Spotlight on People Development

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Work-life coaches catch on
Workplace coaches once were seen as an executive perk geared toward career issues. Today, many companies provide their employees with counselors who can help with working-life and wellness issues.

The coaches usually are provided by an outside vendor but can provide face-to-face services and long-term relationships. Guidance is tailored to an individual's needs.

"I tend to say to new callers, 'We can talk about anything that you feel in your personal or professional life is impacting your happiness, success, feelings of satisfaction,' " one consultant said. New York City's Corporate Counseling Associates recently added maternity leave coaching to its slate of services. The Boston Globe (8/10)

B-School Management Insight

The importance of dynamic team leadership
Generic, "one-size-fits-all" definitions of leadership limit opportunities for innovation and change, according to one expert. Middle managers should be able to identify skills that are needed among their subordinates and encourage their development. INSEAD Knowledge (8/2008)

Best Practices

What working moms need
Consider filling your employment holes with stay-at-home and work-at-home moms who are skilled, well-educated and great at multitasking. As hiring managers, you can make the "best place for working moms" statement a reality by offering your employees what they really want: Telecommuting, part-time hours and "a lactating room that's not a supply closet." Fistful of Talent (8/25)

Create faculty relationships to recruit students
If you still rely on college career centers to find your new recruits, you could be missing out. HR expert John Sullivan suggests you develop relationships instead with specific faculty members who can identify top performers and even influence a student's decision about where to work. This also can offer you a competitive advantage and an ability to recruit early. ERE.net (8/25)

Personality tests reduce turnover by as much as 50%
Personality tests can help gain insight on a candidate's traits -- and whether they suit the job's needs. They also can be used as development tools to help employees better understand themselves, their work styles and how to interact with others. CareerJournal (The Wall Street Journal) (8/26)

The entrepreneurial mind vs. corporate culture
Entrepreneurs aren't wired differently, but they take a different approach to decision making than corporate types take. New research examines the way entrepreneurs think to help them adapt to a corporate environment -- and to help corporations nurture the entrepreneurial spirits on their payrolls. IMD (8/2008)

Read this before firing
The increasing number of lawsuits filed by employees after they've been terminated makes it difficult to know when you legally can fire someone. This piece lays out some general guidelines and says you're generally protected by the law if you fire someone for consistent incompetence, repeated unexcused absenteeism or meaningful violation of company policy. The New York Times (free registration)/AllBusiness.com (8/25)

Managing Your Own Career

Women who network to find work are paid better
Women who find their job through a close family member -- or even through their own social network -- are paid more than are women who find work without a prior connection, according to recent research. It doesn't work the same way for men, although the reasons why aren't clear. Canada.com/Canwest News Service (8/25)

How to avoid resume mistakes
Many resumes end up in the garbage because of common errors. Tips for success include: Never use a generic cover letter; create a targeted job-specific objective; make sure your e-mail address isn't inappropriate; and go over your resume with a fine-toothed comb for typos and grammatical errors. U.S. News & World Report (8/25)

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