pres·en·tee·ism – n. the practice of coming to work despite illness, injury, anxiety, etc., often resulting in reduced productivity.

Presenteeism only promises to continue as a major workplace problem in 2012, so the Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) thought we’d share some insights into the issue.

Speechly Bircham’s Employment group is a UK-based employment law practice.  In their in-depth 2012 survey of HR directors and senior HR professionals across the UK, they determined that working hour increases are linked with higher stress and staff turnover, while longer work hours and presenteeism are set for big increases in 2012.

A review of the survey can be read at The State of Human Resources blog.  Conclusions include:

• Greater business uncertainty is linked with higher stress, absence, presenteeism and workforce discontent.
• Talent shortages for 40 percent of organizations exist and are linked with longer working hours, stress and presenteeism.
• Presenteeism is now a major workforce issue, linked with more grievances.

Today’s workplace has changed from two or even one decade ago. Some of these changes have contributed to the growing incidence of presenteeism.

Causes of presenteeism

• Increase in dual-earner and “sandwich generation” households.
• Fear of note meeting Employer expectations.
• Little or no paid sick days available or accrued.

Employer Solutions

• Recognize the problem.
• Rethink the use of disciplinary action to control absenteeism.
• Develop a workplace policy on presenteeism and inform and educate employees.
• Provide Paid Sick Leave and/or Paid Time Off (PTO) to Workers.
• Make an Effort to Boost Employee Morale.
• Offer a flu vaccination program.

The image of a sick-as-a-dog employee who comes to work as being a dedicated and valued worker is no longer fitting. Presenteeism costs are a real and potentially significant drain on a company’s financial well-being. Employers need to make a concerted effort to develop a workplace with healthy and highly functioning workers. This will go a long way toward meeting goals for company productivity and profits, and fostering a healthy work culture and environment for employees.

A talent management system (TMS) is an integrated software suite that addresses the “four pillars” of talent management: recruitment, performance management, learning and development, and compensation management.

Talent management systems focus on providing strategic assistance to organizations in the accomplishment of long-term enterprise goals with respect to talent, aka “human capital.”

HRO Today has announced its 2012 TMS Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team took a look at the Top Five apps on the list:

1. 1.     Lumesse
2. 2.     myStaffingPro
3. 3.     Kenexa
4. 4.     iCIMS
5. 5.     SilkRoad

Lumesse

Lumesse, Europe’s largest independent talent management solutions company, has released a new version of its Lumesse Mobile app for Apple iOS, with an enhanced user experience, multi-lingual capabilities and improved usability. The Lumesse Mobile app allows businesses worldwide using Lumesse TalentLink 12 to give managers access to key process steps and employee information in multiple languages from their iPhones (the app is also iPad-compatible.)  Lumesse Mobile is designed as a true native iOS app to ensure a responsive, high quality user experience on mobile platforms.

myStaffingPro

myStaffingPro is a full-featured applicant tracking and recruiting software system with advanced applicant screening capabilities.  myStaffingPro provides professional staffing software tools designed to help users achieve hiring goals while saving time and money.  myStaffingPro Elevate: social recruiting and employment branding software that harnesses social media, job distribution, network building and career site techniques.  myStaffingPro Express: economical solution for companies looking for the essentials in applicant tracking.

Kenexa

Kenexa offers unified business solutions for human resources that support the entire employee lifecycle, including:

• Recruitment Solutions (RPO)
• Employment Branding
• Employee Assessments
• Talent Management
• Compensation Solutions
• Engagement Surveys
• Leadership Solutions

iCIMS

iCIMS is a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) talent acquisition software for growing businesses.  iCIMS’ Scalable Talent Acquisition Software offers:

• Secure Web-based platform accessible from anywhere, anytime
• Fully automated job publishing to social networks
• Electronic onboarding documents and communication
• Robust searching and reporting functions
• Free 24×5 access to award-winning customer support

SilkRoad

SilkRoad Technology is a leading provider of social talent management solutions.  RedCarpet, SilkRoad’s HR onboarding program, helps organizations better plan and manage employees during transitions using tools that include:

• Onboarding management – Automated workflows, standardized task assignment, reporting, global localization and an intuitive user-interface designed to help HR professionals and managers efficiently streamline the onboarding process.
• Employee portals – Branded content, social network integration and ongoing communication help transition employees into company culture and keep them in-the-know during transitions.

