Technology...

the biggest distraction in

the workplace?
August 30 2010 - Businesses are being warned to ensure they have guidelines in place for misuse of
technology in the workplace after reports that people are spending more than half the day using
technology.

Scotland's leading HR and employment law firm, Empire HR, say although computer technology has
transformed today's workplace it's vital that a business is geared up for managing the impact upon staff.

The increase in technology usage has been blamed on the popularity of smart phones, the report claims
there has been an 81% increase in the number of people owning a smart phone in the last year. These
phones make it easier to surf the net which is fast becoming the most popular form of mobile media
activity.

Although businesses are often quick to embrace the benefits of new technology, software and telecoms,
Empire HR say many are failing to get to grips with the impact on their business and how much it distracts
staff in the workplace.

Aberdeen based Empire HR, which provides advice to over 500 businesses throughout the UK, advises
businesses to consider adopting a detailed change management plan prior to the implementation of new
technology.

Businesses should provide clear guidance to staff on what is, and what isn't acceptable use of technology
at work. For example, are they allowed to use the internet during working hours? Can they update their
Facebook page whilst at work? Should they take laptops home? What about pen drives, disks, Company
mobile phones? A business should consider all these issues.

Of course, it isn't just the technology at work that can lead to problems. External influences can also be a
big headache. Social networking is a major issue, with many employees failing to realise that their social
networking pages effectively link the personal and professional lives.

This has led to some employees being dismissed for posting something on a personal blog page, a
practice now being referred to as 'Facebook Fired' or 'Twerminated'. With new technology and social
networking very much a way of modern life, businesses clearly need to adapt to up-to-date workplace
issues.

Steve Cook, CEO of Empire HR advises the following:

Have a clear, detailed Information Computer Technology (ICT) Policy

This should include details of what the rules relating to Company technology are. It should also outline the
consequences of failing to adhere to the policy. Employees should be advised that an email is the same
as a letter in terms of representing the Company, and presenting an image. Therefore, spend as much
time and attention on an email as you would with a letter. Most importantly, circulate the policy! You would
be surprised at how many businesses take the time to draft a good policy, and then forget to circulate it!

Make sure staff know what is, and is not appropriate

The increasing use of technology, and in particular emails, has led to a blur in the distinction between
what is and is not appropriate in the workplace. It's all too easy for staff to circulate material that would not
have previously been available at work such as pornography and insulting jokes. Although light hearted,
these emails can lead to costly discrimination claims and bring a Company into disrepute. For example,
the Empire HR bulletin recently highlighted a case where a Deliotte trainee had to resign after circulating
a 'fittest man' email.

Include Social Networking

We come across a lot of ICT Policies that fail to refer to social networking. This should always be included
because it's very difficult to take disciplinary action where there is no clear Company policy on the issue.
It doesn't have to be long, but it should stipulate that social networking sites should not be accessed
during working hours, and that negative references to colleagues, the Company or clients will result in
disciplinary action.

Monitor IT usage

Put systems in place to monitor all usage. Some employers hesitate to do this because they are worried
about privacy and data protection issues. However, it is perfectly acceptable to monitor all usage during
Company time. It might be worth carrying out spot checks or instructing your IT provider to let you know
when an employee spends an excessive amount of time on the internet. In my experience, this is very
valuable. For example, an Empire HR client recently identified an employee who was setting up their own
business during Company time by carrying out a spot check on his emails. Of course, a policy should
stipulate that emails, internet usage etc are not private and will be subject to monitoring.

Include it in the Contract

If you are going to issue staff with mobile phones, laptops, pen drives or any other IT equipment, make
sure refer to these in their contract of employment. If you don't, you might unexpectedly find your staff are
entitled to keep this equipment during maternity leave, sick leave etc. You should also include a clause
allowing the Company to recoup any losses resulting from damage caused to equipment, or a failure to
return it once employment is terminated.

Seek specialist advice

ICT is a massive industry, and its impact upon the workplace cannot be underestimated. It's likely that
ICT is your businesses b iggest asset, so make sure you protect it. Empire HR can advise and guide you
on all aspects of ICT and people management. Call 01224 701 383 or email info@[Link] for
further information
 Standards of Quality Management
A typical Quality management aims in improving standards continuously from the minimum set conditions
of any quality management standards and that to in a determined, consistent, and in a very systematic
manner. A quality policy is nothing but a set of actions within a general management function that aims at
improving the standards or quality through proper planning, ensuring efficiency and proper control of all
the resources.

In a nutshell Quality management can be explained as the proposed action taken after finding out the
difference or shortfall between the present condition and the expected level set by any quality standards.
The proposed actions or the actual action carried out to fill the gap can be considered as quality
management practice.

