Articles

B.C. to have Family Day as of 2013

British Columbia will join three other provinces in celebrating Family Day, according to the provincial government. The new provincial statutory holiday will be celebrated on the third Monday of every February, however, it won’t be introduced until Feb. 18, 2013, in recognition of the time employers will need to adjust to the new holiday.

Tips for Making Yourself Recession-Proof at Work

Seek out additional responsibility. Show you can wear many hats within the company by volunteering to take on different responsibilities. Try to get involved in long-term projects.
Be a team player. Establish yourself as someone who proactively shares information and resources and tries to help benefit the work of others.
Offer up ideas. Propose ideas for cost-savings, improved efficiencies or new revenue streams to help your company weather the storm.
Toot your own horn. Keep a current record of your accomplishments and contributions to the company, quantifying results whenever possible. Share new highlights in a project update email to your boss and other supervisors who may benefit from your accomplishment and make sure to give kudos to others involved in the project.
Stay positive. Keep focused on the task at hand and don't let rumors impact your productivity.

Source: CareerBuilder.com 2009

Job Hunting Tips for Workers Who Have Been Laid Off

Finding a job is a job. Commit to looking for a job at least two to three hours per day.
Transfer your skills. Look at how your skills can apply to other industries that may be hiring. There are universal skills that employers will search for, such as strong communication skills, problem-solving, project management, etc.
Leverage social media. Join various social networking sites and consider blogging to showcase skills, experience and creativity.
Study job postings online. Job postings clearly spell out what employers are looking for and employers often use electronic scanners to search for keywords in their job postings. Update your resume using some of the same keywords as they apply to your experience.
Make yourself more marketable. Consider taking this time to go back to school or obtain a certification in a classroom or online.
Stay active. Consider volunteering. Most employers views this as a relevant experience and it can help expand your network.

First impressions count for managers

Welcome to the firm. Here’s your employee manual, that’s your desk and this is John, your cubicle mate. If there’s anything else you need, be sure to ask. See you around.

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Is it time to reassess your job search plan?

It's easy to get frustrated with your job search, especially if you've been searching for a while. But not making headway can mean that you need to reassess your approach.

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Integrating and Engaging New Recruits

A new Canadian study published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology shows the value of structured approaches to orientation (induction) training and mentoring.

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How to create a career path

As a wise person once observed, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." An employee who doesn't take time to look at where he is and where he wants to be runs the risk of overlooking opportunities, spinning in his tracks and never quite feeling that he has control over his own destiny.

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Your Obligations as an Employer on Voting Day

By law, all eligible voters are entitled to have three consecutive hours to vote during the voting hours on Election Day. As an employer, you must provide your eligible employees with three consecutive hours to cast their vote.

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Salary Increase Projections for 2011

Budgeting involves estimating where salaries are headed in the external market and planning to remain competitive.

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Management takes on more, with help from HR

Economic realities have forced many HR departments to undergo a dramatic transformation. As they are not direct profit centers, many organizations short-sightedly see HR departments as a good place to start when right-sizing business. Others have taken a more subtle approach and allowed HR departments to shrink through attrition.

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Minimize the Flu and Keep your Company Functioning

The current HINI flu virus has caused a number of people to become sick but is unlikely to reach pandemic proportions if people are prepared and take reasonable precautions. There are a number of things that employers and employees can do to provide added protection.

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Things to Consider Before Reducing Your Workforce

Anyone who has read the news lately knows all about the ongoing series of downsizings and cutbacks in our workforce. Each day there are new predictions that have many employers on edge trying to decide whether to lay off employees. These same employers need to consider the alternatives.

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Termination Pay Considerations for Commissioned Employees in Canada

Figuring out an employee’s entitlements upon termination can be tricky in Canada.

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Strategies to Reduce Turnover

We invite you to view a short powerpoint presentation on “Ways to reduce turnover and improve employee satisfaction”.

We Can't Keep New Employess After We Hire And Train Them. What's Wrong?

By: Margot Uson

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In the News...

Here is what the media has written about AlternaSolutions.

To give or not to give? That's the office question.

“Karen Mallett has heard plenty of stories over the years about workplace gift-giving gone awry. The one that stands out...” Read full article by Diane Sewell of the Globe and Mail

Did you know...

RECENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION STATS Here are the programs that have been used in recent months to attract and keep people, According to a WorldatWork study of about 2,720 companies of various sizes.
Sign-on/hiring bonus	64 percent
Employee referral bonus	63 percent
Market adjustments/increase to base salary	60 percent
Spot bonus (individual)	43 percent
Retention/stay bonus	30 percent
Paying above market	28 percent
Stock option program	25 percent
Special cash bonus/group incentives (not organization-wide)	19 percent
Project milestone/completion bonus	17 percent
Exempt overtime pay or time off	15 percent
Separate salary structures	12 percent
Stock grant programs	10 percent
Larger merit increase budgets	9 percent
Paid sabbaticals	3 percent