Electronic forms – Auto-populated fields, electronic signatures and instant delivery help HR managers keep compliant with E-Verify and I-9 while eliminating time and cost associated with paper-based administration.

Veterans employment is in the news these days and the Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team wants to do what it can to help in this vitally important area.

 In the March issue of HRO Today, the cover story “Fighting for Jobs” addresses the issue of why organizations need to consider veteran hiring programs.

Since 2010, the federal government has increased its focus on veteran employment due to an interest in reducing unemployment costs and aiding those who have served our nation at war. This includes the passage of the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, new tax credits for hiring veterans, and the creation of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative.

Veteran hiring stems from humble beginnings.

During the past two decades, a variety of factors have combined to spotlight just how valuable the U.S. military veteran population is as a source of talent for corporate America.  A noteworthy percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs are veterans.  More than 180,000 veterans leave active duty military service each calendar year, so the military offers a highly qualified pool of jobs candidates. Perhaps most importantly, the performance, development, and bottom-line impact that veterans have had across multiple industries has been significant.

As part of the American Jobs Act signed by President Barack Obama in November 2011, the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits offer tax incentives to businesses that hire unemployed or disabled veterans. Through Joining Forces, Pres. Obama is challenging the private sector to hire and train 100,000 unemployed service members or their spouses.

In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched Hiring Our Heroes, a nationwide program to help veterans and military spouses find employment.

Corporations are also joining in the fight. GE plans to hire 5,000 veterans over the next five years and sponsor 400 veterans’ job fairs this year.  And JPMorgan Chase, along with other partners, launched the 100,000 Jobs Mission last March, with the goal of hiring 100,000 transitioning service members by 2020.

Let us know how you think you can help.

“Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king…”

–Thomas Nashe (1600)

Though we at the Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) primarily staff the business office with professional talent, the first day of the sweetest season makes us think beyond the desk.  Here’s a round-up from CareerBuilder.com naming a few jobs that get you out and about:  “10 Great Jobs to have in the Springtime” by Rachel Zupek.  Our Top Six are:

1. Vendor

Springtime means enjoying the great outdoors.  Baseball season means hot dogs, cold beer, cotton candy and frozen lemonade. Education: On-the-job training

Annual salary*: $19,876

2. Sportswriter

Sure, sports take place year round, but for me, spring is when some of the most exciting sporting events go down. Exhibit A: March Madness basketball games. Exhibit B: Major league baseball spring training and season openers. Exhibit C: NHL playoffs. Exhibit D: NBA playoffs and draft picks. Exhibit E: The Masters golf tournament. Sportswriters can take their pick making predictions, following games or analyzing who is going to be the next Tiger Woods.

Education: College degree, preferably in communications, journalism or English

Annual salary*: $36,994

3. Florist

April showers bring May flowers, after all.  Springtime means blooming flowers, weddings and generosity (aka, bouquets of roses “just because”). Florists will stay occupied during this busy season, while enjoying the budding blossoms that have been buried all winter.

Education: High school diploma

Annual salary*: $33,859

4. Fashion buyer

Springtime is synonymous with fashion. Buyers get to shop through all of the new spring lines and buy clothes that have color, flowers and designs for our favorite retail shops — a far cry from the black and gray turtlenecks and tweed we’ve been sporting all winter.

Education: Requirements vary depending on the organization, but large stores and distributors prefer applicants who have completed a bachelor’s degree program with a business emphasis.

Annual salary*: $50,796

5. Landscaping worker

It’s growing season!  Snow is off the ground and grass, trees and flowers are ready to be planted and fertilized. Lawns need to be mowed, weeds pulled and trees trimmed, all of which add up to a lot of time outside, doing what landscapers do best.

Education: No minimum educational requirement, though most states require licensing or certification for workers who apply pesticides.

Annual salary*: $23,980

6. Construction worker

What’s better than being outside all day working on your latest project? It seems like constructing a house or building would be much more enjoyable in nice weather than in the freezing cold and snow.