There are software for helping individuals or companies in this area of operation and it can provide
solution for many issues such as documentation issues, statistical analysis issues, etc., and will help in
carrying out the management process with a quality punch. Companies, in order to provide better
services that may match or exceed the expectations of customers, should use systematic, planned and
well structured processes that may contribute to improvement in quality and the quality management can
be of great help in this scenario.

Businesses or companies that are aiming to keep their customers satisfied should have a professional
and systematic approach so as to maintain a conducive industrial and trade relationship and only a well
formed and conceived quality standards alone can help in this matter. Few of the under mentioned
concepts or ideas of quality management can help businesses and businessmen, be it contractors or
builders, to increase customer base and satisfaction, to cut costs, and to improve business.

One of the revolutionary Quality Management Software that makes news and ripples in business circle in
the EWQMS or the "Enterprise-wide Quality Management System". It is a web-based integrated software
that has all the necessary tools to cater to the needs of all quality management aspects.

The software suite includes various well defined modules such as product planning or design (APQP),
customer requirement management, company performance management, audit module, supply
monitoring module, document management, calibration and equipment verification module (MSA related),
management and tracking of employee objectives (HR related), management and maintenance of
equipment, business process implementation, equipment allocation and scheduling, etc., and all these
are carefully integrated in one single shareable and consistent environment. You can also have access to
the data in a seamless and reliable manner due to the highly structured model of the software.

In any customer oriented businesses or projects, the main goal will be either to match or exceed the
customers’ expectations and needs. However, achieving this accomplishment is not that easy and a well
coordinated effort put forth by all the departments concerned such as manufacturing department,
engineering department, purchase department, marketing department, etc., is very necessary.

Many of the companies or the organizations do not have or form any exclusive team for this purpose and
hence there are no efforts or the efforts put forth by others are not sufficient the garner the support of the
customers and as well as fulfill the needs of the customers at the bottom line.

In a yet another scenario, even if an organization has a working and cross-functional team to take care of
the job of garnering customers’ support, majority of the time these teams do not have any effective tools
at their disposal for countering any of the problems that may arise. And only for addressing this problem,
the Enterprise-wide Quality Management System (EWQMS) was created and this product earns the
accolade of being the only product in the market that has tools to manage customer development efforts
across any type of enterprise and also provide tools with which you can solve problems.
The QMU or the Quality Management Unit is to aim at a consistent quality management system by
making use of the data measured based on performance and responsive specific practices that can
satisfy the customers. TQM or the Total Quality Management is a system through which a consistent and
an orderly flow of both products and services to consumers are ensured.

Now with the advent of technology and a drastic improvement in transportation and other communication
services, TQM has earned a global perspective and today a stage has come that whenever a business or
a company fails to follow TQM principles, then the chances of that company or business getting thrown
out of the market is very bright. So in order to inculcate the basic concepts of quality management, right
from the young age many countries have even started teaching TQM concepts as a part of their school
and college curriculum.

The best way to start off is to conduct a staff meeting where in all the parents and all the board members
can be invited to participate. Total Quality Management system is a continuous process and because of
the need for frequent updation of knowledge, the system can throw an interesting challenge, enthusiasm,
and excitement to the teachers and to the students as well and that makes the learning process fun, easy,
and fruitful.

So in the present day scenario of global economy, a company or any business entity that doesn’t practice
TQM may become non-competitive sooner or later

Mastering Change Through Continuous Growth, Learning, and Improvement

"When you're through changing, you're through." — Bruce Barton, American advertising
executive, author, and politician

To master or thrive on change, we need to embrace perpetual growth and development, continuous
learning, and constant improvement. That's the stuff true change leadership is made of. The surface issue
is our rate and type of change. The deeper issue is whether we are learning and improving so that
change is another step forward in our progress to a brighter future. Are we steadily striving to build a
better self, team, organization, and world? I've seen very few effective, and especially lasting, "change
programs." But I have seen, and personally experienced, the power and payoffs of constant and habitual
personal, team, and organization learning and improvement.

