What would you do if a senior member, top manager, or chief employee fell ill, resigned, or had to be fired? Are you prepared to fill sudden, unexpected vacancies within your staff?
As you grow your leadership, you need to know the key succession planning tips for effectively handling the changing workplace. Learn how to be prepared for any foreseen or surprise vacancy with these 10 tips for succession planning (check the drop down menu under HR Tips for Employers).
Randi Frank will serve as Moderator for the Middlesex Businesswoman’s Alliance and Micro Business Council January 14, 2015 Meeting entitled “Education for Every Generation – Imagine your future-Rejuvenate your Career”. Ms. Frank will moderate a Panel of Speakers from Middlesex Community College who will speak about: the hot careers of the future, education to strengthen your skills, training and development for your employees, how to find interns for your Business, Career Services, how the Community College can help you grow your business or grow as an individual.
Ms. Frank was selected as moderator because of her experience as an Executive Search Firm, she reads 100’s of resumes a year and knows the value of education and also understands the needs for career development to promote yourself on your resume. As a small business/micro business owner Ms. Frank has used interns and understands their value.
Please see attached Flyer for details of meeting that starts with networking at 5pm and Wine and Hors d’oeuvres. Directions also attached.
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Time: 5-5:30p, networking; 5:30-6:30p, program
Location, Sponsor: Middlesex Community College, 100 Training Hill Rd, Middletown
The Pavilion in Founders Hall
• Stay in touch with new employees. The better the on-boarding process and follow-up, the more likely you will avoid employee turnover.
• Make sure new employees feel comfortable with their new job. Always have open channels for their feedback and be ready to assist them.
• Identify the employee’s strengths and determine what knowledge, skills, abilities and assignments will complement or enhance them.
• Identify areas where the employee needs to grow and improve to achieve job competencies.
• Schedule and hold a six-month performance appraisal meeting.
Questions? Contact me today!
• Give new employees a written job description so they understand their responsibilities
• Provide them with performance goals and objectives for their division and their position, or make sure their supervisor covers this
• Determine a training plan (e.g., compliance, supervisory, professional development), and establish a plan and timeline for training
Questions? Contact me today!
• Have the employee’s desk or other work area, and the materials needed to perform the job, set up when he or she comes into work.
• Make sure the employee has a working phone, computer, desk, chair and whatever else he or she may need for the job.
• Set up all computer protocols so the employee can sign on to organization’s Internet, intranet and specific software programs.
• Gather all the proper paperwork a new employee needs to fill out on the first day. (Outside of the usual Human Resources paperwork like department-specific forms—see the next tip about payroll forms.)
Questions? Contact me today!
• Make sure new employees have a tour of the office. It’s important for them to get a feel for the company’s atmosphere, and be able to find their way around.
• As you’re touring the company, tell new employees about the functions and services provided by the different divisions so they can understand their part in the whole organization.
• During the tour, current employees can meet the new employee and help make the new employee feel welcome and part of the team.
Questions? Contact me today!
• Make the company’s culture, values, mission and strategies clear by providing the new employee with a guidebook/handbook and annual reports that give a nice overview of organization.
• Discuss policies, procedures and other administrative matters, and review safety plans. Include workplace violence policy, sexual harassment prevention policy, workers’ compensation program, affirmative action program, leave policies and the like.
Questions? Contact me today!
• Give the new employee basic information about the company (e.g., history and mission, programs and services, working environment, and recreational and community engagement activities).
• Provide new employees with the information needed for them to learn the job. Giving new employees proper training can increase the morale of new workers and reduce turnover.
• It’s okay to use different forms of overview orientation tailored to the different needs of employees, based on their position (administrative vs. engineering, for example). Hold group job-specific orientation sessions if you have more than one person starting in a similar position at the same time.
• Be there when your new employee is introduced to his or her department head (if that did not happen during the interview process). If possible, designate a “buddy” to help him or her get acquainted with the organization.
