Human resources (HR) has begun receiving recognition for being an integral component for organizational success. Businesses realize to stay competitive they need to ensure their employees are well-organized and effectively managed. HR provides some of the necessary tools enabling a company to achieve competence. A key tool in HR is a properly formatted job description. Job descriptions (JD’s) provide information critical for managing employees, for complying with a number of legal obligations, and allowing employees to understand their duties and responsibilities.

Often organizations lack formal JD’s. Some reasons may include believing they are unnecessary, or not knowing how to initiate the process. In order to develop a job description, it is critical to start by researching the position and gaining an understanding of the essential components required to perform the job. A properly structured JD includes the following elements:

1. The Job title
2. Summary of the position (a couple of brief sentences listing the key purpose of the position)
3. List of the essential duties and responsibilities, including a statement the employer may require the employee to occasionally perform other tasks not listed in the JD.
4. The job specifications should also be included, such as:

• The prerequisites or required education, experience, knowledge, skills etc.
• Personal aptitudes required of the individual (i.e. detail-oriented, creative, interpersonal skills, etc.)
• Type of environment the job takes place in.

Job descriptions offer the requisite information for conducting job evaluations, implementing a Pay Equity Plan (PE), recruiting and selecting new staff, performing compensation analysis and monitoring and conducting performance evaluations. JD’s also supply the necessary information allowing company’s to investigate and develop current positions, and to identify potential future opportunities – workforce planning.

To demonstrate the importance of having a properly structured JD let’s examine a specific example of how JDs support the successful operation of the HR function. For example consider how JDs assist in the development of PE Plans – an organization’s legal obligation, if they have more than 10 employees. To establish a PE Plan an organization must examine all of the positions held by its employees. The positions are divided into “male” or “female” oriented job classifications and then compared across four major factors, listed below:

1. The skills required to perform the job
2. The effort required to perform the job
3. The job responsibilities
4. The working conditions associated with the job

Details of the PE factors should be included in the composition of a JD in order to support the successful implementation of a compliant PE plan.

Once you have effectively researched the requirements and compiled the information into a professionally formatted job description, it is important to keep the JD, which is a key component of the backbone of the organization, up to date and on file! Having this information on hand will save any company time, money and frustration in the long run, and promote positive employee relations, both of which directly contribute to the success of any organization.

Author:

Holly is a Human Resources Intern at www.HR-Fusion.ca., specializing in recruitment, HR compliance issues and employee relations.

This dynamic Human Resources (HR) consulting firm focuses on strategic business and organizational development through HR delivery and training. The integrated team approach and ‘full service’ philosophy makes HR-Fusion a reliable resource and valuable business partner when you need professional HR support.

HR-Fusion’s Hamilton, Ontario location is uniquely positioned to provide services to Brantford, Burlington, Oakville, and the surrounding Niagara region. HR requirements outside the immediate geographic area are handled through the HR-Fusion partner network and provides coast to coast coverage as required.

If you are a reactive manager you can adjust your tactics when new situations, complications, and issues arise. However, being reactive means taking action only after the event has happened, while being proactive means being responsive before the event. Proactive and reactive are both valid responses, however when a person is in a reactive state they are forever defensive and anticipating.

A reactive strategy follows the old maxim, “if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it!” whereas the proactive strategy takes the line that “prevention is better than cure!” Both arguments have merit and both arguments have their followers and their detractors.

When we consider HR and other staffing decisions, a reactive strategy is definitely not the way to proceed for the simple fact the costs and damages associated with a badly – or mishandled – employee matter, can run into the tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. A ounce of prevention in this case would definitely be worth a pound of cure!

Proactive people wisely use the room between stimuli and responses, whereas reactive people do not. Brian Tracy states, “Those who don’t set goals for themselves are forever doomed to work to achieve the goals of others.” Proactive people look into the future, set goals and use their ability to choose their response to any given situation.

Leadership is supposed to be about achieving the long-term goals of the organization and yet the overwhelming pressure on most managers is to handle day-to-day tasks efficiently. The main barrier to turning ambitions into achievements is the reactive nature of much of what we have to do – this is especially true with HR.