Developing and improving our organizations, teams, or selves to ride the waves of change means:

 Balancing "hard" analytical management systems and techniques, quick changing technical and
technological tools, with "soft" human leadership issues.
 Strengthening our self-leadership and self-determination as a base for leading others.
 Establishing a clear focus and "big picture" context. This encompasses the Three Ps — Picture of
our preferred future (vision), Principles (values or beliefs), and Purpose (mission, niche, or why
we exist).
 Identifying who we've chosen to serve, understanding what they want, and analyzing how we're
doing at meeting their needs.
 Digging below our current customers' needs and expectations to latent and unmet needs that
lead to new markets, customers, products and services, or extensions.
 Nurturing experiments, pilots, and "clumsy tries" as we muddle (and learn) our way to new
products, services, markets, methods, and such.
  Setting clear priorities and strategic goals to provide tighter discipline in our use of limited time
and organizational resources.
 Developing improvement plans that encompass our key production, delivery, and support
processes, operational and improvement teams, skill development, measurement and
feedback, structure and system alignment, education and communication strategies, as well as
reward and recognition programs and practices.
 Developing change champions and supporting local improvement initiatives.
 Regularly reviewing, assessing, celebrating, and refocusing our improvement progress.

A Few Change Pathways and Pitfalls

"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not something to be waited for, but
rather something to be achieved."

— William Jennings Bryan, American political leader and orator

 Don't let a consultant loose with a "change management program" or unleash improvement
teams in a vacuum. (Beware of the this type of consultant — "It's worse than I thought. Your
organization's change program is going to put me in a higher tax bracket"). Make sure all
changes are driven by very clear business goals (quality, service, innovation, etc.), are coming
from your organization's Focus and Context (picture of the future, principles, and purpose), and
are managed by line management and performance teams.
 Build a strong case for change. Without it, change efforts look like "management by whim."
 You may need to use a painful crisis (or even project a small one into a potential future
catastrophe) to smash existing mindsets and complacency. But once that's done, keep
everyone focused on the gain rather than the pain of change and improvement.
 Involve everyone in understanding (why we should change), diagnosing (what's not working well
now), visioning (what would our ideal future look like), and planning (what improvement route
are we following) for the changes needed.
 Keep communication channels wide open and information flowing on progress, what's being
learned, changes to the improvement effort. And make sure feedback and measurement loops
are strong.

 When change represents learning, growth, and improvement it generates energy and is often
eagerly embraced. When change is just change or appears to make things worse — and
especially if it's done to us — it's something to be avoided. At worst, some people are neutral
or somewhat resistant to change that they believe will eventually be for the better. At best,
most people (and especially high performers) welcome and embrace that kind of beneficial
change. The bigger barrier becomes the discipline and follow-through to improve ourselves
and enjoy the benefits of the change. But what most of us clearly hate and strongly resist is
being changed.
 Role of Change Management in an Organization
Change management plays an important role in any organization since the task of managing change is
not an easy one. When we say managing change we mean to say that making changes in a planned and
systemic fashion. With reference to the IT projects we can say the change in the versions of a project and
managing these versions properly. Changes in the organization or a project can be initiated from within
the organization or externally. For example a product that is popular among the customers may undergo a
change in design based on the triggering factor like a competitive product from some other manufacturer.
This is an example of external factor that triggers a change within the organization. How the organization
responds to these changes is what that is more concerned. Managing these changes come under change
management. Reactive and proactive responses to these changes are possible from an organization.

it is done by many independent consultants who claim to be experts in these areas. These consultants
manage the changes for their clients. They manage changes or help the client make the changes or take
up the task themselves to make the changes that must be made. An area of change that needs attention
is selected and certain models, methods, techniques and tools are used for making these changes that
are necessary for the organization.

When there is a process in an organization it is not an easy task to make changes to this process
immediately. Sometimes a single organization may have varied business entities and changes in an entity
may be reflected in another entity. In such organizations changes are not so easy. There are different
types of organizations which have many branches across the world with varied cultures. Implementing a
change in such organizations is a task by itself.
The change process can be thought of a process which stops the current process, makes the necessary
changes to the current process and the run the new process. It is easy said than implemented. Stopping a
current process in some industry is fatal for that organization. Hence it has to be done in steps which
have the minimal effect in the process. These changes can not take place for a longer time in the
organization since that may also be a disaster for the organization. The involvement of the staff
concerned is also very important for the change process to be smooth.

The change process could also be considered as a problem solving situation. The change that is taking
place could be the result of a problem that has occurred. You should know that a problem is a situation
that requires some action to be taken positively to handle that situation. This positive action is known as
problem solving. The change process could be problem solving for a particular situation. In this process
there is a move from one to state to another so that the problem gets solved. The change process is
leaving the current state and moving to the final state through some structured organized process.

Managing the changes in an organization requires a broad set of skills like political skills, analytical skills,
people skills, system skills, and business skills. Having good analytical skills will make you a good change
agent. You should evaluate the financial and political impacts of the changes that can take place. You
should know that following a particular process at that instant would fetch you immediate financial effects
and start that process so that the change process is noted by the management. The workflow has to be
changed in such a manner to reflect the financial changes that are taking place. Operations and systems
in the organization should be reconfigured in such a manner that you get the desired financial impact.

