Back to Basics - Successful Project Management in Social Care

The management of change is an increasingly vital part of any successful social care business, whether in the public, voluntary or independent sectors. The changes may not always be what you choose, but you can certainly choose how to implement them in ways which benefit rather than undermine your services. So whether you're introducing a new service or new policies and procedures, moving premises, organising an event or a marketing campaign, these are situations where project planning and project management skills come to the fore to make a real difference in practice.

So what is project management? Traditionally associated with industries such as construction and engineering, space exploration, or defence, project management methodologies have been applied to developing IT software, publishing and marketing campaigns.

Human Resource Software

Over the last 10 years, the UK government has developed an internationally recognised project management framework known as PRINCE 2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments). This framework is now widely applied in the public sector in the complex contract management culture required to implement new service development initiatives.

So what defines a project? Put simply, a project is a human activity that seeks to achieve a clear objective against a timescale. Common characteristics of a project are:
One clear objective A fixed timescale A team of people No practice or rehearsal Change

How can project management skills help managers in social care services? Any activity with the goal of bringing about change and development of your service within an agreed timescale is relevant - for example:
Developing a staff training needs analysis to ensure National Minimum Standards are being met, Preparing for a Quality Mark such as Investors in People, Implementing systems which promote service user involvement for the most vulnerable and challenging people in our society.

Like most things that often seem hugely complicated, the basic concepts are very simple and make a lot of sense. Many of the classic principles and tools used in project management can be applied in other everyday management situations.

The essential ingredients to get you started

The tools and techniques of project management are essentially about getting something done in the most effective and efficient way, given your particular circumstances. So at the risk of sounding obvious, first you must spot what needs to be done, or look at your current position and decide you want to improve it. Then secondly you need to spend some time clarifying the aim of your project so that it's clear and sharp in your mind.

These are some questions to ask yourself about your aim:
What do I want the future to be?
What benefit do I want for my service users?
What returns do I seek?
What standards am I aiming at?
What values do I, and my organisation, believe in?

Once you've clarified your aim (and written it down ideally in one sentence) you should know where you are now and what you want to achieve. The next thing is to work out how to do it. At this stage you need to be creative - generate and explore as many options as possible. There are a wide range of tools and techniques to help you. In other articles I look at examples to get you started, and some other useful project management concepts to help you in practice.

Useful reading:
Armstrong M. (2006), A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th Edition), Kogan Page, London
Briner, W. et al (1996), Project Leadership, Gower
Buzan, T. (2005), The Ultimate Book of Mind Maps, Imago, Thailand
Lewis, James P., (2007) Fundamentals of Project Management, American Management Association
Office of Government Commerce (2007), For Successful Project Management: Think PRINCE 2, The Stationary Office
Reiss, G., (2007) Project Management Demystified, Routledge

Back to Basics - Successful Project Management in Social Care

Software Solution - Make Life Simple for Businesses

There has been a huge transformation that has taken place between the business of today and the business of yesterday. The amount of information that needs to be catered has increased manifold. The businesses that are successful in the modern world are those that have reflected the proper implementation of the business analysis software which resulted in effective data management.

The business analysis software provides alternative methods to collect relevant amount of information related to your product or service and accurately evaluate it. It helps in getting the true reflection of the various operations in an industry in order to run the business smoothly. It makes available the vital information that can be effectively used in making strategic decisions for the business. Due to the reliability of the software, the business is assured of confidence that is translated in the decision making process of all the departments such as marketing, finance, human resource and operation.

Human Resource Software

Moreover, the business analysis software helps in streamlining the activities in the firm. The feasible tasks and activities are separated from the non-feasible ones. As a result, it leads to the zero- waste strategy. There are elements of time-saving and minimal wastage which drives the business towards success. In addition, the software fosters continuous improvement not just in one task, but in the entire activities that are implemented in all corners of the firm.

Furthermore, with the use of business analysis software, the firm can make accurate forecast and predictions for its products or services. The various tools of the software enable the firm to create trends that can guide the firm in the management and delegation of the current tasks in context of the future. In this way, the decisions taken will exhibit the effective utilization and optimization of the resources in the light of informed research and development process.

The software incorporates the vast amount of programs and applications that are analytical in nature. This is why this software integrates all the functions of modeling such as financial modeling, data modeling, risk modeling and visual analytics. In other words, it helps you in reducing your efforts and energies on these models and diverts your resources to some other constructive options such as expansion of the business or the increase in the research and development budget.

