You can never have employees that are too loyal or a company culture that is too motivational. At least that is what I always thought until I read professor Herve Laroche''s article in the MIT Review titled The Power of Moderation. I''m a believer in moderation in most things so I was intrigued by this article. Professor Laroche describes a number of negative traits that he believes highly MORE

What''s a Nouse? It''s a system that replaces your computer mouse with movements of your nose. It''s completely hands free. You move the cursor on your screen by moving your nose. Any guesses on how you left click and right click with the nouse? Answer: Blink your left eye twice for left click and your right eye twice for right click. The inventor, Dmitry Gorodnichy of the Institute of MORE

Looks like there is someone else out there who doesn''t like buzzwords. Britain''s culture secretary Tessa Jowell admits to keeping a "little book of bollocks" where she lists gobbledegook spouted by her and her colleagues. Reported in the Financial Times: "I have what I call a bollocks list where I just sit in meetings and I write down some of the absurd language we use - and we are all guilty MORE

In the past I haven''t paid much attention to theories about birth order and personality, mainly because the things I have read haven''t matched with my own personal experiences. That is until I read recently about research by Frank Sulloway that was done back in 1996. Mr. Sulloway was examining the influences that affect people''s acceptance of new and radical ideas. He looked at variables such as MORE

Curious about which companies in your area have outsourced jobs overseas? Working America, a community affiliate of the AFL-CIO has put together a searchable database. If you are an HR exec, it might be a good idea to see if your company is listed and if the information is accurate. They also have a Paywatch section for each company that shows the compensation of the top executives. MORE

There''s been a lot of talk about Strategic HR over the last several years. There has also been a lot of confusion. Let''s see if we can clear things up a little. Strategic HR doesn''t mean strategic planning. Strategic planning is important, but that''s not what we are talking about when we say HR needs to act more strategically. It is also not about performing HR metrics although measurement is MORE

Did you know that there is a website where employee satisfaction surveys are made public? I can only imagine what would happen to me if Nobscot''s clients'' exit interviews were made public. (I''m I''m thinking something like public flogging or maybe root canal without anesthesia.). Meanwhile over at the Vault.com, ironically named with the tag line "the most trusted name in career information," the MORE

At the end of the last post I included a link to an article titled A Balanced Approach to Human Resources. This article stresses the need for HR professionals to become excellent risk takers. This was reinforced for me this evening when I read an excerpt from a speech given by John D. Zeglis, the Chairman of AT&T Wireless. The speech was given to new members of Phi Beta Kappa honor society at MORE

In the August issue of HR Executive Magazine, Jac Fitz-enz, HR metrics guru was asked what is the most underused or underappreciated HR metric. His answer: Turnover. As he explains it: "Most people know their turnover rate, but not how it is affecting them. It doesn''t make much difference how many people are leaving, per se. The issue is, who is leaving, at what point in their tenure, for MORE

Who thought that Human Resources practitioners could learn a thing or two about HR from a software developer? Joel Spolsky, who writes a popular blog for engineers called Joel on Software has a few things to say to which we should listen up. Two things caught my interest. 1) Joel does a good job of reminding us about reducing the irritations. 2) Joel warns how incentive programs can actually MORE

I was doing some research on the use of social networking technology in Human Resources when I came across this shocker: "Compared to sites that require users to map their own social networks, Weddle says, Eliyon Technologies'' site is much more robust--they''ve used their spider to compile dossiers on over 19 million Americans. For free, he says, users can type in the name of a company and get a MORE

Specifically, in terms of leadership, 70 percent of responding organizations said HR has a place on the board now, compared to 63 percent in 2009 and 41 percent in 2004. Back view of businessman. MORE

Two new technologies are coming HR''s way that have me concerned. The first is cell phone technology that uses satellite GPS technology to track the location of the phone and consequently the phone holder. The second is a polygraph type program that measures the sound of the voice to determine a speaker''s emotional state. Apparently my HR brethren are taking to the idea of tracking their MORE

An article called, High Turnover, Should you Care?, was recently referenced in a Yahoo Group for Training Professionals. The article talks about "knowledge nomads" who although they switch jobs frequently are committed to their organizations for the time period that they are there. The article also suggests reframing the issue of turnover and retention. The author writes, "Rather than focus on MORE

What about Google? If it''s true that 60% of employees are now millionaires as Bill Coleman of Salary.com estimates, how might that affect employee retention? Do people work strictly for money? Can google create such an interesting, challenging, enjoyable workplace that employees will stay even if they don''t need the money? Beth C MORE

For the past few years I have been noticing that it''s getting harder and harder for leaders to motivate their staff. Back in my day, (don''t you hate when people say, "back in my day.?"), most of us were easily swept into a cause, corporate or otherwise, by a charismatic leader. I''ve been struggling with why the change and I think at last I might have found the answer. An article by Michael MORE

Hi All, Since there have been so many interesting things happening in the world of Human Resources I have decided to resurrect Nobscot''s blog. I was reading through some of the old posts and there''s some good (and fun) information. If you are new to this blog you might want to take a look through the archives. As a quick update regarding Nobscot Corporation, we''re continuing to expand WebExit MORE

On Sunday we went to hear a friend sing and play guitar at a private club. We were introduced to a very friendly gentleman who looked like he had been planted in the lounge for several weeks. After he bought us a couple drinks, he pulled out a slip a paper and said to me, "Dear, tell me what this says." The paper said OPPORTUNITY ISNOWHERE I wasn''t sure what the trick was so I read what I saw MORE

The Apprentice season has just begun and the talk around the water coolers has already started. Who is the most outrageous? Who has the best chance of winning? Who is the best looking? It''s the good, the bad and the ugly. I don''t want to talk about that though. I''m more interested in some of the organizational behavior and business issues. Two things struck me. One has to do with the dynamics MORE

