Human Resources: HR.com General eBulletin for the Week of June 23, 2008

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In this edition of the HR.com General ebulletin, enjoy insightful articles from many HR sources including Joan Lloyd who shares her advice on How to Deal With a Bad Reference. Randy Miller has tips on how to staff your new technical support team.

Enjoy this week's General ebulletin and be sure to check out the HR.com Career Network and take a look at what HR professionals like you
have to say in our blog section of the site.

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HR.com invites you to start a Wiki entry or contribute to an existing one. Click on our Wikis main tab. You must be logged in to participate.

Here's this week's featured Wiki:

- Personnel portfolio

Cost of Prescription Co-Pays Increases in United States
The cost of medical coverage is on many employees' minds as they near retirement. Prescription costs are of particular concern to baby boomers who rely on coverage through their employer.
More...

Skyrocketing Gas Prices - What's an HR Professional To Do?
The high gas prices have already added to an unstable U.S. economy. Employees are now struggling with high gas prices for their commutes to get to and from the office or place of work.
More...

Joan Lloyd's HR Words of Advice: How to Deal With a Bad Reference
What do you do if one of your references gives you a bad review to a potential employer? Joan Lloyd shares her answers.
More...

Punishment by Complaint
All it takes is one complaint - even frivolous - to cost an organization thousands of dollars. Don Phin explains.
More...

The Independent Contractor Snarl
Classifying a worker as an independent contractor allows businesses to compensate their workers without withholding funds. But recent court cases in the United States show that some companies are wrongly classifying employees as independent contractors. M. Lee Smith Publishers shares this article by Tracey A. Cullen.
More...

CEO Partner Series: Performance and Participation
An engaged workforce generates greater profits. Is that really so surprising? James E. Mittler shares more.
More...

Job Cuts - Layoffs - Fired - Are You Losing Your Job?
When pursuing another job after losing your last, being more specific with the whys may be the key to a new career. Carole Martin explains.
More...

Is Your Purchasing Department Stripping Value as They Reduce Costs?
Organizations may agree that their purchasing departments' main concerns are to lower acquisition costs. What those departments may not realize is that saving pennies may impact the bottom line. Jeff Thull
explains.
More...

It's All About Results
The ability to teleconference, carry a mobile phone and connect to the Internet from almost any location has allowed people to develop creative approaches to improve workplace productivity.
More...

Factors that Affects the Selection Process
Selecting the right employee for certain jobs is not easy. Sanjeev Himachali shares some tips to help make the process a little easier.
More...

IT Talent Gap Persists
Survey shows that finding skilled technology professionals remains a challenge for most companies. Some even say it is even more of a
challenge than 12 months ago. Robert Half International shares survey results.
More...

Change for the Better: Staffing Your New Technical Support Team
Creating a new technical support team takes smart staffing. Randy Miller shares more.
More...

What's Normal in Employee Survey Results?
Trying to define a "normal" workplace is as difficult and unpredictable as describing a "normal" family, but we've learned there are average or predictable responses to certain questions or groups of questions on employee surveys.
More...

A Process for Continuous Innovation and Controlled Chaos
Corporate learning cannot be restricted to training courses. As Jim Clemmer explains, experimentation and exploration are keys to innovation.
More...

HR.com's 2008 Events

Upcoming VIEW Online Conference & Expo Events:

Wed July 9 - Online Recruitment and Sourcing

VIEW is the first online conference for HR professionals and delivers in-depth content on HR hot topics through live and prerecorded webcasts, white papers, articles, market
research, and product info in the online Exhibit Hall. Earn HRCI credits and join in online discussion groups. HR professionals can login anytime from 9am to 5pm ET and participate at no charge.

It won't cost a penny for these thoughts ... enjoy these blog submissions currently featured on HR.com.

> Linking Pay and Performance

What role does pay for performance play in attracting and motivating workers? According to a 2007 Forrester Wave™ report, "performance and compensation is the linchpin of strategic HR."

> Improving Your Onboarding Process

Onboarding is the process of acclimating new employees to the work environment. Starting a new employee off on the right foot is
absolutely crucial. Yet it is a process that is often ignored or poorly executed.

Read other blogs.

If you are interested in submitting your own blog to HR.com. Please consult our
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This Week's Comic

Case Study: How United Stationers is Integrating Performance and
Compensation
Tune in to this webcast to hear about the integrated talent management vision at United Stationers, which includes Learning, Compliance, Knowledge, Performance, Succession, and Compensation Management. Michelle Schroeder and Hillary Johnston of United Stationers will describe their continuous journey to ...
More.

Date: June 24, 2008
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET

Preventing "Post-Mortem" Performance Management!
In every organization there are two aspects of a performance management system - the formal and the informal. The formal process
usually includes year-end or mid-year performance review documents that summarize performance. Too often the report on performance comes to ...
More.

Date: June 26, 2008
Time: 11:00 - 12:00 PM ET

The Benefits of Balance: Combating Stress in the Workplace
The stress that employees face in their personal lives is only just a part of their struggle to maintain a healthy work/life balance. When everyday workplace stress is added to the equation, this balance can
seem unattainable, and productivity suffers. As an employer, there IS ...
More.

Date: June 26, 2008
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET

A Better Way to Manage Employee Absence
Did you know that employers today spend 15% or more, on average, of total
compensation on absence-related costs? It's true. And the array of paid and unpaid time-off policies and programs you are saddled with have no ...
More.

Date: July 10, 2008
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET

Preparing for Potential Restructuring in Times of Uncertainty
As the economy slows, employers face the possibility of having to restructure their workforce. Even if your organization is not faced with this situation today, it's helpful to know the fundamentals of the decision-making and planning that goes into it so that you are well prepared in the event you do need to downsize.
More.

Date: July 15, 2008
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET

AIRS Recruitment CRM: The Next Generation of Recruitment Technology
Applicant Tracking Systems and Job Boards dominate the recruitment technology space. That said, a new class of recruiting technology is starting to appear that gives recruiters the tools to manage their personal networks, find and develop passive candidates, and...
More.

Date: July 15, 2008
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET

Onboarding - More Than Just Paperwork
Your onboarding program may be the difference between an engaged employee and an employee looking to move on to their next opportunity. Automation of traditional onboarding activities like completion of forms and assignment of tasks is key to a smooth process for both the new employee and your recruiters, hiring managers, facilities and...
More.

Date: July 17, 2008
Time: 11:00 - 12:00 PM ET

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- Academic Referral

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- HRIS Survey

Fast Strategy: How Strategic Agility Will Help You Stay Ahead of the Game - Summary

Fast Strategy provides insight for corporate leaders who want to learn how to adopt change quickly, to break free of bureaucracy and internal politics, and to take advantage of today's fluid corporate environment.

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