The `good behavior contract`: Does it really work?

The concept is so simple that it’s used with elementary-school kids: signing a “contract” that obligates the person to behave according to set standards. Does it work with adults in the workplace? A popular book, “Results That Last: Hardwiring Behaviors That Will Take Your Company to the Top,” by Quint Studer, argues that yes, you can draw up an effective behavior contract. The contract itself will have to follow some rules. It must: Be signed by everyone in the company, from CE...
Published about 26-09-2009 | Rated 0

Studying at IIMs and IITs to get costlier

Bangalore: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has issued a direction to the autonomous and statutory bodies, including IITs and central universities, to explore the option of generating resources by revising tuition fee of students and impose charges for using certain facilities. "Given the constraints of resources leading to mandatory cuts in non-salary expenditure, it is expected that the institutions would make efforts to generate additional resources by gradual revision of tuit...
Published about 20-09-2009 | Rated 0

TCS to reduce the salary of campus recruits

IT services company TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) has announced that it would revise the compensation package of campus recruits. Under the changed structure, TCS trainees will no longer be paid the variable component of the compensation - which works out at Rs. 5,000 per month or 19-20 percent of the total annual pay packet of Rs. 3.1 lakh - offered to them during their in-campus recruitment. Ajoy Mukherjee, Global Head, Human Resources, TCS said, "As part of a compensation restructuring ...
Published about 17-09-2009 | Rated 0

Facebook: Most companies are using it wrong

More companies are blocking employees’ access to social networking sites. Should you jump on the bandwagon? Experts say there’s there’s a better way to handle social media than banning it altogether. A recent report looked at the way companies are responding to an increase in the use of those sites. The good news: Executives appear to recognize both the risks and the rewards of using social media in the workplace. More than 80% said they perceive social networking as a potential c...
Published about 17-09-2009 | Rated 0

Keys to motivation (plus a really cool interview question)

In these tough times, if your organization is one of those asking employees to do more for less, it’s especially important consider what’s going to motivate them. The best parts of these motivational tools — excerpted from the Harvard Business Review — is that they don’t cost anything and just about any manager can implement them: Give feedback, lots of it. But don’t confuse feedback with backslapping. In uncertain times, employees want you to be dead-on honest and thoughtful...
Published about 17-09-2009 | Rated 0

Happy Employees Are Valuable Assets

Every individual wants to join an organisation where he / she can learn, grow and move up the ladder of success. The next time you hear someone say - "I love my work and I love where I work!" make sure to ask them exactly why they feel that way. Probably for Some of these Obvious Reasons - Their ideas and opinions count. They trust the people you work for. The Management listens to them and involves them in decision making. They share a good rapport with the management. The...
Published about 15-09-2009 | Rated 0

Competency Based Development

Everyone today is talking about competency based development. Here is my attempt and version of what can be competency based development. Let’s start from the beginning, i.e. the meaning of competency. There are many definitions of competency doing rounds, for the article we’ll look at competency as a trait or characteristic that allows an individual to successfully accomplish work or task assigned. These characteristics are the culmination of individual’s; skills, knowledge and attributes...
Published about 15-09-2009 | Rated 0

HR director may lose job after hiring 15 ex-cons

The tricky thing about background checks: You actually have to pay attention to the results you get. That dilemma’s at the heart of a controversy surrounding the police force in Washington, D.C., which may lead to the force’s Human Resources director losing her job. Here’s the skinny: The Capitol Police have a policy against hiring cops with prior criminal convictions and conducts background checks to make sure all applicants are clean. But recently, a batch of 60 officers-in-trai...
Published about 15-09-2009 | Rated 0

Craigslist available to more employers and job-seekers

There’s a lot of talk about how great Craigslist is for posting job ads. Now, more HR pros will be able to use it. Craigslist recently added new sites for 140 cities, increasing the total number of areas in which the service is available by 25%. The additions include 87 cities in the U.S., eight in Canada and 45 in other parts of the world, the New York Times reports. Craigslist charges a fee of $25 per job posting in larger cities (and $75 in San Fransisco). But since most of the new...
Published about 15-09-2009 | Rated 0

10 best job boards

With so many job boards online — and new ones appearing every day — it’s tough for HR to know where to focus its energy. Here are some expert recommendations of which sites you should be using. These are the 10 best sites for recruiters and job seekers, according to a recent article in PC magazine: Beyond.com – A combination of smaller, niche job boards that each focus on a different industry, job type or geographic area. Careerbuilder.com – Though some HR experts recommend shif...
Published about 10-09-2009 | Rated 0