As if we didn''t have enough to worry about with employees sending in company internal memos for publication on the Internet and completing employee satisfaction surveys that are publicly available online now we have a new threat to watch out for - the prank email. With prank emails, the prankster pretends to be someone he or she is not and carries on a generally humorous email conversation MORE

I was reminded of this "oldie but goodie" today from a discussion on the SHRM Bulletin Board. The following is an actual article that was published in 1943 in the Mass Transportation Magazine. You can check out the details including scanned images of the actual article here. ELEVEN TIPS ON GETTING MORE EFFICIENCY OUT OF WOMEN EMPLOYEES. From: L.H. Sanders, Mass Transportation Magazine, 1943 MORE

I got a call today from a college campus political group. The young man that called -- well actually I think I''ll call him the "youth" instead of young man -- was frighteningly unprofessional. Here''s how the conversation went: Youth: Hey, Beth, This is X from Campus Political Party. How''s it going over there in Kaylooooooeee. How do you pronounce that? Beth: Kailua. Youth: Yah, how''s it going MORE

It''s in the May 2004 Harvard Business Review. I re-read an article recently called The Risky Business of Hiring Stars. The authors of the article followed 1052 of the very best investment banking stock analysts. These star analysts are very high profile in the industry and earn between $2-$5 million per year. The researchers found that when a star employee is hired by another firm, the star''s MORE

Good news on the blog front. To increase the diversity of thought I have asked Ray Halagera, President and COO of Career Systems International, to join Nobscot''s WebLog as executive contributing editor. Ray is a new collaborator and friend and has a wealth of knowledge that he picks up from his insatiable thirst for news and information. He also is highly educated and experienced. Ray holds an MORE

If you haven''t already read Love ''Em Or Lose ''Em: Getting Good People To Stay, go to your library or bookstore today. I had a chance to speak with one of the co-authors, Sharon Jordan-Evans. Sharon and I found that we have a lot of common beliefs and philosophies when it comes to creating the kind of work environment that fosters employee retention. The book, co-authored with Beverly Kaye, is MORE

My blog friend Dutch Driver has alerted me to an interesting "manifesto" by Malcolm Gladwell, the author of The Tipping Point. This manifesto (and don''t ask me what a "manifesto" is versus an article) is called, The Talent Myth - Are Smart People Overrated. It''s an outstanding look at the results of recruiting the top pedigreed candidates and giving them free reign once they are hired. MORE

I love words but I hate buzzwords. Buzzwords put a new spin on an old issue but don''t generally add any significant value except to help consultants and vendors sell more services. Now that I am in the vendor seat, I should value buzzwords but I just can''t do it. The most recent buzzword that annoys me is "Presenteeism". Do we really need a 12 letter word for people who come to work sick? MORE

From time to time I like to take a look at the web analytics of who is visiting Nobscot''s website and what brought them to the site. I use a fairly simple inexpensive program called Weblog Expert. With this program I can see the search phrases that people have entered into their search engine for which they ended up finding Nobscot Corporation. The top phrases are usually things like: exit MORE

I received a preview issue (snail mail hard copy) of "Team Management Briefings" from briefings.com. This is one of those newsletters that provides little blurbs of information excerpted or adapted from other publications. It had some interesting tidbits of info related to management, goal setting, motivation and teamwork. One item that caught my eye was related to feedback. It suggested MORE

I''m happy to see Meg Whitman, CEO of Ebay, on top of Fortune Magazine''s list of Most Powerful Businesswomen. She would have been my choice for the last several years. In fact, I don''t know why she is not tops on all the business lists not just the ones limited to women. Ebay''s performance has been stellar since Whitman took the reigns growing it into a profitable powerhouse. Ebay''s revenues have MORE

Apprentice fans - Do any of you wonder why the team project managers continually choose to bring in 2 teammates when Donald Trump gives them the option of bringing in 3? Wouldn''t bringing in three people improve the PM''s odds of not having to hear, "You''re Fired!" directed at them? So what is going on? Why has every single project manager done something that potentially sabotages him or her self MORE

A surprising new finding from the Institute for the Future (IFTF) about today''s youth. Teens and young adults between the ages of 14 - 21 said they would prefer to advance within one company rather than grow by switching jobs. If true this is great news for companies. With any luck this could signal the end of the "knowledge nomads" and good riddance to them. The reason provided for this MORE

I hate to even mention outsourcing since it''s been discussed and debated ad nauseum. However I did come across an aspect of outsourcing that I haven''t heard before that warrants attention. This comes from the unlikely place of a letter to the editor in CFO magazine. The letter writer, a corporate controller, writes: "As a female accountant, it has been many years since I have been exposed to MORE

When I was in junior high school and making fun of the "nerds", my Dad said something that turned out to be a prophetic statement. He said, "Beth, it''s the nerds of today that are going to be the leaders of tomorrow." I promptly ignored him for not understanding how the current nerds were just plain uncool. That''s why I love when I see the nerd word revived. (By By the time nerds started to gain MORE

A wise person once said that political and religious debates in the workplace don''t mix well. This year''s presidential election stirred up much emotion and ignited fierce debates in offices and workplaces nationwide. Like political advertising these debates (between colleagues, supervisors and subordinates) often took a nasty turn. Now as the season begins to wind down, companies need to take a MORE

In preparation for a meeting today I was thinking about exit interviews in comparison with stay interviews. As I understand it, stay interviews are about reaching out and touching (oops, bad word - let''s make that listening to) each employee and showing that you care about their individual success. This is a very worthwhile endeavor and an important part of your employee retention strategy. MORE