Hence change management plays an important role in an organization. This allows the organization to
give a reactive or a proactive response to the changes that happen internally or externally. Knowing the
change management and its process would help an organization and it s processes to be stable.

Bullying and harassment complaints

Is mediation the answer?
by Nora Doherty

April 2 2004 - Workplace Mediation is becoming an increasingly popular dispute resolution method to
resolve interpersonal employee conflicts including harassment and bullying complaints. Nora Doherty,
Director of Professional Mediation Resolutions (PMR) explains what mediation is, how it can be most
appropriately used by organisations and what kind of training staff may require.

There are many factors to explain why workplace mediation is now becoming the most favoured dispute
resolution method for the resolution of employee conflicts including harassment and bullying - the huge
increase in the number of employee complaints (employment tribunal cases reached record levels last
year), the higher levels of compensation, the continuing introduction of new employment legislation and,
for many, the realisation that formal procedures and investigations can in some circumstances be so
adversarial and stressful to all concerned that any possibility of people working together again is minimal.

It is also true to say that the government, through the latest changes to the Employment Bill 2002, are
encouraging organisations to set up their 'internal' dispute resolution procedures such as workplace
mediation. This is mainly to reduce the increasing number of complaints going to employment tribunals.
Workplace Mediation is based on the principles of encouraging constructive communication in a safe and
confidential environment, identifying mutual solutions and agreements and restoring respectful,
professional working relationships.

Harassment/Bullying Complaints

In many cases of harassment or bullying, people want certain behaviours or language to change and do
not wish to go down the route of formal investigation, particularly if they want the working relationship to
continue. Often there are issues on both sides which could be helped by better communication and
understanding - facilitated by an experienced mediator.

If the mediation is not successful or if the complaint is more serious, then people can always invoke
formal or legal procedures.

Even given that mediation is not appropriate in all circumstances, I would estimate that more than one
third of all employee complaints could be best dealt with by mediation.

The Benefits of Workplace Mediation

 quick to set up
 less costly in every sense of the word (ie financially, management time, employee stress, and the
effects of an unproductive working environment)
 more positive: more likely to give those involved the outcomes they want
 more constructive: helps restore working relations rather than destroy them

Case Studies of Mediation for Harassment Complaints

There are two examples I have been involved with personally that will outline more clearly how mediation
can be used. One is about a conflict situation between two people - where one person put in a complaint
of bullying against their manager; and the second is about a complaint of harassment within a team.

Harassment Complaint: Mediation between two people

About a year ago, I was contacted by the Personnel Manager of a large charity who explained to me over
the phone that one of their employees had put in a complaint of harassment against her manager. The
complainant was saying that her manager was abrupt and aggressive in the way she spoke to her, had
raised her voice and critised her in front of other colleagues in the office and was generally acting towards
her in an unsupportive way - so much so that she was now suffering from stress, could not sleep at night
and dreaded coming into work.

The Personnel manager had also spoken to the manager concerned who said that she had several
issues with this particular person, the main one being that the manager felt that her directions concerning
work and projects were not being accepted and, in her point of view, she felt that this person was
deliberately undermining her authority. As mediation is written into their harassment policy as an informal
first stage for resolution, the personnel manager decided to offer it to them as the fairest means of
resolving the issues between them.

Even though they had some misgivings initially, both parties agreed to go ahead and have a mediation -
as they both wanted the situation between them to be resolved as quickly as possible and neither wanted
to go down the more formal route of investigation. They did see the merit in talking through their issues
with the help and direction of an experienced mediator who did not take sides. As the external mediator
chosen for this work, I arranged to meet with both of them the following week and set aside one day for
the mediation. I spent almost two hours with each of them in individual meetings in the morning and
brought them together in a face-to- face structured mediation meeting which took all afternoon.

By the end of this meeting, they both had had the chance to say what they needed to say to each other,
they had identified the main issues and, with some help and encouragement, had come up with a number
of practical agreements on changes for the future that would improve their working relationship (in this
case mainly around how they communicated with each other). These voluntary agreements were written
up by myself as mediator at the end and each were given a copy. A follow-up meeting has been arranged
for three months time when I will go back and see how these voluntary agreements are working out
between them.

Complaint of Bullying: Team Mediation

The second example was when a member of a team made an anonymous complaint of harassment
against two senior managers of a department in a large insurance company. The complaint brought to
light several areas of conflict and differences within a team of twelve people. While the complaint was
investigated and no fault found, it was clear that something further had to be done. The Human
Resources Director decided that the best way forward would be to offer the whole team a 'team
mediation' and she contacted me and discussed it all over the phone.

