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Your HR Career

Being good at your job isn’t good enough — 4 smart ways to become indispensible

02/23/2010

It’s a myth that good work makes a good career—rather, good office politics makes a good career, says career columnist Penelope Trunk. Here’s are four common-sense rules to follow. They’ll make people want to work with you, and boost your credibility and influence in the process.

A manager’s manager: Joe Torre’s rules for leading a team

12/08/2009

Baseball manager Joe Torre has led far more diverse and ego-driven teams than most managers ever will—including star-studded Dodgers and Yankees teams. Yet, his teams have won repeatedly, thanks to these four “rules of straight communication” that he has developed over the years. See if they might apply to your team.

Bees, sea gulls, alligators: 12 zany excuses for absences

11/17/2009

Bosses hear some wacky one-liners when perfectly healthy workers try to justify taking sick days. Example: "I got sunburned at a nude beach and can’t wear clothes." Here are a dozen doozies uncovered in a recent survey of employers.

Attitude, absence & foul language: 3 scripts for those conversations you’d rather not have

11/10/2009

Paul Falcone, author of 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees, offers these scripts to follow when you need to have awkward but essential conversations with employees. Here’s what managers should say after they’ve said, “Hey, got a minute?” 

Hand-helds, laptops and ‘friending’: Managing the new culture clash

11/03/2009

Technology is blurring the lines between work and leisure and revealing real tensions between Gen Y, Gen X and baby boomer employees. The generations have very different ideas about what is and isn’t an appropriate use of technology in the office. Here’s one simple solution for bridging the gap.

5 signs you’re sending negative vibes

09/21/2009

Real professionals are often in the position of having to say “no” to employees. Don’t make that negative perception worse with the nonverbal cues you may be inadvertently giving off. Here are five negative “microexpressions” common to women …

Ask the experts: How to be a true HR leader

08/31/2009

What does it take to jump the fence from your administrative role and be seen as a true leader in the company? The HR Specialist posed the following question to three of the leading HR thought leaders in America today: “What are the actions that a true HR leader takes to demonstrate leadership within an organization?” Their answers pointed to the following six actions:

Can you learn HR lessons from Washington? Yes, you can

08/31/2009

First, set aside the stereotype that the federal bureaucracy is inherently dysfunctional. Sure, it’s got plenty of faults. But Uncle Sam’s best-run agencies can actually teach private-sector employers a thing or two about HR. Here are eight lessons employers can learn from the biennial agency-by-agency ranking of federal employers:

9 keys: Convince top brass to support next year’s HR budget

08/31/2009
Ever had the C-Suite rubber-stamp your HR budget with nary a question or challenge? Neither has Valerie Grubb, a trainer, business coach and operations consultant. When budget time rolls around, she says, your most important job is explaining how HR contributes to the organization’s larger goals.

Re-entry! 7 ways to keep work from ruining your vacation

08/11/2009
The worst part of going on vacation is all the work that happens before and after. Here’s good advice to pass on to your organization’s employees—simple tips to make sure the crush of work doesn’t snuff out the post-vacation glow.