HRmarketer.com's "News For HR" Newsletter

Article: HR and Facebook: It's Complicated. You Could Be Breaking the Law.

Article: Suddenly, a New Way to Rethink HR: Becoming Your Own Brand Manager

White Paper: Skills Mapping In The Web 2.0 World

HR Humor: It's Second Guess Thursday

Webcast: Workplace Wellness Program Basics

Podcast: Helping Newly Promoted Managers Succeed - Good for Them. Good for You.

HR 180: At 94, Los Angeles Barber Can Still Cut It

What's New? The Latest in HR Software and Services
• Recruitment & Staffing
• Compensation & Benefits
• Training & Development

Article: HR and Facebook: It's Complicated. Companies That Use Social Networking Sites to Screen Applicants Could Be Breaking the Law.
Source: David Phelps, Minnesota Star Tribune

Memo to human resources: Be careful what you look for on Facebook; it could come back to haunt. Companies may be walking toward thin ice as they follow a national trend of using social media networks to screen potential employees. A recent national study found that employers were impressed by personality, creativity and communications skills found via the Internet. But employers also rejected job candidates for inappropriate photos, content relating to drinking or drugs and misrepresentation of skills. Unwittingly, these businesses could be violating - or close to violating -- anti-discrimination laws that have protected workers for decades.

Article: Suddenly, a New Way to Rethink HR: Becoming Your Own Brand Manager
Source: Tim Geisert, Kenexa

Branding is just as important today in attracting and retaining employees as it is for attracting and retaining customers. Yet Employment Branding strategies have not refined or applied consumer-branding techniques for recruiting and retention purposes. In order for HR practitioners to rethink and elevate the value of their departments, a strategic business case needs to link Employment Branding to the bottom line. But are there mechanisms that can be applied from consumer branding to do this? Examining HR through the branding lens provides the answer. Brief registration required.

White Paper: Skills Mapping In The Web 2.0 World
Source: Zapoint, Inc.

Why is it important for managers to know about their team’s skills? An accurate overview of skills enables managers to understand the depth of talent for succession. It informs them of gaps in talent for training, and provides a view into existing resources they have to deploy on projects. The latest white paper from Zapoint recommends companies build a comprehensive skills taxonomy that can be used to drive more effective decisions related to learning, hiring and succession planning.

HR Humor: It's Second Guess Thursday
Source: Hallmark.com

Just for fun…

Webcast: Workplace Wellness Program Basics
Source: The Partners Group

Join The Partners Group as they discuss the basic steps to implementing a workplace wellness program. This webinar is designed for the employer with no workplace wellness program in place and addresses the questions: Where do I start? Why have a wellness program?

Podcast: Helping Newly Promoted Managers Succeed - Good for Them. Good for You.
Source: Impact Achievement Group

The transition from an individual contributor to a supervisor or manager is one of the most critical and difficult career moves. In this podcast, Julie White, Ph.D. explains that training new managers in appropriate people skills and performance management skills can do much to encourage high-performing team members.

HR180: At 94, Los Angeles Barber Can Still Cut It
Source: Bob Pool for the LA Times

Longtime customers praise his $15 haircuts and his upbeat attitude. Through the years, (Elvie) Lewis mastered each new style that came along. There was the buzz cut of the 1950s, the bushy Afro of the '60s, the dreadlocks and cornrows of the '70s, the 1980s' mullet, the high-top fade of the '90s and today's high-and-tight. "My favorite style is what they ask for," he says with a grin. In his zip-up barber's smock, the short, cheerful-looking Lewis favors his own receding gray hairline cropped short.

Contribute to News for HR!

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What's New? The Latest in HR Software and Services

* Please note that the editorial team at News for HR does not recommend or endorse any of the companies or products mentioned in our newsletter. We also cannot support any claims made by the respective companies. These are products and services we have found interesting and are sharing with our readership. If you have any experience with these companies you would like to share with us, we'd love to hear from you!

Recruitment & Staffing:

With the release of TransparentMe (http://www.transparentme.com), job-seekers can discover any skeletons in their closet before a potential employer does. Essentially, the new online service helps job candidates perform their own criminal background check and uncover any potential negative history ahead of potential employers. The service is offered in three package levels: Basic ($19.95), Enhanced ($34.95), and Comprehensive ($69.95). Read more about it here.

