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Casual Articles - Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Human Resources at Work
The Ad and Face That Flushed a Thousand Toilets ulie was always there for me. She helped me process paperwork, contacted the proper home office departments on my behalf, and did everything she could to minimize the stress involved in my recovery. "You just concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything at this end", she would say to me whenever things got too confusing. She really understood my distraction and took over for me when I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sure there were times when another person would have lost her cool and become frustrated, but Julie never did.This story is about a plumber, and while that might not sound relevant to you, if you've ever advertised your business, if you're currently advertising your business or if you plan to advertise your business - you need to read this. Jim and Rebekah Ypma own Sonoran Desert Plumbing (SDP), about a year ago they asked me to design an advertisement that would help to separate them from the competition. SDP did not have a brand I recently returned to work after Crazy About Packaging This article relates to the Human Resource Functions competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It reflects one employee's satisfaction with the manner in which her HR department carried out their work. This competency examines how your employees feel with regards to the quality and implementation of the human resource role within your organization. A human resource department that is properly informed of employee issues, demonstrates a high integrity level, and communicates effectively with staff and management should expect a high satisfaction level in this competency area.“It’s the same old tissue, honey, it doesn’t make a difference, ok? It’s still going to work the same way”, my exasperated husband hissed into my ear as I grabbed cartons after cartons of some ‘designer’ tissue. DESIGNER TISSUE! Hah, can you even hear me say that? I can’t believe I actually wrote ‘designer tissue’. So, yes, for a graphic designer and writer who knows all about the kind of effort one puts into packaging and branding products, I su This short story, Human Resources at Work, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how a competent, compassionate staff can perform their HR functions and really make a difference in the lives of employees, creating goodwill that spreads throughout the workplace. Anonymous Submission: Human Resources at Work I've worked at a few different companies, and never had much interaction with human resources departments, other than hiring and benefits enrollment paperwork. I'd like to tell you about one staff member who really made a difference in my life. Stricken with a sudden and very debilitating sickness, I was completely confused about my benefits and responsibilities with regard to time off for treatment, and the coverage provided by my company-paid health insurance plan. I'd rarely even been sick before, and never hospitalized. I called work from my hospital bed to tell my manager what had happened. I asked a few questions about my options and he told me he hadn't a clue---and offered to transfer my call to the HR department. I really didn't know what to expect. I had heard some lunchroom complaints abut nasty attitude over the years, but had no reason to expect a problem in this situation. Still, I was nervous. I needn't have been. Julie was kind, helpful, and very efficient. She had a broad base of knowledge about my benefit programs and the sequence of procedures that I should follow. There were a few areas that seemed questionable, but she promised to get answers and get back to me. She fulfilled that promise quickly and efficiently. Over the next few weeks, which proved to be a trying period, Julie was always there for me. She helped me process paperwork, contacted the proper home office departments on my behalf, and did everything she could to minimize the stress involved in my recovery. "You just concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything at this end", she would say to me whenever things got too confusing. She really understood my distraction and took over for me when I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sure there were times when another person would have lost her cool and become frustrated, but Julie never did. I recently returned to work after Advertising? Consider Product Life Cycle and Customer Buying Habits this competency area.When you create advertising for small businesses, consider both the life cycle of your product or service along with customer buying habits.Today, both sellers and buyers alike want fast results. You should recognize that the actual process of turning your prospects into customers still takes time. Buying cycle times may be shorter today, but the process still exists. People often buy according to their past purchasing habits and p This short story, Human Resources at Work, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how a competent, compassionate staff can perform their HR functions and really make a difference in the lives of employees, creating goodwill that spreads throughout the workplace. Anonymous Submission: Human Resources at Work I've worked at a few different companies, and never had much interaction with human resources departments, other than hiring and benefits enrollment paperwork. I'd like to tell you about one staff member who really made a difference in my life. Stricken with a sudden and very debilitating sickness, I was completely confused about my benefits and responsibilities with regard to time off for treatment, and the coverage provided by my company-paid health insurance plan. I'd rarely even been sick before, and never hospitalized. I called work from my hospital bed to tell my manager what had happened. I asked a few questions about my options and he told me he hadn't a clue---and offered to transfer my call to the HR department. I really didn't know what to expect. I had heard some lunchroom complaints abut nasty attitude over the years, but had no reason to expect a problem in this situation. Still, I was nervous. I needn't have been. Julie was kind, helpful, and very efficient. She had a broad base of knowledge about my benefit programs and