Reactive systems are, generally, highly successful for dynamic uncertain domains – let’s be clear here: hiring staff “might” appear on the surface uncertain, but to a professional it’s a very predictable process. This predictability makes HR one of the business functions where pre-planning is a valid investment in time and energy.

Fail to plan and you are “managing” (or rather, juggling) your way through your day. React to this, react to that. How can you be effective when you are continuously fighting fires instead of building campfires?

Remember that those who fail to plan, plan to fail… Asking ‘what if’ questions and proactively putting stop measures in place minimizes reactive solutions and reduces organizational risk. Take a moment and consult with an HR professional and avoid the inevitable ‘gotchas’ that statistically arrive when you can least afford them!

Author:

Doris Lowell is one of the founding partners at www.HR-Fusion.ca, specializing in “high-touch”, client-centered transition and outplacement services.

This dynamic Human Resources (HR) consulting firm focuses on strategic business and organizational development through HR delivery and training. The integrated team approach and ‘full service’ philosophy makes HR-Fusion a reliable resource and valuable business partner when you need professional HR support.

HR-Fusion’s Hamilton, Ontario location is uniquely positioned to provide services to Brantford, Burlington, Oakville, and the surrounding Niagara region. HR requirements outside the immediate geographic area are handled through the HR-Fusion partner network and provides coast to coast coverage as required.

If you run a successful business you may have wondered what you are going to do when the time comes for you to voluntarily or involuntarily retire – thus ensuring your business survives and flourishes. Succession planning is important if you want your business to continue after you are gone.

There are a few steps you can take to make the process easier:

(1.) It is never too early to start planning for retirement which includes planning for your business. One of the most important things you can do when you begin succession planning is to obtain an accurate valuation of your business and keep it updated. Knowing your businesses worth will protect your business in the event you must sell or pass it to your heirs unexpectedly. When the time comes for you to retire, already knowing the value of your business will make selling it (or passing it down to family) that much easier.

(2.) It is also important to identify who will be responsible for the succession of your business and to determine who has the skills to effectively run your business. The person you want as the new owner may not have the necessary skills to successfully run your business in which case you would have to assign someone else as the manager in charge of business operations. Remember to prepare your successor by providing training, hands-on experience, support and coaching. Tip: Hire a professional HR firm to handle this as it provides a good ‘arms length’ argument should you need one.

(3.) Because business succession impacts not only you and your successor, but your employees as well, it is important to address any concerns they may have during your planning. It is important to reassure employees their position with the company is safe, or if it will be changing it is important to be open and honest from the beginning. Remember open communication and transparency is key to company survival.

(4.) Even the best laid plans may not always work, so ensure you plan for contingencies – develop a ‘Plan B’. For instance, if you plan to leave your business to a family member, what happens if they are unable to inherit it because of death or decide they do not want to run the business?

You need time, careful thought and patience to work through a succession plan. Last piece of advise – consult with the appropriate experts with respect to your succession planning: your tax adviser/accountant, your banker, your Human Resources expert… they will help the company to not only to survive but thrive and you can ride into the sunset, guilt-free and comfortably!

Author:

Fernie Black is one of the founding partners at www.HR-Fusion.ca, specializing in outsourced recruitment, selection and hiring. HR-Fusion works with clients on a retained basis.

This dynamic Human Resources (HR) consulting firm focuses on strategic business and organizational development through HR delivery and training. The integrated team approach and ‘full service’ philosophy makes HR-Fusion a reliable resource and valuable business partner when you need professional HR support.

HR-Fusion’s Hamilton, Ontario location is uniquely positioned to provide services to Brantford, Burlington, Oakville, and the surrounding Niagara region. HR requirements outside the immediate geographic area are handled through the HR-Fusion partner network and provides coast to coast coverage as required.

In the business world you are required to interact with many different people from customers to employees through to business contacts. The relationships you form will directly affect your business’s success so it is crucial for you to form strong and effective business relationships.