Education: Most positions have no specific educational qualifications, but apprenticeships are encouraged and require a high school diploma or equivalent.

Annual salary*: $31,781

Rachel also includes on her list Meteorologist (Annual salary*: $67,004), College admissions counselor

(Annual salary*: $98,796), Pest control worker (annual salary: $28,056) and Housekeeper (Annual salary*: $19,619).

*U.S. national average salary figures based on data from CBsalary.com, powered by SalaryExpert.com

Clean, gray blocks of letters on the pages of conventional resumes can only do so much in helping a job applicant stand out to a prospective employer.

In today’s tough job market, grabbing an employer’s attention requires applicants to be creative in every respect.  One segment of the talent pool that does an exceptional “job-seeking job” with its resumes is designers.  These artists have to be creative because design agencies are usually bombarded with hundreds of applications.

Last week, the Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team blogged about “Resume Writing 101.”  This week, the team thought that taking a look at some unusual but effective resumes might help inspire some applicants as they put together their own.  The resumes we’re going to take a look at might not be appropriate when seeking more buttoned-down jobs, but they do hint at possibilities for thinking beyond the ordinary.

For great resumes from people working in various creative fields, here’s a look at some of the best – “100 Most Creative Example Resumes of All Time” posted by Megha on Savedelete.com.

• Temitope Shoda is a London-based designer and aspiring architect.  The concept of his Pocket CV (curriculum vitae) was to create a portable mini portfolio that clearly illustrated his work but was light and easy to carry about.  His aim was to create a resume that expressed the idea of construction and art. He did this by using a “bolt and wash” fixing to hold the CV together. The fixing expresses the idea of construction while the pages express the idea of art.
• Michael Anderson, based in Romney, W. Va., is a designer, photographer and illustrator whose resume is an Infographic—a graphic visual representation of the information, data and knowledge underlying his career.  Anderson’s “resume-as-Infographic” presents complex information quickly and clearly.  In his visually compelling self-presentation, Anderson doesn’t show any of his actual work yet he still succeeds in showing off his talent. Not only can he create great graphics, he also proves he can turn “boring” facts and figures into something exciting.
• Ariane Denise Lunod earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising and PR from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in May 2009. She currently works as a home-based copywriter for an international brand of lingerie.  Fashion is her passion and she’s interested in becoming an account executive for a multinational advertising agency or landing a job at a fashion magazine.  Her highly creative, visually graphic resume presents her awards and achievements using arresting images placed on a busy desktop background covered with manual typewriter, paper clips and notes, but with an iPhone thrown in to keep things current.
• Twenty-three-year-old Hong Kong designer Chester, LAU Cheuk Hang created a resume with white text on black background supporting his focus on information design, typography, illustration and branding.
• Sabrina Saccocio is a TV, radio, print and Web producer who created a new kind of CV — resume as Facebook page.  “How brilliant is this?” blogged Steve Pratt, the Director of CBC Radio 3 who received this resume.  “She’s taken a format everyone is familiar with – the Facebook profile page – and totally subverted it into a resume.”
• In his “Curriculum Vitae,” Chicago-based graphic designer Greg Dizzia used colorful graphics to list his history in the design world (some lesser clients have been left out). It took him approximately 15 hours to design and build the resume.  He used Univers, a realist sans-serif typeface, exclusively.  “This is an appendage to a traditional resume, to be included as a forward page in my portfolio.  During an interview … my resume itself was becoming a pivoting point in the negotiation of my position.”  Dizzia says he gets much better reactions from people in creative positions than from people in HR.
• Krista Gregg is a Chicago-based graphics designer and 2005 Westwood College (Chicago) graduate with a b.a. in applied science visual communications.  Krista went noticeably retro with a designed based on letter-sized lined notebook paper universally familiar to students.
• Francis Homo, like Ariane Denise Lunod, earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising and PR from Polytechnic University of the Philippines.  In his highly visual resume, Francis creatively split his career experiences along a right-brain / left brain motif.
• Texas-based Kristian Leigh Walsh was inspired by a childhood game in creating this resume.  The Game of Life, also known simply as LIFE, is a board game originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley, as The Checkered Game of Life (and later produced by the Milton Bradley Company of Springfield, Mass.). The Game of Life, America’s first popular parlor game, simulates a person’s travels through his or her life, from college to retirement, with jobs, marriage and possible children along the way.  Kristian simply followed the game outline as a resume career track.