All in all, the software analyze the problems of your business by incorporating all the important perspectives of operational, marketing, human resource and financial. With the factor of technology changing at a rapid pace, it has become vital for a firm to adopt such important softwares for their daily operations. It will help to generate much better and innovative results than before. Secondly, it will change the business approach of being risk-averse to risk-taker. Third, it will make the business more proactive in its activities and decision making. Last but not the least; it will greatly enhance the rate of success, profit and growth of a firm in the long run.

Software Solution - Make Life Simple for Businesses

Bar Codes Faxing Improve Business Document WorkFlow

Reliably integrating important electronic and paper documents received by fax such as invoices, expense reports, purchase orders, employment applications, claims and legal contracts into the daily business workflow is a common challenge. These documents are critical to many revenue related business processes and yet they are commonly misplaced, lost or misfiled in a never-ending row of filing cabinets.

In addition, the reproduction of these paper documents decrease productivity and increase daily soft costs such as manual labor burden, fax retransmission, paper, toner, and printer wear and tear.

Human Resource Software

Incorporating bar code faxing into an organization will improve the business document workflow and mission critical data access to the following departments in your organization:Human Resource DepartmentsAccounts PayableAccounts ReceivablesSalesMarketingLegal DepartmentsProductionManufacturingBar code faxing will also help eliminate the need to purchase or develop special forms applications and processing procedures, minimize lost documents and help with any eDocument initiatives your organization may have.

What is bar code faxing?

Bar code faxing is a computer based fax methodology in which commonly faxed documents are given bar codes for identification, routing, metadata and indexing purposes. Bar code faxing is simple to implement, reliable and depending on the bar code symbology used, very secure. Bar code symbologies used in bar code faxing include 1D and 2D bar codes, most commonly referred to as Code 39, Code 128, PDF417 and DataMatrix. Code 39 and 128 are the most inexpensive and easiest to implement because applications like Microsoft Word support bar code fonts. Code 39 and 128 fonts are readily available on the internet free of charge. PDF417 and DataMatrix bar codes can hold larger amounts of data, support Check Sum and various types of encryption. In some cases, implementation of these PDF417 or DataMatrix is more expensive due to proprietary application requirements.

Bar code faxing can be accomplished with the actual document itself or with a bar code fax cover page. The bar code is computer generated and added to the actual document/cover page. Another method of adding a bar code is with a hand held bar code printer or bar code label maker. The bar code can be placed and easily identified in the one of the four corners of the document. It is recommended to use slightly larger font sizes when using bar code faxing because fax documents shrink slightly during actual fax transmission. The use of intelligent fax hardware minimizes the shrinking and provides the highest quality fax images. Information captured in a bar code will vary depending on the document type. For invoices the bar code may contain the invoice number, customer name, and account number. It may also contain the name of the department it is being routed. For expense reports the bar code may contain the employee ID number, month of report, total amount due etc. Employment applications may contain phone number, social security number, position applying. The information that can be contained within a bar code is unlimited.

Once the fax with the bar code is received, the fax server software has the ability to read the bar code and extract the information or metadata. This metadata is then used to a) Identify, b) Route, c) Store & Deliver and d) Retrieve documents efficiently and effectively.

Summary

The use of bar code faxing isn't new by any means. In the past several years however it has gained traction and acceptance in the fax server, scanning, document management, content management and imaging industries due to the introduction of the multi-function devices (scanner, fax, printer, copier), better imaging technologies, more robust computers, operating systems, intelligent fax boards and the need to resolve compliance and regulatory issues.

Bar Codes Faxing Improve Business Document WorkFlow

Employers - The Recruitment and Selection Process

A competitive management of Human Resource Department always begins with a competitive recruitment process. Recruitment and selection process is defined as the organization's ability to source employees to improve the quality of its human capital using recruitment software. The main agent for the process is the human resource management (HRM) team. The main goals of these processes include hiring the best candidates from the job market and maintaining the competitive advantage of the organization. The HRM team should have the capacity to manage large volumes of resumes. This means that the recruitment process requires a large human resource budget. The HR recruiters must utilize the company's recruitment sources and the managers should make the right and immediate decisions during the hiring process. The quality of the process serves as the main driver for manager's satisfaction and will have a say at the bottom line of the company.

Recruitment software is one of the essential elements in the process

Human Resource Software

The recruitment process requires strong effective recruitment software solution which can be obtained from external sources and can be internally executed. Several software vendors offer a variety of software but the company must carefully opt for the software that meet the needs of the company. Recruitment software and Web 2.0 technologies along with the standard procedures can help reduce the cost and time spent for candidate selection. The ideal software solution for the recruitment process must include the complete database for the applicants, communication between the company and applicants, and the corporate design. The software solution can help simplify the entire process. Since the pre-selection process is systematic and automated, HR managers can focus their time on interviews and in candidate selection. The recruiting tools to be used must be selected based on the target audience.

