It seems as though we have been atop the crest of a wave in workforce planning for quite some time now. Today, we question the inevitable.... When Will The Wave Break? Baby Boomers have long since reached the legal retirement age but are not retiring, Gen X-ers remain in the the wings seemingly content in doing so and Millennials can't go anywhere without being stereotyped out of even submitting an opinion. We remain in our generational silos, waiting to phase each other out, ignoring the opportunity to collaborate. Do...

  Whether you are an HR professional, business owner or manager are you not impacted on a daily basis by federal, state and/or local legislation, regulation or litigation?  Think about it.  Every minute that an employee works liability is incurred for one or more potential wage and hour violations: are you recording the time properly? Retaining all records required? Paying completely and timely? Every word, email, comment, duty and responsibility can seem fraught with peril. Don’t ask the wrong question or risk violating HIPAA, GINA, ADA, Title VII or myriad state or local laws.  In 2012, Senator Harkin asked...

  As a young professional in HR, I often run into issues that I have not yet had the opportunity to address in my career.  When I am faced with something with which I do not have experience, I recognize the importance of gaining as much knowledge about the issue or problem at hand before acting on it.  I have found a number of data-gathering tactics that work well for me and I would like to share them in hopes that they will help other professionals properly execute new experiences....

  In this era of "World War Talent," the connection between an organization’s leadership team and its human resources department has never been more important. The CEO and HR leaders must be closely linked, which for many organizations requires a shift from past practice. Gone are the days of HR as an administrative cost center. HR leaders are increasingly expected to own the business plan from the perspective of talent — serving as a chief advisor and confidant to the CEO and a business partner to the operating team for all matters talent, including technology. The Role of CHRO The...

  Q: I read somewhere that the majority of identity theft originates from a source in the workplace. If this is true, what steps should my employer be taking to protect my personal information, and what can I do if they are being lax about it? A: As an individual, if you are trying to protect yourself against identity theft at work, there’s a lot you can do. However, those efforts might be in vain if your employer isn’t also safeguarding your information. As you mention, the percentage of identity theft originating...

You guys know that job seekers are my heart. I have used this blog, speaking platforms and my work in general for the last 4 years to bring awareness regarding the treatment of job seekers, help those job seekers build strategies for their job search and try my best to match job seekers with jobs when I can. But I can’t get you a job. Nor can any other recruiter out there. At least not in the way you...

  On March 18, @shrmnextchat chatted with Jason Averbook (@JasonAverbook) about 2015 HR Trends. In case you missed it, here are all the informative tweets from the chat:     [View the story "#Nextchat RECAP: 2015 HR Trends" on Storify]  ...

On my speaking boondoggles around the country, what’s the biggest issue I hear from HR professionals involving transgender employees? Yep, it’s the use of the bathroom. Folks, it’s not that complicated. But, I’ll get to that in a sec. First, with a tip of the hat to Joshua Block (@JoshACLU), over the weekend, I read this tweet, which links to this storyfrom Jessica Shepherd (@JessShepSaginaw), about a Planet Fitness location in Michigan that received a complaint from a female gym member. This woman complained to the gym about a transgender woman (assigned male...

  I received this question over at my blog, HR Bartender. It’s one of those situations that might not come up regularly, but it raises a lot of questions about the best way to handle mistakes. The company I work for is closing. Each employee is being given a severance package of 1 week for every year worked. I started June 2010. When I was told that I would receive 2.5 weeks of severance, I questioned it and was told my hire date was listed as July 2012. When I explained my hire date was incorrect,...

The 2015 SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference is March 23-25 in Washington, D.C.   Check out the Storify below with all the best tweets from the conference:  [View the story "2015 SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference #SHRMLeg" on Storify]  ...

  Whether you’ve been in the human resources profession for five years or 35 years (back when it was known as the "personnel department"), all HR professionals can tell you what they wish they would have known before they started their careers.  They may talk about the evolution of the profession itself or about trends, laws and advances in technology that have appeared over the course of their careers.  What did you wish you would have known about your resume or job hunt, or about networking? What advice can you share with others who are about to enter or transition...

  I am excited to share with you the new Council for Global Immigration (CFGI) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) guide, "Moving Forward on Immigration: How the U.S. Employment-Based Immigration System Works - and How It Can Work Better," which contains information on: An overview of the U.S. employment-based immigration system; Must-know information on the president’s executive action; How reforms will help solve America’s skills gap; Important policy solutions that can make the system work better - from H-1Bs to worksite enforcement; Lessons from the global competition for talent; and more. The guide also outlines our ...

  Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of speaking not once, but twice, about one of my favorite topics: recruitment marketing. The first was during a webinar sponsored by SmashFly that featured insights from Brandon Hall Group’s latest research on the matter, as well as how the components of high-performance recruitment marketing are having real impact on talent acquisition performance at CDW and Lockheed Martin. The second...

  On March 25, @shrmnextchat chatted with Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman) about "What I Wish I Would Have Known" before starting a career in HR. In case you missed it, here are all the informative tweets -- and some great advice -- from the chat:   [View the story "#Nextchat RECAP: What I Wish I Would Have Known" on Storify]  ...

  We all know about Reading, Writing and Arithmetic from our childhoods - the 3 Rs. In the HR and talent management world, there are another 3 Rs that are critical to the success of an HR organization - Recruitment, Retention and Relationships. As much focus that is placed on the first 2, it seems the relationship piece of the puzzle is often missing. And that’s a shame, because it is vital to the success of the organization, including the recruitment and retention pieces. It's the people! There are jokes - and books written - that go something like this:...

  Have you heard about the new #SHRM certifications? Our quick Q&A with Kennesaw State University HR program manager Jennifer Henderson will answer your questions about what these changes mean for the human resources industry.           ...

  In my time as a researcher I have come across countless articles and blogs about the habits of great leaders or the bad habits of those in positions of power.  They almost hit you in the face on a daily basis if you traverse LinkedIn often enough.  The funny thing is I have never seen them contextualized to leaders in specific roles or industries.  They are always generic.  This irks me to no end because it reminds of my initial research on the SHRM Competency Model.  In a review of more than 30 competency models...

It seems that everyone wants a seat at the table these days, including college athletes. However, it’s not the boardroom table where they want a voice and a vote. It’s at the bargaining table.   On April 24, 2014, in a college sports first, Northwestern University football players voted to unionize in hopes of achieving benefits such as scholarship protection and long-term health care. However, the ramifications of this historic vote have since been put on hold pending Northwestern’s appeal to the National...

Do you wear a fitness tracker like a Fitbit or a Jawbone? Or maybe you are planning to jump on the Apple Watch fanboy train in a few weeks and take advantage of that device's ability to track your activity. Lot's of folks are keeping closer track of their workouts and activity today. A few months back Microsoft launched its first entry into the wearables market with the Microsoft Band, a wearable tracker that possesses a variety of sensors including a microphone, a GPS location sensor, motion sensors, an optical sensor that measures heart rate, a sensor that tracks skin conductance,...

  Recruiters face a paradox. Currently, there is an amazing pool of talent available to be tapped, but the sheer numbers make it increasingly difficult to locate perfect candidates. This makes it more important than ever to develop a true recruiting strategy. The following tips can help you map out your strategy for recruiting the best candidates. Ideally, your recruiting strategy should be planned on an annual basis. Execution, however, will need to be on a shorter-term, rolling basis. For example, if you...

  Now, it’s time for headlines of the latest news: In "It Will v Never Happen," the NLRB stated that "management rights must be respected and it is not for the NLRB to tell employers how to run their businesses.  We decline the union’s invitation to do so." In "Dream On v Silly Rabbit," the California Supreme Court instructed lower courts to scrutinize wrongful discharge claims more closely when resolving a motion to dismiss. More specifically, the court expressed concern that "the cost to employers in defending frivolous claims is diverting limited resources, that could go to their employees, to their...

On April 1, @shrmnextchat chatted with Mike VanDervort (@MikeVanDervort) about "Are College Athletes Students or Employees?" In case you missed this excellent conversation, here are all the tweets from the chat: [View the story "#Nextchat RECAP: Are college athletes students or employees? " on Storify]  ...

SHRM CEO, Hank Jackson Bill Gates once said, "Microsoft is always two years away from failure." This statement is a reminder of the competitive reality that businesses face and a powerful motivator to innovate. Judging from the company’s perch at the top of industry lists—second most valuable brand in the world, according to Forbes, and No. 34 on the Fortune 500—it’s safe to say the tech company has done its share of innovating since it was founded 40 years ago. Today, as HR professionals, we...

  This is the third in a series on the Secret Sauce of leading a successful search.  The first two chapters included the important steps of crafting the job posting and then the important research and networking.  This musing is dedicated to the important vetting process in determining the finalists for a search. If we have done our job well in the initial research, recruiting and storytelling, we will have a number of resumes to review and start the short-listing.  This vetting process can seem overwhelming to many, as there are so many factors to consider, but the...