Starting and developing a new business or managing a small business is no small feat. Many challenges may arise when attempting to accomplish these tasks. Luckily, today’s rapid technological advances make start-up and management not only simple but also cost-effective. We at Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) are here today to tell you why outsourcing can benefit your star-up or small business and how to go about outsourcing tasks to maximize benefits.

Why To Outsource

We know that many entrepreneurs and leaders of small businesses consider themselves Renaissance men or women and while we are not here to question your abilities, we are here to tell you that you simply cannot do it all. Although a small team may be able to cover most of the basics, there will still be tasks out of your teams skill set that require advanced knowledge to perform optimally. This is why we advocate outsourcing.

Outsourcing used to be viewed as a tool used only by big businesses for the mundane or minute tasks. However, in today’s climate technology has made connectivity available no matter where your geographical location and thus nearly any task can be outsourced.

How To Outsource

Tasks should not be outsourced just because you don’t feel like completing them. Choose tasks that are essential yet require too much personal time. This allows you to take a step back and focus on the things that will either grow your business or increase revenue.

When choosing a company to work with, make sure they are top quality or outsourcing will only add to your workload. Delegate tasks and let your team know what they are responsible for and what outside help is going to be working on. This will increase productivity and allow important tasks to be completed at optimal levels.

The way a boss or leader within an organization acts has changed drastically in the past decade. Management styles have shifted from command-driven to explanation- driven. This shift has facilitated more open communication between leader and subordinate, an increased sense of teamwork and has produced higher productivity levels than ever before. Today we at Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) share with you a few ways you can revamp your leadership style.

Stop Commanding, Start Explaining

As we mentioned before, there is a shift in leadership styles from command to explanation. When giving instructions to employees, stress the importance of how this task will enhance the company instead of simply assigning tasks. This creates a dialogue in which the employee can ask any questions he/she may have about the task.

Don’t Punish Mistakes

Office culture used to have a strict no mistake policy – one where employees were frightened to show an unsuccessful product to a superior. Instead, let employees learn from mistakes. This will enhance quality of products once you can see what does and does not work moving forward.

Foster Self-Initiative

The days of forever employment are gone. In today’s economic times leaders should not mislead employees by telling them they are safe if their performance reads like their job description. Encourage employees to take their work to the next level. This creates not only more driven employees but also an increased sense of value in the company for employees.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on how to innovate like a Nobel Prize winner and we at Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) thought we would share some highlights with you.

Times have changed and with the increasing introduction of highly sophisticated technology, so too has the way one innovates changed. Author Holly Finn states that “revision rather than reinvention is the new hallmark of innovation.” In today’s market, innovation is not so much about the creation of a completely new product but the improvement of that product.

Innovation in today’s climate is all about re-inventing the wheel.  For example, Sony does not need to create an alternative to the camera, they simply make an improved version of the already innovative digital camera with more megapixels and increased zoom capabilities.

Still not convinced? Let’s consider Apple as one of the ultimate innovators whose process Finn characterizes as “a tweak, not an overhaul”. Audiences are consistently excited when Apple releases a redesigned version of it’s iPod, an updated model of its infamous iPhone or the newly downsized iPad mini.

The takeaway? Don’t spend all your time and money to create the next big thing. Instead, concentrate the majority of your efforts improving current technology in ways that will interest your target audience.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team has been following the HR Technology Conference 2012, which concluded last week with some key takeaways:

HR’s present strategic opportunity is to drive the adoption of consumerized social technologies to boost productivity, improve communication, and foster greater collaboration both within and between departments.

The play for HR is to team with IT in a role analogous to what IT Business Analysts do –  assess needs, research solutions and implement new technologies enterprise-wide. In short, HR needs to don a Business Analyst hat of its own.

These insights come courtesy of Software Advice columnist Kyle Lagunas in his in-depth article “Thoughts from HR Tech 2012: Upgrading HR’s Role in Enterprise 2.0.”

Lagunas observes that consumer technologies are rapidly changing the way we work.