Assessment of job-related qualifications and interview method in the selection process

Upon the receipt of all the resumes of the applicants, the human resource manager should review them to evaluate the basic qualifications. A candidate who does not have the required qualifications should not be considered. Job-related qualifications should not be limited to knowledge, abilities, experience, and preferred education as identified in the job description. Other qualifications such as physical and mental demands should be bona fide occupational requirements. If in case no candidate has qualified for the position and the qualifications have been modified, the currently vacant position should be re-posted. The HR manager must have consistency in the interview process, should provide equal treatment for applicants, and must avoid asking discriminatory questions. Those applicants with disabilities must be given proper accommodation upon request during the testing and interviewing process.

The HRM must score and evaluate the approved test results of applicants and should be used as one of the selection factors. The files should be kept along with other selection and application documents for three years after the date of the previous action for the position.

Employers - The Recruitment and Selection Process

DOT Changes Drug Testing - 5 to 7 Panel

It was just announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation that a major change in the rules for administering DOT urine drug screens will become effective October 1, 2010. This rule changes all Federal and DOT testing from the present 5 Panel to a 7 Panel that will include MDKA (aka Ecstasy) as well as lowering the cutoff levels on Cocaine and Amphetamines.

This new rule will have a major impact on our industry. There will be policy changes within your company that will need attention. I am listing below a few items that your company needs to consider and address due to these changes in the regulations.

Human Resource Software

The Chain of Custody forms will need to be altered to affect this new change. The DOT will come forward with more information on this issue soon.

There will be additional costs as outlined in the Federal Register Notice that will come from the laboratory due to the increased testing required and the possible change to the COC Forms.

Your company HR Policy and recruiting policy will need to be addressed to cover the expansion of the additional drugs that have been added to the new DOT mandated test.

Many companies mirror the previous 5 panel testing for their Non-DOT testing, your company may want to make the change to now mirror the new 7 panel. If this change is not made, the labs will not be able to upgrade or downgrade results done on the wrong forms.

The positive rates that our industry has been experiencing with testing will increase. The lower cut-off levels for Cocaine and Amphetamines as well as additional testing for Heroin and Ecstasy will create a bigger net that will capture more drug abuse.

DOT Changes Drug Testing - 5 to 7 Panel

Software for Human Resources - A New Approach in Human Resources

A department that is often underestimated within the business structure is the human resources department. The people who are employed in HR are not just in charge of employment and termination, but they are also responsible for administering benefits for employees and for contacting references for jobs.

There is truth in the belief that anyone who works in the field of human resources must be able to get along well with people. This is because people in this department handle the management of all the people that work in that business. Therefore, an agreeable demeanor is very helpful.

Human Resource Software

People who work in human resources must be up to the task of managing employees as it is such an important role. A decade or two ago, the personnel of HR were hardly ever seen. They worked from the shadows instead to make sure that records of personnel were ordered and that benefits for employees were being administered properly.

But it did not end there. The Human Resources personnel of today not only deal with minor tasks of administration but they are also responsible for the hiring of a workforce for huge corporations.

The most significant department in all companies is the Human Resource Department as it is the heartbeat of the organization. A well-known theorist of management asserts that the asset which is most important to an organization it its people.

The developments in ICT and the growth of cyberspace have made it easier for corporations to keep up to date with the latest developments in relation to the functions of Human Resources like recruitment, hiring, termination and promotion.

The joining of the technological advances and the human aspects of the Human Resources Department is necessitated by current law. Applications to handle these demands have therefore been developed by software companies.

Software for Human Resources is plentiful in the market and many applications seem to work hard to convince us of the ease, convenience and maximize productivity at work if used.

Products vary but the general selling format is to provide basic HR modules and then if further modules are required such as recruiting, asset management or time sheets these can be added but at an extra monthly cost.

Recruitment modules often have the ability to advertise a position 'in-house' or are able to push the details of the vacant job position out to an outsourced recruitment company.

A company that benefits from the services of any such software is guaranteed of an updated applicant pool with their resumes and their placement on the file of esteemed companies seeking applicants via the net.

Supervising the company's need to recruit and hire employees, find replacements for incompetent employees or to perhaps discharge employees for misconduct is the role of the Human Resources department. In other words, it serves as a system of control for the corporation on which important business decisions and accurate inventories probably depend.

