interests are defined, we have to think about what career paths are available in that area. Sometimes there will be clear paths to take, like when our passion is designing websites, the job options could be to become a web designer, web programmer, or similar positions. But other interests may need more creative ways of thinking, like if you are passionate about collecting rare coins, your path may not be so clear. You may have to look into several sources of income; Owning a coin dealership, writing a guide to collecting rare coins, having a website built, and/or selling coins online.

Because of the responsibilities of modern life and the necessity of money to support our lifestyle and family, we can't just quit our job and immediately pursue our passion. It may take months or years of planning while we continue to work in our 9 to 5 job and bring in a regular wage. The important thing is that we are moving towards the goal of doing what inspires us in life. Without the clear focus and continual small steps towards achieving our dream job, we would just be kidding ourselves.

We may have to take evening or weekend classes, attend seminars, read books, or associate with people in your area of interest. If it's a product that you plan to sell, perhaps you could start selling it from home, at weekend markets, or setting up a website to sell it from.

When we're moving towards our dream job and have a clear path before us it makes our 9 to 5 job less of a problem. Rather than going to work each day and hating the things we do, we can appreciate the job for being a step towards doing what really inspires us. It is putting food on the table, paying the rent, and funding the way towards the right career path.

"What is it that you like doing? If you don’t like it, get out of it, because you’ll be lousy at it. You don’t have to stay with a job for the rest of your life, because if you don’t like it you’ll never be successful in it." Lee Iaccocca Quote

- Article by Michael Dylan 

HR Job Feature

Human Resources Jobs in Demand 
If you think that a position in human resources would interest you, this is one career that is in demand and will continue to grow at least through 2014. The need for personnel and management is growing quite rapidly and the digital systems that are being used today are making their mark. Whether you are thinking of the client aspect of the job or management, the time is right to find out what you can do to make a difference. Depending on the type of position that you are interested in, with the right training, your annual salary can exceed $60,000. If you majored in a related field in college and are ready to graduate, you may be surprised to learn just how great the job market is right now for human resource professionals.

Skills Needed for Human Resources Jobs

The skills you will use depend entirely upon the position for which you are applying. Basic computer skills, teamwork, and effective communication with clients and personnel are all important when considering a career in human resources. Entry level positions are often the first filled when college graduates start looking for jobs. Some employers expect the successful candidate to have completed college having majored in human resources, administration for human resources, or a labor and industrial relations major.

Human resources are important to every company. Normally, it is the hiring department and takes care of any problems employees may encounter. Whether they are located in another city or within the same building of the hiring company, they are responsible for the employees. They make sure all paperwork is taken care of, that hiring status and wages are entered into the proper databases, and ensure that tax information is sent to the proper place.The computer skills you have learned over the course of your education will serve you well when you are hired for a human resources job. This is the primary way that any company keeps all of their pertinent information for their employees. Even your information has to be updated by someone.

The human resources employee is responsible for a wide variety of tasks. One of these would be taking care of background checks when taking a position with an HR (Human Resources) department within most companies. These checks are becoming more common due to the hiring positions that are opening, as well as the need to check people out before they can represent a business. Since many positions require handling money, the employer wants to know the person they have hired is trustworthy. The skills you will need as a human resources employee will be a balance of administrative skills and personnel skills. Some of your duties may include interviewing job applicants. Afterward, you will be asked to make a recommendation to the department head for the position applied. You must learn to be a good judge of character. Filling vacancies is one of the top priorities to companies so that productivity will not suffer.

What Positions are Available in Human Relations Careers?

When you decide to work in the human resources jobs field, know that there are several levels of employment. The basic positions are listed here with the salaries you might expect, keeping in mind that this may change due to supply and demand.

1) Human Resources Assistant I - Depending upon the company, the requirements for this position may require an associate’s degree or comparable training as well as up to two years of work experience. The duties of the assistant are most likely going to include finding new employees, employment, taking care of personnel records, doing job evaluations, benefits, and training. The salary is over $26,000 per year.

2) Training Specialist I - This employee will handle training for different programs, including new employees. They will familiarize themselves with the company’s procedures and expectations. The salary is over $37,000 per year.

3) Human Resources Generalist I - The requirements of this position includes collecting data pertaining to all the different requirements of the HR department. They will be responsible for making their recommendations to their superiors. Sending information regarding benefits or policies is another part of this job. They will report all their information to a manager. Pay rate is over $37,000 per year.