the sequence of procedures that I should follow. There were a few areas that seemed questionable, but she promised to get answers and get back to me. She fulfilled that promise quickly and efficiently. Over the next few weeks, which proved to be a trying period, Julie was always there for me. She helped me process paperwork, contacted the proper home office departments on my behalf, and did everything she could to minimize the stress involved in my recovery. "You just concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything at this end", she would say to me whenever things got too confusing. She really understood my distraction and took over for me when I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sure there were times when another person would have lost her cool and become frustrated, but Julie never did. I recently returned to work after Job Stress - What Can You Do About It? to tell you about one staff member who really made a difference in my life. Stricken with a sudden and very debilitating sickness, I was completely confused about my benefits and responsibilities with regard to time off for treatment, and the coverage provided by my company-paid health insurance plan. I'd rarely even been sick before, and never hospitalized.Today’s workforce faces a multitude of pressures: deadlines, office politics, nonproductive meetings, conflict, job ambiguity, miscommunication, increased workload, inadequate resources, customer complaints and long hours. . . to name just a few. On-the-job stress can be quite costly, too, because it often results in increased absenteeism, reduced efficiency, low morale, reduced effectiveness, and high staff turnover.Researchers have disc I called work from my hospital bed to tell my manager what had happened. I asked a few questions about my options and he told me he hadn't a clue---and offered to transfer my call to the HR department. I really didn't know what to expect. I had heard some lunchroom complaints abut nasty attitude over the years, but had no reason to expect a problem in this situation. Still, I was nervous. I needn't have been. Julie was kind, helpful, and very efficient. She had a broad base of knowledge about my benefit programs and the sequence of procedures that I should follow. There were a few areas that seemed questionable, but she promised to get answers and get back to me. She fulfilled that promise quickly and efficiently. Over the next few weeks, which proved to be a trying period, Julie was always there for me. She helped me process paperwork, contacted the proper home office departments on my behalf, and did everything she could to minimize the stress involved in my recovery. "You just concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything at this end", she would say to me whenever things got too confusing. She really understood my distraction and took over for me when I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sure there were times when another person would have lost her cool and become frustrated, but Julie never did. I recently returned to work after Fans, Not Customers 't know what to expect. I had heard some lunchroom complaints abut nasty attitude over the years, but had no reason to expect a problem in this situation. Still, I was nervous.I’ve been to 97 concerts in my lifetime. I know this because every ticket stub of every show I’ve ever seen since I was 12 lay under a sheet of glass on my coffee table. Some of the stubs are signed by my favorite musicians; some are tattered and torn from the pouring rain through which I stood and sung for hours. Some of the tickets aren’t even tickets! They’re napkins or flyers I stole from the venue because I just HAD to get a memento from I needn't have been. Julie was kind, helpful, and very efficient. She had a broad base of knowledge about my benefit programs and the sequence of procedures that I should follow. There were a few areas that seemed questionable, but she promised to get answers and get back to me. She fulfilled that promise quickly and efficiently. Over the next few weeks, which proved to be a trying period, Julie was always there for me. She helped me process paperwork, contacted the proper home office departments on my behalf, and did everything she could to minimize the stress involved in my recovery. "You just concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything at this end", she would say to me whenever things got too confusing. She really understood my distraction and took over for me when I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sure there were times when another person would have lost her cool and become frustrated, but Julie never did. I recently returned to work after Problem-Solving Success Tip: Test Your Assumptions About Everything ulie was always there for me. She helped me process paperwork, contacted the proper home office departments on my behalf, and did everything she could to minimize the stress involved in my recovery. "You just concentrate on getting better, I'll take care of everything at this end", she would say to me whenever things got too confusing. She really understood my distraction and took over for me when I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sure there were times when another person would have lost her cool and become frustrated, but Julie never did.Test your assumptions about everything.Assumptions have a way of creeping into all parts of a problem-solving project. They’re often wrong, which can lead to a lot of wasted effort and even cause a problem-solving project to fail entirely. It’s very easy to take a strongly stated assertion as true, especially if it’s the boss who makes it. Remind everyone involved to be skeptical and on the watch for untested assumptions.P I recently returned to work after a long rehabilitation period. I'm feeling much better now, and see and speak to Julie less often. When I think of the people who were most responsible for helping me to recover, I always think of her. She took responsibility to assist me, and did a fantastic job. She knew how to handle my issues, and was masterful at effective communication. Julie is an asset to our human resources department, and reached the standard that I believe all professionals in this field should strive for. © 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active.
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