A team mediation is very similar to a mediation between two individuals in that the principles and structure
are the same but it does demand more skills and experience from the mediator because of the number of
people involved and the group dynamics and emotions that may arise.

This particular team mediation was more complex than usual and took place over three days. The first
day I spent seeing each person in the team in individual meetings (which means you can really get to
know what is happening in total confidence) and from that I decided on the best way of setting up the
team mediation which took place a few days later in a training venue nearby. There were several major
issues that needed to be addressed - one person felt that he could not work with a colleague because of
a personality clash between them, and the other was that two members of the team felt that there was a
possible element of racial harassment going on in the team that was not being tackled by their managers.
There is not the space to describe it all here but after a lot of hard work by everyone and a lot of useful
communication, the mediation in the end proved beneficial for everyone. By the close of the mediation,
the team had come up with eight agreements and clear strategies for addressing each of the main issues
they had identified which would improve working relations within the team and would move things
forwards in a very constructive way. I had a follow up meeting with them two months later and there was a
definite improvement all round - people felt that their concerns had been addressed, that changes had
taken place that improved working relations, and since the team mediation members of the team treated
each other with more professionalism and respect. 

Nora Doherty is Director of Professional Mediation Resolutions (PMR) Ltd, which offers
independent mediation, and a six-day Certificate Workplace Mediation training accredited by the
Open College Network, in London and Derbyshire every year.

TRAINING
Training is generally defined as "change in behavior" - yet, how many trainers and managers forget that,
using the term training only as applicable to "skills training"? What about the human element? What about
those very same people we want to "train"? What about their individual beliefs, backgrounds, ideas,
needs and aspirations?

In order to achieve long-term results through training, we must broaden our vision to include people
development as part of our strategic planning. Although training covers a broad range of subjects under
the three main categories (skills, attitude, knowledge), using the term "training" without linking it to
"development" narrows our concept of the training function and leads us to failure.

When we limit our thinking, we fall into the trap of:

a. Classifying people into lots and categories

b. Thinking of "trainees" as robots expected to perform a job function
c. Dismissing the individual characteristics of people and the roles they play
d. Focusing only on "what needs to be done" without adequately preparing the trainees involved
to accept and internalize what is being taught.

We are dealing with human thoughts, feelings and reactions which must be given equal (if not more)
attention than to the skill itself. We thus create a double-focus: people development and skills training.
These two simultaneous objectives will give us the right balance and guide our actions to reach our goal.

To clarify our training and development objectives, and identify our criteria for success, we must ask
ourselves a few questions:

 Do we expect an automatic, faultless job performance?

 Does attitude count?
 Does goodwill count?
 Do loyalty and dedication count?
 Does goal-sharing count?
 Does motivation count?
 Do general knowledge and know-how count?
 Do people-skills count?
 Does an inquisitive mind count?
 Does initiative count?
 Does a learning attitude count?
 Does a sense of responsibility count?
 Do team efforts count?
 Do good work relations count?
 Does creative input count?
 Do we want employees to feel proud of their role and contribution?

How can we expect such qualities and behaviour if we consider and treat our personnel as "skills
performers"? However, we could achieve the desired results if we address the personal development
needs of the employees involved.

When we plan for both "training" and "development", we achieve a proper balance between the needs of
the company and those of the trainees. The synergy created takes us to new levels, to a continuing trend
of company growth.

Our consideration of the people involved results in work motivation, goal-sharing, and a sense of
partnership. Not only do the employee-trainees perform at the desired levels, but they offer to the
company and its customers their hidden individual gifts and talents, and this reflects itself in the quality of
service. Customers feel and recognize efficient performance, motivation and team-work. They become
loyal customers.

We can learn from the case of a small restaurant operator who had become desperate at the negligent
attitude of his servers, resulting in customer complaints. He decided to seek professional expertise to help
him replace his employees with "motivated, trained" people fresh out of a waiter's training school.

Following some probing questions it came to light that, besides hourly pay, he did not offer much to attract
and retain loyal and dedicated employees. Through professional consultation, he came to realize that
even if he paid higher wages to new "trained" employees, the problem would persist because employees
want more than wages from their work place. They want:

 Organization and professional management

 Information regarding the business and its customers
 Recognition for their role in the company's success
 Acknowledgement of their individual capacities and contributions
 Positive discipline / fairness
 A say in the way the business is run.