4) Labor Relations Specialist - The duties of this position will include being in on any labor contract talks. The laws dealing with local as well as state and federal must be a familiar subject. They may give their opinions on any changes they feel should be made to existing policies to make sure the company is in compliance with new or existing regulations. The salary for this position is over $44,000 per year.

5) Human Resources Manager - The manager has a wide array of duties. They must create detailed plans of the company’s programs for the employees, their reimbursements, and company benefits, training of new employees, programs ensuring the health and safety of employees, and making sure all positions are staffed. They do this with the help of other employees they manage. The human resources jobs they are responsible for include almost everything except executive level positions. Their salary is usually the above $63,000 range, but could be more depending upon experience.  

Conclusion
According to several sources there is no where to go but up for human resources careers. The competition is going to get fierce as more graduates hit the job market looking for the positions that can give them the career for which they trained. Whether you are looking for human resources jobs that are entry level or the management jobs that pay well, one thing you already know is they are hiring and will continue to hire human resources professionals over the next several years.

Source : HR crossing.com

Life cycle of a uniform – what HR need to know 

The design phase always begins with a clear brief. A key part of this stage is defining exactly who will be wearing the garments. This means defining issues like age range (which might be wider in retail than for an airline) and size and shape range (which can vary depending on geographical location). A global organisation can be expected to encompass a wider range of shapes and sizes than one based in the UK, for example.  

At de Baer  we are currently designing uniforms for the Abu Dhabi custom administration.

We have visited all key locations to clearly understand what can and cannot be worn for both security and cultural reasons. As this uniform will be signed off by the senior government officials, we have to consider the staff who will be wearing the uniform (size, shape; extremes of climate; job roles) as well the expectations of the officials who asked us to create a modern Arabic uniform.

Reflect the brand 

A good uniform isn't just fit for purpose. It needs to reflect the ethos and culture of the organisation. Is it formal or informal? Business or leisure? Dressed-up or dressed down? When we re-designed the uniform for transport company Eddie Stobart, we were conscious that this was a brand with a very strong reputation and corporate image. So we had to reinforce the message that lorry drivers are professionals – which meant a smart uniform – while taking into account the fact that truck drivers sometimes live in their cabs for five or six days at a time which necessitated a practical approach.

Fit for purpose 

It’s easy to forget that design is only one element of a uniform. The fabric and cut is just as important. For example, dry cleaning can be a real problem, both in terms of time and cost. As a result, wherever possible, we use machine washable, easy care fabric. And don’t forget allergies. Some people are allergic to certain man-made fibres, so we need to be able to offer an alternative. In a similar vein, all of our garments come with those all important extras such as a bag of buttons. We also send out useful items like wonderweb hemming tape which just irons on so that it is easy to adjust the length of a pair of trousers. Then there are shoes, hand bags, hats and even small but crucial details like torches and key loops – all of these need to be considered to make garments as practical as possible.

Work in partnership

It is vitally important that the HR, purchasing, marketing and operations functions are all intimately involved in drawing up the brief for a new uniform.

What tends to happen is that we will lead these discussions in a series of meetings. It's important to ascertain what has gone before, what worked and what didn't work. We need to understand the various agendas – HR wants a uniform that people are proud of, marketing wants fresh new branding, purchasing wants to cut costs and operations need something that is fit for purpose.

It is our role to ask the right questions and facilitate this process. We often find that depending on what stage a company is in a buying cycle (saving or spending mode?) the process will either be led by HR, purchasing or marketing. We recently worked with the PTS Bank steering group was led by both Human Resources and purchasing to redesign their uniform. 

The main emphasis was on giving the staff a new uniform they would enjoy wearing. The second consideration was meeting the right price points. We achieved both criteria through numerous staff focus groups and a road show.

Realistic timescale

The entire process of designing and introducing a new uniform can take from six months to a year depending on how extensive wearer trials and focus groups are. Typically five months is fabric and garment manufacture time, this leaves time for design and development.  It is crucial for companies to think ahead. For example, an organisation looking to leverage its brand out of the credit crunch cycle will find that they have left it too late if they wait for the recession to finish.

Focus

Many companies underestimate the importance of staff involvement. A great way to kick off the design process is to hold a roads how where you can meet with staff and ask them what they need to do their jobs better. So for example, when we did a design project for BMI, we went on flights with them and worked with the cabin crew to get an understanding of what they needed. 