In HR, social and mobile technologies have proven to be powerful tools for sourcing and recruiting talent. And newer tools that leverage social consumer technologies–like Yammer for collaboration, and Work.com (formerly Rypple) for performance management–have the potential for facilitating a more actively engaged workforce.

At the HR Technology Conference 2012, these next generation tools were the focus of numerous sessions and conversations. But many attendees wondered, “Who takes ownership of these tools?

“As I see it,” writes Lagunas, “these tools present HR with an interesting opportunity to upgrade its role in Enterprise 2.0 – from traditionally tactical administration to tech-savvy strategic function.

It’s Time to Upgrade HR

HR departments fighting for a seat at the table aren’t doing themselves any favors by resisting innovation in workplace technology. There are bound to be hiccups when opening channels for employees to exchange ideas and information in real-time. But managers will be surprised at how infrequently these things occur.

The greater risk with these types of tools is that heavy-handed moderation can have a direct impact on a  company’s investment in these technologies.  If HR can focus on strategies to maximize return on investment, rather than policing use, they could position themselves as a major contributor in the social enterprise.

Do you have a social media policy for your workplace?  Or, if you do, is it properly enforced?

If not, the Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team thinks that you need to understand how preventing workers from accessing social media on the job is only getting harder.

Three-out-of-every-four employees are accessing social media on their personal devices once a day, with 60 percent saying they check multiple times per day.

But only 43 percent of those same staff members work for companies that allow social media access.

That’s according to the new Social Media and Workplace 2012 Report, courtesy of SilkRoad.

“Social Media & Workplace Collaboration — 2012 Latest Practices, Key Findings, Hottest Topics” confirms what many HR pros already know: Employees are going to use social media at work, whether you approve of it or not.

That doesn’t mean you should ditch your social media policy, though. What it means is that firms might be better off crafting a forward-thinking social media policy than one that completely forbids social media use.

And, if you can figure out a way to get those workers involved in your own in-house social media efforts, all the better.

Here are a few more of the key findings from the research:

• Companies’ efforts to guide employee use of social technology are mixed: Only 23 percent of workers received a specific social media policy from their employer, and the same percentage reported having no policy at all. Just 17 percent were issued informal guidelines, and less than 10 percent received social media training.
• Twitter is the most popular social media site accessed at work: 70 percent use Twitter and 65 percent use Facebook, while only 19 percent use corporate intranets.
• Virtually no employers are asking for social media passwords: Despite the media and political buzz around the topic, 97 percent of respondents said that their employer or potential employer had not yet asked employees for social media passwords.
• Employees use personal mobile devices frequently during work hours to access social media: 60 percent check social media multiple times throughout the day on their mobile devices, and 75 percent say they check it at least once a day or more.
• Interacting with co-workers was the primary motivator for social media engagement at work: 49 percent of respondents said that connecting with co-workers was the top reason to use social media while at work. The second and third most popular reasons were connecting with others on a fun social platform (47 percent) followed by connecting with customers (44 percent).

“Companies can no longer ignore social tools, nor the ways that their employees use them to share and access information,” said W. Edward Vesely, chief marketing officer of SilkRoad, in comments from the executive summary.

He added: “These new technologies can be used to create business value, share information, engage employees — and even create dialogue with customers and prospects.”

Workforce Management has published its annual Hot List of top HR providers, products and services that help keep businesses up to date, on track and focused on what matters most—its people.  The listing features some of the most innovative companies in the human capital solutions business.

The top five vendor packages on the Workforce Hot List are:

1. ADP – HR/Benefits Solution, RightThingRecruit, SourcePoint, VirtualEdge, WorkforceNow
2. Ascentis – Ascentis Recruiting
3. Bond International Software – Bond Adapt
4. General Information Services – Pangea Human Capital Solutions
5. HR Services, Inc. – myStaffingPro

The Hot List inspired the Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team to take a look at the latest developments in Human Resource Information System (HRIS) solutions.

