What should HR leaders focus on in 2014?

Hey!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardlawler/2014/01/15/what-should-hr-leaders-focus-on-in-2014/

In this article the author argues that HR should focus on talent management and talent development in the future. The article says that talent management becomes increasingly important as many companies do more complex and knowledge-based work and operate globally and talent therefore is a source of competitive advantage.

Do you agree with the article that talent management is the most important function in HR?

The Best Companies To Work For In 2014

Hi all,

i found an article named: "The Best Companies to Work for in 2014."

Here is the link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/12/11/the-best-companies-to-work-for-in-2014/

How do you think can this matter be evaluated? What factors are most important when evaluating a company concerning being a good place to work at?

I am looking forward to your opinions on this matter.

-Steffie

IBM is giving money to its employees for crowdfunded projects

Hi everybody! This is a really interesting article about IBM and their very innovative way to encourage and empower their employees. http://business.time.com/2014/01/20/ibm-internal-enterprise-crowdfunding-mimics-kickstarter/How do you like their approach? I think it's a really great HR approach to drive innovation among workers!

What are your salary expectations?

Hey there :)
I recently read some tips for interviews (http://www.office-angels.com/help-and-advice/advice-for-jobseekers/salary-expectations-interview.aspx#.UtwM4ihZBok), and how to answer critical questions. So my question is: Imagine you are on an interview right after your bachelor because you would like to spend the next year working. The recruiter asks: What are your salary expectations? - What's your answer?

Diversity Management

Diversity management is becoming very important in the global business nowadays. Most organisations look for the diverse workforce, as different people could bring different talents, interests and knowledge. However, there are still many executives think that: " Diversity has no real value tangible to the growth of our business". So do you agree with them?

Giving Feedback

Hey Guys, below the link to an article about feedback.

In the article the example of spinach in the teeth is given. This would pose an opportunity to think about one's own action in such a case. Would you give feedback/ altert the person? Would you do it if it was a supervisor?

The article states 5 tips how to give and receive feedback. What do you think would make feedback more successful? I, personally, think that it is easier to accept feedback from several sources. It is easier to accept, since you know that it is the opinion of several people. Also you get a more throughout feedback. Do you think 360degree feedback is a better than when it comes from a single source?


http://www.jbtrainingsolutions.com/article/5-tips-giving-and-receiving-feedback-work

To Optimize Talent Management, Question Everything

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/12/to-optimize-talent-management-question-everything/

This article poses a very interesting question: Should you hire as if your workforce will stay a month, a year or their entire career?

Some entrepreneurs argue that nowadays in most situations it is more clever to hire employees only for a shor-term. They call this system "Tours of duty". 

I think there are a lot of things disadvantages that come with Tours of duty though. If an employer only regards you as a short-term asset, they will probably not treat you that good. They won't care about your development for example. And vice versa employees won't care as much for the companies they are working for. This definitely has effects on their work ethics and much more.  

What do you guys think about this?

32 hours / week for parents

http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/merkel-duepiert-familienministerin-schwesig-familienteilzeit-abgelehnt-32-stunden-woche-fuer-eltern-kommt-nicht_id_3530816.html

Sorry to all non -german speakers, but here a brief summary.
The minister for families in germany supposed to introduce a 32 hours week for parents instead of 38,5.
Chancellor Merkel declined this idea immediately.
I think this is not only harming entrepreneurs, but also all parents, who try to get a full time job, with full time payment.
In my opinion many regulations do not improve the labor market, which is anyhow regulated by demand and supply.
How do you think about it?

7 Management Practices that can improve employee productivity

Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2013/06/17/7-management-practices-that-can-improve-employee-productivity/

How to motivate employees and improve the productivity are always key issues within a company. In this article, there are seven hints to help you achieve that:

1, incentives for all levels of an organization 

2. providing feedback 

3. respect to employees 

4.training at all levels of an organization 

5. providing support 

6. Generosity 

7. sense of pride

From my own point of view, I do not agree on the first point. Different positions have different functions. Some are doing performance related job and this requires incentives to motivate people for sure. Some others such as secretary or those who just have regular tasks, of course incentives can motivate them as well to some degree, however, we should ask if this is really necessary and practical concerning costs.

From your past work experience, how did your company motivate you and were you satisfied with it? As a hard-working employee, what kind of incentive has the greatest impact on your performance?

The trend of job-hopping

Here is a very interesting article about the trend of job-hopping. Sorry that it is in German!
http://www.karriere.at/blog/job-auf-lebenszeit.html?utm_source=mailworx&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_content=2-spaltig_weiterlesen_arbeitgeber&utm_campaign=b2c+dezember+2013+-+20131213&utm_term=n%2fa

Today's generation follows the trend of having multiple employers over a rather short amount of time. Hopping from one company to another, young professionals want to acquire wide-ranging knowledge and build up a large, resourceful network.  For companies and HR, this trend is a nightmare - losing employees is very costly for a company (the cost of losing a key talent is equivalent to 6-24 months' salary, PwC 2013). 

What's your opinion? Where do you see the advantages and disadvantages of job hopping (from your point of view and from a company's view)? What are the risks of this trend for your CV?