First impressions are lasting, and in the case of a job application, critical.  The resume is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes job application packet, which a potential employer encounters regarding a job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants.  If the resume is satisfactory, only then will an interview follow.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team has seen many a good resume, and rejected many a poor one.

Having a solid and effective resume can increase your chances of getting a call from a recruiter. Applicants need to be aware that recruiters spend, on average, about 10 seconds reviewing a resume, so having a top-notch resume is critical to land the interview.

A good resume will:

1. Have the basic information listed: At the top of the page, all relevant contact information should be listed which includes your name in larger font as well as phone and email information.  Also, check that your voice mail message is appropriate. If a recruiter calls and hears an inappropriate voicemail message, they may just hang up.
2. Be current:  a recruiter is not in favor of finding out during the pre-screen that the resume they have is not current and is missing relevant information.  So keep your resume current! A current resume demonstrates you are serious about finding a job and is detail oriented.
3. Have a career objective: what is the objective of the applicant’s career path.  Be realistic.  Writing you want to be President of the company but yet have not made it to management is probably not realistic.
4. Use the right key words: Recruiters are now using electronic databases to mine for applicants, which mean they put in key words into a ATS (Applicant Tracking System) and if your resume doesn’t have the key words they are searching for, chances are you are already out of the running.  One way to understand what an employer is looking for is to review the job posting and job description. Identify what the employer is looking for and add those key words into your resume.
5. Include professional accomplishments vs. responsibilities:  What are some significant professional accomplishments that could possibly get the recruiters attention?  Use action verbs and statistics here.  For example, “Project managed a team of board operators to design and implement a new manufacturing process which increased production by 30% resulting in $300k in revenue per quarter.”
6. Include a descriptive past professional experience:  Applicants should list, most recent job title, company name and brief description of the company, City, State and dates of employment.  For example,

Director of Manufacturing

“XYZ Company, a semi-conductor manufacturer “ Ontario, CA

Jan 2009-present

If you have been at one employer for several years, you may want to note all positions you have held there and include the skill sets you developed.  It can also show you are promotable.

1. Demonstrate Continual Education, Professional Development & Professional Memberships:  In this area, the recruiter is looking for educational credentials and looking to see how the applicant is staying current in their profession.
2. Be straightforward and to the point: Save some stuff for the interview, please.  One of the oldest rules of resume writing is “Limit it to one page.”  Also, use bullets; a recruiter does not have time to read a full page of text so keep your thoughts straightforward and to the point.
3. Keep work experience relevant to the job you are applying: Recruiters are looking for applicants that have a solid experience in their profession.  It could create an unfavorable image if you mentioned you were studying culinary but are looking for an accounting job.
4. Proof read your resume:  Recruiters frown upon resumes with typos, and one small typo can decrease your chances of landing that interview.  So proof it a couple times and have someone else proof for you.

Every business has at least one HPE: a habitually problematic employee.  As an owner or HR manager, your lucky day comes when that employee parts ways with the business—lucky, until another employer calls for your opinion of HPE.  Awkward.

So what now?  Do you tell the employer what you really think about HPE?  Do you gloss over HPE’s 2-hour lunches?  Do you fake static and hang up?  Not only is this situation uncomfortable, but it presents potential legal troubles if improperly handled.

Some businesses solve this problem by routing all reference checks through the HR Department.  There, only basic information is verified, such as dates of employment and job title.  This option will definitely keep your business out of legal hot water, but it may displease managers who want to shout HPE’s negative qualities from the rooftops.  In these cases, advise miffed managers how important it is that the business distributes consistent, carefully worded statements.  Even the most truthful statements, if poorly worded, can be twisted into legal ammunition.