The restaurant operator realized that until then he had treated his employees as "plate carriers" and this
is exactly how they had behaved and performed. He was ready to change his mode of operation: he
diverted his focus to the needs of his employees, re-structured his organisation, planned new operational
strategies, a human resources strategy, training and development guidelines, disciplinary rules and
regulations.

He communicated and shared these in a meeting with his employees and handed out the employee
handbook prepared for that purpose. He also reminded them of their responsibilities towards the
business, the customers, and themselves (taking charge of their own training, development, and work
performance). They were more than pleased when he asked them to express their opinions, make
comments and suggestions.

He was surprised at the immediate transformation that took place. He began receiving excellent reviews
from his customers, the employees worked as a team, their motivation sky-rocketed and he never had to
replace them! All this was accomplished by extending the previous concept of training to that of training
and people development.

Training and Development represents a complete whole that triggers the mind, emotions and employees'
best work performance. It is not only business managers and owners who must do this shift in thinking,
but Human Resources Directors and Training Managers (whose title should be "Training and
Development" Managers). By their actions, they should offer a personal example, coaching and guiding
all the people in an organisation to think "beyond training" and invest efforts in people's:

 Professional development
 Personal development.

Contrary to what some managers think, people do not quit a place of work as soon as they have grown
personally and professionally through training and development programs - at least they do not do so for
a long while. They become loyal to their employer and help him/her grow business-wise, which offers
them more opportunities. They chart their own course for career advancement within the broader
framework of organizational growth.

Do we not call employees our "human resources asset"? Whatever their positions, each expects to be
treated as such; when they are, they give more than their physical presence at work.
Copyright © 1997  C Claire Belilos     

Ulrich’s HR Roles Model

David Ulrich is a real HR Guru, who defined the most common HR Roles model, which commonly used on the
market. The model is well known for introducing mainly the aspects of Human Resources with the highest value
added.

The main contribution of the David Ulrich’s HR Model was the start of the movement from the functional HR
orientation to the more partnership organization in HRM Function. Business Partnering is not possible to implement
without a major shift in the HR Organization. The benefit was a more responsible and flexible organization of Human
Resources, which allowed to many HR Professionals to become real respected business partners.

The 4 HR Roles defined by Ulrich

The HR Model defined by Ulrich brings for main criteria:

 strategic partner
 change agent
 employee champion
 administrative expert

Strategic Partner is about alignment of HR activities and initiatives with the global business strategy and it is the task
of the HR Management and HR Business Partners. Sometimes, it sounds easy to implement Strategic Partnership,
but it needs a lot of effort from Human Resources.

Change Agent is a very important area of the Ulrich’s HR Model. Change agent is about supporting the change and
transition of the business in the area of the human capital in the organization. The role of Human Resources is the
support for change activities in the change effort area and ensuring the capacity for the changes.

Administrative Expert changes over the period of time. In the beginning, it was just about ensuring the maximum
possible quality of delivered services, but nowadays the stress is put on the possibility to provide quality service at the
lowest possible costs to the organization.

Employee Champion is a very important role of Human Resources. The employee advocate knows what employees
need and HRM should know it. The employee advocate is able to take care about the interest of employees and to
protect them them during the process of the change in the organization.

Pitfalls in 4 HR Roles
All the HR Roles defined by Ulrich are essential for the success of the whole HRM Function. The stress must be put
to all the areas, there is no chance to select one and to excel in this one concrete area.
Many HRM Managers forget to balance the approach and they decide to be a real star in one of the needed
components and they forget about the danger not meeting the basic requests and expectations in the rest

Best Practices: Employee Retention

A Changing Work Force and Workplace

Fundamental changes are taking place in the work force and the workplace that promise to radically alter
the way companies relate to their employees. Hiring and retaining good employees have become the
chief concerns of nearly every company in every industry. Companies that understand what their
employees want and need in the workplace and make a strategic decision to proactively fulfill those
needs will become the dominant players in their respective markets. The fierce competition for qualified
workers results from a number of workplace trends, including:

 *A robust economy 
*Shift in how people view their careers 
*Changes in the unspoken "contract" between employer and employee 
*Corporate cocooning 
*A new generation of workers 
*Baby boomers striking out on their own after hitting corporate ceilings 
*Changes in social mores 
*Life balance

Concurrent with these trends, the emerging work force is developing very different attitudes about their
role the workplace. Today's employees place a high priority on the following:

 *Family orientation 
*Sense of community 
*Quality of life issues 
*Volunteerism 
*Autonomy 
*Flexibility and nonconformity

To hold onto your people, you have to work counter to prevailing trends causing the job churning. Smart
employers make it a strategic initiative to understand what their people want and need -- then give it to
them.

