Friday January 27, 2012
Explore the power of on-the-job training to enhance employee development in your organization. Use job shadowing as a significant component in on-the-job training, too.
Probably because I was a jointly-appointed training coordinator and OD consultant for a GM plant earlier in my career, both training and OD have always remained dear to my heart. An early memory that has always stayed close, too, is the day that the tool and die guys invited me to their training meeting and asked me to be their training coordinator.
In those days, you could be assigned a job, but you couldn't do the job, if the employees didn't accept or seek your services. As I write this, I find myself laughing. In those days, I say, but isn't it still the way - in all coordinating or managing roles? Someone has to decide to follow you. Hence my sense of pride and accomplishment when first, the skilled trades employees, then the tool and die guys, invited me to their party.
As a result of these experiences, I learned that on-the-job training is the most powerful form of job training. Employees who aspired to these skilled positions attended classes and apprenticeship programs, but the bulk of their training was working side-by-side with experienced employees in a job shadowing situation. And, the power of job shadowing should not be limited to hands-on skilled trades either.
Job shadowing is significant for employee development in any on-the-job training approach. Even employees who aspire to management roles benefit from on-the-job training in job shadowing opportunities. Learning to lead a meeting, taking responsibility for a team's product development results, and participating in coaching and mentoring for a management role is just as significant for an employee who aspires to an office job.
Do take a look at my 12 possibilities for on-the-job successful training: Provide Job Training - On the Job.
Image Copyright Catherine Yeulet
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Thursday January 26, 2012
Have you ever wanted sample job interview questions that you can ask prospective employees? These sample interview questions for employers to ask candidates focus on various skills and attributes that you want to identify in your potential employees.
I've continued to add additional interview questions to these samples and seek feedback about what other topics I should cover. I'd like to continue to write sample interview questions, but I can use some feedback about the topics you need.
On each group of questions, I have also made suggestions about what you are looking for in your job candidate's answers. It is difficult to give you an exact set of criteria because, as in all other things in Human Resources, the candidate's favorable answers are situational. The best responses depend on your job requirements, your organization's culture, and your knowledge about what kind of person successfully performs the job in your company.
I have begun to flesh out positive and desirable responses from prospective employees for you. So far, I've covered motivation, cultural fit, and management. Stay tuned for more tips about interpreting your candidates' answers to interview questions.
Image Copyright Steve Cole
More Related to Employer Interview Questions
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Wednesday January 25, 2012
What employee benefits do employees really value? The best perks do not have to cost the employer any money at all.
For example, the newest generation of employees, the millennials, in particular, and employees in every generation, actually, value flexible work schedules. Sure, providing flexible schedules might take a bit more work, especially in departments that have to have coverage at all times. But, the payback in employee morale is enormous.
Employees can better manage their work and life balance when they don't have to miss work to take junior to the doctor. Or, an employee can stay at home long enough to see the kids onto their school bus, if the employee can start work at 9 a.m.
I predict that teleworking will continue to grow as employers save the cost of providing workplace facilities and employees are enabled to work productively from home. Not right for every employee, or every job, teleworking provides the employee with quiet, uninterrupted time for work. As technology continues to advance, so will telecommuting.
The fun part is that teleworking will require employers to find a whole new way to manage employees, measure employee performance, and promote team interaction. And, oh my, for telecommuting to really work, we're going to have to learn to trust employees. This is an area that I am working on this year, so we will continue to revisit it in 2011. Have a terrific week.
Image Copyright Catherine Yeulet
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Wednesday January 25, 2012
Ready for Super Bowl Monday? Think creatively about what you can do to harness and capitalize on the Super Bowl's impact on your workplace. You can make the Super Bowl a workplace win when you find positive ways to enhance team building, motivation, and employee engagement.
Glassdoor.com*, a jobs and career community, asked the pertinent question: Is the Super Bowl good for the workplace?
Glassdoor.com surveyed employees asking what the Super Bowl does to the workplace the Monday after the game. They found:
- 20% of employees say that employee morale is typically better in the office the day after the Super Bowl.
- 22% of employees notice, however, that the Monday following the Super Bowl is commonly a less productive day than usual.
- 8% of employees plan to take the day off following the Super Bowl.
- 9% of employees plan to take the Monday off as a vacation day.
- 3% of surveyed employees admit that they plan to call in sick the day after the Super Bowl.
Glassdoor.com also asked employees if their employers offer any type of perks for the Monday after the Super Bowl. Several employees said that they are either allowed to work from home or use the Monday as a flex day. Another employee noted that their weekly Monday morning meeting gets bumped till later in the day on the Monday after the Super Bowl.
Other survey respondents said that their employers buy breakfast for employees on the Monday after the game. (I assume to get employees in to work - grin.)
What do you think? Does your company do anything special for the Super Bowl?
(*At Glassdoor.com, employees anonymously post their company salaries and review their companies. You might want to see how yours is rated.)
More About Sporting Events In Your Workplace
Global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., created a non-scientific ranking of the top sporting events that potentially affect workplace productivity. These are the top 10 sporting events that you might want to prepare to manage and potentially, turn into plusses for team building and motivation within your company.
In an earlier post, I made several team building suggestions related to March Madness, but applicable to all fan sporting events like the Super Bowl. Managed and celebrated effectively in your workplace, each of these events can contribute to the development of your team work culture.
Image Copyright Kirk Johnson
More About a Work Environment of Motivation
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