Human Resources Q&A: Evaluating a training request

From time to time my staff approach me with flyers that promote particular public training workshops and ask me if they can attend. These courses range from 'Advanced PowerPoint' to 'How to Deal with Difficult People'. It’s hard to know...

Calculating the cost-per-hire

A little knowledge may be a dangerous thing Cost-per-hire is the most commonly encountered metric in the recruiting arena. It can apply both to internal promotions or transfers, as well as new hires from outside the organization. Unfortunately, however, there...

Dealing with difficult clients

All of us, at some point in our working lives, will encounter and have to deal with difficult or irate clients. In the community and social services sector, frontline counsellors often encounter difficult clients on a regular basis. We see...

Human Resources Q&A: Getting around low salaries

What kind of recruitment incentives or 'difficult to fill' incentives are appropriate for a nonprofit organization to offer to potential employees? We have two positions where thorough targeted recruitment has not resulted in actual hires. Money is the issue; we...

Governance Q&A: The intricacies of deciding appropriate employee training

I supervise a number of employees, and always try to help them develop skills relevant to their current work and their career. One employee requested training on project management, and we agreed on a course. She asked to take it...

Human Resources Q&A: Onsite benefits create greater employee engagement

I'm curious about the proliferation of 'Best Employers' and 'Best Places To Work' lists. Are people tempted to apply for jobs with organizations that make it onto lists like these? Many of you probably noticed the coverage given to Canada’s...

Hire to empower

So you've done your business process re-engineering; you've down-sized/right- sized/restructured (or whatever it's being called this month); you are now a flat organization; you are client-driven and all your employees are empowered team- workers. Oh, and by the way, all...

Human Resources Q&A: Rewards versus recognition

Our organization pursues a policy of paying employees better than other comparable organizations. Our executive director believes that by positioning ourselves in this way we'll attract and retain the best people. While our turnover numbers are very low, I don't...

Human Resources Q&A: Stress-free performance evaluations

My organization's policy on performance evaluation is to do it every six months for all employees. It's coming up to that time and, as a supervisor, I find myself dreading the event. Having to give performance feedback to people whose...

Working rainbow: Diversity in the Canadian nonprofit workplace

The Americans may have their melting pot, but as any Canadian-schooled person knows, the Great White North is a mosaic of cultures. With the ethnic quotient ever on the rise through immigration, women still striving for more equality in the...