Five Strategies for Retaining Employees :

Retaining employees and developing a stable work force involves a two-step process -- understanding
why employees leave in the first place, and developing and implementing strategies to get them to stay.
Employees leave jobs for five main reasons:

 Poor working conditions 

Lack of appreciation 
Lack of support 
Lack of opportunity for advancement 
Inadequate compensation

Overcoming these reasons requires the implementation of five distinct categories of retention strategies:
  *Environmental strategies create and maintain a workplace that attracts, retains and nourishes
good people.
*Relationship strategies focus on how you treat your people and how they treat each other. 
*Support strategies involve giving people the tools, equipment and information to get the job
done. 
*Growth strategies deal with personal and professional growth. 
*Compensation strategies cover the broad spectrum of total compensation, not just base pay
and salary.

Top Tips for Retaining Employees

To retain their employees, companies should implement the following best practices:

 *Hire right to begin with. 

*Engage in longer orientations with new employees. 
*Live the values. 
*Use creative rewards and recognition. 
*Create annual personal growth plans for each employee. 
*Consider non-compete agreements. 
*Recruiter-proof your company. 
*Make it easy for people to get their jobs done. 
*Do corporate succession planning. 
*Conduct exit interviews with employees who resign.

Retaining Key Employees :

By focusing on key players who truly make or break your business, you can get the most leverage from
your employee retention efforts. Retaining key employees requires a five-step process:

 '.Identify key employees and positions. 

'.Know what motivates your key employees on an individual level. 
'.Provide a deferred compensation plan. 
'.Monitor and manage key employee performance. 
'.Review key employees annually.

Heed the Words of Wisdom

 Arvind Panagariya
  “A FIVE per cent per annum rate of increase in real national income seems entirely feasible on
the basis of both the experience of other countries and of India’s own recent past. The great
untapped resource of technical and scientific knowledge available to India for the taking is the
economic equivalent of the untapped continent available to the United States 150 years ago.” If
these opening words in a memorandum addressed to the government of India do not impress you,
think again: the date on the memorandum is November 5, 1955 and its author is Milton
Friedman, the 1976 Nobel Laureate in Economics.
 Friedman visited the ministry of finance briefly during 1955 and wrote the memorandum
at the invitation of the government of India. Less than 5,000 words long, today the contents of
this memorandum have become standard thinking among reform-minded economists in India.
But at the time it was written, it must have been nothing less than heresy. It certainly did not see
light of the day for 37 years until it was published in a volume edited by Subroto Roy and
William E James.
 In the memorandum, Friedman focuses on the policies that had just been adopted or were
being considered for adoption and were contrary to the goal of development in his view. He
begins by questioning the reliance on the ratio of investment to national income as almost the
only key to development. He argues that the form and distribution of investment are at least as
important as its sheer magnitude. Moreover, what is called capital investment is only part of the
expenditure on increasing the economy’s productive capacity. Expenditures on increasing the
productive capacity of human beings matter at least as much.
 Friedman goes on to criticise the emphasis in India’s investment policy on the
development of two extremes: heavy industry and “handicrafts”. “This policy threatens an
inefficient use of capital by combining it with too little labour at one extreme and an inefficient
use of labour by combining it with too little capital at the other extreme.” Instead, he advocates a
diversified and much expanded light industry as the foundation on which to build the heavy
industry.
 Friedman warns against reliance on public sector for activities that can be performed by
private sector. He cites the disappointing outcome of the flirtation with this sector by European
countries in the immediate post-war period and reminds of the drastic change this experience had
produced in the attitudes of labour and left wing towards state control over economic activity.
“The elements in the parties that have not changed the approach are now being dubbed
‘reactionary’ by some of their fellows!” He warns that in India, the areas for which only
government can take responsibility are so large that they alone would be a heavy burden on the
limited administrative personnel of high calibre. “It seems the better part of wisdom therefore to
avoid any activities that can be left to others.”
 Friedman also fully anticipates the pitfalls of rigid and detailed controls on investment. “It
is impossible to predict in advance the lines of investment that will turn out to be the most
productive — as the failure of so many private enterprises amply demonstrates. There is
therefore great need for a system that is flexible and can change easily.” He also criticises
detailed direction on the ground that it wastes scarce energies and abilities of public servants in
producing and enforcing regulations and of private individuals in trying to evade or change them.
 Friedman comes down heavily on protection that promotes inefficiency irrespective of
whether it applies to small enterprises or large concerns. Referring to the favours granted to
small enterprises to promote employment, he writes, “The objective is fundamental, and would
be worth achieving even at some cost in total output, but it seems to the present writer dubious
that these means accomplish their objective even in the short run, and is certain that they work
against it in the moderate or long run.”
  Turning then to large scale firms, he writes, “Granting them special favour in the form of
especially advantageous loans, guaranteed markets, refusal of licenses to competitors, enforcing
or even permitting private price-fixing and market-sharing agreements simply encourages
inefficiency and wastes scarce resources. If private industry is granted special favours by the
government, it is certainly inevitable that its use of these favours will be controlled; but this does
not offset the harm done by the favours; it merely introduces new sources of rigidity and
inefficiency.”
 Friedman is highly critical of the erratic monetary policy at the time and advocates a
steady expansion of money stock at the annual rate of 4 to 6 per cent. He also warns against the
wisdom of foreign-exchange controls. “They introduce delay, uncertainty, and arbitrariness into
domestic business activities. The criteria the officials use — and must use — tend to perpetuate
the status quo ante, and therefore constitute an obstacle to dynamic change and adaptation in an
area that traditionally has been one of the most dynamic sectors.” He advocates either a move to
flexible exchange rates or, less desirably, auctioning of foreign exchange to the highest bidder.
 What does the master himself think of the memorandum today? In a note to Subroto Roy,
dated 14 September 1998, he writes, “I am sure that if I were writing it today, it would differ in
many details and recognise the many changes that have occurred in the past 43 years. Yet I
believe the general thrust would be the same. More important, I believe that the experience of
those years around the world has led to far greater support for free markets, minimum
government intervention, and floating exchange rates than existed then.”