Happy reading! :) 

Hi folks,
I hope you had a pleasant holiday. For many people today was the first day after vacation, needless to mention that it was a extraordinarily busy day for some of them.
As you might have heard on the news several weeks ago, some labour unions wanted to implement more (6 weeks instead of 5) statutory holiday per year.
Do you think that this is a good idea/approach? I do not have to be a prophet to forecast that this will not happen too soon in regard of the current political situation on a federal state level and on a national level, but would it be from your point of view a step in the right direction, also taking into account unemployment, deficits and debts? Would such a thing be possible from an entrepreneurial perspective? Tell me your thoughts and sorry for not posting an article for this issue!

Cheers

Workplace Bullying

Dear colleagues,

there is one certain topic which comes over and over again and it is about workplace bullying. I found an article which states that bullying at work increases more and some reasons for that might be the economic crisis or narcissistic bosses.

Now I´m interested in your opinion, what do you think are the reasons for bullying and what can be done in order to prevent it.

Regards
Tanja

http://ohsonline.com/articles/2013/10/14/a-rise-in-workplace-bullying.aspx

What to do when your boss won’t support your great ideas

Entrepreneurial attitude is always crucial for a company. It leads to innovation and reform within this company, or even change the future of a whole industry. However, depending on different types of companies, new ideas or innovation are not always occupying the leading position. Thus, it is important to choose the right company if you are an innovative person.
As an innovative company, it needs new ideas contributing to its development and should know how to led employees to right ideas. This demands proper training and good understanding of company’s culture.
 If you were an employee in an innovative company, what would you do to let your boss accept and support your new idea?

Link：http://www.forbes.com/sites/elainepofeldt/2013/12/31/what-to-do-when-your-boss-wont-support-your-great-ideas/#

What's the work you can't not do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpe-LKn-4gM

In this video Scott Dinsmore talks about finding a job you love.

Do you already know what you would like to do for a living in the future? If it lies outside of your field of studies, would you put in time and effort to pursue it?
For instance, I found out that economics is not the field where I see myself working so I will start over in a completely new field in autumn (if I get in that is ^^). Do any of you share the same experience?

What is more important to you, earning a lot of money or working in a position that fullfills you?

Do you agree with the statement that" it does not matter which work you do in the beginning as you are just building up your resume"?

Please let me know your thoughts and enjoy the last few days off FH.

Internships - Awesome or Average?

Hey again!
I've found this interesting article about internships, and wanted to share it with you. It actually tells how to make internships interesting and beneficial for the intern from the management perspective. And as we all have completed an internship, I would be curious if anybody has had such "perfect" internship conditions or at least some of the mentioned points have been fullfilled during the pts.

My personal experience during the the PTS was unfortunately not that awesome, as I was lacking a lot of feedback and did not face a lot of challenges during the internship. So I would be happy do see how you were doing and what you think about the points mentioned in the article.

Link to article:
http://experts.allbusiness.com/guest_posts/transform-your-interns-from-average-to-awesome/2/#.UsbNl5iA3IU

Whizper – Headhunting for everyone!

Hi guys!

We already discussed head-hunters. I found an interesting tool through which everyone can become a head-hunter! It´s called “Whizper” and was launched in spring/summer 2013. Whizper is a button which can be placed on job ads from online job boards. The company determines a fixed amount between € 150,- and € 10.000,- which the “private” head-hunter will receive when successfully fulfilling his job. Every “Whizperer” needs to register on the website. A complex tracking system allows the company to follow the job ad through the internet. One job cannot be whizpered only once, but many times. If in the end, the company hires the person, the first and the last whizperer share the money.

For your better understanding, here is an example how it works:

Sam is looking for a job. During his research he finds a job ad which is not interesting for him but which fits to his friend, Helen. By clicking on the Whizper button, Sam can send the job via E-Mail, Facebook or any other social media tool to Helen. She takes a look at it and decides that the position would fit better to her friend Charly. However, Charly knows someone who perfectly matches the jobs description, wherefore he sends the job ad to Paul. Paul applies for the job and gets hired. Beforehand, the company decided that finding the right person for the job is worth € 500,-. Sam and Charly can now share the money, Paul has a new job and the company found a person who suits the job.

The idea of Whizer is to replace head-hunters and recruitment consultants. A growing network spreads the jobs to the most qualified people. This saves the company costs as they do not have to deal with applications of unqualified people or even give the position to unsuitable personnel.

What do you think about the tool? Do you think it could really help companies to find their staff in a more efficient way? Would you act as a “Whizperer”? Which problems could arise?

Here is the link to the homepage:

http://www.whizper.com/

And here you can watch the youtube-video where they explain again how it works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6IVSIJD0YY

Customizing Your Management Approach

A happy New Year to all of you!

To start 2014 smoothly, here a short and easy-going article on leadership:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2013/12/30/dont-treat-your-employees-like-you-want-to-be-treated/

We have probably all learnt to treat others the same way we want to be treated. However, being in a management position, you should forget about this “golden rule” of life.

Since we are all different and show unique traits, each employee will respond differently to certain situations than his or her co-workers. Thus, it is essential for managers to understand all their employees’ attitudes and personalities in order to manage people more effectively.

The article proposes a couple of illustrative examples in which managers should reconsider treating every employee the same.

Have you, in the context of past work experience, ever perceived situations in which an executive treated everyone within your team the same (e.g. with regard to giving feedback, setting individual objectives, or establishing training opportunities), even though every member within your team would have needed a more customized approach? Or have you had a manager who actually does adapt his/her style of management to each of his employees? If yes, do you think this individual treatment positively contributes to employee performance and satisfaction, or do you think this rather is a waste of time and unnecessary spoiling of employees?