Finally Time to Stop the To-Do Lists

When I was in school, I was pretty disorganized and everyone who tried to "help" always suggested making to-do lists. I couldn't deal with them and never got fully through an entire one. They just weren't for me. Well, as the Harvard Business Review recently wrote, they don't rely work for anyone. Instead the blog post suggests a different route:

The alternative to the feckless to-do list is what I call "living in your calendar." That means taking your tasks off the to-do list, estimating how much time each of them will consume, and transferring them to your calendar. (Don't forget to leave time to process your email. And leave some empty space — one to two hours — each day to deal with the inevitable crises that will crop up.) In essence, you're making a production plan for your work.

As the blog post goes on to say, it's an eye-opening exercise that will be tough, but it's a necessary exercise to help you better determine what's important--and, almost as vital--what can be left out of your life. There are only 24 hours in the day, so stop spending hours doing to-do lists and start using that time to be more productive

Unpaid Internships: Legal or Not?

Clearing out the links this week, I found this interesting article from the Village Voice talking about unpaid internships and whether they flout the law? Students like it because it gives them valuable experiences, universities feel that they are a huge part of the academic curriculum, and businesses really like it because they get free labor. But the U.S. Department of Labor warned that it may not be so kosher:

[Some internships] could actually violate state- and federal-labor laws. The Department of Labor guidelines stress that "the internship experience is for the benefit of the intern," and for-profit employers are supposed to derive "no immediate advantage from the activities" of the unpaid interns. Indeed, business operations "may actually be impeded" in order to train the intern, who should "not displace regular employees."

It's a three-page article and certainly one to check out. Although some internships are beneficial for everyone involved, many employers who are trying to take advantage of free labor instead of hiring more workers may get a knock on their door soon. Make sure that your internship program is a fair one within the confines of the guidelines by reading through this article and consulting your local regulations.

Astronology - Does Office Etiquette Exist?

Astronology Volume XII Issue 21 January 24, 2012 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software.   The Astron Road Show There's one stop on the Astron Road Show this week.  On Tuesday, January 24th National Director Jennifer Loftus will present to the Greater New York chapter of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR-GNY) on HR Certification - Demystifying the Process and Understanding the Benefits.  Click here to learn more about the event or to register.....more    Does Office Etiquette Exist? Does the treatment you receive from your co-workers affect your productivity?  According to one Forbes article, 48% of poorly treated employees have at one time intentionally decreased their productivity due to ill treatment.  Additionally, 12% confirmed that rude behavior caused them to quit their jobs.  This unintended turnover can result in an estimated loss of $50,000 per worker.  Who would have thought that office etiquette could be such a large factor in organizational productivity!  Given the potential bottom line impact of office etiquette, what can organizations do to successfully manage interpersonal relations?....more      Have a Question? If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us!  Simply reply to this e-mail.  See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an upcoming issue of Astronology. Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting?  Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues.  For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.   The Fine Print We hold your e-mail address in trust.  Astron Solutions promises never to share or rent your personal information.  We also promise never to send you frivolous e-mails and will allow you to leave our list, at your option, at any time. To remove yourself from this list, please follow your personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert e-mail. Copyright 2012, Astron Solutions, LLC ISSN Number 1549-0467 Quick Links Client List Meet the Astron Team Contact Us   World of HR Blog Bringing you Human Resource news from around the globe...compliments of Astron Solutions. More

 

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo May Be Worth Hiring

Once in a while an article appears online that is so captivating, that multiple people send it to me to post on the blog. I believe that this article from Inc. set a new record for the amount of times that I received the same article to post on the blog. So it's about time I posted it.

The article is talking about the movie/book "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" and the lead character Lisbeth Salander who is a bright and creative girl but covered with tattoos and piercings. The point of the article is that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover--that we shouldn't dismiss someone from being qualified for a job just because of their body art. In fact, the author argues the opposite, that we should think of them for certain roles:

People with body art are generally not only creative, but also bold, and often decisive.  They are passionate, capable of thinking outside the box, and are often more open to the ideas of others than the general population. Those characteristics translate well to many professions—sales, marketing, advertising, public relations, and art direction, to name but a few.

This isn't to say that the only people you should hire are the ones with visible markings, but it is to say that sometimes you need to get past initial stereotypes and figure out if what you see in a person on the outside will make them a good employee for your organization. And in the race to get the best employees for your organization, maybe it's best that you don't dismiss an employee just because they may have a dragon tattoo on their body.

Guest Post: Professional Emailing Etiquette that is Too Often Abused

Hope you're having a great MLK Day today! We love our guest posts here at Astron Solutions: Welcome to the World of HR blog. Today we have a great one from Kimberly Wilson on e-mail etiquette. Kimberly is from accredited online colleges, she writes on topics including career, education, student life, college life, home improvement, time management etc. Here is her guest post:
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So much of our conversation today takes place through informal modes of text. With things like text messaging, instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, and emailing, we've become very comfortable with fast paced and impersonal conversation. While these modes of communication were at one time reserved solely for personal or informal discussions, conversations in a professional context have become more and more common through these impersonal text avenues. While this has made many professional conversations easier to get through, it has also stirred up several agreed upon technical rules and guidelines for professional emailing that go (annoyingly) ignored. These four professional emailing etiquette rules can be easy to overlook, but are (no doubt) some of the biggest pet peeves of your boss and coworkers.

