Posts Tagged ‘career resources’

Winning the War on Talent

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

With the tightening job market, organizations are requiring new or different outsourced HR services. The war on talent is definitely heating up and internal HR teams are challenged with shifting priorities and strategic workforce planning issues.

Over the past several months, BOWEN has been researching workforce trends. Through our findings, we’ve recognized that many organizations need help with retaining and attracting employees, and we’ve responded! Our Outsourced HR division is providing transactional HR services to organizations, allowing their internal HR professionals to move into a more strategic role and focus on larger company priorities. Our experienced team will conduct reference checks, exit and stay interviews, and can help fill in gaps where required.

Companies need to maximize their internal resources, manage costs and deliver results. Most importantly, organizations need to ensure that their fingers are on the pulse of their workforce so they can retain existing employees, while being competitive in attracting new top talent. BOWEN’s Outsourced HR professionals can help internal HR teams ensure they have the flexibility and skills to respond to the changing labour market and conditions, and achieve optimal results.

Please contact Marilynn Balfour (mbalfour@bowenworks.ca), Director of Outsourced HR, for more information.

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Posted in Career building tips, HR Management | No Comments »

The Truth About Temp

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Over 150,000 Canadians were employed through temporary services in 2010 (Stats Canada). That’s an incredible number! While temp work is on the rise, there is still a misconception that temporary workers can only fill clerical or administrative positions. It is true that support in these areas is common, but at BOWEN, we have found our temporary candidates being considered for mid- and even senior-level positions.

The increase of temporary workers in higher positions is a result of the diverse candidate skillset currently available, as well as a somewhat cautious economic recovery. Whether it’s an administration, accounting and finance, IT, industrial, or a project management position, temporary workers can satisfy a wide range of staffing needs. And sometimes, temporary work fills an immediate need that can lead to permanent employment.

Whether you are looking for job flexibility, an opportunity to gain experience, a temporary means of income while you look for a permanent role, or simply like the variety of working for different companies in different industries, temporary work is a great job solution.

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Posted in Career building tips, Employment opportunities, HR Management | No Comments »

Talented Terrors are Toxic in the Workplace

Friday, February 4th, 2011

It may not be a topic that gets a lot of attention, but it should. Talented terrors are a workplace reality. Their skills and abilities make them superstars, but their attitudes leave a lot to be desired. Talented Terrors can deliver excellent results but their attitudes damage morale and destroy teams. They actually believe you can’t manage without their brilliance.

Talented Terrors will push you to the limit to see how much they can get away with. They drain all your energy making it difficult for you to deal with them. They do not nor do they want to give 100%. Whether you work with them or supervise them, you need to manage them. They need to be held accountable for their actions so they don’t drive the productive employees away.

What can you do to turn this situation into a win-win for all? BOWEN is going to tackle this tough topic at our next “Building a Better Workplace” seminar series in February. Judging by the incredible response and the sellout of three seminars, this is one hot topic that managers have been struggling with for years. We promise to run more seminars in the near future and will post a few highlights from our discussion later this month.

If you’ve got a toxic talented terror on your team, there is hope! With the right approach and resources, you can turn things around. Stay tuned.

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Posted in HR Management | 1 Comment »

PREPARING FOR FUN IN THE SUMMER SUN

Monday, July 26th, 2010

 summersun

We just had a sunny weekend and according to the Weather Network we will continue to have sunny days right into the upcoming long weekend. This is welcome news after the cool start to the summer we have had.

I am really looking forward to some downtime with my family as we go on vacation. However, if you are like me, the time leading up to vacation and the time immediately following can be really hectic. I’m hoping this time around will be different and have sourced a few tips to help with the work/vacation /work transition.

Prepare early, You mark on your calendar and start dreaming of your vacation in advance so in turn, start preparing for your work departure just as early. Notify co-workers, arrange for coverage in your absence and start compiling a list of items that need your attention before leaving. The added time to prepare relieves stress and ensures items are not missed.

Do not forget the basics. Some tasks will need to be done before every vacation such as recording your out of office voicemail and setting your out office email message. Your work may have a standard list of pre-vacation policies. If so, make sure you are aware and adhere to them.

Make a vacation preparation list. Lists in general are a great way to stay on track and with each item you check off you are that much closer to fun in the sun.

Schedule a buffer day. It is not always possibly but if you are able, you should schedule in a home day between when you get back from vacation and when you start work. On this buffer day you can adjust your sleep schedule, re-stock on groceries and other tasks. This will make sure that on your first day back at work your mind is focused and you are ready to work.

Leave yourself notes on projects that you will be continuing with when you return. This way you will be back up to speed more quickly and can hit the ground running. Also, if you have them written down at work you can put them out of your mind when on vacation.

Do you have any vacation tips? I’d love to hear them!

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Posted in Career building tips, Seasonal | No Comments »

Labour shortage looming (really)

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

While it may not be reality right now, there is a labour shortage looming in the oilpatch. Two different reports, one by human resources consulting firm Mercer and one by the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada, are predicting a substantial shortfall of oilpatch employees as early as next year. It’s good news for potential employees, but not so good for oil and gas companies.

The key for employers is to be proactive today. Start to look at how to engage alternative labour pools, such as foreign workers, Aboriginals, women and disabled persons are all good alternatives that can provide skilled workers to the looming employee shortage. Employers need to look at what skills they need in order to effectively recruit and manage these potential employees NOW. Diversity training is a must and one that BOWEN can provide.

While a labour shortage may still feel like it is “sometime in the future”, it is actually must closer than we think. Employers who will be ahead of the curve are proactively planning for it now.

