We've added two new players to the morning team.  Both production assistants.  We've trained people before obviously, but I don't think we've trained two brand new people and two different jobs at the same time.  Luckily for us, these two guys picked it up pretty quickly, but it still adds a bit more onto our plate.  Pete and I have been spoiled for a while because the same people have been doing the same jobs.  We get used to how they adapt to us and we tend to forget how different our styles are and how hard it must be for a new employee to figure us out.   Pete tends to be a bit more laid back then me and we direct a show very differently but these two guys are doing a good job figuring us out.  It is refreshing to see people are still interested in working in TV. 

Very interested in the VP debate tonight.  The scary thing is that Biden has everything to lose and nothing to gain.  While Palin is the exact opposite.  If she even has a mildly mediocre debate, she may seem to be the winner.  Very tough spot for the Senator from Delaware.

The challenge is, what do you do when it happens?

In BusinessCast episode #76 - When a Good Employee Leaves, Robert and I tackle this difficult Human Resources issue.

We provide practical insights and tools that will help you to effectively:

• Be better prepared for those times when employees do leave
• Address short-term and long-term to-do's; and
• Identify how you can turn the potentially 'bad news' into exciting new opportunities.

Make sure you also, check out this useful resource: an Employee Ending Checklist - that will help you keep organized during the transition.

Remember: Subscribe to the BusinessCast Podcast at iTunes

 Although this job turned out to be a valuable one, the introduction to the company did, however, leave a bad taste in my mouth. Employee on boarding, as the recruitment process is often referred to, should aim to make new employees feel welcome at their new job. A basic orientation should be organized and ready to implement before the employee starts his/her first day with your company.

Introductions

Before burying the new employee in paperwork and HR formalities, begin with introductions. Starting a new job is just as intimidating as the first day of school, so make them feel welcome, needed and useful. A proper welcome builds trust. You also want to assign a type of mentor to help the new employee learn the ropes. There always some people who are natural teachers.

If an employee is comfortable, there is less chance of them leaving within the first year. Rapid turnover within a company is a loss. You will have to take the time to try to fill the position and then train someone again.

Formalities

After acquainting the new hire with coworkers, benefits and the corporate culture, move into the required paperwork. The new employee will no longer be anxious about what to expect and can spend an hour or so filling out the federal and state law required forms including the I-9 and W-4 forms. Also, have your standard company paperwork (personal information, medical plan information, retirement plan information, confidentiality agreement and company handbook) ready to go.

Lunch

It is always a good idea for the manager, to whom the new employee will be reporting, to take a new hire out to lunch. You can get to know one another outside the office and create a bond from the beginning.

Training

Though it may take anywhere from 90 days to a year before an employee is an expert at his/her job, you want to make sure they feel productive as soon as they begin. There is nothing more discouraging than sitting idly at work while everyone around you is busy. Provide adequate training and set standards early. Outline the position's role within the company and establish goals.

Avoid

*Avoid a one to two day orientation packed with HR presentations. Make orientation as concise and interesting as possible. Try to have orientation and training materials available through the Intranet. This allows new employees to work at their own pace and they are able to easily refer back to material.

*You should avoid a hostile environment, especially if you hired outside the company for a position that could have been filled internally. So you want to make sure all current employees are aware of the situation, along with your reasons for hiring as you did, and that there is no animosity.

Remember, a happy employee is a productive employee.

You’re a busy entrepreneur. So, you know how difficult it is to retain an enthusiastic, skilled and productive employee. And, since employee retention is directly linked to the quality of your employee orientation program, here’s a question for you:

[polldaddy poll="805392"]

In BusinessCast podcast #59, Get New Employees Up and Running, Robert and I outline all of the critical phases of an effective employee orientation program – from pre-employee interview straight through to post probation period.

Remember: Subscribe to the BusinessCast Podcast at iTunes

Kolkata, India - Many Canadian companies, especially in British Columbia where I live, faced with rapid reduction of manpower in the highly-trained workers required to provide their customers with the level of services or products expected.  Have in recent years, gone to first an independent attitude by starting small businesses or franchises and then a new concept for many of then and certainly a new concept for an industry like coal mining, an idea called the multi-job concept.

Now, Western Coalfields Ltd, a coal India subsidiary, is planning to implement this new idea of employees, trained and completing, more than one job on the job site, is taking hold in a few of the minds of India's executives worried about where they will get the workers they need to keep production at current levels and even increase it in the future.

To date, an explosives-carrier's job required him only to transport explosives, the rest of the time he just waits.  Now, he can be trained for additional tasks related to carrying explosives.

WCL officials contacted said that workers who multi-job could be paid higher wages and the company needed to head in this direction if they were to meet production levels in the future.

In conclusion, technical trained employees are always hard to find in any industry that relies upon skilled workers to complete jobs that are essential to an industries success.  Many companies around the world, not just India, will be watching companies that are heading down this road to see if the benefits are there to allow all industries to move to this form of employment.  If it allows workers to become even more valuable to the companies they work for and get paid accordingly then its a good thing, I guess, but will it take jobs away from individuals who might not get jobs accept for the labour intensive India labour market.

I've gotten tons and tons of hits since I last posted.  Apparently, I'm now decently ranked in Google for a Ronald McDonald image search.  Also from that same post, a lot of people search for the freaky clown bed Homer built Bart.

