What exactly is employee engagement?

Hundreds of human resource consulting firms tout the benefits of employee engagement leading to higher levels of productivity, profitability and lower turnover rates. Gallup has done extensive research with thousands of work groups outlining the conditions that create a highly...

Governance Q&A: Succession planning

Some of my board members went to a governance workshop and came back saying a succession plan was urgent, in case I got hit by a bus. I have a good administrator who acts for me during vacation, but frankly,...

Pygmalion in the workplace

In the 1960s Robert Rosenthal, a researcher at Harvard University, conducted a revolutionary study in the classroom. At the beginning of the year, he administered a non-verbal IQ test to students in 18 classrooms at the elementary level. Based on...

Human Resources Q&A: Mentoring, coaching, trainining and development

There seems to be some confusion in the terminology that gets used to refer to practices in human resource development. Can you shed some light on the meanings of the words mentoring, coaching, training, development, and counselling? It's an occupational...

Lessons learned in a nonprofit world: Learning through the experiences of others (Part II)

Think about this for a moment: "If you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done." With the current economic state of affairs and general malaise of the world, the need to do things differently...

Human Resources Q&A: Onboarding or orientation?

My reading is suggesting to me that "new employee orientation" is being replaced by "new employee onboarding." How are they different? Or is onboarding just orientation dressed up differently? You're right; HR language is definitely favouring "onboarding" these days. "Orientation"...

The virtues of going virtual

There was a time - scarcely 20 years ago - when telling someone you were part of a "virtual" organization, run entirely on something called "the Internet," would have caused them to stare vacantly at you while awaiting further explanation....

Bowling and the power of the positive

I have been studying happiness at work for many years now. One area I have been interested in recently is the performance review process. For most people I know, the review process is one in which your boss spends five...

The ins and outs of wrongful dismissal for charities and nonprofits

Introduction The dismissal of an employee is never an easy or pleasant task. However, in these difficult economic times, the dismissal of an employee may be necessary to maintain the economic viability of your organization. The purpose of this Charity...

Lessons learned in a nonprofit world: Learning through the experiences of others

Lost my job! Might lose my job! I'm over my head with debt! Quick! Grab a smoke, food, drink... Strange advice, isn't it? Yet, when stress and anxiety hit, many of us (most of us?) do exactly this; we turn...