Your employees are the cornerstone of your business and without them your business would not succeed. The best way to strengthen your relationship with your employees, and any other person you interact with, is to learn as much about them as possible and show genuine concern. The more you know about a person the better you can relate to them, and the stronger your relationship will become. They’ll notice and appreciate that you took the time to remember and care about them as individuals – you’re actually a human (people person) not just their boss.

A simple strategy to improve your business relationships is through active attention: pay attention to your employees, vendors, business contacts and customers so you can anticipate and meet their unique needs. The act of simply ‘paying attention’ to another human being yields significant rewards, and fosters greater connections.

Another way to foster a sense of importance and worth among your employees is by giving them a voice in decisions. If appropriate, involving them in client relations, and seeking their opinions will also help to strengthen their commitment to your business and in turn strengthen your relationship with them.

It is also important to recognize your employees when they do a good job. Everyone likes to be recognized when they do well and consistently recognizing those who excel will give them motivation and further encouragement. Studies repeatedly show while income is important, recognition and other value based emotional dimensions are more important still.

Customers are also an integral part of your business, and without them you would not profit. Working to develop strong relationships with your existing customers pays dividends every time since customer relationship marketing is many orders of magnitude cheaper than marketing and selling to new ones.

Although we often hear people assert “it’s not personal, it’s business” this is a falsehood – it is personal. People are at the heart of all businesses and when we ignore their uniqueness and fail to acknowledge their individual contributions, we run the real risk of alienating them – and damaging our bottom line to boot!

People like to do business with people they like and trust. So if you invest in the people of your business: the staff, vendors, and clients, you will ultimately be rewarded. Your company will also earn the reputation of being the place to work, and the business to do business with! Ask yourself – what’s your likeability factor?

Author:

Fernie Black is one of the founding partners at www.HR-Fusion.ca, specializing in outsourced recruitment, selection and hiring. HR-Fusion works with clients on a retained basis.

This dynamic Human Resources (HR) consulting firm focuses on strategic business and organizational development through HR delivery and training. The integrated team approach and ‘full service’ philosophy makes HR-Fusion a reliable resource and valuable business partner when you need professional HR support.

HR-Fusion’s Hamilton, Ontario location is uniquely positioned to provide services to Brantford, Burlington, Oakville, and the surrounding Niagara region. HR requirements outside the immediate geographic area are handled through the HR-Fusion partner network and provides coast to coast coverage as required.

Email is an important communication tool for today’s business, but sadly many employees lack basic email etiquette and this reflects poorly on the company. Employees who send unprofessional emails to clients, or worse still – personal emails from company accounts, can easily make your business look bad. It is important your employees know how to write a professional email and what types of emails should and should not be sent from company email accounts.

Email etiquette, sometimes referred to as netiquette in broad terms, is a complicated thing. It’s certainly not appropriate to ignore email, especially from individuals, but we all get busy at times and may be able to do no more than to acknowledge the receipt of emails and promise to write in more detail at a later point.

Ideally all businesses should enact an Email Policy and make sure their staff have read it and are aware of the “do’s and don’ts” of using this powerful communications method and when it is inappropriate to use company e-mail and the Internet for personal purposes. It is advisable that staff sign-off stating they have read and agreed to such a policy.

Apart from being a communications device, email is also a marketing tool and as such all staff need to realize that a poorly worded, ill-constructed message sends an image too. Companies that take email communications seriously often ensure their staff have received business writing training. Again, the immediacy of email makes it too easy to shoot off an email and then regret the action thereafter. Act in haste, repent at your leisure, as the saying goes.

Here are a few Email Etiquette tips for your staff:

Keep it short: Remind your employees to be clear and concise when sending business email. Emails are meant to communicate a message in a short professional manner and recipients may be reluctant to read a very lengthy email in its entirety.

Use the grammar/spellchecker: Always make sure your employees use proper grammar and spelling in their emails. Nothing is more unprofessional than typos and improper grammar in business correspondences. All employees should proofread every email before they send it.