Thereafter, the best way to involve users in the design process is to set up staff focus groups that meet at regular intervals throughout the design process. Another vital stage in the process is wearer trials. Users need to actually wear the garments and it is important to listen to what they have to say about them and incorporate their feedback into making the garments and fabrics better. 

De Baer’s uniform for the bus, coach and rail divisions of National Express involved lengthy staff trials for both fabric and garment. Why? Train platforms tend to be cold. Train carriages tend to be warm. So platform staff and train staff need garments with widely differing performance if they are both to be comfortable. Then there are differing health and safety regulations that need to be taken into account.

With Haagen Daz, a global account we are currently holding wearer trails in Singapore, Mexico and the UK, revealing wide variations in shape, size and cultural attitudes.  

Communication

If staff endorse the uniform, enthusiasm for it spreads like wildfire and the rollout will be far more successful than if its adoption is foisted on an unwilling workforce. The key to this is good communication. Communicating is critical to a successful internal launch. Failing to explain how and why the uniform has come about, not putting in place the appropriate "internal PR" and / or not allowing enough time to prepare for the rollout are all classic mistakes.   

Similarly, just as at the start of the project, all the relevant departments and stakeholders need to be involved and kept in the loop about objectives and timescales. When Eurostar rolled out the new uniform we designed for them in 2004 it was the biggest change they had had for ten years. The launch even included fashion shows, a photoshoot for a new uniform brochure and a video roadshow. This all combined to ensure a successful launch. It is sometimes the little things that count the most to people. For the TUI rollout we put a TUI branded sewing kit, with extra buttons and threads that matched their uniform colours, in with each staff uniform box.

 Article by  Ann Dowdeswell

There is more to Staffing than just your recruiting process.

In the last few years the importance of hiring the right people at the right time for the right price has gone beyond the simple art of being able to read someone’s body language during an interview and asking a few pointed questions.

There are so many more disciplines that become integral factors that have to be dealt with every time you accept a new hire in to your organization. If you haven’t already started educating yourself in some of these areas be forewarned. It’s not as simple as it sounds.

In fact when you start to explore areas such as performance management and successions planning you begin to realize just how important it is to have specific disciplines as part of your overall staff that are key to the central function of recruiting. In some instances this is the single largest reason most organizations start to consider the outsourcing option.

However, there are other options. There are a great many companies who have started to specialize in some of the specific areas of discipline described in the graphic above. Based on the activities we’ve seen recently the general availability of these skill sets will decrease before they increase. If you haven’t started sourcing specific resources for these activities, now is just as good a time as any to start.

An employee welcome needs to be more than a handshake

An employee welcome needs to be more than a handshake – a proper induction will get them up and running effectively. The recruitment process doesn’t end when you select a suitable candidate following interview. Ahead lies the important task of settling the new staff member into their job quickly and effectively. Tom Whitney looks at your obligations.

Starting a new job provides many challenges for the employee, not the least of which is feeling under pressure to quickly prove their value. “It’s an important time – new recruits are also deciding whether the job is right for them,” notes employment consultant Margaret Dale.

“A well considered staff induction strategy or programme will help to make them feel more at ease. It allows new employees to learn about their role, tells them more about your business and introduces them to the rest of the team.”

Getting started

The law does not require you to have an induction process, but a structured programme will help a new employee settle in. The induction process can last days, or even weeks; you should try not to overload your new employee with information, however.

“Warmly welcome all new employees – this will improve how they feel about their new job significantly,” Dale advises. “It’s also important to show them around and introduce them to their new colleagues.”

Their first day should always include a tour of their workplace. New employees need to be told how to safely operate all equipment they might use, and emergency procedures should be thoroughly explained.

Schedule time for them to spend with people they will be working with and consider introducing them to key contacts outside your company as well, if relevant.

Once you have an effective induction procedure in place, set it out in writing and use it whenever a new person starts. Create a checklist, which can be signed by new employees as certain tasks are completed.

Employment contract 

You are obliged to provide a written statement of employment terms and conditions within two months of a new employee’s start date. This should list the main tasks and responsibilities of the post, as well as key policies and procedures.

“The employee needs to sign their contract as soon as they start,” stresses Yvonne Atherton, employment solicitor at Crutes law firm. “But it needs to state that continuity of employment at the end of the probationary period will be subject to the employee meeting certain criteria.”