An HRIS fits into a category of business software that helps organizations track employee data such as name, position, hire date, manager and salary.  HRIS software helps control the data entry, data tracking, and data information needs of the HR, payroll, management and accounting functions within a business.

HRIS software is normally packaged as a data base, but because hundreds of companies sell some form of HRIS, every system has different capabilities. Pick your HRIS carefully based on the capabilities you need in your company.

Costs drop in the Cloud

The introduction of scalable software-as-a-service (SaaS) HRIS tools in recent years has made it easier for smaller firms to implement HR systems without draining their IT budgets. The market has changed dramatically, and there are a lot more options for small companies today than there were five years ago.

The interest by smaller companies in HRIS tools is part of a broader uptick in the HR technology market. Nearly a third (31 percent) of companies plan to increase their spending on HR software in the coming year, shows a Towers Watson survey of 628 global organizations released in August.

The top three areas of investment include:

• Rolling out additional functionality from existing vendors
• Upgrading HR management systems
• Expanding existing self-service functions.

They are making these investments because they believe they will create greater efficiency, encourage collaboration, improve quality and lower costs.

Beyond the core costs of owning and operating technology, it seems that not only is HR technology seen as “needed to play,” but also that organizations recognize that investment in it is needed for them to remain current, expand capabilities and continue to improve operations.

There are limitations, though, to entry-level HRIS products. SaaS tools are configurable but not customizable, meaning they have some flexibility but cannot be tailored completely to match all unique business methods. So companies need to choose a tool that either accommodates their existing processes, or be willing to adapt their processes to work with the tool.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing a post about job hunting from June Owensboro, a staff researcher and writer for TermLifeInsurance.org.  We’ve held onto this post while we excerpted 14 chapters of  ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management,” a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO)

But now we’re ready to go with June’s article – “Job Hunting Requires a License, Too.”  Enjoy.

Thinking about getting a job flipping burgers?  Heads up — you’re competing against a guy with credit card bills, a car payment, mortgage, and four kids who lost his job last year. Though the economy and housing market have seen encouraging signs of improvement, unemployment rates have seen little of the same positive growth.

The Current Population Survey (CPS) released a news report about employment on May 14 of this year. According to the report, the 8.1 percent unemployment rate changed little since April.  In January 2011, that number was marginally worse at nine percent.

The message is clear for all those looking for employment right now: the competition is stiff and things are not getting any easier.

Given the state of today’s economy, people are desperate for employment.  But when it comes to competing with the rest of unemployed America for the limited positions available, it takes more than luck to land a solid job.  Monster.com, a leading expert website in the job advice field, recommends starting your job search with a positive, patient, proactive mindset.

Strategy

The first step in the hunting process is to start with a well-thought-through strategy for approaching your searches. Figure out – based on your experience, education and goals – how to narrow down the field of jobs for which you’re applying.

For starters, jobseekers without degrees are extremely limited in their options. The Chronicle of Higher Education stated last June that an estimated 59 percent of all jobs require at least some amount of post-secondary education.

Next, location.  It may not be the wisest choice to find a job in your city and you may have to adjust your scope to include moving to another city or state for the sake of opportunity.  On the other hand, it might be unrealistic to even consider uprooting your family or losing the support of friends and the community.

Maybe your car can’t handle a long commute or perhaps you are still pursuing your education and need to work abnormal hours. Some people enter college with a dream of what they will do for a living, but compare your degree choice to the current demand for your expertise. No matter what the specifics are, carefully compare the costs to benefits and make a rational choice about what career to aim for.

Resume

Once you have established which kinds of work you want to apply for, you will know how to build your resume accordingly. The Rockport Institute outlines specific ways to construct a resume that effectively and efficiently represent your employment and will set you apart from the competition.

The most important thing to remember when writing and submitting your resume to a potential employer is to customize it every time. Granted, it takes a little more time to adapt each resume to each position you’re applying for, but the results are much more effective than the one-size-fits-all approach.

