David Wexler
The Business of HR
What You Should Know About Writing Job Descriptions
Writing Job Descriptions is for most managers, work akin to filing tax returns. You know that you have to do it; you understand at a certain level how important it is; however this doesn’t stop you from procrastinating until the last moment.
The process though doesn’t need to be that painful, and especially now, with current economic conditions requiring all hands on deck in terms of employee
commitment and flexibility, there’s a good chance that your Job Descriptions are not current nor yielding the contributions you need. Here are some things to consider.
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Securing Your People For The Good Times Ahead
Even now, your great people are being approached with respect to other interesting opportunities. There are thousands of jobs open at this time. Simply take a look at any job posting site, or peruse Executive Search firm websites. If you are not thinking about securing your people now, you should be. This will only become more important as the economy improves. Following are a few suggested do’s and don’ts as you begin this new year.
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Holiday Season & You’ve Made The Decision To Reduce Staffing Levels-Now What?
There is never a good time to let staff go, however, with the economy in recession and revenues slipping most everywhere, your firm too may be facing a situation where you have to reduce opex to reflect lower revenues, and simply cutting discretionary spending won’t get you where you need to go. You may have decided that you need to reduce staff to get there. It’s the Holidays though. How can you let people go at this time? How can you not? Earlier blogs have explored alternatives to cutting staff as well as what good firms do in terms of termination processes. This is simply a call for action; albeit with humanity and caring.
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Do Class Action Lawsuits Regarding Overtime Have Your Attention? What To Do?
Even amidst the recent carnage in the stock markets, newspaper business sections have still found the time and space to trumpet the spate of class action lawsuits filed against such name organizations as KPMG and CIBC. Whether an employer or employee, here’s what you should know about the situation.
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Happy Holidays? Navigating The Tax & Psychological Shoals To Have Fun One & All
The Holiday Season is supposed to be a time for colleagues to kick back and celebrate. It is supposed to be a time for employers to give thanks for the year that is ending and convey positive wishes for the year to come. Why then is it that at this time, more than any other, the stress levels amongst Executives, HR, Finance, and the general employee population often-times tend to increase? More importantly, what should you know in order to go forward with confidence into the holidays?
David Wexler
The Business of HR
New Research On The Link Between Executive Bonuses & Performance
It is considered conventional wisdom that executive bonuses, within a “pay for performance” framework, drive alignment and business results that meet or exceed Corporate expectations. Too, that larger prospective bonuses drive even greater performance. Does the research though back this up? Interestingly, a recent study by a professor of behavioural economics at an esteemed American University, found the opposite to be true. Where bonuses were non-existant to low, performance was the same as for those with medium sized bonuses. For those with larger bonuses, performance actually declined as compared with those in low to medium sized bonus categories. What should we make of this?
David Wexler
The Business of HR
What should you pay out in salary increases for 2009?
Six months ago, Companies were poised to grow salaries aggressively, based on: a) rising demand for talent b) tightened supply of experienced and proven performers c) increasing revenues and profitability. Some industries and markets were under even more pressure to pay more than others.
What should Companies do now that the tide has turned, and: a) we’re in a recession b) cash is king c) unemployment is rising?
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Contemplating Tinkering With Your Organizational Structure…Remember The Golden Rule
“The golden rule of organizational design is that structure always follows strategy”
-Anonymous
Too often, organizations take shape based on the strengths and personalities of the leaders. While with strong leadership, these structures can be made to work, on occasion during the good times, and more often during tough times, the weaknesses are exposed.
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Thinking of cutting staff to save cash? There are better alternatives…
During these recessionary times, with a fluctuating Canadian dollar, it may be tempting for Canadian technology companies to cut performing staff to reduce cash burn; before taking this step however, leaders would be well advised to consider alternatives, since the negatives associated with staff reductions are substantial and long-lasting.
David Wexler
The Business of HR
Looking At Employee Benefits? You May Want To Read This
Employee Benefits, depending on your orientation, constitute either one of the biggest costs or the biggest investments an employer makes and therefore merit a bit of strategic thinking before introducing or making changes to these.