The length of an employee’s probationary period is subject to discretion, but it should be enough time for them to prove their ability. You can extend a probation period, but bear in mind that an employee will qualify for full statutory rights after a year.

Keeping in touch

Provide ongoing support to an employee throughout their probation, so as to deal with any problems they may have, and end the probationary period with an appraisal.

“If you decide to keep them and they’ve already signed a contract, give them a letter confirming their permanent employment status,” says Atherton. “If necessary, point out anything they need to improve.”

If you feel there is no reasonable chance of a new employee making the grade, you can dismiss them. You should have first outlined your concerns and given them the chance to improve, however, as failure to do so could lead to a claim of unfair dismissal.

Six Sigma signals Quality

Everybody at Motorola was proud when they reached their lofty five years quality goals in 1987. But Motorola management was not satisfied with the new level of quality. When executives visited electronic plants in Japan, they were shocked to find Japanese factories producing at quality levels 2,000 times better than Motorola’s factories in the United States.

The company had already relinquished consumer electronics to the Japanese to focus on industrial applications. When Motorola sold its Chicago television plant to Matasushita in 1974, defects ran at a rate of 150 for every 100 sets produced. By 1979 Matasushita reported a mere four defects for every 100 televisions using the same American workforce. Motorola could not afford to lose the current competitive battle as a result of quality. The company had to re-intensify its quality efforts. So look at the competitive threat and you look closely at what you can offer.

In 1987, Galvin demanded a more dramatic improvement in quality to improve from 60,000 defects per million to ‘Six Sigma by 1992. Six Sigma defines the concept of achieving approximately zero defects (more precisely 3.4 defects per million or 99.999 percent defect free manufacturing). The first step in Motorola’s second generation quality program was another ten fold quality improvement. Alvin set a timetable to improve product and services quality 10 times by 1989, improve them at least 100 times by 1991 an then hit the Six Sigma goal by 1992.

The quality program’s ultimate objective was not only to move toward zero manufacturing defects, but also to improve all levels of customer satisfaction Motorola named its quality program after its ultimate goal: Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS). TCS provides for continuous improvement in price, delivery performance, quality and total customer experience. Of these quality stands as the linchpin of Motorola’s Total Customers Satisfaction program. According to Motorola’s BiIl Smith, It includes all the ways in which customers interact with a company such as receiving an understandable and accurate invoice obtaining prompt responses to requests for information or technical support, and getting courteous and professional treatment from salespeople.

Motorola set up a process called the ‘Six steps to Six Sigma to lead with the non-manufacturing more subjective aspects of quality. Steps one and two are to determine the product you make and who your customers are. Step three looks at the suppliers you need to make the product. In step four workers map out the process to fulfill your mission. Step five involves evaluating the process and eliminating the non-value-added steps or the sources of error. And the sixth step is the establishment of measurement criteria and the drive for continuous improvement.

Motorola doubled its effort aimed at designing in quality and improving supplier quality. Recognizing that much of the success of their quality improvement efforts rested with their suppliers, Motorola implemented the Certified Supplier Program to improve supplier quality. The program virtually eliminates the need for incoming quality inspections of supplier components. By cutting out supplier inspection, Motorola reduces overhead costs and increase its competitive advantage. Motorola also requires pursuit of the Malcolm Baldrige quality award by all of its suppliers.

Engineering, manufacturing ad marketing personnel started working together from day one to design in quality. That design process increasingly has to integrate what the customer feels with what suppliers can provide. So there are two major external forces in addition to getting the parts of the company working together. No longer do you have a situation where you can design a product and throw it over a wall and expect a manufacturing organization to simply make it. The Technology development is under taken with a deep understanding of customer needs and not simply for manufacturing.

Staff well-being   

What can you do when one of your staff is breaking up because of a crisis outside work? It’s almost impossible to keep work and personal lives completely separate. But what do you do when an employee’s personal problems seep into the workplace and won’t go away? Simon Wicks finds out.

Most employers recognise that significant events in a staff member’s life can’t be left completely at the door. Weddings, babies and other landmark events in people’s lives can often be cause for a morale-boosting celebration, for example; when sadder events such as bereavements occur, people tend to rally round and support their colleague through their crisis.