Consider the fact that for every position offered right now about 100 to 1,000 resumes are submitted. Imagine being the poor soul trying to wade through all of those and decide on a handful to investigate further. Impact Hiring Solutions suggests the average time spent glancing over a resume at 10 to 20 seconds.

Part of the reason so little time is spent evaluating resumes is that most employers have a checklist of “must-haves” and if after a 10-second scan the resume does not include these qualifications, the resume is discarded. Given this knowledge, a wise resume writer will start with a strategy that gives the reader the details they need to know first. This is why it’s important to customize your resume to each specific position and highlight only the most relevant experience.

Searching

Once you have established which kinds of work you want to apply for and have your job-specific resumes ready, you can begin searching.

Aside from the well-known search engines like indeed.com, monster.com, and careerbuilder.com, a few innovative sources are available for hunting that are not as widely known.

Reuters recently highlighted the effectiveness of social media as a rising force in job hunting. Facebook and Twitter provide a unique outlet for discovering potential career openings primarily because of the networking opportunities they create. The more you advertise yourself, the more likely you are to find the jobs that most apply to you.

Craigslist is another great option, especially for those looking for entry-level positions or part-time employment. You can search for employment opportunities by city and type, or post an advertisement for yourself with your resume attached.

Networking

Quintessential Careers, a site dedicated since 1996 to helping job-seekers, asserts that networking is one of the most crucial ways you can be successful in your employment hunting. The more you put out your information to potential employers and organizations that can help direct you to possible job matches, the more likely you will be to find something that is an optimal fit for you.

Compiling a list of people you can talk to about all things job related will give you a broader realm of possibilities as well. They can critique your resume, suggest places that might be looking for your skills, or refer you to head-hunters who can share your information even more.

June Owensboro is a Staff Researcher/Writer for TermLifeInsurance.org.  She can be reached at juneowensboro@gmail.com.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 14 – So You Thought It Was Okay to What?

 I have been amazed at what some folks think passes for acceptably behavior in the workplace.  With so many stories to tell and so little space, I thought I would group these stories into four categories:

1.     Interpersonal issues among employees
2.     Social Media and technology
3.     Ways to “beat the system”
4.     Alcohol, drugs and safety

Just for fun, I’ve also included some travel stories of passenger mistreatment that make you wonder what the airlines are thinking.

Interpersonal Issues

The workplace is made up of human beings and, as such, many unpredictable things can occur.  These interpersonal issues can lead to some strange situations.  I the early stages of my career, the concept of sexual harassment was just becoming accepted, and little case law existed.

So, what do you do when a very attractive woman who has a job that consists of installing computers, cables, printers and the like chooses to wear micro minis to work?

In those days, the in the shop would whistle and hoot and holler.  This is easy to deal with, and once the guys understood the rules and she understood the dress code, I thought there would be no problem.  Unfortunately, a few weeks later she had enhancement surgery and, as a result, the mini-dresses became even more micro.  When the general manager of the facility heard about her “new look,” he raced upstairs to her work area and pronounced for all the world to hear, “Where is she?  I want to see them.”  Fortunately, no lawsuit followed.

Other areas of potential interpersonal conflict that I discuss in the book include body odor, cultural differences, office affairs (best to avoid those email containing naked pictures), illegal activities, etc.

Social Media and Technology

Interpersonal issues in the workplace have been complicated by the use of social media and technology.

While I think Facebook, Twitter, texting and other such services are wonderful advancements in communication, they can be problematic in the workplace.  On many occasions we have had to remind employees that unless they take special precautions, Facebook posting are available for most anyone to see.  What you do on your own time is your business, but when the reputation of the company is damaged, it becomes a work-related issue.

Ways to ‘Beat the System’

Employees can also be very entrepreneurial.  Perhaps a better way to say this is that they feel a need to “beat the system.”  We once terminated and employee for running a catering business out of my customer’s kitchen.

Don’t have a car?  No problem—borrow the company car and use it for personal business.