• Along with making the new employee feel comfortable, make sure that current employees are comfortable with the new worker. Before his or her arrival, inform current employees that there will be a new employee, and tell them what department the newcomer will be in and what his or her job will include.
• Hold a small gathering to introduce new employees or take them out for lunch to make them feel welcome.
Questions? Contact me today!
• Confirm your new employee’s acceptance of the position.
• Make sure you know what paperwork is required and with whom the new employee will meet to complete it (e.g., Human Resources, payroll coordinator, benefits assistant).
• Stay in regular communication with your new employees via email or phone during the period between the acceptance and the start date; make sure they understand the conditions of employment and anything they need to do before their new job starts.
• Provide critical first-day information (e.g., when to arrive, where to park, where to report, what to wear, what documents to bring to complete, what the schedule will be).
Questions? Contact me today!
Randi has more than 30 years of successful experience as a manager and administrator with various local governments in several capacities, including: Human Resources Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Randi has a Master’s degree in Public Administration. She is currently a Certified Woman Owned business in CT – her company started in 2000 serving both public and private sector
Some of the services she provides include:
• Executive Searches
• Conducting recruitment and testing
• Performing classification and salary studies and preparing job descriptions
• Preparing or revising personnel policies
This dynamic combination of experience and education makes Randi Frank an excellent choice to answer your questions about Human Resources and executive search processes.
Set up separate interview evaluation forms for each candidate with a grading system so you can keep track of which candidates you liked. After a whole day of interviewing, it’s unlikely you’ll remember all the details without some notes.
Questions? Contact me today!
Demotion, termination, and other disciplinary decisions are so sensitive that managers need to deal with these issues very carefully. All employment decisions should be based on the results of performance evaluation, which is a strong tool to protect the company from lawsuits. A manager should discuss a performance problem with the employee when it becomes obvious, and develop an action plan for improvement. If the problem persists and the manager decides to discipline the employee, he or she should document everything that could help the organization prove its position in arbitration, including the performance problem, employee feedback from the action plan, and the reason for the discipline. For demotions, terminations, and disciplinary action, one should always remember to dot the i’s and cross t’s. In others words, document, document, document.
What: Bimonthly speaker series and networking, hosted by the Middlesex United Way Women’s Initiative
Featuring: Randi Frank, “Insider Tips: Job Search and Recruitment”
When: Sept. 24, 2014, 8 – 9 am. (optional resume review session to follow) LIght breakfast will be served
Where: Water’s Edge Center for Health and Rehabilitation, 111 Church St., Middletown
Suggested Donation: $5 to benefit the work of the Middlesex United Way Women’s INitiative, a group of caring volunteers and professionals, uniting to create opportunities for a better life for women and children in Middlesex County.
More Info: middlesexunitedway.org/wi
RSVP: (860) 346-8695 or kati.hensel at middlesexunitedway.org
A: Another thing that hurts some applicants is their formatting, or lack of. People will put on their resumes the university they attended but they don’t list the degree. This is a huge problem because I am left unsure whether they graduated—and most positions require candidates to have a bachelor’s degree at a minimum.
When it comes to a candidate’s training and experience, I find it difficult to read when there is an overload on the resume. My advice is to focus on the training and experience that are most important and relevant to the position. When there is too much to read it becomes a challenge for the recruiter, who might just put your resume in the “not interested” pile.
Have an HR related question you would like to ask? Feel free to contact me!
A: I have done a number of searches for HR directors and I’ve been surprised at how many of them neglected specifics on their resumes. Terms such as “staffing” or “recruiting” were not included, so I had no idea what experience they had in this area. On the other hand, I have also experienced some very technical resumes, listing every project they’ve worked on, but they didn’t say what their positions were. Were they the managers? Do they have any management experience? Those are the kinds of questions a recruiter asks when reading a resume for a managerial position.
Have an HR related question you would like to ask? Feel free to contact me!