Some personal problems, however, are so debilitating that friendly support just isn’t enough. Addictions, debt, divorce and depression, for instance, can impair an individual’s mood and performance, damage working relationships and reduce team productivity.

In general, an employee’s personal life is not your business. But performance at work is your concern and you are entitled to address it. In doing so, you may have to support an employee through a personal crisis.

Identify the problem

Warning signs of a personal problem include out-of-character behaviour, such as poor time-keeping, tetchiness, absenteeism or a persistent drop in performance. Employers have a legal duty to help staff deal with work-related mental health, so you will need firstly to establish whether the employee’s problem is linked to work.

With their manager, invite them for an informal interview to discuss their performance and be clear that this is not a disciplinary hearing. Concentrate on instances of poor performance and ask whether they are experiencing any workplace problems. If it is a work issue, you should address it through appropriate workplace mechanisms.

If it is not work-related, you will have to tread more carefully – but it nevertheless makes good business sense to be supportive. In general, you should limit your discussion to how a problem is affecting the employee’s work; you are not in a counselling relationship with the employee, and could even find yourself breaching your duty of care if you offer inappropriate advice.

Providing support

You are likely to be able to offer practical help for some problems. If the employee has childcare difficulties, they are entitled to parental leave; if they are caring for a sick relative, you could offer flexible working; if they have an emergency involving a dependant, you are obliged to give them reasonable time off. Giving compassionate leave for these and other problems can prevent escalation.

If the employee’s problem is more personal, such as an addiction or a relationship breakdown, avoid becoming directly involved. Instead, encourage them to seek treatment or counselling, perhaps through an Employee Assistance Programme. They are not obliged to take your advice; but you may be able to make it a more attractive option if you offer paid sick leave to receive treatment and temporarily reduce their workload.

Review performance

You should underpin your support strategy with a review of the employee’s workload. Scale this back, if necessary, or give them achievable goals that will help them see clear progress as their situation improves. Conduct regular, informal performance reviews to help the employee overcome any work-related difficulties.

If their behaviour continues to cause concern, you may have to fall back on your firm’s disciplinary procedures. If so, be sure to follow the Acas code of practice and give a clear indication of when disciplinary proceedings will have to be initiated.

Your final option is to consider dismissal, but only after the disciplinary procedure has been correctly followed and all reasonable options exhausted. In the event that your former employee takes you to a tribunal, you will have to show that you have followed procedure to the letter.

Published Friday.Performance Management, Wellbeing

Tapping Ex-Employee Pros of Returning Workers

Looking for the right person to fit a vacancy to help expand your business? You can advertise, of course, but more employers are tapping lists of former employees who may be able to provide just the right referrals because they know what kind of workers fit the bill. And, who knows? An employee who retired, or someone who left to take another job, might miss the scene and want to come back. They just need to be asked.

Many employers, are taking steps to actively stay connected with former employees, having found them to be a valuable resource for the nonprofit company's recruitment efforts. While some companies maintain formal alumni networks that allow former employees to see job postings, network with their former co-workers and earn money from referral bonus programs, other companies take a more casual approach by doing things like organizing social events for former employees or sending them occasional newsletters or invitations to company-sponsored activities. Some groups operate independently, while others are actually sponsored by the employer.

Whatever the structure, lots of companies have found recruitment value in their alumni networks.

Pros of Returning Workers

The advantages of pursuing former employees, says Alice Snell, vice president of San Francisco-based Taleo Research, a division of Taleo Corp., are that "they are known commodities and are considerably less expensive to bring back than having to advertise, which can become a large part of your recruiting budget." If employers maintain a good relationship with their former, high-quality employees, Snell says those ex-employees "can become an excellent source of referrals or come back themselves."

And there are other positive side effects. "When former employees return," she says, "they can bring back competitive intelligence and have a broader knowledge of the market." They also can be instrumental in helping develop newer workers, she says: Ex-employees who return "can act as mentors for the other recruits who are new to the scene."

According to Monique Brannon, national director of recruiting for the Cincinnati office of accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP, former employees "know our culture and they know the types of clients we serve, which makes much less of a need for training and orientation."

Giangrande of HFHS echoes those sentiments. A big dividend in rehiring former employees, she maintains, "is the fact that we don't have to do a lot of retraining, because their learning curves are significantly reduced." Rehires also understand the organization's culture, Giangrande adds, "so you have a better chance of retaining them a second time around."

