In just a few short years social networking sites have gone from something that people thought might just be a fad to a major part of our society. You’ve probably seen the statistic that if Facebook was a country it would be the fourth largest in the world. It might also surprise you to know that based on Facebook’s last publicly released data, their fastest growing segment is adults aged 40-55.

You can’t click on a human resources web site or open a newsletter these days without confronting a significant issue in our line of work: employee morale isn’t where we’d like it to be. Sure, with the recent economic volatility it would be odd if sentiment was at an all time high. However, many surveys are indicating that if employers don’t do a better job of improving morale there will be a lot of employees hopping jobs once the market opens up again.

The New Year is here and many of us are thinking about our professional goals for the upcoming year. One thing that is never far from the minds of human resources practitioners is skills development. Looking at this for ourselves and our company’s workforce with tightened budgets can make it difficult to find development opportunities. Trade and professional organizations offer a great way to increase your skill set without breaking the bank.

In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, the most successful organizations are often those that invest in workforce development. When employees are encouraged to expand their skills and learn new ones, this creates an atmosphere that is conducive to innovation. Attention to training is also imperative from a performance management standpoint.

One of the reasons Human Resources has always struggled to become strategically involved within the corporate power structure is a lack of hard numbers. Any HR director who has tried to make a case that employee satisfaction is important for an organization’s overall performance is familiar with the frustrating response “Show us the data”. Without reliable, current research linking corporate culture with financial outcomes, HR is left with little leverage to effect change.

You probably know quite a few HR managers who have been passed over for promotion to a C-level position. No doubt you are wondering why. These dedicated professionals have spent years (or decades) in HR and have all the education and certifications necessary to qualify for this position. As managers, they have experience leading a team and making tough decisions. Each one would appear to be the perfect candidate for such job - but it’s just not happening. The same thing could happen to you.

There is no doubt that our present economy is still under significant pressure. While a recovery may not be in the immediate future, companies are starting to feel less panicked and are focusing more on their futures once again. One of the most exciting changes has been the reduction in conversations about cost-slashing among corporate leaders and the renewed interest in replacing those savings with more effective performance management tools.

Human resources executives are constantly setting goals to push their companies forward and bring strategy and focus to their teams. However, it’s far too common for these high level strategy goals to get pushed aside by the HR department’s most common cycle: focus on recruitment, focus on retention and then repeat. Human resources leaders understand the value and importance of breaking this cycle.

As an employer, you already spend a significant portion of your budget on total compensation for your workforce. Can you afford to invest in continuing education as well? If you do it right, the answer is probably yes. Many employees value tuition reimbursement programs. This type of benefit offers a way for workers to improve themselves and advance their careers. It also makes them feel that their employer believes in their abilities. However, you need to plan your program carefully to maximize your ROI.

As an HR manager, you are used to being responsible for the wellbeing of pretty much every employee in the workplace. However, sometimes you may be neglecting those closest to you - your HR staff members. Each of your direct reports needs mentoring and support. These individuals are the people you rely on most to help you do your job successfully. They should be able to rely on you as well.

Are you a human resources professional who has earned the PHR, SPHR or GPHR certification? If so, you are among an elite group with the human resources industry.
HR certification is a career-long commitment that proves to your peers and your organization that you are driven to be successful in HR management. Maintaining your HR credentials can:

• Increase your professional confidence and opportunities
• Set you apart from your HR peers
• Lead to greater respect from the organization in which you work

Outsourcing is not a new phenomenon, but it has grown increasingly popular over the past couple of decades. With today’s online tools and global access, employers have a greater ability than ever to decentralize various functions. Done correctly, a move toward outsourcing increases efficiency and reduces overhead. It allows you to focus on strategic planning and the core of your business.

Now don’t get too excited. Before I start talking about today’s topic I should clearly state that while there have been some exciting market improvements lately we still have a lot of long hard work in front of us before we can start breaking out the term “recovery”. That being said, it does seem like the worst is behind us. So while it isn’t time to pop the champagne, it is definitely time to take stock of how prepared your company is to take advantage of the turnaround once it arrives.

Great leaders all know that no plan ever goes off as expected. Recent events in our global economy have certainly sent many of us back to the drawing board when it comes to prioritizing our top initiatives. The last few quarters have required each of us to spend considerable amounts of time working on short term shoring up of our businesses to combat a volatile and challenging market. As the signs begin to point to some inherent stability in the marketplace (if not a small turnaround), it is time once again to turn an eye to succession planning.

This interview with Bonnie Hagemann (CEO of Executive Development Associates) deals with crucial leadership issues. The podcast focuses on the best actions leaders can take to maintain both forward momentum and balance during challenging times. Bonnie also gives a sneak preview of an upcoming report on executive development. Here are just a couple of the highlights from her conversation with Brenda Perkins.

Transparency - The Good and the Bad

In this upbeat interview with TCOY Wellness coach Lucy DelSarto, Brenda asks the question on every employer’s mind. Why should my company invest in worker wellness? DelSarto points to the high cost of disease-centered health care as a burden that is becoming untenable. Some of the largest industries in the U.S. actually spend more on health insurance for their workers than they spend on the raw materials to create their products. Imagine what your business could use those funds for if employees enjoyed excellent health through prevention rather than intervention!