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Posted in Economy, Employment opportunities, HR Management | No Comments »

Bullying Discussion Heats Up

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

On Saturday, Jun 12, the Calgary Herald featured an article about BOWEN’s Bullying in the Workplace seminars.

If you haven’t had a chance to read it, check it out here:

//www.calgaryherald.com/life/Bullying+workplace+rise/3145498/story.html

Interestingly, the story resulted in some great responses from Herald readers who were happy to see that this important topic was being discussed!

Yesterday, newspapers across Canada were picking up the story based on Queen’s University’s School of Business research that shows workplace bullying can be more damaging than racial or gender harassment. Interestingly,the Province of Ontario is preparing to pass a bill that will require employers to “develop and communicate workplace violence prevention policies, assess the risks of workplace violence, and take reasonable precautions to protect workers from domestic violence in the workplace”.

(http://http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/canada/Bullying+work+worse+than+gender+racial+harassment+Report/3151623/story.html

Quebec and Saskatchewan already have similar legislation in place. Let’s hope it is not long before every province follows suits. Workplace bullying is wrong - plain and simple!

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Posted in General, HR Management | No Comments »

The High Price of the Workplace Bullying

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Last week, I wrote about the real problem of bullying is in today’s workplace. What is workplace bullying? It can be defined as the mistreatment of others motivated by the bully’s personal agenda and is intended to strip down the target’s confidence to have them conform or comply with the bully’s intent. It may sound pretty formal but really, bullying is a form of manipulation and is about control. And just like with school bullying, workplace can have a long term psychological impact on the target and it involves repetitive, aggressive behavior meant to intimidate and control the victim.

It’s also something that can be difficult to talk about or address, but not doing so can cost employers more than they may realize. An article on the Canadian Women’s Health Network states A 2007 survey of bullying targets conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute in the United States found that 45% of the respondents experienced stress-related health problems, including anxiety, panic attacks, sleep problems or depression.

Prolonged exposure to stress in the workplace can lead to other serious health concerns, such as problems related to cardiovascular, neurological and immune system health. Also, targets often decide to quit their jobs and end up trading the stress of bullying for the stress of being unemployed.”

As an employer, I want to ensure that I know what signs to look for so that my employees can feel safe and remain focused on their responsibilities, while enjoying a healthy workplace. When we start to count the costs, both from a monetary and a morale perspective, it is too great to tolerate any form of bullying. We don’t accept it at school and we shouldn’t accept it in our workplace.

Check out my May 20th entry for more information on our upcoming free seminar about workplace bullying.

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Posted in HR Management | 1 Comment »

Not Just for the Playground

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Bullying is not an issue confined to the school playground and it doesn’t just happen to kids and teens. Bullying is a fact of today’s workplace, and it’s something we don’t talk about enough. There are many signs to look for, just like with children.

Bullying impacts employees and corporations in many ways, including financially and psychologically. There are also many questions. How do you identify a workplace bully? How do the seek out their targets? Most importantly, how do you stop it?

I firmly believe that there is a tremendous opportunity for workplace leadership by tackling the tough topic of bullying. BOWEN is pleased to be offering a free seminar about this issues as part of our new Building a Better Workplace series. The session takes place June 10 between 12 and 1 p.m. For more information, you can e-mail hbrooks@bowenworks.ca.

Watch for new blog posts next week when I dig a little deeper into this topic. It’s worth talking about!

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Posted in HR Management | No Comments »

The value of Outsourced HR

Friday, February 19th, 2010

A bad hire can cost companies a lot of money. However, for small- to medium-sized businesses, it is often difficult to manage the expense of a fulltime HR professional. Outsourcing Human Resources duties can make a lot of sense, both financially and from a staff resources perspective.

 

Outsourced HR can include services like pre-employment screening, reference checking, education verification, background checks and recruitment support. Whether it’s retaining the workforce you have, or building for the future, Outsourced HR can fill in the gaps with a company’s current HR team, or offer specific expertise for small companies without a designated HR person. Now that is good business!

 

It’s always important to understand the business you are in.  Employing, managing and supporting our people is essential but it may not be critical that these expertise are held in-house.  Do you need a compensation expert as part of your staff or only during salary reviews?  More and more companies are looking for alternate solutions to manage costs and resources.  As we consider demographic realities one might argue how we staff and currently see HR will likely have to change as we have so many retiring from the HR community and so few with similar expertise to replace them.  Outsourcing may be a big part of a future solution.  To get a sense of the quality of HR consultants in the market see our group of affiliates at HR Works.

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Posted in Career building tips, Economy, HR Management | 1 Comment »

A New Year…A Fresh Start

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

I love New Year’s!  It’s exciting to symbolically leave the previous year behind and look forward to all that the next 12 months has in store! For many, 2009 was an extremely challenging year with the declining economy, job loss and significant corporate cutbacks. Looking ahead to 2010, there is cautious optimism that job market will start to open up with new opportunities as the economy starts its slow recovery. Rebuilding takes time, but change is good.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to various groups about change and thought it was very appropriate to share just a few of my favourite inspirational quotes as we look ahead to the new year with anticipation.

“Life isn’t just about what you can have; it’s about what you have to give. What kind of person do you want to be? Start asking these questions and thinking about the bigger picture-why you’re here, why the world needs what you have to offer. What I know for sure: You keep asking the right questions of yourself, and the universe and your own secrets will unfold in ways you never imagined.” - Oprah Winfrey

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. “ - Maya Angelou

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” - President Barack Obama

 Happy New Year!

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Posted in Community giving, Economy, Seasonal, Work / Life Balance | No Comments »