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G.J. Miller Articles

Written by: G.J. Miller

The Question of Accountability - Click To Read Article
Human Capital is the only asset that has the potential to appreciate in value whereas most assets depreciate over time. There two key groups that impact the value of your people and both must be business savvy in order to understand how to leverage this asset for the best results possible. They are Managers and Human Resource Professionals.

Achieving Organization Effectiveness - Click To Read Article
Finance professionals will put numbers together that will help you measure results against goals on an annual basis. But if the organization considers only financial metrics such as revenue and profit without being proactive on the people side it may never get there. I think of an organization in the same way a doctor looks at the human body. The symptom (or indicator) is rarely the real issue.

So, You Think You Can Lead? - Click To Read Article
Whether you work alone or have staff, you are a leader to someone - somewhere. You are expected to be a leader for your employees, your children, your association committees, your church group............you lead every day, in everything you do whether you know it or not.

Go Green - Find New Talent - Click To Read Article
Conservation…Being ‘green’ means many things to many businesses depending on the industry they are in and there are many large corporations, and some smaller, that are well on their way to green right now. But did you know there is a way to do this in order to find a whole new candidate pool?

You've Got To Move It, Move It - Click To Read Article
While it is true there are a lot of people looking for employment, employers need to consider that this works against them if they are slow to act. In the last month, I have lost 3 candidates who were very interested in the job but because someone else was faster in presenting an offer of employment they were gone. In this economy, people are less interested in finding the 'perfect' job and more interested in paying the bills. You might have a great company and be a super manager but "You’ve got to move it, move it..."

Whose Job Is It? - Click To Read Article
An extract from a global survey of senior leaders* found that nearly 70% of executives do not believe there is sufficient leadership potential within their organization. These executives say there is not enough leadership in skills including the ability to drive change, customer focus, basic business competencies and innovation skills. This gave me pause for thought and reminded me of the many scenarios that can sink the proverbial leadership development ship. The big question is whose job do they think it is?

THE TOP FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE COMPENSATION A DEMOTIVATOR - Click To Read Article
Is pay a motivator? The simple answer is yes and no. It is a motivator only if your strategy is solid and applied consistently. It is a de-motivator if organization practice is described in one or more of the list above. But the reality is much more complex.

THE CORPORATION 2030 - Click To Read Article
“As regulations and costs collide with trends, and corporations adjust in order to stay viable – what will they become?” In other words, what will corporations look like in, say, 2030? Based on what I know about coming trends and expected regulations, as well as what others have shared with me on this topic, here are my predictions.

The Corporation in the Year 2030 - Click To Read Article
For several years now, I have continually puzzled over one question: “As regulations and costs collide with trends, and corporations adjust in order to stay viable – what will they become?” In other words, what will corporations look like in, say, 2030?

Leadership in small to mid size companies: its important to do it consciously! - Click To Read Article
Every one of us uses leadership skills every day, whether at home, in the community or at work. Somewhere, someone is watching you, emulating you, learning from you or working for you. Born leaders are actually rare, for everyone else, it is hard work but well worth it. If you are a leader in your own company or managing a team, you are missing a golden opportunity if you don’t lead consciously!

Leadership with Integrity; how to ensure it exists in your organization - Click To Read Article
Throughout my career in Human Resources, I have had managers ask how, if they found themselves in a difficult situation, could they be sure to say the correct thing? “When in doubt think about these two things: treat people the way you would like to be treated and if you don’t want to read it or see it in the news, don’t say it!” It’s simplistic, yes, but advice that the VP HR at Enron could have been doling out. In the absence of strategic leadership and clearly reinforced corporate culture or values, these are two basic considerations for managers running an organization today.

Providing Positive Feedback Can Improve the Bottom Line - Click To Read Article
In this extremely competitive business environment, we are all looking for ways to improve the bottom line and achieve the success we are striving for. One way to do so is the ability to provide effective feedback that can make a difference.

Is the Human Resources function really just a necessary evil? - Click To Read Article
What is the single largest expense in most businesses? People; payroll costs represent anywhere between 60 to 85% of controllable expenses.

