What should be the ideal size of my HR team?

22 August 2015, Singapore: Got this article via my email. Very information and will help me justify my department headcount.

Click the hyperlink: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-should-ideal-size-my-hr-team-tushar-bhatia

(source: From Mr. Tushar Bhatia LinkedIn article)

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FREE "MOOC" Training in Psychometric Testing at Work

24 July 2015, Singapore: I received an email request to share this in my e-HRM Inc Blog. PsyAsia International is offering the world's first Psychometric Testing MOOC. The focus is on Psychometric Testing for the Workplace and hence very relevant to Human Resources and allied professionals.

It is a 10-week, free online course. The principal mode of instruction is the same as most MOOCs - video lessons, followed by interactive quizzes. They also have a course forum for delegate interaction and their facilitator will arrange LIVE sessions for additional learning and Q&As.

The company is a leader in innovative Psychometric Test Training in Asia and the lead facilitator for this course is a UK and Australia-educated, award-winning registered psychologist.

Kindly visit their Psychometrics MOOC webpage for full details of the course and facilitator, and to register: http://psyasia.com/psychometrics-mooc/

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Coursera: International Leadership & Organizational Behavior

13 June 2015, Singapore: Since middle of April 2015, I wanted to share this course or should I called it "Verified Course" entitled International Leadership and Organizational Behavior (ILOB) but work and personal commitment kept me busy. Before going into details - please let me "boss" about my achievement in the course: -

The ILOB course is offered by Università Bocconi, Italy (it is conducted in English ... I don't speak - read - write Italian!). It is a 6 weeks course and the syllabus are listed below: -

Week 1:  Leadership Acumen. International perspective on leadership, common traps & challenges, and opportunities of intercultural leadership. 

Week 2:  Navigating Culture. Impact of cultural differences on organizations, decoding culture, culture classifications and stereotyping, developing intercultural intelligence.    

Week 3:  Communication. Communication and its impact on leadership identity and relationships, managing communication to improve decision making, steps for developing your intercultural communication skills.

Week 4:  Motivation. Views on individual motivation, cultural differences in motivation, developing motivation and commitment in teams.

Week 5:  Networking. Patterns of interpersonal relationships in/across organizations, strategically developing social networks and social capital, norms for networking across cultures.

Week 6:  Conflict. Effective / defective conflict management approaches, dealing with ethical dilemmas.

I strongly encourage anyone who wish to go 'expat' or international assignment enroll this course. The course are supported by videos interviews and sharing by former student of Università Bocconi / Bocconi Alumni Association.

Assistant Professor Franz Wohlgezogen is the Lecturer for the course.

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Singapore Management University (SMU) + Accenture: New Directions in Change Management

13 June 2015, Singapore: On 03 June, I was invited to attend the SMU Breakfast Event. I went for the briefing session by Carly Switzer, "New Directions in Change Management".

The session lasted for for about 90 minutes - the information and knowledge I gained make me want to attend her public course.

Below is just some of the information shared by Ms. Switzer: -

Click the hyperlink: https://www.smu.edu.sg/conference/exdbreakfast_2015?itemid=8531

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Summery of SHRi Article: Are your job ads discriminatory?

01 April 2015, Singapore: This is a summary of an article from SHRi (Singapore Human Resources Institute) Human Capital magazine (Jan-Mar 2015 Issue). Good article for those in the talent acquisition field. If you are a new HR practioner taking up talent acquisition roles in Singapore please take note of the seven (7) criteria ... as the author wrote: it is a no-no's in Singapore recruitment advertisements. 

Nationality

Words or phases that excludes Singaporeans or indicate preference for non-Singaporeans, for example, 'Non-Singaporean / specific nationality preferred / welcome only', or 'EP / S Pass / WP / DP / LTSVP holders preferred / welcome / only.

Language

If a job entails proficiency in a particular language, the ad should explain why. For example' "Mandarin is an advantage" doesn't cut it.

Age

Words or phrases that suggest preference for candidates of a particular age, for example, 'Below 30 years old only'.

Race

Race should not be a criterion for selection of candidates.

Religion

Religion should not be a criterion for recruitment unless the job requires employees to perform religious functions as of the job.

Gender

Words or phrases that suggest perference for job candidates of  a particular gender.

Marital Status

Generally an irrelevant criterion, so for example,"Preferably singles' is not acceptable.

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TED Talk: Dan Pink on Motivation

02 April 2015, Singapore: This is a video (18 minutes) about motivation. I was introduced to the video when I enroll for the COURSERA course 'International Leadership & Organizational Behaviour'.

After viewing the video, I have to agree with the presenter Daniel Pink. As a HR Professional, now I know why some jobs cannot be rewarded with money! Watch the video!

Click the hyperlink: Dan Pink on Motivation

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Singapore: Why Expats Call This Utopia?