Another way to shield personnel from these uncomfortable inquiries is to deal with HPE proactively.  There are two ways to do this.  First, ask HPE for a signed release allowing the business to give out reference information.  If HPE refuses to sign, explain to reference-seekers that HPE did not consent to release information.  Second, tell HPE at the exit interview that the business won’t be able to provide a positive reference.  That should be enough for HPE to look for support elsewhere.

New research from the Economic Policy Institute shows public sector employees may be getting a bad rap.

According to this research, contrary to popular belief, public sector employees are not paid better than private sector employees.  Government workers actually earn an annual average of $6,061 less than their private sector counterparts.  Even including the government’s oft-touted benefits packages, public workers still make $2,001 less per year.  The study also made a point of controlling factors such as education and number of hours worked, since public sector employees tend to be more highly educated and work fewer hours.

These findings may come as a surprise to the half of Americans who, according to a Washington Post poll, think federal government employees are overpaid.  The poll also found a third of Americans think private sector employees are more skilled than government workers.  A whopping three-quarters of Americans believe federal employees receive higher pay and benefits than their private sector counterparts.

It’s clear old stereotypes are hard to break, but an interesting trend may be afoot.  The Washington Post poll noted adults over 65 harbored more negativity toward government workers, while adults under 30 were far more likely to believe government employees were fairly compensated—or better yet, not compensated enough.

In addition to offering payroll services, and managing employee benefits and government compliance issues, GHRO offers recruitment services for businesses looking to outsource their human resources needs. Recently, we received a letter from one of our clients telling us how GHRO was able to help her out.

Hi Margo:

You went above and beyond! I appreciate it.

I am doing great. I have to say I absolutely LOVE working for Job Corps.
The people are fantastic, and the Center Director is amazing. I love her
spirit and she is quite the mover and a shaker.

Working for an organizations whose core values that parallel my own is a
breath of fresh air and the students are absolutely delightful. I think
you did an excellent job of pairing us together and hope this is the
beginning of a very long relationship!

Best,
Renee

If you’re looking to hire professional caliber employees, or you’re looking for the next step in your career, Global Human Resources Outsourcing may be able to help you on your way!

Our society is becoming so inundated with tasks and work-related duties that unhappiness at the office is encroaching on employee health. We all know that having happy workers limits turn-over and the higher the job satisfaction, the more likely employees are to put forth their best effort. By creating a fun and home-like working atmosphere, you’ll make work fun, enjoyable, and ease stress at the same time!

Google was voted the number one company to work for in 2007. It’s no surprise considering life at the search engine giant is very relaxed and stress free; employee benefits abound. While some companies stress time lines and attire, Google emphasizes recreating the home experience at work. Employees can do laundry, work out at the gym, receive a massage and learn a new language. Feeling a little under the weather? Visit Google’s on-site doctor. Buying a hybrid? Google will give you $5,000 towards the purchase price. Expecting a child? They’ll reimburse you up to $500 in take-out food. If you ask any employee what they do at Google they’ll typically respond a personal embodiment of the company’s mission statement- “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” This kind of motivation by employees is rarely seen, but envied by most.

Google’s goal, as often recited by employees, is ambitious (to say the least). Thankfully, Google just happened to find the right people to take it on. By creating a comfortable work environment, employees are not burdened with stress. Instead, employees are motivated to collectively achieve a similar goal; indexing information and making it useful. Google wouldn’t be the tech giant it is today without its bevy of happy employees. The appeal of a work environment that mimics their homes stimulates productivity and increases employee moral, making Google one of the most sought-after employers in the world.

Even if you don’t have the resources of a Silicon Valley titan, you can easily follow Google’s ideology, making your employees happy too. The first step may just be rethinking how you see your company. Simply making the mission statement more accessible and personal will help employees insert more of themselves in to their work and ease stress levels. Extend the home experience to work and rethink the office; would you want to live in it? If you wouldn’t mind spending an evening or weekend at the office because it’s hospitable and welcoming, you’re on the right track. Make the office a place your employees love to be, rather than the place they dread to go.

Employees need to come first in a company, as they are the heart and soul of your business. Creating a comfortable work environment that mimics a home eases stress, raises morale and increases productivity. Even simple changes can greatly affect employee health and happiness in a positive way, which will certainly lead to long-term growth for your business.