Article: Collaborating From a Distance: Success Factors for Top Virtual Teams
    Article: Chronicles of a Sales Leader: Tough Times Call for Solid Leadership
    White Paper: Extending Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) to Address Emerging Risks
    HR Humor: My Food Valentine
    Webcast: FMLA Expansion: What the New Rules Mean to You
    Podcast: Sales and Sales Training 2.0
    HR 180: 82 Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena

Article: Collaborating From a Distance: Success Factors for Top-Performing Virtual Teams
Source: Darleen DeRosa, managing partner, OnPoint Consulting

Rising travel costs, coupled with the global dispersion of talent, are just some of the reasons that organizations have migrated toward virtual teamwork. While numerous organizations have made significant investments in virtual teams and the technology to support them, a surprising number of virtual teams are not reaching their full potential.

A new study conducted by OnPoint Consulting surveyed 48 virtual teams across industries and found that there are specific practices associated with successful virtual teams.

Article: Chronicles of a Sales Leader: Tough Times Call for Solid Leadership
Source: Bill Golder, executive vice president of sales at Miller Heiman

Downward revenue and earnings reports dominate business headlines, and it seems impossible to avoid a conversation about the economy with friends and co-workers. Yet despite the economy, sales leaders are likely to see no adjustment to their quota.

Throughout the years I've felt the effects of challenging external circumstances more times than I can count. But I've yet to receive a voicemail or e-mail informing me that my number will be softened to accommodate difficult times. Instead, these situations prompt more frequent forecast calls and increased pressure to drive to the number.

Whether uncertain times are specific to the region you lead, your company, your industry or a broader scenario like today, all sales leaders will need to lead their team through a difficult and challenging economic environment at some point in their careers. And when it's here, you can count on increased pressure to produce top-line results. So regardless of how things are looking for you today, here are some common pitfalls and insights that you'd do well to be aware of.

White Paper: Extending Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) to Address Emerging Risks
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Extending Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) to address emerging risks looks at how organizations identify, assess, and manage risks; what techniques they are using as the basis for determining response strategies that align with their strategy; and risk appetite and tolerance.

The paper proposes a 4-step framework that organizations can use to better protect themselves and even further their strategies and objectives by embedding this discipline into their risk management culture.

HR Humor: My Food Valentine
MyFoodValentine.com

New York University student Yaminie Patodia has created something she describes as "a collective storytelling art project" that she sees as "an attempt to explore deeper, emotional connections people have with food, but in a fun way." These love letters span the spectrum anywhere from lust all the way to disgust, and sometimes even settling into sweet love and memories.

Webcast: FMLA Expansion: What the New Rules Mean to You
Source: J.J. Keller - HR.com

The FMLA statute was changed to include military service member provisions on January 28, 2008, and the underlying regulations relating to those changes were published in the Federal Register on November 17, 2008. This webcast will focus on the final rules in regard to these new provisions for military family members, but also discuss the changes stemming from court cases and a request for information on the current regulations from the Department of Labor.

The final rule went into effect on January 16, 2009, and this webcast will give you a chance to clarify what you need to do to be fully compliant with these changes.

Podcast: Sales and Sales Training 2.0
Source: RichardsonSales

We all know the saying "Knowledge is power." Well, forget it! The Web 2.0 explosion has dramatically increased the availability of information and knowledge, as well as the ability to exploit it. No longer is knowledge power - lack of knowledge is RISK! If companies are to succeed and indeed capitalize on Web 2.0, then their salespeople must adapt their strategy and behavior. Sales 1.0 was about lone wolves, product superiority, proven skills, and making the number. Sales 2.0 is about leveraging knowledge, teams, technology, and total solutions, as well as continuous improvement reflected in continuously improving results.

HR180: 82 Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena
Source: Michael Bach

Now is the time to satisfy your inner child. Not just two or three "visual illusions" to experience but eighty-two! Awesome….

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:

SHL, a provider of talent assessment solutions, unveiled the final version of its Dependability and Safety Instrument (DSI) tool, which identifies employees more likely to be unreliable and unsafe in the workplace. The new version identifies five risk levels - from low risk to very high risk - while taking less than 7 minutes for a candidate to complete. More information here.

Compensation & Benefits:

WorldatWork, a professional association for human resources practitioners, launched the WorldatWork Online Community designed to give compensation, benefits, work-life and rewards professionals a virtual forum to interact and connect with industry peers. More information here.

Talent Management:

Zapoint, a provider of Web-based human capital management (HCM) software, announced the debut of PreSourced(TM), an online candidate placement and applicant tracking solution that allows recruiters to identify and rank candidates according to specific skills required for a job opening. More information here.

Training & Development:

HR Chally, a talent management firm with 35+ years of sales research and experience in predictive/analytic sales performance, launched a new sales management solution called TQSalesM that leverages processes associated with Lean, Six Sigma and TQM for managing sales talent. Chally is so confident in this solution they are offering a "ROI Guarantee." More information here.

Miscellaneous:

eBusinessCard released a new service that allows you to create online business cards which can be used in many ways, including e-mail signatures, or on documents of all kinds. A wide variety of business card designs and colors can be used. More information 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.