19 Mar 2015, Singapore: I guess this article tell you all you need to know about Singapore in a summery! But why expats still keep coming to Singapore ... is it business, profit or just location?

Click the hyperlink BBC: Why Expat Call This Utopia?

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Singapore HR Forum: HRmatters21

14 February 2015, Singapore: If you are a HR professional based in Singapore or have regional responsibility covering Singapore - you might want to visit this website 'HRmatter21'.

I got to know this website after purchase a book "A Guide to Singapore Employment Act and Its Practical Application" by Martin Gabriel.

It is an addition resources for HR professional. 

Click the hyperlink: http://hrmatters21.net/

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Book Review: "A Guide to Employment Act and Its Practical Application"

14 February 2015, Singapore: Out of boredom, I bought this book "A Guide to Employment Act and Its Practical Application". It has been ten years since 2005, I purchase reading material on Singapore Employment Act (EA).

To my surprise, the author Martin Gabriel did a great job on the book. I would recommend this book to someone who has basic knowledge of the EA and who need to advance their knowledge in the application of EA clauses and understand why specific clauses were written.

My take away from reading this book: It helped me to explain better to my German Managing Director and senior management team on the application of EA clauses from a HR Consultant perspective. I was able to impress them with my EA knowledge.

Conclusion, your job require you to have advance understanding of Singapore EA - buy and READ this book ...

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Website That Support HR Professional Who Need to Write JD and Conduct Job Analysis

12 January 2015, Singapore: If your job require you to draft job descriptions or conduct job analysis, you may want to visit the following website www.onetonline.org

O*NET OnLine is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, and developed by the National Center for O*NET Development.

I was introduced to this website back in 2005 by a Mercer HR consultant.

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Alan Collins: How To Make Your HR Day Job More Enjoyable, Exciting & Fulfilling

10 Jan 2015, Singapore: "Happy Belated New Year"! I received another short article from Mr. Alan Collins ... to keep the article short, I just share the essential information but it make a lot of sense. 

 1.  Look for role models in or outside of your workplace.

Case study on Mr. A.   He is currently director of Leadership Development at a University and a former HR executive. His passion is classic rock ‘n roll music, especially tunes by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and The Rolling Stones.

He incorporates rock music into all of the presentations he makes to students and his corporate clients.  He uses rock lyrics and quotes to get across key ideas when coaching corporate executives.  He’s also working on his first book addressing new rules for career management based on…you guessed it…rock music.

All this makes Mr. A distinctive, interesting, in-demand and keeps him pumped up about his day job.

In your case:  Are there projects, presentations, programs, co-workers, clients, situations, products, and critical business needs that might be waiting to incorporate those things you’re truly passionate about doing AWAY from work?

2.  Connect with like-minded groups within your organization.

Next, find other people at your workplace who share a similar interests.  Ask others: “What do you like to do for fun? How do you spend your time away from work?” If the company is of any size and your interests are anywhere near the mainstream, you’ll likely discover others who share your passions.

In your case, you can start with people in your company’s Employee Activities Committee (or Sport & Recreation Committee).  Most organizations have volunteer groups like these whose job it is to provide fun activities which engage the workforce.  Participating could have offered you opportunities to:

• Help plan employees get together;
• Coordinate the company functions or employment engagement event (e.g., Christmas party)
• Sponsor charity fund raisers or volunteer works

3.  Above all, don’t walk around being a grouch — at least brainstorm possibilities.

A typical case: Ms. X hobby is into gardening and she is an expert in employee benefits. At work she wasted many years making herself and those around her miserable.  She walked around bitter and angry at the world, which prevented her internal customers and colleagues from wanting to work with her.

Instead of griping like Ms. X, try drawing two circles and listing the core aspects of your organization in one circle and the core aspects of your passion in the other. Then brainstorm ideas for how you could bring your interests and passions to work or how you could connect them to your current company’s business. Finally, see if there are places where the two circles intersect.

In Ms. X case, her brainstormed list of possibilities could have included:

• Leading an in-house task force to improve the landscaping around our office building
• Consulting with our factory locations on the landscaping and design of their facilities
• Working with the building staff on plants in offices.
• Identifying ways to spruce up outdoor corporate meetings and conferences

I don’t know if any of these would have interested her.  But they certainly wouldn’t have hurt. And I’m sure she could have identified fifty other possibilities like these that could have generated more excitement for her at work.

Worst case scenario:  If you’re burnt out on the HR work you’re doing, look for another job rather than fuming.

To wrap up this sharing …

"Bringing your personal passions, your interests and your full authentic self to work and connecting with others who share them is just ONE WAY…but a terrific way… to infuse more excitement into your day job in HR."

"And when you’re truly energized, engaged and fulfilled on the job, there is no end to where you can take your HR career."

Think about it.

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