Stop Crying and Start Cutting

What's wrong with a government shutdown?

Did you know that those in the federal government—the folks who brought you $1.6 trillion of yearly
deficits, brought you $14 trillion of debt, and make Elmo a reality—offer Americans 56 separate programs
to help them better understand their finances? Where will these citizens go for sage advice if Washington
shuts down?

With all the hand-wringing and self-defeating talk from Republicans about the political cost of allowing the
federal government to shut down for a couple of weeks, there is a missed opportunity. What better way to
illustrate just how little taxpayers get back on their "investments"? And what a great time to demolish the
myth that even modest cuts would detrimentally affect most Americans.

Alas, it looks as if the Senate and House will agree to federal spending cuts of only $4 billion to avert a
government shutdown for two more weeks. Republicans initially asked for $61 billion in spending cuts for
the remainder of the year—in real terms, a pittance—which, according to many Democrats, would destroy
a brittle economic recovery and kill thousands of jobs.

If you believe that stimulus spending creates productive, self-sustaining jobs, I suspect you're forced to
believe that a lack of stimulus spending destroys those jobs. Democrats are relying heavily on the claim
by Moody's Analytics' chief economist that 400,000 fewer jobs would be created (and saved?) by the end
of 2011—and 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2012—if Congress were to cut $61 billion. Now, the
Moody's forecast has been battered by a number of economists, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke, a fan of stimulative efforts, dismissed those numbers, as well.

Who knows? Laymen like me can only rely on one scientific truth when it comes to economic forecasts:
They're always wrong, except when by some fluke they're right. But it is tough to accept the idea that
cutting back less than 1 percent of the debt-heavy budget could be detrimental to the economy. And
according to a new Government Accountability Office report, there are hundreds of billions in bloated and
duplicative programs Congress could cut before even having to take on entitlements, defense spending,
or any supposedly invaluable programs.

The report found there were 18 federal food and nutrition assistance programs, costing taxpayers $62.5
billion in 2008. There was not one study to find out whether any of it was effective. The Wall Street
Journal reported there are 82 federal programs to improve teacher quality. Silly, because according to
unions, there is not one identifiably ineffective teacher in the entire country.

According to the GAO report, there are some 80 different economic development programs, which have
probably created more jobs for bureaucrats manning the programs than they have private-sector jobs.

There are 15 different agencies overseeing food safety. Even though conservatives are pro-salmonella,
food producers already have the greatest incentive of all to give us safe food, namely preserving their
success and existence. So can't these programs, typically irrelevant and expensive, be at the very least
streamlined?

When, as Democrats contend, cutting a single-digit percentage of the budget becomes an abdication of
our duty, how can we ever get to $61 billion in spending cuts, much less a balanced budget? If half the
government believes that creating debt is an economic stimulant, what are the chances of our ever
dealing with national debt?

Any spending cut that does not involve defense (which should be on the table) induces Democrats to
lament the inconceivable and imagined personal and economic toll Americans will suffer. The truth is that
those who view nearly all government spending as not only a moral obligation but also economically
advantageous don't really want to cut a penny.