The interview remains a hiring manager's most effective tool for evaluating job candidates. Unfortunately, managers too often rely on a list of standard interview questions for which most applicants have canned responses.
The message: Ask generic questions and you'll get generic answers. Instead, try these queries, each designed to get applicants to really tell you about themselves and their skills...
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Q. We recently heard from a co-worker that an employee ("Mike") seemed to be having some health issues.
Mike hasn't said anything to his supervisor or anyone else as far as we know. What can we say? - M.D., Virginia
Whether it's deserved or not, the perception that management is "against" employees, once earned, is difficult to shake.
That's why it's vital for supervisors and HR to make sure all employees are treated fairly and consistently at all times, especially when it comes to discipline. To make sure your disciplinary actions are fair, ask yourself the following questions before taking action against an employee:...
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Interested in combating potential FMLA fraud? The best way to keep employees from gaming FMLA leave is to use the law's medical certification process.
It gives you the right to obtain information from the employee's physician about the ailment and (at least for the first certification) to obtain a second or third opinion from an independent physician. To make sure employees take only FMLA leave to which they are entitled, follow these 10 steps:...
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The recently signed healthcare legislation offers an interesting array of challenges and incentives for employers both big and small. One change is that offering healthcare benefits will no longer be a big source of advantage in recruiting for larger organizations.
Political talk shows may not know what to do with themselves now that the 2010 healthcare act has passed, but in the meantime, the rest of us have to get down to business. While it will take decades to know all the effects of this legislation, we'll have to figure out before then the practical implications for employers and
human resources. Healthcare coverage is already...
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The Art of Motivation Help your employees do better by introducing them to the benefits their jobs produce.
Face-to-face contact -- even for a superficial minute or two -- can have substantial impact on the motivation and productivity of workers. It may sound touchy-feely, but it's been documented in research papers -- and it may enhance employee engagement for positions that historically have high turnover and low morale.
Could a simple five-minute interaction with another person dramatically increase your weekly productivity? In some employment environments, the answer is yes, according to Wharton management professor Adam Grant. Grant has devoted significant chunks of his professional career to examining what motivates workers in
settings that range from call centers and mail-order pharmacies to swimming pool lifeguard squads. In all these situations, Grant says, employees who know their work has a meaningful, positive impact on others are not just happier than those who don't; they are vastly more productive, too. That conclusion may sound
touchy-feely, but Grant has documented it in a series of research papers. In one experiment,...
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Ten Management Practices to Axe There is a plethora of advice out there, here are some that should be removed from the list.
So you've studied all the best sellers about how to make yourself into a better manager? Well, you can't believe everything you read.
Every few years, a management book or philosophy emerges to change our thinking about the best ways to lead employees. From The One Minute Manager to Who Moved My Cheese?, new and revived leadership concepts have shaped the way we organize, evaluate, inspire, and reward team members. With so many
competing management theories in the mix, some ill-conceived practices were bound to take hold-and indeed, many have. Here's our list of the 10 most brainless and injurious:...
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Three easy rules that can make all the difference.
She was just shy of her 17th birthday. I was a year younger. It was my first time, but she was like a pro. When she started, my back stiffened and even my knuckles started to sweat. You see, my classmate and I were giving a presentation to our entire school. I was so nervous I had to clamp my hands to the lectern to steady
my shaking body. My only saving grace was so that no one heard the guttural sounds of fear groaning out of my mouth, because I was shaking so far from the microphone. Afterward, I was so embarrassed that I set myself a new goal. I would overcome my fear and become a proficient public speaker. I took a course in
speaking, trained hard and even spoke in competitions at local Rotary clubs. Now I travel the world from the U.S. to Thailand to Amsterdam doing several dozen paid speaking engagements a year. Public speaking is...
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Prevent Exit Interviews If you appreciate and respect your employees, they will appreciate and respect you.
By the time an employee is walking out the door, the opportunity to gather useful information has passed.
To boost retention efforts, talent managers should conduct stay interviews to find out early what they can do to keep employees. We're in the throes of economic recovery. At least we hope that's true. If it is, it's great news for business, except for organizations that ignored their talent during the recession. Implications are
even more dire for companies that distributed pink slips and pay cuts, along with more work, and showed disrespect or disregard for those employees who remained. Talent leaders at any level in one of those organizations had better act now to prevent turnover related to economic recovery. They should bolt the doors and ask
their best people to stay - at least long enough for an important chat...
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As tuition costs continue to rise and personal student debt follows more employees into the workforce, providing staff with tuition assistance options can increase employee engagement and foster career development.
The Educational Testing Service has decreased its 2009 projection for number of applications for the GRE, which is required for most graduate school programs, from 675,000 to 621,000, indicating today's economy is impacting enrollment. Tuition assistance programs allow talent managers to provide a timely and
attractive benefit to individuals and also invest in employees. In addition to tuition reimbursement benefits, some companies...
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