eBulletin - Week of March 27, 2006

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Dear Valued Members, Q1 is over! Can you believe it? Check our Blogs in the various Areas of Interest to see what's happening there and comment on your Q1. Our analysts have lots to say, and welcome your feedback! Rather sit back and listen to some great ideas? Check out the wide range of Webcasts in our Online Events area: Educational Webcasts are open to all registered members at HR.com and hit a number of key areas of HR: Metrics and Data, Learning Management Systems, and Compensation Strategies. Come in and take a look at the massive amounts of information on almost every aspect of HR. Can't find something? Feel you can add something? Polls and Surveys, Blogs and Discussions: we want to hear from you. Enjoy! Debbie McGrath CEO, HR.com    NEW ARTICLES  Available to view in the next 7 days for Guest members.  Available to view anytime for Premier members. Benefits Winning the Battle: Reducing Costs AND Keeping Employees Happy with Benefits Lifecycle Management Innovative HR executives are shifting to a competitive model that taps the power of information to drive down costs, while keeping the quality benefits that are key to employee retention and satisfaction, writes Mary Haigis. Read Jeff Chad's Latest Blog. Compensation Executive Pay Survey: Mercer UK Companies are placing growing emphasis on pay for performance, according to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Human Resources Management What I Know Now About Being Self-Employed Carol Ross summarizes a third year of experience as a consultant to "Make your learning greater than your experience", as Dan Sullivan says. Read Debbie McGrath's Latest Blog. Labor Relations ToolBOXes, ToolKITs, Lucky Packets and Christmas Crackers Much confusion creeps into the way we conduct business by means of completely and utterly confusing "user manuals", muses Lehan Stemmet. Legal U.S. Supreme Court Scrutinizes Racial Bias Ruling After several years of employees being required to meet a very high standard to have their cases heard by a jury, that may be changing in the long term; from M. Lee Smith. Organizational Development Reality HR: Donna Schulze-Gullett on How TeleTech Has Achieved Measurable Speed-to-Performance Through Its LMS Karen Elmhirst recently spoke to Donna Schulze-Gullett, currently Director of TeleTech University at TeleTech Holdings Inc. about her work implementing the GeoLearning LMS platform supporting blending learning programs to 50 sites in 15 countries around the globe. Read Sylvia Henderson's Latest Blog. Performance Management Tips for Defining a Meeting's Purpose Many of the facilitators I've trained over the years have told me that clarifying the purpose can sometimes prove difficult, taking a lot of time and not resulting in the shared understanding that's vital to move forward effectively, writes Michael Goldman. Read Aileen MacMillan's Latest Blog. Executive Coaching Ask the Coach - Issue 7: Is There Still a "Glass Ceiling"? There have certainly been many changes in the workplace for women since the term "glass ceiling" was coined in the 1980's. This issue of Ask the Coach offers findings from a recently released survey on the subject from Executive Coach Merry Marcus. Read Merry Marcus' Latest Blog. Leadership Thought Leaders: Richard Boyatzis on Resonant Leadership HR.com's Leadership analyst, Karen Elmhirst recently spoke with Richard Boyatzis, on the topic of "Resonant Leadership - Renewing yourself and connecting with others through mindfulness, hope and compassion." Read Karen Elmhirst's Latest Blog. HR Measurements and Metrics A Holistic Approach to Managing Multiple Outsourcers Outsourcing without a plan is bad. Multisourcing without a plan is even worse. Manage the enterprise's multiple outsourcers holistically, or risk gross inefficiencies and wasted money; from The Info-Tech Research Group. Read Claude Balthazard's Latest Blog. Staffing and Recruitment Staff Evaluations: Too Often, Too Late: Avoid These Two Costly Management Mistakes Unless you are continually checking in and meeting with your staff throughout the year, the year end review is often the first time that both the employee and employer get to share their wins as well as their challenges, writes Keith Rosen. Read Michael Moretti's Latest Blog. Workforce Acquisition Hate Saying "You're Fired"? Running background checks on the person behind the resume before you hire saves time, money and pain, writes Paul Cook. Read Mark McAuliffe's Latest Blog. HR Outsourcing HireRight Announces New Global Sanctions And Enforcement Check For Compliance and Global Visibility Global Sanctions and Enforcement check that provides greater global screening information and compliance with Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley and Federal Deposit Insurance Act legislation, from HireRight. Read Zachary Meyer's Latest Blog. HRIS/ERP HR Technology Implementations: Key Factors for the HR Executive Before you sign on to any HR technology endeavor, here are some key factors you should consider, writes Joe Collette. Training and Development Training's "Fix-It" Mentality Got problems? Get training! The billions that corporations are investing in training are, for the most part, haphazard allocations toward fixing a perceived or real problem, writes Nathan Greeno. Sponsor message brought to you by HR.com Executive Councils