Even so, HFHS makes a concerted effort to get rehires back up to speed. "We have a new-hire orientation session every Monday, and as much as 20 percent of the audience is made up of alumni rehires who may not know about new projects," Giangrande says.

Susan B. Whitcomb--executive director of the California-based Career Masters Institute, a professional group of career consultants, career coaches and job-search strategists--agrees that the familiarity former employees bring offers big benefits. In fact, she believes that one of the main reasons employers are combing their alumni ranks for possible rehires is the fact that these individuals know the organization and understand its business needs and culture.

Whitcomb also points out that the employees themselves are proven commodities. "You've gotten to know them," she says. "There won't be any surprises, because you know what you are dealing with."

She adds that going back to a former employer can create loyalty and good will on the part of a returning employee because it shows the value the organization places on them, and that can translate into greater productivity.

Staying in Touch

Employers can't gain the benefits that returning employees offer without some effort, however.

One of the main reasons employees return to HFHS, Giangrande explains, "is because we maintain contact by keeping them updated with what's going on." To keep in touch, she says, "e-mail notices and postcards are sent out to announce upcoming recruitment activities where former employees are invited to join in."

"When good employees leave for another job, early retirement or whatever," Giangrande says, "we don't want to let them go quietly and just forget about us." That's why the company is putting together a new alumni recruitment campaign called Reselling the Employment Proposition, Giangrande says. She describes the campaign as an effort "to explain how we will build relationships and cultivate the bond with former employees."

It begins as soon as employees declare they are leaving, Giangrande says. The company starts by conducting an exit interview and entering the departing employee's name in the company's alumni database. After one month, the company will keep up correspondence through a newsletter. After several more months, "we will invite them to an alumni event and invite them to reapply for employment," Giangrande says.

Giangrande says HFHS makes a conscious decision to go after former employees soon after they've left "because you have a much better chance of persuading them to come back within the first year after they've departed." During this time, she explains, "former employees might find that their new jobs aren't what they thought they would be and don't measure up."

For example, employees are sometimes lured away by the promise of a greater salary, but may find that their new compensation is not significantly greater than what they previously earned. "After a while," Giangrande says, "they realize there is more to a job than just the money and they are open to becoming reinstated in their old position, or something related to it." Because the nonprofit corporation is in a field facing a national health care labor shortage, Giangrande says, "we really have to think outside the box as to how we will fill our vacancies."

At Grant Thornton, Brannon also feels the squeeze of a tight labor market. To induce people to return to the firm, she says, the company offers a sign-on bonus. For example, "a manager who comes back could get as much as $10,000." Grant Thornton is "offering these bonuses and other inducements," Brannon says, because "there's a scramble out there for talent and, with our recent growth, we don't want to leave any stone unturned."

Keeping Them Coming Back

To keep open the channels of communication with former workers, Booz Allen Hamilton, a management consulting firm based in McLean, Va., has instituted an alumni recruiting program called "The Comeback Kids." According to program manager Jerrod A. Wheeler, during the past year "we rehired 166 former employees because we know these people and know what they can bring to the table."

And what those employees bring can be quite valuable. For example, the company does a lot of business with the government and a major portion of its rehiring involves former employees who have the necessary clearance credentials.

Another high priority for the organization is rehiring former employees who are well-versed in organizational change, organizational design, management change and leveraging technology to aid the business process. "If we can find alumni out there who have this kind of talent," Wheeler says, "we want to get in touch with them."

What helps, he explains, "is the fact that we're not making cold calls. They're 'warm calls' to reintroduce rehire candidates to the company."

Many companies are turning to their alumni communities to find individuals to take on short-term and project work. One such business is Shell Oil Co., which launched a networking web site for its alumni in November to support corporate business development and recruitment and to provide alumni with an online networking platform. The company-sponsored site doesn't charge alumni to register. So far, AlliancexShell has signed up more than 1,000 active members. The site allows ex-employees living around the world to post their resumes detailing their Shell and other work experiences. As the company identifies its short-term resourcing needs, its HR staff uses the database to search for alumni candidates with the relevant skills for various projects.

Some alumni web sites provide a focal point for former employees even after the employer has been acquired or merged with another company, becoming a resource for other employers in the same industry to find experienced professionals.

