No one is surprised when the financial function of an organization goes through an audit process. It’s standard practice. However, when it comes to the human resources function, not so much! As much as business intelligence and the perspective about the human resources function have changed over the years, the fact of the matter is, human resources departments are still significant cost centers. ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Peggie Koenig
Years ago, as a newly minted human resources graduate, I was taken aback by an article in a business magazine titled “Let’s blow-up the HR Department”. As I was ready to take on the world and save business through human resources management, I was concerned that perhaps I had made the wrong career decision. The premise of that article was based on viewing the HR Department as an unnecessary overhead administrative expense that offered nothing to improve the bottom line. ...
Continue Reading →“I like to con people. And I like to insult people. If you combine “con” and “insult”, you get consult,” observes Dogbert, a comic-strip character. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of interesting and disturbing stories from organizations about their experiences with management consultants. Business often doesn’t have a very good impression of consultants, and for good reason. Anyone can become a management consultant if they can sell the perception of ‘expertise.’ Barriers to entry are low and people ...
Continue Reading →Recruiting and retaining employees in the trades continues to be a challenge,not only in Saskatchewan, but across all jurisdictions in Canada. In response to the challenges facing employers, Koenig & Associates completed a trades survey in the first quarter of 2014. The survey covered nine key trades:
There was a significant level of interest in collecting and sharing of data for industry sectors that employ these trades. We want to share with you some of the key ...
Continue Reading →Terminating an employee, for any reason, be it restructuring, lay-off, or performance, is one of, or indeed, the hardest thing that a manager has to do. Losing one’s job can be devastating for an employee on many levels; loss of income and financial security, erosion of self confidence and ego, and social stigma. It is a manager’s job to make the decision to end the employment relationship and communicate the decision face-to-face in a respectful way. Those managers who use ...
Continue Reading →As part of my coaching practice, I work with individuals who have lost their jobs due to restructuring, work slow-down, or performance or a combination of any of those three things. Companies are very diligent when it comes to ensuring that their legal obligations are met. Typically, corporate counsel or outside legal advice is sought as severance packages are constructed and finalized. As well, there is planning around how the termination is going to happen. As we all know, when ...
Continue Reading →Flexible work Arrangement – what is it worth to you?
Sometimes it can be difficult to shift from our traditional way of looking at the work day. Some interesting questions to ask as an employer: Is nine to five really the best work arrangement for our organization? Are we recruiting and retaining the best possible employees with our current scheduling practice? Are our employees really more productive from nine to five? Before you answer absolutely to all of the above questions ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Coralee Bulani
How do your colleagues perceive you? Are you heard when you have a piece of information to contribute or are you over powered? Is your boss impressed with your feedback or stumped by your silence? As a young professional working with a group of seasoned business professionals, one thing that I have learned is that contributing to projects means more than handing in your piece of the puzzle; it means taking an active role and being engaged with the task ...
Continue Reading →It’s free, it’s simple, and it will give you the edge over your competition. As a young professional kick-starting my career, I would like to draw your attention to what I value in your organization and why it will work for you to recruit and retain talent. Transparency in your organizational culture is a valuable benefit that is overlooked by management every day. So what is transparency? Transparency comes from the root word transparent defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: ...
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