Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Sorry for the hiatus! Changing roles equaled some things slipping


Hi all, yes, we are still here, alive and well at Training Time! Sorry for the silence for the past week or so...we've had some priorities that shifted and our beloved blog fell through the cracks for a bit.

But fear not! We are here, and ready to continue bringing you the best in training information, advice, tools, and yes, the much needed giggles now and then.

One thing I would like to add to our blog is more of a dialog. What would you like to know about training? Send me the burning issues impacting your company's training program, or the hot button topics you see in the HR and training world, so I can include them in our blog. Credit will be given, unless you'd rather keep your name out of the limelight (in which case, Mum's the word -- we can just attribute the idea to "a reader" or if you wish, make up a fun name for you to cleverly disguise your identity.)

Have a happy HR day!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Training for the HR Department


Most of the time when we think about training and HR, it's the HR department providing the training. But a lot of HR bloggers are talking about the need for HR itself to undergo some retraining.

Trisha, at the HR Ringleader blog put out a call for re-branding the HR department and its functions, while Laurie at PunkRock HR thinks it may actually be too late.

I think it's somewhere in the middle. Rebranding, while certainly something we need to do to clear up the real role of HR in the modern corporate world, is critical. But unlike Laurie, I'm not quite ready to stand poised with pen in hand, ready to sign the death certificate.

I think there is still hope, albeit maybe only with the radical approach House might use on one of the patients everyone else has given up on. It requires major surgery, a complete change in life style and a different view of what a viable HR career looks like.

1) The surgery --

  • Centralized, standardized, cookie-cutter HR-driven performance evaluations, raises and promotions go first. Far too often, someone in the HR office who has never even met the employee in question rewrites appraisals, sets the raises or makes a firing decision. No more.

    The people who know the employees best, make the choices, write the reports. HR can look them over to make sure they're legal and not likely to result in a barrage of lawsuits, but that is it.

  • HR as a policy-makers and enforcers on dress code, social media access, work hours and rules about whether or not someone can have a plant or a picture on their desk -- gone. No more. We're all grown-ups here, and can certainly make reasonable choices without a virtual parent on site.

    Supervisors and managers can deal with the rules for their departments -- again, they know the people and the work requirements. They also have a direct stake in making sure the rules set result in better performance. Again, HR can enjoy an over-site role to make sure federal and state labor law rules are followed -- but last I checked, neither plants on desks nor jeans on bodies fell under any law-making body's jurisdiction.

  • Remove the phrase "We've always done it that way." and the equally offensive phrases "But it's our policy." from the vocabulary of everyone in HR. Forever. Gone. Cannot be spoken, or used as a excuse for any action or inaction.

2) The new lifestyle --

No that HR is so much lighter because of all that surgery, what can they do?
  • Learn about what motivates employees.
  • Set up programs to make those motivators available to managers and supervisors.
  • Learn about training needs assessment.
  • Make training needs assessments available to managers and supervisors.
  • Create a library of training opportunities for employees. Open the door so they can access that training AS THEY NEED IT! No more holding on to training opportunities with a closed fist!
  • Work with senior management to develop strategies to maximize every employee's potential, reduce turnover and improve job satisfaction.
  • Do not study the strategies. Act on the strategies. Now.
  • Learn about the power of social media. Use it. Allow employees to use it.
3) What an HR career is -- and is not --

What it is not:

  • A policing role
  • A top-down power role
  • A "rules-is-rules" role

What is should/must be:

  • A facilitation role
  • A problem solving role
  • A performance strategy role
  • An information sharing role
Is there still time, Laurie? I think so. The big machine that goes beep hasn't flat-lined yet.

Yet.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Improve your productivity at work with a few simple changes

For most of us, improving our productivity at work seems like an eternal work in progress. We sign up for seminars, attend workshops and read thousands of articles on productivity in hopes to create some extra time in our busy, busy days.

Everyone’s process will be different, but there always seems to be a better way, a more efficient way to get things done. Implement a few of these simple changes and you may be surprised with the extra time you find in your workday.

  • Write everything down. Don’t keep your to-do list bottled up in your mind, write it down and post it in a highly visible place on your desk. Writing everything down will help free your mind, allowing more creativity to flow.

  • Prioritize. Put your to-do list in order, with the most important tasks at the top of the list. Knowing your priorities will help you focus more on what matters and less on what could wait until later.

  • Be aware. Do your best to focus on one task at a time and be fully conscious in whatever you’re working on. The less distracted you are, the more you will be able to accomplish.

  • Find your best time to work. Everyone has a part of the day where they get the most done in the least amount of time. Work on the most important tasks during the time of the day when you are most productive. You’ll produce better work, faster.

  • Take a break. Give yourself a break from time to time. When you start feeling stressed or tired, get up and take a walk. Whether it’s to the break room or around the building, a quick walk will help clear your mind and improve your personal productivity back at your desk.

  • Quality not quantity. It may be possible to speed through your to-do list and check off every task by the end of the day, but will you come out of it with quality work? Focus on each task as it comes and congratulate yourself for completing each one.

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