Choosing the right incentives

The fact is incentives work – and basically any of those options will help you reward behavior. But let’s think about some of the pluses and minuses of each of those and see how they match up with your particular goals. And we’ll even add in one more that award providers will never mention as an option: your own company-sponsored awards.

Amy Schabacker Dufrane announced as new HRCI Executive Director

WASHINGTON — The HR Certification Institute (HRCI) has appointed Amy Schabacker Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE, as its executive director. A senior executive with more than 20 years of experience, Dufrane has served as interim executive director at HRCI since December 2012. Her appointment was effective Friday, Aug. 2. “HRCI is pleased to have Amy Dufrane — a certified […]

Workplace violence: “an evolving definition”

Arriving at a universally agreed upon definition of workplace violence is difficult at best; some might say impossible. We are challenged by divergent cultures, the sheer scope of reference and the number of terms used to describe the phenomenon of workplace violence. Terms used include, “mobbing” (Leymann, 1996[1]; Zapf et al., 1996[2]), “harassment” (Björkqvist et […]

Hiring ahead of time

  Startup companies are no different than mature companies – their success is contingent on finding good talent.  When a startup company is ready to hire, they usually need the new resources on an ASAP basis, but it is critical that they do not compromise on the quality of talent they hire, as the adverse […]

Five things HR professionals can learn from Rugby

HR policies are based on law; this is why we have Harassment Policies for example. And we are certainly well-served by having HR policies that provide clarity and understanding of consequences. I would much rather communicate practices based on reasoning than enforce “rules” which implies governing the actions of many due to the behavior of a few (Hello? Dress Code policy?).

Unpaid Internships – a view from Toronto

I should preface this by stating that I have spoken to many recent graduates (mostly in Human Resources) and the feeling is very consistent. Most feel that it would be best if they could find a paying job that would also offer them the experience they seek. However, given the competition and availability of entry level positions, there is a general feeling that “you have to do what you can” to get experience. This includes working 5 days a week, all day, without pay.