Replying 101
This is the No. 1 emailing thing you will hear people in the office complaining about. Pay close attention to how and to whom you are replying when you send an email. Never reply all. This is basically a good guideline to go by always. Obviously, if you are the boss or supervisor, sometimes reply all is a necessary step, but for the most part employees shouldn't need to reply all. Email chains that end up circling the office are distracting and obnoxious for recipients who are not actually concerned with the content. Reply to the people you need to see your email. The reply all plague often happens when people are simply careless and not paying attention. A good way to avoid this is by only putting the people you want to reply in the to line and then CC everyone else that needs to see the text.

Subject Lines
Subject lines are one of the most important aspects of your email in both a personal and professional atmosphere. The subject line of an email helps your recipients understand what the email concerns and how urgent it is. Put a subject that is brief and to the point, but that is telling of the email's content. You should give your recipient the bottom line of the message when they read the subject line. If the email is urgent (and only if it is truly urgent), put the word urgent in the subject. You should be precise and detailed in your subject line without being longwinded. Do not leave the subject line blank. Recipients use the subject line to determine how (or if) they will read the message.

Astronology - Retaining Talented and High Performing Management Staff

Astronology Volume XII Issue 20 January 10, 2012 Dear Andrew, Astron Solutions provides high-quality, low-cost, innovative human resources consulting services to organizations like yours. Call us for advice, innovative program design, and user-friendly Web/PC based software.   What to Do With a Troublemaker Here comes trouble! Does your organization have that one person with the reputation of being a troublemaker? How are employees supposed to respond to such an individual?  And how can an organization protect itself from inadvertently hiring such individuals?  Astronology investigates the dynamics of the office troublemaker......more    Retaining Talented and High Performing Management Staff With the economy starting to pick up, proactive HR professionals want to make sure their key talent doesn't walk out the door.  But what are the most effective ways to ensure employee retention?  With all the motivational tools out there, it's hard to know which is the "right" one to use.  In this issue of Astronology we examine research results prepared by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement.  Not familiar with the Forum?  The Forum's goal is to generate a better understanding of how organizations can and should implement award / motivational programs for success.  Additional, the Forum strives to examine the extent to which these programs can achieve a broad range of organizational objectives......more      Have a Question? If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us!  Simply reply to this e-mail.  See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an upcoming issue of Astronology. Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting?  Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues.  For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.   The Fine Print We hold your e-mail address in trust.  Astron Solutions promises never to share or rent your personal information.  We also promise never to send you frivolous e-mails and will allow you to leave our list, at your option, at any time. To remove yourself from this list, please follow your personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert e-mail. Copyright 2012, Astron Solutions, LLC ISSN Number 1549-0467 Quick Links Client List Meet the Astron Team Contact Us   World of HR Blog Bringing you Human Resource news from around the globe...compliments of Astron Solutions. More

 

Going Abroad for Work

With the United States economy still in recovery and the job market still weak, many job seekers (whether they currently have jobs or not), find the prospects underwhelming and unfulfilling--at best. Sometimes there are no prospects to speak of and the search is just one, long frustrating march through resumes, cover letters, and interviews.

But, as the New York Times op-ed from yesterday described, sometimes it just takes thinking outside the box to find what you're looking for in your profession. And by "box", I mean "the US borders". While the United States and much of Europe is hurting for jobs, places like China needs people to come work. The author writes about how he decided to leave his dead-end job for an opportunity to work in a job that he felt would be more fulfilling.

He writes: "We live in grim times, but fortune favors the bold. So if you are reading this from some occupied encampment, a soul-crushing cubicle, your parents’ basement or anywhere else in America really, maybe you should consider paying me a visit."

After visiting New Zealand a few years back, loving the country, and finding out that they needed employees badly, I thought about leaving my unfulfilling, dead-end job for the beauty and intrigue of the land of the kiwis. In the end, though, it was too much of a sacrifice to make to leave my family, friends and life behind to pursue something of this magnitude. I had a student loan and a budding relationship, and although I think I could have convinced my fiancee (then girlfriend) to move with me, I'm not sure either one of us would have been happy with the impulsive decision now.

But the good part is to know there is that option. Life isn't about the borders of your town, state, or even country. Find what will fill your occupational needs and think outside the box to find it. But make sure you know exactly what you're getting into before you do so.

Celebrating a New Year

I want to start by wishing everyone a very Happy New Years and hope you had a very happy holiday season! The new year allows for a lot of new experiences in both your personal and professional life. Yes, your New Year resolution can be professional as well!

Some have taken that to the extreme. One of my friends gave her two weeks notice right after she got back from her new years break. She realized the job she was in was making her unhappy and she wanted to pursue her dreams. I wish her luck!

Changes don't have to be that extreme, though. A change in your cubicle layout or where you sit or the new co-workers you want to get to know can all help to make 2012 feel different. Figure out one thing you want professionally in 2012 and reach for it. I wish you good luck as well!