Former Digital Equipment Corp. employee Peter T. Koch is president of Digital Alumni Inc., which has more than 2,000 active members, even though Digital was acquired by Compaq and Compaq was acquired by Hewlett-Packard. Digital Alumni still puts out a quarterly newsletter, Koch says, "where employers can post job openings."

The site is effective for acquiring part-time help and reaching individuals interested in temporary assignments, Koch says, since some of Digital's alumni "don't want to work full time, but could be available for part-time projects where their specific skills could be of value."

When the HR weds marketing       

There was a time when marketing and human resource development used to be very separate disciplines. People who contributed to these disciplines had their own distinct schools of thought and nothing in common. But given today’s talent bazaar, both these sciences were compelled to shake hands and share tools to form a new discipline- HR Marketing. As strange as it may sound, it relates to HR professionals employing classical marketing tools to do what they do best- which is almost every listed HR function.

Explains Adil Malia, Group President - HR, Essar Group, “As human beings, we don’t want to believe that we are like products. But given the fact that every candidate has four offers to choose from, and every organisation has multiple positions to fill, it is evident that the talent market is mimicking behaviour patterns of the product market. This has pushed HR professionals to don a marketing cap and utilise marketing principles to present their employer offerings to relevant prospects.”

Go to talent market strategy

Today, when you try to hire a person, he/she has will evaluate you on multiple metrics, depending on what one finds attractive. So, in order to create a unique value proposition for various talent segments, HR needs to first develop a customised brand strategy based on what each one seeks.

You cannot afford to have the same formula across segments, just like one appeal may not be successful across diverse consumer segments. Adds Malia, “HR must understand the psychographics of the talent segment that it aims to attract and plan a customised go to market strategy for that segment. Only then will it be able to successfully develop a unique value proposition for them.” But conceptualising a market strategy needs more than a clear idea of the value chain in the organisation. This calls for market intelligence to get a taste of what works for a particular talent segment and also considering the initiatives that competition is taking to attract talent.

Explains Neelesh Hundekari, Principal, A.T. Kearney Limited, “There have been many changes in the preferences over the last few years - for example, work-life balance and opportunity to learn new skills are important to the young generation, while the opportunity to build a career is less important. So, employers have to match this with what they offer best. However this is not an easy task. Even companies which have been recruiting professionals for a long time, see a gradual change in their market/competitive positioning which gets reflected in their positioning in the talent market. Just as the segments in the market that you get to serve is influenced by competition, the talent that you attract is influenced by matching the needs of the segment that you want to attract and their needs.”

Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink

This phrase rings true for every professional in the business of recruitment who would agree that there is a talent crunch. But HR marketers believe that there is no talent crunch. You just need to restructure your talent channels. So, if metros have been wrung dry, go to the rural areas!

Malia opines, “India has a large talent pool but we still complain that there is a shortage of talent. This is because we don’t have the appropriate channel strategy worked out. For example, our hiring related communication is usually directed only towards the metros, while there is a huge neglected talent pool available in the rural areas and small towns. So, just like planning for a brand, we need to develop a brand, channel, cost/price and occasion strategy to find and attract relevant talent. Also, the employer brand created must have a clear differentiator, an identity of its own and a uniqueness to distinguish it from other employer brands in the market.”

Hundekari agrees, “In a cluttered market, you need to identify new niches - be it customer segments or talent segments - where you will have a competitive advantage. However just as each segment of customers has an associated ‘cost to serve’, each talent segment comes with its own set of needs, which could be potential issues. Hiring freshers implies less competition but greater need for orientation and training and hiring from non-traditional channels could mean higher hiring costs and lower success rates. However, wherever you go, you have to differentiate yourselves from other employers, by playing to your strengths.”

Living up to promises

Most would think that once you’ve managed to successfully build a desirable employer brand, your job is done. But the truth is far from it. As Malia would put it, “Building a strong employer brand and marketing it across talent segments is not the end of the process, just like marketing a product well can only determine first time purchase. And like product attrition happens when there is no repeat purchase, talent attrition happens when you don’t live up to the promised value proposition made at the point of hiring. So, it can be safely said that talent will stay in your organisation till he/she is able to taste the total unique value proposition, which attracted him/her to that organisation in the first place. So, now companies are required to use macro marketing concepts to micro marketing requirements.”

So, constant evaluation and alteration is must for survival, if not for acquiring an edge over competitive employer brands.