Compensation & Benefits:

DSM introduced the Global Personal Nutrition System, a unique corporate wellness program that helps employers execute the most important strategy to improve employee wellness. Scientific research overwhelmingly supports the fact that making dietary adjustments is most important in improving health, yet few corporate wellness programs focus on diet and nutrition. GPNS is the only wellness program that provides personalized dietary recommendations and complementary behavior modification strategies that help employees and their dependents achieve their own health goals. GPNS is based on the expertise of DSM, a global $12 billion company and a leader in nutrition. The program leverages DSM's proven track record in helping individuals improve their health via nutrition. Read more about it here. More information here.

Training & Development:

Glowan released a new online version of its flagship L3 leadership program. Divided into three phases, the program includes 360 feedback and DISC assessments, live webinars with archival recording, tele-coaching for applied learning, weekly e-tips and a personal leadership development plan. The L3 learning system is designed around three "Ls": L1: Work/Life Integration & Personal Mastery. L2: Cultivating Collaborative Advantage in and between work groups and organizations. L3: Leading others to develop a "best place to work" culture for a work team, department or company. Read more about it here.

About "News For HR"

"News for HR" is a monthly newsletter profiling new products and services in the human resource marketplace and timely articles on various HR topics. The newsletter's content is selected by our editorial committee and is not the result of paid advertising.

Most of the content comes from the Human Resources Directory - one of the HR industry's largest and most up-to-date knowledge centers with a library of over 2,000 white papers, webcasts, podcasts, articles and more. Please let us know how we are doing by e-mailing newsforhr@hrmarketer.com.

Newsletter Info:

Publisher:	HRmarketer
Editor:	JWillaman
Circulation:	70,000+
Distributed:	Monthly
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Stat of the Day

The "Weekend Effect" – Why People Feel Better On Their Days Off

Source: scientificblogging.com

Published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, the study tracked the moods of 74 adults, aged 18 to 62, who worked at least 30 hours per week.

It was found that men and women alike consistently feel better mentally and physically on the weekend. They feel better regardless of how much money they make, how many hours they work, how educated they happen to be, or whether they work in the trades, the service industry, or in a professional capacity. They feel better whether they are single, married, living together, divorced, or widowed. And, they feel better regardless of age.

The findings indicated that relative to workdays, weekends were associated with higher levels of freedom and closeness: people reported more often that they were involved in activities of their own choosing and spending time with more intimate friends and family members.

Surprisingly, the analysis also found that people feel more competent during the weekend than they do at their day-to-day jobs.

By contrast, write the authors, the work week "is replete with activities involving external controls, time pressures, and demands on behavior related to work, child care and other constraints." Workers also may spend time among colleagues with whom they share limited emotional connections.

The study also raises questions about how work environments can be structured to be more supportive of wellness. "To the extent that daily life, including work, affords a sense of autonomy, relatedness, and competence, well-being may be higher and more stable, rather than regularly rising and falling," the researchers conclude.

For the full story, you can click here.

Quick Tips

Ten Safe Hiring Tools

Source: Les Rosen, president, Employment Screening Resources

1. Have each job applicant sign a consent form for a background check, including a check for criminal records, past employment and education. Announcing that your firm checks backgrounds may discourage applicants with something to hide, and encourage applicants to be truthful and honest.

2. Employment applications should ask about criminal records in the broadest possible terms allowed by law, and should not be limited to felonies.

3. Towards the end of an interview, advise applicants that the firm will perform a criminal background and reference check as a standard business practice, and ask whether the applicant has any concerns to share. Applicants with a problem may either reveal something or withdraw.

4. Applicants should also be asked during an interview what they think a former employer will say about them. Since the applicant has signed a release and has been told such checks may occur, they may be more motivated to reveal information about past jobs.

5. Applications must clearly state that any false or misleading statements or material omissions are grounds to terminate the hiring process or employment, regardless of when discovered. This is particularly important if a criminal record is found. Under current law, a criminal record may not be used to automatically disqualify an applicant unless there is a sound business reason. However, if an applicant has lied about a criminal matter, the falsehood can be the basis for an adverse decision.

6. If employment begins before a background check is completed, state in writing that employment is conditioned upon a background report that is satisfactory to the employer.

7. Verifying past employment is probably the single most important tool for an employer. Generally speaking, past job performance can be an important predictor of future success. Some employers make a costly mistake by not checking past employment because past employers may not give detailed information. However, even verification of dates of employment and job title is critical because an employer must be concerned about unexplained gaps in the employment history.

8. Obtain a listing of all past addresses for seven to ten years. This is also needed for a criminal search.

9. Include future screenings in the consent language. This becomes important if a future investigation is required for some form of workplace misconduct.

10. Check for criminal records. Since criminal records are public information, employers can check at the local courthouse. There are services that can obtain such information from courthouses all over the United States, as well as provide other assistance.