Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Memorable Firsts in Human Resources Management

Anyone who works in human resources management knows that the job comes with great joys and great sorrows. And all along the way, memorable first moments with people occur. Sometimes you feel prepared for the moments; some sneak up and surprise you. But whatever memorable human resources management moment you are experiencing for the first time, these resources will help you. Hire an employee, fire an employee, give an employee a pay raise, or perform performance improvement coaching. Your interactions with people will never be boring when you practice in any field of human resources management.

1. How to Break Into a Career in Human Resources

Smiling Professional Woman in a SuitRayman / Getty Images
No matter how you managed to do it, breaking into the field of Human Resources Management is definitely a memorable HR first. Whether you studied and prepared long term for your career in Human Resources Management or transferred from another line of work, you have the opportunity to transform workplaces in the Human Resources Management profession. Congratulations on achieving your first memorable Human Resources Management moment.

2. How to Hire an Employee

Hire an Employee = Shaking HandsCopyright Constantin Kammerer
A memorable moment in human resources management is the first time you hire an employee - especially if the employee turns out to be a good employee. Want to recruit and hire a superior workforce? This checklist for hiring employees will help you systematize your process for hiring employees, whether it's your first employee or one of many employees you are hiring. This hiring employees checklist helps you keep track of your recruiting efforts. This hiring employees checklist communicates both the recruiting and the hiring process and progress in recruiting to the hiring manager.

3. How to Show Appreciation to Employees

Beautiful Professional Woman With Gift in HandsCopyright Lisa Gagne
When you work in human resources management, you set an example and you have much influence over how people are treated and the company culture. You can tell your colleagues, coworkers and employees how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year. Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises, verbal expressions, and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year help the people in your work life feel valued all year long. Human resources management can be fun, fulfilling and have an impact.

4. How to Provide Motivational Employee Recognition

Professional Employees ClappingCopyright Phil Date
Human resources management focuses first on providing a motivational work environment in which employees choose success. In a motivational work environment, employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.

5. How to Develop a Policy

In human resources management, you and your managers need to lead in terms of organizing the workplace for best organization success. You want to have the necessary policies and procedures to ensure a safe, organized, convivial, empowering, nondiscriminatory workplace. Yet, you do not want to write a policy for every exception to accepted and expected behavior. Policy development is for the many employees not for the few exceptions. When you develop your policies, these are the human resources management considerations.

6. How to Diagnose Employee Performance Problems

Do you have the responsibility for supervising the work of others? If so, you know that employees don't always do what you want them to do. On the one hand, they act as if they are competent professionals. On the other, they procrastinate, miss deadlines, and wait for instructions. They blame others when their work is unsuccessful. And worst of all, employees become defensive when you try to coach them to perform excellent, goal-accomplishing work. So, what's a supervisor to do?

7. How to Coach Employee Performance

Looking for a step-by-step coaching approach you can use to help an employee improve his work performance? This approach avoids the need for discipline and produces great results. Your human resources management skills will improve when you use these steps to coach employees.

8. How to Administer Progressive Discipline

Progressive discipline is a process for dealing with job-related behavior that does not meet expected and communicated performance standards. The primary purpose for progressive discipline is to assist the employee to understand that a performance problem or opportunity for improvement exists. The process features increasingly formal efforts to provide feedback to the employee so he or she can correct the problem. The goal of progressive discipline is to improve employee performance.

9. How to Fire an Employee

Not a fun moment when you work in human resources management, but the day will come when you need to fire an employee. Never the first step in human resources management, firing an employee is potentially conflict ridden, uncomfortable, and sometimes results in lawsuits. But, assuming that you have taken steps to help an employee improve his work performance - and they are not working - it may be time to fire the employee. These are the legal, ethical steps in how to fire an employee. Ensure that the company's actions, as you prepare, are above reproach. How you fire an employee sends a powerful message to your remaining staff - either positive or negative. Fire an employee as a last resort, but, do not jeopardize your company success.

10. How to Handle an Employee Resignation

Man and woman shaking handsCopyright Jacob Wackerhausen
Face it. Sooner or later, even the best employer has employees resign. They think they've found a better opportunity or their spouse has accepted a job out-of-state. The reasons are endless for an employee resignation. But, each employee resignation poses the employer with a series of questions. Find out how to handle an employee resignation. Find out how to handle an employee resignation when you're happy to see the employee go - and, when the resignation makes you sad.

11. Share Your Memorable Firsts in Human Resources Management

Whether you are a manager, a supervisor, a business owner or a Human Resources staff person, if you work with people, you have memorable firsts. Your first hire, your first disciplinary action, your first employee firing, and your first employee recognition all etch memories in your mind and heart. Please share your memorable Human Resources Management firsts in the submission form below.



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