Hundekari explains how a new entrant could push existing players to bend their positioning, “Just like a product needs to be rejuvenated if you have to extend the product life cycle and prevent it from a decline, the employer brand needs to maintain its appeal. As new employer brands enter the market, existing ones face competition. There is no alternative to constantly tracking your brand (as an employer) health and repositioning when on a decline.”

So, as HR professionals don marketing gloves they may be able to brand their firms with the right attributes and may do a brilliant job of attracting relevant talent. But the ultimate criteria for retaining people was and continues to be- how you manage the aspirations and nurture the dreams of your people.

 By KUNAL GUHA, TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Running workshops for motivation

Running workshops for motivation, team-building and improving performance Workshops combine training, development, team-building, communications, motivation and planning. Participation and involvement of staff increases the sense of ownership and empowerment, and facilitates the development of organisations and individuals. Workshops are effective in managing change and achieving improvement, and particularly the creation of initiatives, plans, process and actions to achieve particular business and organisational aims. Workshops are also great for breaking down barriers, improving communications inside and outside of departments, and integrating staff after acquisition or merger. Workshops are particularly effective for (CRM) customer relationship management development. The best and most constructive motivational team-building format is a workshop, or better still series of workshops, focusing on the people's key priorities and personal responsibilities/interest areas, which hopefully will strongly overlap with business and departmental aims too. Workshops can be integrated within regular monthly team meetings - an amazing amount of motivation progress and productivity can be accomplished with just a 90 mins workshop per month. Workshop facilitation by a team leader or manager develops leadership, and workshops achieve strong focus on business aims among team members. Workshops are very effective for training too - workshops encourage buy-in and involvement more than conventional training courses because they are necessarily participative, and the content and output are created by the delegates. Also, the relationship between workshop facilitator or workshop presenter and delegates is participative, whereas a 'trainer' is often perceived as detached, and the training material 'not invented here'.

There are many workshop format variations - here's a basic workshop format:

Prior to workshop session identify and agree via consultation with the team the aim/opportunity area to be addressed. It's helpful to refer to John Adair's Action-Centred Leadership model for examples of different workshop subject areas and their implications.
It's also important to decide workshop objectives in relation to the team's 'maturity', experience and development - refer to the Tuckman 'forming storming norming performing' model, and the Tannenbaum and Schmidt model to understand and agree the level of freedom and responsibility to give the team during workshops, and in agreeing workshop follow-up actions and responsibilities.
Set suitable date and venue for meeting and issue agenda, with verbal explanation/reassurance if necessary - see running meetings.
At start of workshop, introduce aim and process - agree expectations - answer queries. (5 mins)
Brainstorm the ideas and opportunities with the whole group - flip chart is best - see brainstorming. (10-20 mins)
Split the group into pairs or threes (more usually creates passengers) and ask them to come up with outline actions/initiatives/plans to achieve agreed purpose/aim. (20-30 mins)
Have groups present back their ideas - review and praise positives aspects in each, and gently agree areas which would benefit from improvement/refining. (max 5 mins per group)
Then task and agree for groups or individuals to refine outline plans into clear objectives (refer to SMARTER principles), during the workshop, or afterwards to be fed back to manager, which can then be followed up and coached during implementation.
Follow up, coach, encourage, support and invite ideas for future workshop items and process improvements.  

Tips on designing workshops
Workshops are an extremely flexible and effective method for training, learning, development, change management, team building and problem solving, and virtually any organizational challenge.

You can actually run any sort of workshop you want - your options are as wide as your imagination and certainly not limited to off-the-shelf or tried and tested formats.

Think about and then agree openly your aim(s) for each workshop or and/or session.

Invite suggestions from delegates beforehand as to workshop subjects and aims if you want to maximise commitment and empowerment.

It helps for certain aims to use a model or concept to explain the theory behind your intentions, for example if dealing with communications and motivation, helpful models are: Johari, Maslow, Mcgregor, Tuckman, Emotional Intelligence - these sort of concepts are interesting and accessible for students and organizational delegates of all types. There are many others on this site.

There are also lots of materials and templates on the free resources section which help to theme and underpin workshop sessions.

Split big groups into pairs or threes - this is more dynamic and produces more ideas - and gets the whole group working better, particularly when they present ideas and review with the whole group. As with teambuilding exercises, if you split into sub-teams of more than four it's advisable to have each team appoint a leader, or things can be chaotic and some members become 'passengers'.