Respond in a day: Employees should aim to reply quickly, preferably within one business day. Customers, clients, and other business contacts sending emails usually do so because they want a quick response. Responding quickly to questions or concerns helps to strengthen your business’s professional image.

Avoid large attachments: Large file attachments (over 3MB) can slow an email – or worse still – get it bounced or returned undelivered. If you must send a large file for business purposes make sure the recipient knows ahead of time so they are expecting it – or better still, use a recognized 3rd party “send file” site like www.drop.io or www.filesend.net (There are many freely available online – simply search for ’send file’ or ‘drop file.’

Don’t abbrv: Avoid abbreviations, emoticons, or other information unrelated to the matter at hand.

Don’t fast FWD: Employees should also be discouraged from forwarding chain emails as they are unprofessional and run the risk of containing viruses.

Remember, email is a great servant but a terrible master, ensure your staff follows proper email etiquette and your correspondences will be professional and welcomed by the recipient.

Author:

Doris Lowell is one of the founding partners at www.HR-Fusion.ca, specializing in “high-touch”, client-centered transition and outplacement services.

This dynamic Human Resources (HR) consulting firm focuses on strategic business and organizational development through HR delivery and training. The integrated team approach and ‘full service’ philosophy makes HR-Fusion a reliable resource and valuable business partner when you need professional HR support.

HR-Fusion’s Hamilton, Ontario location is uniquely positioned to provide services to Brantford, Burlington, Oakville, and the surrounding Niagara region. HR requirements outside the immediate geographic area are handled through the HR-Fusion partner network and provides coast to coast coverage as required.

Containing costs is of prime importance for any business. Keeping the cash from flowing out the door can mean the difference between outstanding success and abject failure, whether the business is an enormous multi-national conglomerate or a small family shop.

There are many ways to go about this, but one of the more popular ones is to outsource some functions. Although many people think of this as solely the province of large corporations, it can serve a purpose in small business as well. For example, most smaller firms do not have full-time accountancy staff. Instead, that function is contracted out to either an individual accountant or accounting firm. This situation is so common that most of us don’t even think of it as outsourcing, but that’s precisely what it is.

One area where outsourcing can pay off big is in the human resources department, especially when smaller companies are involved. A lot of the time in these situations, HR functions are distributed among various members of senior management (General Manager, Operations Manager, Owner, etc. Whatever your title is, you know who you are). It’s unfortunate, as these are the people who have the least time to spare, usually don’t have any professional HR training, and often not the right aptitude for dealing with HR matters.

The right human resources firm can help with this. For example, rather than interviewing potential new hires, dealing with the legalities associated with the HR function, and implementing necessary HR procedures, your Operations Manager can focus on, well, operations. By outsourcing, senior staff can focus on your core business.

Aside from providing management with more time to focus on their primary work, outsourcing to a company specializing in human resources has other benefits. They are, after all, specialists, and like other specialists, have considerable expertise in their field which can save the company time, $$$, and headaches.

Human resources experts can provide advice, guidance, solutions and implementation, all while leaving you in ultimate control of your company’s destiny. One of the nice things about outsourcing your HR needs is that the right firm will provide you the best in service. After all, they want your business, and they are willing to do what it takes to keep it.

There are a number of things to consider before hiring an outside company to handle your human resource needs. The amount and type of service provided are the key factors in this regard. We have Human Resources Facilitators on call who can provide quick HR support by phone or email, typically within less than four hours from the time the inquiry is made.

Flexibility is more important than ever before, especially when it comes to the needs of small companies. We offer HR support packages customized to suit your particular needs. Perhaps you prefer a pay-as-you-go approach. Or maybe you’re more comfortable with putting us on retainer. In either case, we work with you to find the solution that works best for your company.

In the final analysis, outsourcing your HR needs may be the best thing you ever do, because it allows your senior staff to concentrate on what they do best, while we concentrate on what we do best: helping you succeed.

