Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

Social media is constantly at the center of major news headlines. Whether it is telling the world a story of horrendous airline customer service, or helping non-profit organizations generate awareness, it is undeniable that social media has changed the way we do business, communicate, and sell.

Make sure to share with us in the comment section your favorite news story this week, or what you think is “Hot in HR” right now!

HR professionals will see major changes in their job functions as 2013 comes to a close, even if their job title remains the same. In an article for Forbes.com, Ron Ashkenas wrote about how the HR profession is in the middle of a major transition that will change the direction of HR goals and the work of HR professionals. The days of HR professionals spending their time calculating payroll and monitoring sick days is over.

We’ve all been through them…the dreaded annual performance review. Now, I am not saying that all reviews are bad…it’s just, overall, are they really that helpful? The answer should be YES! However, that is not always the case. A 2011 survey by Globoforce, showed 24% of respondents dread their review more than anything else.The purpose of an annual performance review is to open up the dialog between the manager and employee, as well as documenting the areas of needed focus in the employees position such as team work or job skill. And currently, not many companies have a formal process in place for the Annual Performance Review.

Author: Leslye Schumacher

Managing talented salespeople is challenging. Managing GenY/Millennial salespeople has many sales managers down right frustrated and confused. Much of what you read about how to manage employees is based on research about non-sales employees. That information doesn’t always match up with research done specifically on Millennial salespeople.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that sales jobs will increase by 13% from 2010-2020 and add 1.9 million in new sales positions. Given that Millennials will soon make up the largest share of the working population, if you aren’t managing a Millennial salesperson yet, you soon will be. Here are some key research findings on how to manage Millennial salespeople successfully.

Summer is almost upon us, which means students are out of school and many are in search of internships. Back in the day, interns were perceived as the guys who went on coffee runs, made photocopies, and ran the fax machine. Well, times have changed! Internship programs have become valuable resources for top businesses across the nation. Interns may be young and work by the hour, and at times for free, but that is no reason to underestimate the skills and contributions they can bring to your organization.

How much do you spend on recruiting and replacing an employee? It is estimated that most organizations spend between $4,000 and $40,000 per employee. With the upper end of that range equaling an entire year’s salary in some parts of the United States, managers are understandably reluctant to simply accept turnover as an everyday cost of doing business.

Make sure to share with us in the comment section your favorite news story this week, or what you think is “Hot in HR” right now!

I work in the marketing department. I am not in sales, and I am not in customer service. However, I have worked very closely with both sales and customer service in previous jobs. I used to listen to their phone calls in order to hear how they made the sale, or how they took care of the customers. For the most part, the phone calls went well, but I have been on those calls where the customer is not happy! Did the customer service rep or the sales rep handle the call correctly? Not all the time!

Imitation often gets a bad rap. I mean, everybody loves a good impression, from a guttural “Ah-nuld” Schwarzenegger baritone to a pinched Michael Jackson falsetto, but even the folks that can pull off a spot-on impression are never viewed in the same light as “true” artists: the singers, actors, dancers, etc. that create a performance out of whole cloth. So much emphasis is placed on creation and innovation that the positive benefits of good old-fashioned imitation are relegated to second-hand status. The truth is the majority of “true” artists – whether on stage, in the studio, or in the board room – learned their craft first by watching and emulating the successful practices of others. Imitation is how they learned, and imitation can become a powerful tool for the rest of us, too.