Hot Tips--Your Employees
Five
tips on job descriptions
Five warnings about job
descriptions
Seven ways to hire and
retain the best employees
Other Tips
IRS
increases reimbursement allowance
Holiday scheduling
for 2009
Mileage
allowance for 2009
Rules for overtime pay
No smoking MA statewide
Five
tips on job descriptions
1. Job
descriptions provide an opportunity to clearly communicate your company
direction and they tell the employee where he or she fits inside of the big
picture.
Whether you're a small
business or a large, multi-site organization, well-written job descriptions
will help you align employee direction. Alignment of the people you employ
with your goals, vision, and mission spells success for your organization.
As a leader, you assure the interfunctioning of all the different positions
and roles needed to get the job done for the customer.
2. Job descriptions set clear expectations for what
you expect from people.
According to Ferdinand Fournies in
Why don’t employees do what they are supposed to do and what
to do about it,
this is the first place to look if people aren't doing what you want them to
do. He says you need to make certain that they clearly understand your
expectations. This understanding starts with the job description.
3.
Job descriptions
help you cover all your legal bases.
As an example,
for compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), you'll want
to make certain the description of the physical requirements of the job is
accurate.
4. Whether you're recruiting new
employees or posting jobs for internal applicants, job descriptions tell the
candidate exactly what you want in your selected person.
Clear job descriptions can help you select your preferred
candidates and address the issues and questions of those people who were not
selected.
5. Well-written job descriptions
help organization employees, who must work with the person hired, understand
the boundaries of the person's responsibilities.
People who have been involved in the hiring process are more
likely to support the success of the new employee or promoted coworker.
Developing job descriptions is an easy way to involve people in your
organization's success.
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Five warnings about job
descriptions
You can use these ideas to identify the negative aspects of job descriptions
- and turn them into positives.
1. Job descriptions become dated as soon
as you write them in a fast-paced, changing, customer-driven work
environment.
2. Make certain job descriptions have
enough flexibility so individuals can "work outside of the box."
3.
Poorly-written job descriptions can serve as evidence of
wrong-doing or wrong-telling in a wrongful termination lawsuit.
4. For effectiveness, you must regularly
look at and use job descriptions as part of your day-to-day work.
5. Job descriptions that sit unused in a
drawer, or worse, filed in the HR office, are a waste of time; they must be
integral in your hiring process.
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Seven ways to hire and
retain the best employees
Employees are the
heart and soul of your business, the engine that makes the
business run. Here are a
few guidelines for thinking about your most important assets.
1. Choose the right people to start with
– even as the
market continues to tighten, it is critical to get the right people from the
start. Your people decisions have everything to do with fulfilling your
business objectives and building a sustaining culture—one hire at a time.
2.
Motivate
employees to spell business success
– if you want quality employees, your company must be the same caliber.
Treat your employees with respect. When they feel valued, the service they
provide your customers will be outstanding and that contributes to the
bottom line.
3.
Be fair
– if you
determine an employee is in the wrong position, address it.
4.
Foster employee leadership and flexibility
– when the work environment is open for all employees to offer ideas and
suggestions, this sparks creativity and business success.
5.
Hire star players –
“A players hire A players, B players hire C players, C
players hire duds” – enough said. Hire “A” players.
6.
Let employees change it up now and again
– provide your employees
opportunities to develop “within” your company, gaining new experiences,
knowledge and skills.
7.
Communicate –
your employees want to know where the company is going and how they can be a
part of its success. Talk to your people, get their feedback and act on the
information you receive.
Remember:
People are the heart and soul of successful businesses…Be
thoughtful about your hiring…Treat your employees with respect…and Benefit
from their staying with you—Building a stronger company together.
Find out how to
execute these tips in your organization We are
ready to help you
implement these tips and more. Start with a HR Professional Assessment. Make
2009 your Best Year ever! Contact us at
RuthL@hrinsourcing.com or
(617) 719-5636.
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