“People don’t quit their companies, they quit their bosses.” How many times have you heard that phrase? It’s rare that a corporate entity of any size upsets an employee so much that they feel quitting is the only option. One bad manager, however, can empty out an entire department within weeks.

It’s all too easy to imagine a scenario where a manager doesn’t have the skills to motivate his staff or help them feel engaged. In fact, we’ve heard of many situations where one manager brought employee morale down so low it essentially shut down the organization!

Once employees start leaving and talking to friends and family about their experiences at work, word quickly gets around that it was a bad organization to work for. When something like this starts, it can very easily snowball out of control to the point where the company is basically shut down. Not literally, but a severe morale crisis can slow down productivity to the point where you might as well lock up and turn out the lights. And all because of one leader that didn’t know how to build healthy relationships with staff.

Managers have a lot of influence on individual employees and also on the corporate culture as a whole. This influence can be either positive or negative. When it’s negative, the organization is in serious trouble.

Approaching employees openly and honestly enables them to feel comfortable with their manager and at ease. One of the best ways to really engage employees is to ask them for their input to problem solving. If you never ask them for their advice or suggestions, they will never feel comfortable or engaged, no matter how much you pat them on the back for a job well done or give them clear direction.

To manage people effectively, managers need to broaden their role. Not only must they be a decision maker, but a catalyst, coach, and facilitator as well. Many management experts say the answer is to ask more questions and do less telling. In other words, a manager needs to develop his or her “soft” skills just as much as the “hard” skills. For example, a bakery manager may know everything there is to know about the chemistry of baking and oven technology, but his soufflés will still fall flat if he doesn’t know the ways in which his team members differ, and which supervisory style will elicit the desired employee behaviors and outcomes.

This is something HR professionals can help with. The right coaching and training can turn a manager with poor people management skills into a motivational powerhouse, encouraging and empowering staff to work harder, reach further, and dream bigger than ever before.

There are more important things in life than money, at least when it comes to how people rate job satisfaction. Research shows that most workers don’t put money as their number one concern. Things like flexibility,  challenging work and recognition are very often rated higher.

These and other non-monetary perks can have a big return for individual employees. Having a range of options such as flex hours or the ability to work (at least part of the time) from home can mean the difference between a highly-skilled staff member staying with an employer or searching for a new job.An employee recognition program is incredibly easy to establish, doesn’t have to cost much (if anything) and lets high-achieving staff know that they are appreciated. It can also urge other employees to try harder. The program could use different levels of recognition, including a personal note of thanks from the owner/manager, an Employee of the Month Award, an Employee of the Year Award, and team recognition. Going further, why not present an annual community service award? If one of your staff gives of their time to support a charity or a kids’ sports team, acknowledge it!

It’s a basic rule of business that you should always play to your strengths. A small to medium size company may not be able to match huge corporations in terms of dollar power, but they have a definite advantage in providing staff with an individualized approach to human resources issues. A big corporation, on the other hand, may be forced to use a “cookie cutter” method just to make sure everything gets done.

Smaller organizations usually exhibit more flexibility than larger concerns that may have become rigid. This flexibility can include letting staff choose their own rewards for exceptional performance, a more family-like atmosphere at work, and a better balance between work and home life. Of course, these things may come with their own challenges, but that’s where human resources professionals come in.

Even if your business isn’t an enormous multinational, there are things you can give your employees that match what big business offers. Take Health Spending Accounts (HSAs) for example. The marketplace is changing and HSAs are becoming more popular. There is no reason smaller employers can’t offer these programs as well. To remain competitive, the insurance industry has had to find ways to provide flexible, lower cost benefit plans to smaller employers.

By addressing these and other quality of life issues in your HR policies, you are greatly increasing the chances of skilled staff staying with you for the long haul.

Value is a slippery concept. A pound of gold isn’t of any value to a man starving to death in the woods, but a chocolate bar is a treasure beyond price.

The old saying goes “The value of a thing is what that thing will bring.” There’s a lot of truth in that statement. Resources that are rare and highly desired by many people will fetch a much higher price than those that are common as dirt and desired by no one. This applies as much to human resources as anything else.