Allison Darling, president of Management Concepts offers her perspective on how to create and sustain positive changes in this podcast with HR BrainBank cofounder Brenda Perkins. Darling has personal experience with building a company from the ground up, so she knows what it takes to become successful. Now, she advises other professionals on how to meet and exceed their own goals with the help of her proprietary GoalGETTERS system. The tips she gives in this interview work on both a personal and an organizational level.

Industry expert Paula Switzer (President of Switzer Resource Group) talks about the DISC program and how this behavioral assessment method will help you improve your own communication skills. Also discussed are the benefits this tool provides to individuals and organizations.

Industry expert Lori Tritz, SPHR (Senior Vice President with FBD Consulting, LLC) focuses on the topic of strategic alignment as it applies to HR.

Lori makes an excellent point that alignment looks different for each of her clients. This is because the process is not internal to Human Resources. Instead, it requires HR leaders to fully understand their organization’s larger strategy and their place within it. The type of industry, company size, current financials, and the vision of senior executives all play an important part in determining how HR should be run.

In this podcast, Brenda Perkins asks Amy Hoppenrath (president of AccelerAction) to explain the benefits of social networking tools. Have you have ever wondered why LinkedIn is making such a big splash in the business community? This interview makes it crystal clear why the site has over 40 million users including managers from all the Fortune 500 companies.

Ask a few HR leaders what kind of person makes an ideal employee in their department and you’re likely to quite a few different answers. Certainly there’s no one “type” of person that makes an ideal HR employee. Despite the differences in style and approach, every HR professional needs a certain set of skills if they want to be great at what they do. How many of these vital skills do you possess?

As any good HR recruiter knows, hiring the best candidates is only the initial step in the staffing process. Unless a new employee is matched well to his/her job duties, performance will be lackluster. In addition, each worker must be on board with the company’s objectives and find a “home” within the larger framework of the organization. Discover how to fine tune employee alignment in 3 critical ways.

We’re almost to the end of the year, and many people are breathing a sigh of relief that they can move on from 2009 and get a clean start in 2010. Undoubtedly this year has been among the most difficult for employers in our lifetime. Not only have we faced the worst recession since the great depression, but it has occurred in a much more interdependent and globalized world making it far more difficult for companies to navigate effectively.

Many organizations have volunteerism or community activism as integral parts of their mission statement. It isn’t difficult to determine that helping support volunteer causes is a great way for your company to give back for some of its success. It’s also a good lesson on the importance of ethics and involvement. What may surprise you is that volunteering can also prove to have an incredibly effective business ROI.

It’s that time of year again. The leaves have changed color, the air is a little cooler (or a lot!) and Thanksgiving is almost upon us. It has certainly been a tumultuous year for individuals and businesses the world over and many people may be feeling like there haven’t been a lot of positives that have come since last year’s turkey meal. However, if you take the time to really consider what we’ve been through this year, you’ll see we really do have a lot to be thankful for.

There aren’t a whole lot of folks in the business world that will be upset to see this year come to a close. It’s been a difficult year and most of us are looking forward to starting over clean in January. While it’s true that the year is almost at a close and that signs of stability seem to indicate next year will be better all around, it isn’t too late to take stock and make the most of year end.

As an HR manager, you are probably involved in training and developing leaders for many different departments. You are familiar with the principles of effective leadership. After all, HR usually has to do damage control when managers fall short of the ideal. However, it is easy to identify flaws in others. It takes more courage to honestly evaluate your own performance.

Developing effective leadership takes time. Top positions aren’t easily filled simply by posting the opening on a job board. Instead, intensive employee development must occur over a period of many years to build and integrate an internal talent pool. Identifying employees’ talents and encouraging each person to develop to his/her own highest potential should be a part of the overall work culture. This won’t happen without the buy in of senior management and executive level employees.

With the “baby boomer” generation finally heading into retirement, today’s workplace is seeing a sharp increase in the need to find suitable candidates for top level positions. Human Resource managers are scrambling to handle this talent management crisis. As the workplace and the marketplace continue to change rapidly, organizational development needs to catch up. The leaders who are selected over the next 5 to 15 years will be critical in accomplishing this task.

Comprehensive performance feedback can be a boon to companies that use this employee assessment tool correctly. It can be a disaster if it is implemented without forethought and good communication. The idea behind this concept is that employees from entry level through upper management can benefit from honest evaluation. This information is gathered from a number of sources (superiors, subordinates, customers, and coworkers). All of this feedback is integrated to form an accurate “360-degree” overview of each employee’s performance.

Too much of day to day human resource management is made up of repetitive tasks that require little or no specialized knowledge. Sure, you have to pay attention to detail to avoid making mistakes; but you aren’t really being intellectually challenged by shuffling through files all day long. Of course, the most frustrating part of this job can be following up with managers, supervisors, and employees. Getting other people to fill out paperwork or electronic forms and turn them in to HR on time can be a never ending battle.

Obtaining a working knowledge of the latest networking tools may well become a standard part of professional development for all HR employees. With a shift away from traditional print advertising, recruiting specialists are seeking new ways to connect with potential job candidates. Social media may seem confusing at first. However, once you have learned how to use one version it is easier to figure out the others.

Training and development is most effective when it starts off on the right track at the new hire stage. This sets the tone for an employee’s entire tenure with your company. If you harness the enthusiasm of each fresh trainee and keep that momentum going over the long term, your company will be rewarded with high levels of employee motivation and innovation.