Human Resources Buzz Words; are they all “Greek” to you? - Click To Read Article
Employee Engagement, Organization Effectiveness, Organization Development, Leadership Surveys, Employee Satisfaction Surveys……………

Reference Checks; are they reliable? - Click To Read Article
There is a big time investment in the recruiting process. The ‘up front’ work does pay dividends - “Hire hard; manage easy” is, I believe, the expression. It works. Many clients ask us to check references when they find a good candidate and we always, but gently, remind them that these references are provided by the candidate and are not, therefore, likely to produce anything remotely negative. Organizations would be better to pay the money to a professional organization

The New Leadership Frontier - Click To Read Article
The next decade is expected to present three major challenges for leaders. • Skills shortages • Employee Retention • Innovation Skills Shortages • In 2006, 9 out of 10 U.S. Manufacturers polled indicated they could not find enough skilled workers to fill the jobs needed to run their shops. • 64% of HR Professionals polled indicated recruiting is their leading challenge and they expect that to continue • Three-fifths of the new jobs in this century will need skills that only one-fifth of today’s workers have • Nearly 3 out of 10 employers worldwide said they would have hired more workers last year but were unable to find qualified applicants

Everything Changes after a Recession - Click To Read Article
“If change is happening on the outside faster than on the inside, then the end is in sight” Jack Welch, CEO, G. E. In fact, the world is rapidly changing and organizations need to keep up. Innovation has become one of the top business objectives in organizations that want to grow, out perform their competitors and, indeed, survive by creating a high value proposition. More than 70% of senior executives said “innovation will be at least one of the top three drivers of growth for their companies in the next three to five years”.

EVERYONE HATES PERFORMANCE REVIEWS - Click To Read Article
Leaders and employees alike. Most managers hate doing them. Employees hate them too – even those that are over achieving. Is it time to get rid of them?

Downsizing - Some best practices - Click To Read Article
No-one likes to have to let people go - but once the decision is made, there are certain steps that have been found to ease the transition for staff.

The Strategic and Business Plans are ready … What now? The missing link - Click To Read Article
Like many organizations, yours has spent considerable time developing a strategic plan for the next 2-3 years or updating an existing one. If your plans or direction has changed or will change then you may have missed a key step. What could that be?

Human Resources; How much is enough? A Controversial Perspective - Click To Read Article
If your HR staff is not providing key reports and developing programs and strategies that either reduce your costs or increase revenue in some way, then you don’t need them at all. I mean that. But assuming you have, or will hire, a Human Resources professional that does or will make recommendations that contribute to the bottom line, the answer is “it depends”.

2010; Getting Past 2009 and Working Smarter Going Forward - Click To Read Article
How do we focus on growth and revenue in a way that will allow organizations to increase and decrease staff levels in a socially conscious and fiscally responsible way? Even if you have no staff now - your goal is to grow your business and make it a viable, prosperous business. That means that we have a responsibility to consider the impact of our people decisions to hire or not - to terminate or not, etc. People give us their best and then in a downturn, sometimes find themselves on the street with mouths to feed and mortgages to pay. Somehow we must prepare them to take care of themselves while remaining committed to the organization's goals.

Detect and Respond: the new business reality - Click To Read Article
Speed and agility are the name of the game if you want to beat your competitors or stay out front. The key to instilling speed and agility into an organization lies with its leaders. How do they make decisions?

Pay for Performance - in this Economy? - Click To Read Article
Yes, especially now! There are three potential mistakes organizations can make when there is a downturn in the economy.

Managing Risks in todays Environment - Click To Read Article
Part of managing risk is ensuring good communications with your people. If your organization needs to deal with a critical issue, staff will have some idea a problem exists just by watching management body language. Avoid making things worse by letting the rumour mill take over.

Is your Organization Healthy - Click To Read Article
A healthy organization is highly functional and programmed for growth; recognized by its’ ability to quickly translate important strategic and operational decisions into action.

Is there a place for Multi-Rater Feedback in the Selection Process? - Click To Read Article
Also known as 360 degree feedback…most people would automatically say ‘no’ – but let’s think about that for a few minutes.

Dealing with the Economic Downturn with the "Rebound" in Mind - Click To Read Article
Or……selectively cutting costs to improve the organizations competitive market position. Whenever there is an issue that can affect business success, I am always angered by the way the media focuses the general population on the negative, creating, in some respects, a “self fulfilling prophecy”. As the reports began to magnify the economic downturn, people in all walks of life began to question and curb their own spending, which is what feeds the downturn for businesses. The reality is that a downturn can give smart companies a chance to beat out their competition and prepare the organization for the turnaround.





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