Many employees don’t realize that stealing time is the same as stealing money, and you can see this in the creative use of time cards and time clocks.

Falsifying documents is another big problem in many organizations.  Many of my clients are government contractors, and the penalties for incorrect documentation can be substantial.

Alcohol, Drugs and Safety

Perhaps the area where I have seen the most damage has been in the area of alcohol and drugs.  Many careers have been severely damaged by drinking in the workplace, and more than once I have had to send someone home who either smelled of liquor or failed an alcohol test.  Drug use is similar, but not always as blatant.

As for safety, 99 percent of accidents are preventable, but you have to pay attention to what you are doing and follow the rules.

Travel

I have flown nearly three million miles over the years on various airlines, and I am constantly amazed at what this industry passes off as customer service.  Read this chapter for the horror stories.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 13 – What the Future Holds

During my thirty-year career in human resources, I have watched the evolution of the workplace in awe and amazement.  In 1980, the two-cocktail lunch was still common and technology was limited to the telephone and the copy machine.

In the area of technology alone, if you had told me then that I could work on a thing called a computer with 24/7 access to the world on a thing called the Internet anywhere in the world, I would have thought you had one too many of the cocktails I mentioned.

I thought it would be fund to predict what will happen over the next 30 years based on what I have seen to date and the trends I have seen going forward.  If I am still around then, I will be eighty-four and hopefully working on another book with similar predictions.  For those of you who are still around, give me a call and let’s see how I did.

Specifically, I will discuss these predictions:

• No one needs to work anymore.
• Everybody and everything is protected.
• Unions are back in style.
• Lawsuits continue…with the government’s help.
• No one is in the office – where are they?
• The younger generations have take over, and are they different!
• Work life and the family are keys to talent acquisition.
• Regulation is the lifeblood of the profession.
• Technology will be more interesting.
• What is an employee, anyway?

You will have to read the book to get my take on the first nine items on the above list.  But I will say this about the last point.  The contingency workforce will expand dramatically, and more and more people see themselves as free agents moving from one employer to another on a contractual basis.  The days of working for a company for 40 years and getting a gold watch are gone.  For the new generation of HR leaders, the emphasis will be on attracting the right talent rather than on keeping them forever.

Next: Chapter 14 – So You Thought It Was Ok to What?

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 12 – How to Manage Them Internationally

While I realize that many of you will not have international employees and this chapter may not apply to you, there may come a time when you decide to expand your operation.

Whether this expansion comes in nearby Mexico or Canada or you move to Europe or Asia, managing international employees is somewhat different, and you need to be aware of the potential issues.

In this chapter, I will discuss two types of employees:

• Locals you are relocating overseas
• Locals who are actually natives of the country you are operating in

Relocating Expatriates

Locals who are relocated overseas are known as expatriates or “expats”  The selection of the expat is critically important, given that their annual costs can easily be two to three times their salary.  While the proper selection criteria are beyond the scope of this book, here are a few things to consider:

Career Blockage

The assignment has to make sense form a career perspective.  Often, expats are sent overseas for two to three years and return to find a job that is not as “big” as they were used to. Repatriation is a key to success.  Upon their return, be sure their assignment allows them to take advantage of their new skills.

Other key points discussed in this chapter include:

• Culture Shock
• Lack of Pre-Departure Cross-Cultural Training
• Overemphasis on Technical Qualifications
• Family Problems
• Compensation

Working with the Local Nationals

Over time, most organizations replace all or most of their expats with local nationals.  There are some general rules in dealing with your overseas employees.

Rule #1: Think Globally, Manage Locally

Rule #2: Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

Rule #3: Don’t Fall into the Religion Trap

Rule #4: The Paradigm May be Different There

Rule #5: You Really Can Hold Them Accountable

Rule #6: People Are People

Dealing with employees’ issues can be a bit easier in most of the world, but only because there are a series of very strict rules employers need to abide by.  Again, this will vary by region and country.

Read the chapter for details.

Next: Chapter 13 – What the Future Holds