September 27, 2006

Website for non-profit board info
Posted by Diane Danielson at 1:03 PM

Just heard about the site, www.boardsource.org. Which is an organization that helps non-profits build effective boards. The site has lots of materials and workshops for current board members as well as useful materials for anyone considering volunteering for a non-profit board.

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100 Best Companies for Women
Posted by Diane Danielson at 7:43 AM

The list is in. Visit USA Today to get Working Mother's latest list featuring 18 newcomers.

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September 25, 2006

Timely tips for college hiring
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:58 PM

The college recruiting season is upon us once again. Early birds are out there planning their campus tours to pick off the best and the brightest.

So comes this pertinent piece, this week's NEHRA contribution, on hiring recent college grads from Professional Staffing Group founder and president Aaron Green. Here is one of Green's six tips to campus hiring success:

Expect a Lack of Interview Experience - When you are interviewing a recent college graduate, it is important to keep in mind that the candidate may not have spent much time in a business environment or on job interviews. Fortunately, you are not hiring someone for his or her interview skills. I'm not suggesting you drop all your expectations of professionalism, but instead make it your goal to hire someone who will be a good culture fit for your organization, not simply someone who has highly-polished interview skills.

Get the other five tips from NEHRA - The Voice of HR on BostonWorks Hiring Hub.

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September 23, 2006

When do we reach equality?
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:23 PM

As part of Newsweek's focus on women leaders, Anna Quindlen captures all the angst that accompanies the advance of women in corporate America.

There's one question that always lurks around the margins of the battle for equal rights: how will we know when we've won? Sometimes it seems like a classic dance of two steps forward, one back. Indra Nooyi, an Indian-born numbers cruncher, was recently named CEO of Pepsi. But that makes her one of only 11 women now running a Fortune 500 company, which works out to slightly more than 2 percent. CBS appointed the first woman solo network news anchor. But some genius Photoshopped a publicity still of Katie Couric even though Walter Cronkite had long ago made clear that a person with a normal face and physique can read a teleprompter. And Forbes magazine just published an essay titled "Don't Marry Career Women," by a male writer who couldn't see the advantages of a wife who could pay the mortgage and support the children even if her husband lost his job or suffered a massive coronary.

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September 21, 2006

Internship hiring on the rise
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:50 PM

HR Executive Magazine online reports on a new study that shows the practice of hiring college interns is on the rise:

Just in time for back-to-school, internship hiring is on the rise, according to a nationwide survey by CBcampus.com, a division of CareerBuilder.com. Forty-nine percent of hiring managers say they expect to hire college interns through the end of 2006, and 36 percent plan to increase their interns' pay above 2005 levels. The survey, "Intern Hiring," was conducted in June 2006 and included more than 1,000 hiring managers.

Moreover, the try-before-you-buy approach seems to be an increasingly popular avenue among employers to full-time hires:

Completing an internship can give college students more than experience -- it can also be the ticket to a job offer. Nearly six-in-ten hiring managers say they are likely to offer a permanent position to a college graduate who interned at the organization and performed well.

Read the full piece. (Note: one-time free registration may be required.)

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September 19, 2006

Junk food in the office
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:26 PM

By now we all know that Twinkies and Coke and all things sugary, while tasty, are just plain bad for us. Obesity and diabetes are a huge national health issue. With the epidemic rising among kids, as well, vending machines peddling the junk are being yanked out of schools nationwide.

But what about the nation's workplaces where, among other activities and occupations, millions of sedentary workers sit parked in front of computers all day long?

While children across the nation are being denied junk food in schools, their parents are devouring cakes, cookies and other goodies at work despite employers’ efforts to promote healthy living, according to a new national survey.

The survey conducted in May and June 2006 by Harris Interactive® for The Marlin Company, the workplace communications experts, found that 53% of US workers report that their company encourages healthy behavior in its employees at least a moderate amount through information or resources about healthy living. But 74% of US workers say that sometimes, if not always, cake, cookies or candy are served for special occasions like a birthday or holiday.

Does this sound like your company? If you want to read more, go to this page and click on the link titled "Despite Employers Promoting Healthy Behavior...".

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September 15, 2006

Social networking goes corporate
Posted by Diane Danielson at 3:00 PM

Interesting article from the Wall Street Journal entitled "Offices co-opt consumer web tools." It looks at how companies are using wiki's, blogging and social networking tools for a competitive advantage.

Hill & Knowlton is one of a number of companies that are co-opting consumer Web technologies for everyday office use. Examples includes social networking - which connects people online through common acquaintances - and "wikis" (think Wikipedia) - which let several people change a document on a Web page and then track those changes. In the past year and a half, Intel Corp., Quark Inc., SAP AG and International Business Machines Corp. have begun experimenting with such innovations as recordings of meetings that can be downloaded to iPods, blogs where employees can talk back to their bosses, and internal Web pages that allow people to read their colleagues' meeting notes and add their own.

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September 13, 2006

More thoughts on 9/11 and the workplace
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 3:24 PM

Earlier this week, on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, we published an original article here on the Hiring Hub on the impact of 9/11 on the workplace, polling NEHRA leaders for their thoughts. The broad consensus was that things had indeed changed during that time.

Now Workforce Management magazine weighs in with their own take on the issue:

. . .[I]s the workplace so radically different today? Are workers more anxious and distracted? Are employees choosing family picnics over promotions? Has the radical shift predicted by prognosticators materialized?

While it’s certainly true that Americans feel more vulnerable on American soil, and that the U.S. military has shifted its focus to terrorism, and that air travel has become much more cumbersome, the lingering impact of September 11 on most employers and working Americans has been, frankly speaking, quite negligible.

What do you think? Has the workplace changed since 9/11, or not? Give us your thoughts on our Hiring Hub message board.

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September 11, 2006

The workplace five years after 9/11
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:38 PM

Today marks five years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 hit the United States. Much changed in our lives in that single day - including the workplace.

BostonWorks took this opportunity to ask leaders from the Northeast Human Resources Association to tell us what they felt the biggest change and biggest challenge are in the workplace since September 11, 2001. Here is a sample, from NEHRA president Anne Slein, HR Director at Polaroid:

As I reflect on the post 9/11 workplace, two things come to mind. The heightened awareness on workplace security, globally, has increased dramatically. We are far more aware of global events as it relates to the business travel plans of our employees as well as the need to tightly control who comes in and out of our offices. The second is a stronger focus on work/life balance for employees. Today's employees consider more thoughtfully the need to be present and available to those who are near and dear to us.

Read the other reflections from NEHRA leaders.

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September 6, 2006

E-screening candidates - but at what cost?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:02 PM

How quickly technology moves these days.

Not too long ago, Googling a candidate's name was the most cutting edge way to do a background check on someone without their knowing it. Plug in the name, get a few links, and away you go.

But now, with the huge surge in popularity - especially among the young - of online community sites such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com, employers have a new way to poke their nose under the tent flap and get the inside scoop on a potential hire.

But is there a downside to this, asks Human Resource Executive Online?

These "online communities," such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com, are used by people around the world. Their users create personal profiles describing themselves, their hobbies and interests. Viewed by other community members, these profiles allow users to chat and message, network and get to know one another.
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At first glance, these sites may seem like a great place to learn valuable information about potential employees; the users are much more honest and open about themselves online than in a traditional interview. Few organizations, however, are taking the time to analyze the pitfalls of this practice, namely the potential to violate equal opportunity and privacy laws.

Read the full article. (Note that one-time free registration may be required.)

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