Recruitment and retention of staff will be served best if the compensation paid is competitive with the rest of the marketplace. But how can we tell what a competitive salary is for any given position? There are many independent factors at work here. If you’re seeking, for example, telecommunications engineers, and your region is figuratively overflowing with them, then we could expect their salaries to be significantly lower than in areas where they are in short supply.

Calling your competitors and asking them is an option, of course, but it’s one that isn’t recommended or likely to pay off. For one thing, this sort of “straw poll” method doesn’t yield very accurate results. Sound and methodically produced salary surveys do, and take into account all of the necessary factors to give the needed data.

We conduct our own market surveys, and integrate those results with salary data that we purchase from reputable and thorough sources. This gives the most accurate and up-to-date information on competitive compensation that it’s possible to get.

Although a little digging on the internet will reveal a seeming wealth of free data on salaries in various industries, it is wise to treat these numbers with the utmost caution. These online surveys can be a good place to start, and may serve as a very general indicator of salaries paid. However, relying on them can be risky, as many of them do not use the correct and consistent methodology.

These surveys may also rely on incorrect comparisons, or simply start from completely false assumptions. Rather than comparing apples to apples, or even apples to oranges (which do share some points of similarity) the situation is more like comparing apples to justice. The picture just doesn’t match up anywhere.

Another cautionary point regarding these free salary surveys is that they are very often out-of-date. The difference between two sets of data one year apart may not seem like much, but it can mean a world of difference in certain situations. Using outdated salary information to determine competitive compensation is a little like navigating exclusively with an out-of-date road map. There’s too much danger of driving your vehicle over a bridge that isn’t there anymore.

Determining competitive compensation doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. With the right help, you can make sound business decisions knowing you have the right information.

The summer months present unique challenges from a productivity perspective, especially for management. Coming in to work in the morning, it might seem that half the staff is on vacation, and the other half is making great mental headway in joining them.

It is often suggested that employers should use incentives to encourage more employees to take vacations during the winter. This makes a certain amount of sense. In many parts of the world, winter weather means an almost inevitable drop in productivity due to delays in public transit, weather related car and traffic problems, and staff calling in sick.

If more employees took vacations during the winter, it would allow continued high productivity and less problematic transportation challenges during the idyllic summer months. This might be sensible, but it’s never been popular. Most people simply prefer to vacation in the summer, but an incentive of some kind might convince a few staff to take their vacations in the winter and cover for other employees later in the year. I know some companies that give one extra week of paid vacation to anyone willing to take all their vacation in the winter.

For many industries summer isn’t business as usual, but there’s no reason that has to mean less business gets done, in fact, in recent years, in order to remain competitive, companies have had to maintain productivity levels throughout the summer months. Making use of the right tactics can help make sure productivity doesn’t dip. This carries a nice bonus: the same practices can also help boost staff morale and encourage initiative which ultimately results in greater customer satisfaction.

One of the biggest challenges around vacation time is simply trying to synchronize schedules. The process can be very frustrating, but it’s important to remember that everyone involved shares at least one similar goal. After all, any employee who doesn’t care about maintaining productivity is probably on the way out the door one way or another.

Bear in mind that even the most loyal staff member has concerns of his or her own. The key is to look for solutions that are satisfactory to the employee, management, and the employee’s coworkers. It’s amazing how often the last category gets neglected.

There are ways to keep productivity from slowing down if you communicate with staff and make your plans in advance. If Bob from Sales needs two weeks off in August, maybe he can put in extra hours in July covering Judy’s rounds. When Judy returns, she’s relaxed and ready to help Bob’s customers while he takes a trip with his family.

One simple way to make your life easier during the summer is to empower your employees to do their own planning. The feeling of being in control is a major factor in job satisfaction. As long as management vets any proposed vacation plans, settles disputes fairly, lets employees have a say in the best time for their vacations, the benefit is less headaches for you and a better experience and satisfactory outcome for employees.