"Why?" "Because I said so." This exchange, perhaps a staple of parent/child relationships, has no place in management. In fact, communicating to employees the why of their work -- the context, value and relevance of their work -- is vital to both training efforts and...
Customizing your career used to be necessary for career changers and candidates transitioning between the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds. But, in the current job market, where there is no cookie cutter candidate and candidate supply in most fields exceeds...
Managers are commonly ill-equipped to understand the dynamics of their compensation costs, never mind monitor and control them.” I was struck by this statement by Chuck Csizmar in a recent post on the Compensation Cafe blog. Chuck was making a case for companies to focus on the return on investment (ROI) for employee compensation, and he went on to discuss the reasons for and consequences of managers making poor compensation decisions.
I have to agree with Chuck about managers’ abilities in this area as this phenomenon is at the heart of a challenge I have repeatedly faced when working with nonprofit organizations to overhaul and improve their compensation practices. But, rather than ruing the fact that managers lack these skills and looking for ways improve them, I suggest that there is no real need for the vast majority of managers to develop them in the first place.
The Boston Business Journal interviewed a number of prominent women leaders asking them to reflect on their career paths and what they learned along the way. These women work in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, and their observations could be useful...
As a committee member or hiring manager bogged down in a seemingly-endless search process, it can be easy to forget that the numerous documents you receive and review from applicants actually represent individuals—professional colleagues who are eager to share their skills and experience with your organization. You are exhausted, having to fit additional tasks into your already packed schedule, filling the duties of the vacant position as well as your own. You want an employee in place as quickly as possible and are working hard to remain objective.
A recent survey found that 73% of nonprofit organizations have a formal policy to review executive compensation. As a human resources and management consultant to nonprofits, what I found striking about this statistic is that it means 27% of organizations do not have a formal policy.
Question: How do you ask for a raise? Answer: From what I am seeing and hearing, the practical answer is that you don't. Many employers are not even hiring on a full-time basis let alone giving raises. Many have cut bonuses or have made them entirely discretionary. ...
