Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Giving-Employees-a-Test-Run-Before-Hiring.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Giving-Employees-a-Test-Run-Before-Hiring.html Be gone with staid interviewing questions, behavioral “what ifs” and real-life simulations. Just put the candidate to work and see for yourself firsthand whether he/she is actually what he/she claims to be. Not that all other techniques should be done away with entirely, but at least with a pre-hire trial approach, decisions don’t need to be solely dependent on a set of variables that are tenuous at best. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/The-Need-for-Romantic-Relationship-Policies.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/The-Need-for-Romantic-Relationship-Policies.html A great deal of attention has been paid to office romance lately, but with all of the extra focus and debate, the issue itself has become more convoluted than it needs to be. Workplace conundrum of the century, this is not. At least from an organizational perspective, it is not that complicated. With just a few easy steps, and some basic ground rules, you can simplify a process and streamline an effective practice around handling personal and intimate relationships in your workplace. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Tips-on-Creating-Surveys-to-Measure-Employee-Satisfaction.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Tips-on-Creating-Surveys-to-Measure-Employee-Satisfaction.html Employee evaluation on both the organizational and individual level is often one of the most forgotten about and underutilized tools in the workplace. The sense I get is that it is overlooked because people are afraid of surveys either because they don’t know how to use them properly or they don’t know what to do with the information once they get it. Whatever the reason, surveys and evaluation don’t have to be long, cumbersome and complicated exercises that render meaningless results. Rather, it’s just a matter of obtaining some insight that can guide you through the process as you craft a system that works best for you. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Several-Ways-To-Keep-Training-Costs-Down.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Several-Ways-To-Keep-Training-Costs-Down.html It’s easy to think of “training” as a seminar or workshop where employees are sent into a classroom-style session while a trainer stands in front of a room showing/explaining a series of PowerPoint slides, but there are many other ways to think about developing employees and their skills without adding cost and draining resources. Especially during these tough times, when training is considered a luxury - not a necessity - companies are finding themselves looking for creative alternatives to train “on the cheap,” or cut it altogether. The problem with totally eliminating training (or not doing it at all in the first place) is that there is also a price to be paid when employees aren’t able to continue learning and growing because then, their organizations can't either. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Consensus-Building-Can-Be-Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Consensus-Building-Can-Be-Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing.html There are a lot of upsides to building consensus in organizations, and generally, it tends to be very good for company culture and morale. However, it does have its downside too in that it also increases the chances that nothing will get done. Now, I’m all for enlisting the opinions of others, and happen to personally enjoy weighing multiple perspectives against one another in order to learn something new or see something in a way I hadn’t seen it before. But sometimes instead of helping, the exercise of pursuing “agreement,” does more to hold things back. Why? Because it’s not very often that everyone agrees, especially as the size of a group increases. So while “consensus” is “in” and considered politically correct, it can also be equally as unrealistic a goal if it is not exploited properly. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Social-Media-Management-in-the-Workplace.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Social-Media-Management-in-the-Workplace.html Three easy cut-and-dry steps to get Web 2.0 under control in the workplace. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Managing-Employees-and-How-to-Get-Respect.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Managing-Employees-and-How-to-Get-Respect.html In order to be effective, managers need to see the difference between deserving respect and earning it, because motivating someone has nothing to do with position and title, but rather how one behaves - period. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Creating-Employee-Handbooks--Policy-Manuals.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Creating-Employee-Handbooks--Policy-Manuals.html It can be a daunting task to know what should be included in an employee handbook or company manual. There are so many things that need to be said that often aren’t and also, many things that don’t need to be said that often are. So how do you know what information, and how much of it, should make the cut? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Tips-on-Managing-Generations-X-and-Y.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/Tips-on-Managing-Generations-X-and-Y.html It's amazing how much debate goes on about the challenges of managing generations X and Y in the workplace. Usually, the questions start because organizations are trying to figure out how best to communicate with, and engage, the post baby-boomer age who have been raised on facebook, text messaging and im's, and who operate according to a language all their own as a result. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/HR-Department-Basic-Functions.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3383/HR-Department-Basic-Functions.html Even though there are many ways to structure an HR department, most of them generally look the same. They are typically made up of “generalists” or “specialists” or some combination thereof. Sometimes one generalist will oversee a group of specialists and sometimes the reverse is true depending on the needs of the organization and the available talent on hand. But in all, whether you have a formalized HR department or not, there are a few necessary skill sets that make up, and round out the overall practice.