Connect. Collaborate. Discover. HR.com's Executive Council combines a unique offering of research and shared learning creating the opportunity to advance the extent and quality of knowledge for action. Two new sessions of Executive Councils are launching in May 2006: HR Measurement and Metrics HR Technology Strategy To learn more visit crm.hr.com/ExecutiveCouncils Educational Webcasts: ( Free for everyone ) Data Stores, Data Marts, and Data Warehouses | March 29, 2006 Sophisticated HR metrics and analytics are nice, but if you can't actually measure those metrics because you can't get at the data, or because you can't trust the data you get, you are no further ahead--especially now, when a number of organizations are increasingly interested in more complex and more penetrating analyses of their data. Data stores, data marts, and data warehouses are key enablers of data-driven approaches to HR management. Developing Career Plans and Competency - based learning Within LMS Systems | April 4, 2006 How do you use your LMS for true talent and performance management? What is "critical talent management" and how do you know if you need it? Developing a Consumer Driven Health Care Strategy and Other Cost Containment Methodologies | April 18, 2006 Healthcare costs have highlighted most corporate cost management agendas for close to a decade. As a direct result, more programs today require employees to share more and more of the costs. Recruitment Metrics: How to Supply a Dashboard to Your Line Managers that is Meaningful. What Business Metrics Should you Deliver? | April 19, 2006 The right metrics presented at the right time to the right people can make the difference between a well run staffing process and a world-class business process. TMS vendors have been able to use the Dashboard approach to make metrics accessible and usable. ........................................................................................   Next week's Thought Leaders Live Webcast: ( Free for Premier members or pay $150 US each webcast ) "The Ultimate Question Regarding Customer Loyalty - HR's Role in Achieving Outstanding Profits" | April 3, 2006 Fred Reichheld is the founder of Bain & Company's Loyalty Practice and author of three books on customer loyalty. The Ultimate Question is out in March; learn how HR can contribute to profitability using Fred's ideas. ........................................................................................   Next week's Reality HR Live Webcast : ( Free for Premier members or pay $150 US each webcast ) The Use of Competencies: History and Progress To Date, a Reality HR Interview with Richard E. Boyatzis, Ph.D. | April 25, 2006 Organizations are more frequently identifying competencies and using them to link human capital practices. But how does the current use of competency identification differ from what the original research proposed? Are organizations today on the right track, or are there alternative ways to use competency identification to improve organizational effectiveness? Join this webcast for a thought-provoking discussion on this topic. ........................................................................................ Sponsor message brought to you by HR.com Employers of Excellence National Conference 2006 HR.com is proud to announce the addition of these amazing keynote speakers to the 5th Annual Employers of Excellence National Conference in Las Vegas this October. Come listen to Patrick Lencioni, the author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. These other well-known HR experts and thought leaders will educate, motivate and inspire you: David Ulrich, Margaret Wheatley, Tony Schwartz, Ram Charan, Steven Levitt, Beverly Kaye, Marshall Goldsmith and more ... Winter Special on now until March 31st. For further information on these speakers, how you can qualify for a complimentary pass or to register visit: crm.hr.com/events/national   Polls and Surveys Feature Poll:   Increasing Productivity Feature Survey:   Just Say Whoa!   Forums Contribute to the discussion of various HR topics in our Discussion Forum or comment specifically to this topic: Leadership Qualities What, in your opinion, makes a great leader? The content in this eBulletin is available to you FREE, however only Premier Members of HR.com are entitled to all HR.com's content and archived material. If you are not a member and would like to become one, please click here to join today. Guest Membership is FREE. If, at any time, you have any questions or troubles, please contact us at 1-877-472-6648 or via email at memberships@hr.com.   Copyright  2006, HR.com Limited | All Rights Reserved. 124 Wellington Street East, Aurora, Ontario, Canada, L4G 1J1 | 905-727-1340   HR SOLUTIONS HR.com Executive Councils   HR.com 2006 Events   "The more freedom we enjoy, the greater the responsibility we bear, toward others as well as ourselves." ~ Oscar Arias Sanchez Take a break, have a laugh, check out this week's HR.comic If you know someone who'd like to read this eBulletin, please forward it to them. Sponsor this eBULLETIN. If you're a vendor who'd like to reach HR decision makers, email us at sales@hr.com Testimonial: "I do find the info valuable. In fact, I sent the recent article on Compensation in China to someone with whom I recently interviewed - which may be the reason I received a job offer!  :-)" - Guest member of HR.com who accessed this article for FREE within seven days of publishing.