I was gone half of last week. I was in North Carolina. We stayed at the Biltmore. Toured the house and gardens. Pretty amazing place.

This image (click for full-size) is a panorama of the Biltmore with pictures I took stitched together using a great little program called Hugin. It was the first time I ever tried doing this and it was a handheld series of photos, so I don't need the criticism. It did turn out darn good though.

This week, I was getting ready for a convention I'm going to tomorrow. Somehow I ended up signing myself and my wife up to go to a paranormal convention to sell shirts. They're awesome and everyone loves them, so I'm hoping we'll sell out. I was having a hard time getting the shirts out of PDA without all the employees scarfing them up.  Of course, a perk to selling them is I get one for myself! ;-)

We also just got two new employees at PDA, one of which I've been pretty extensively training. (With my experience as a high school Biology teacher, training is a given--and I really enjoy it.) They're both really nice girls. We all get along really well and go out to lunch together and hang out sometimes on weekends and holidays. It would be cool if the new girls like us enough to hang out with us.

Speaking of dinner with friends, I'm going to dinner with my wife's friends in a little while, so I'll wrap it up!

So when it comes to finding new people to help in our quest for frugality, we have looked to many new venues for locating the right person. No longer relying on newspaper classifieds or using a word of mouth, we place ads and notices on several internet web sites, like Craig’s List.

Normally we get a fair number of responses. Some are other companies looking to find work for themselves, but more often the responses are genuine people inquiring about the job. This inquiry is good. The divide between employer and employee has shrunk. The two way street of what the hirer offers and what the prospective worker will gain has shrunk.

However, and here is the however you knew was coming, what happened to the simple use of manners in these communications?

The Frugal Yankee placed an ad for a viral intern. Someone who would help us get our frugal word through internet campaigns. Not one of the emails sent to us had a “Dear Sir” or Dear Ma’am” or “To Whom it may concern”. Not one of these inquiries had even the simplest form of civility. Here is one, from Ben. “what is the campaign for?” That’s it.  The sentence is not even capitalized. There is no signs of greeting, interest in the project or in my humble opinion, respect for the person on this end. It is very sad to think of the arrogance, lack of manners or stupidity behind this cursory inquiry. Maybe Ben feels this is all you need in life. Direct, grammatically incorrect questions make for good relationships. Wait until he gets married!?

Well, Ben, the answer to your question “what is the campaign for”, is simple. It is not for you. You show have shown me nothing other than you need to grow up. Hiring you would be a huge mistake. I’d end up spending money and enjoying it less.

You will find great pointers there.

We all got along very well here. Very few office conflicts. That is until that Pearl chick arrived. Oh, I have never been one to suffer a fool, but I have had to bite my tongue since Pearl joined the staff. If you want an opinion, just wait and you will get one. How someone with that red up-do and that beak on her face can talk about anyone is beyond me.  Just the other day I overheard her taking on a well known model turned actress. "Honey, I can't see wearing nine inch heels on a nine inch wide foot." She was opining to no one in particular, peering into a People magazine." You ever seen a duck in heels? Of course you won't and there is the reason why, stomping like some cart horse down the runway, on those skinny duck legs and, oh glory be, those flat wide swimmin' in the pond feet."

I just turned around and eased back to my office and closed the door before she looked up. It is best not to be nailed with those beady black eyes, and the way she cocks her head to size you up. I think the entire office has been doing better copy writing since Pearl came to work. At least they take more time with their heads bent over their word processors and less time playing practical jokes on each other.

Yep, this place has changed.

 استعرضت في المقالة السابقة أهمية الاستقبال الجيد للموظفين الجدد. أحاول في هذه المقالة أن أناقش في هذه المقالة أهم العناصر لهذا الاستقبال الجيد.

التدريب التوجيهي

في بداية التحاق الموظف بالمؤسسة فإنه يمر بفترة التدريب التوجيهي Orientation. هذا التدريب قد يطول لعدة أشهر أو يكون قصيرا لعدة أسابيع أو أيام بحسب خبرة الموظف الجديد وعمله في مجال مشابه من قبل وحسب حجم المؤسسة. ولكن في جميع الأحوال فإن التدريب التوجيهي مطلوب. يمكن تقسيم التدريب التوجيهي إلى ثلاثة أقسام رئيسية:

أولاً مواضيع إدارية: مثل حقوق العامل والتزاماته، مواعيد العمل، لائحة الجزاءات، الرواتب والمكافآت والبدلات، خدمات المؤسسة مثل العلاج، مكافآت التقاعد، أماكن الخدمات المختلفة وكيفية الحصول عليها. هذا القسم واضح الأهمية فلابد من معرفة الموظف على ما له وما عليه، وعلى الرغم من ذلك فإن بعض المؤسسات قد تنسى أداء هذا الدور وتترك الموظف ليتعرف على حقوقه وخدمات المؤسسة بالصدفة وعن طريق الاستفسار من الزملاء عند الحاجة وهو ما قد ينشأ عنه ضياع بعض حقوقه أو حصوله على معلومات خاطئة. هذا القسم قد يقوم به مسئولون في الموارد البشرية. قد يستغرق هذا القسم عدة أيام أو عدة ساعات أو أقل حسب حجم المؤسسة وكثرة الأنظمة بها.