As technology advances the Internet has made the world seem smaller as well as closer. Software for human resources has helped to create a more level playing field between SMEs and larger corporations with sophisticated applications being made available to the smaller companies for a much more affordable price which is all important during times like these.

Software for Human Resources - A New Approach in Human Resources

Web Based Human Resource Software - A Sophisticated Technique To Recruit With Proficiency

Managing a firm successfully with a set of employees can be demanding, particularly for the human resources department. Web based Human resource software is vital to ease stress. Employees of company can be measured as a company's unsung idol.

HR management becomes more taxing if an organization operates and administrates from a number of sites. When you have multiple workplaces a management personnel should have web based human resource software as it is a particular solution to handle the things in proper manner. If you have a small organization you can prefer small business hr software to perform potentially.

Human Resource Software

To be an excellent recruiter, you need pioneering web based resume software. It makes you able to follow premium-practice recruitments principles. The web based recruitment software acquire purge of unnecessary administrative functioning and computerizes much of the recruitment practices as feasible. It also offers you the tools for proficient candidate administration and excellent practice customer association executive.

Web based human resource software is a particularly sophisticated and impulsive managing system planned specially for recruiters. It tenders creative candidate executive tools and efficient communication tools to support you to build and nurture your transactions with clients and candidates.

It will always support you to be a more triumphant recruiter:

It helps to reduce your operational classified access and thus minimize your organization expenses. It optimizes your conscription task towards excellent-practice by directing your recruiters. It develops your commerce presentation by income-generating back up management

Web based resume parser offers a reliable, impulsive platform suitable for contract, enduring and provisional recruitment associations. It also binds modernization and functionality at minor charges as contrast to manual recruitment solutions.

If you are looking for measurable resume parsing software those scraps flexible to your operational practices and procedures with the sophisticated features present in more usual recruitment software then web-based recruitment software will certainly accomplish your requirements. Web based hr software is affirm of the talent set up that will update the techniques of your company purposes. It will obviously enhance the efficiency of your employees and noticeably perk up your potential to make earnings.

Web based resume parser has the business alertness, technical talent and prudence to serve credit of your business aspires. It entirely exploits your accessible resources, and improves production. Computerizing, managing, and streamlining all features of the recruitment systems; Web based resume parser offers the vital tools and times to build over your consultant into particularly capable sales professionals.

Web based recruitment software proves beneficial to a wide range of organizations from underdeveloped to huge organization, recruitment consultancies and business HR sectors. At present every recruitment company is choosing this software globally.

It has some vital features such as: it is accessible 24*7; it can be installed simply by assimilating your recruitment software with web site updated aspirant application and sophisticated dexterity identical tools.

It allows the quick and correct short listings of applicants. As the consistency of the processors and your information is the priority; Web based parsing software proffers entirely managed servers and every day back ups that ensure you can perform your business without any trouble and data loss.

Web Based Human Resource Software - A Sophisticated Technique To Recruit With Proficiency

HR Seminars

Human Resource (HR) seminars are mostly one-day events that provide workforce solutions for both private and public sector organizations. Human resource professionals from several different organizations attend, meet, and speak on various HR related topics and problems. These seminars are intended to keep the supervisors and HR management staff well-trained in areas such as employment law, workers' compensation, etc.

A lot of organizations conduct seminars and workshops on human resource management. The HR seminars mainly focus on three specific areas of HR management - development, functions, and quantitative analysis. They are specifically designed to assist individual organizations to invigorate and reposition their HR department and practices. These seminars help HR management to discover new approaches and techniques for training their employees and building organizational unity. These seminars also enable HR professionals to manage employees beyond geographical and cultural boundaries. HR seminars help professionals to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into operational objectives that drive both performance and behavior.

Human Resource Software

HR seminars focus on HR management, HR planning, international HR management, labor law, organizational management, organizational development, information management, compensation management, training and development, and labor economics. High level managers from various industries are invited to share their experiences in an effort to broaden the HR professionals' perspectives.

The agenda for every HR seminar will vary, and it could include themes such as how to improve human performance, how to implement a highly productive workplace, how to provide feedback on individual performances, etc. The seminars could also educate trainers, HR professionals, IT professionals, and managers to excel in their performances. These seminars could also discuss how to find solutions to human performance problems especially if an emergent situation should occur. Seminars on HR management are mainly based on behavioral sciences, economics, psychology, statistics, and other associated factors. By participating in seminars like these, senior HR executives can address issues such as compliance, talent management, leadership development, healthcare issues of diverse workforces, etc.

In general HR seminars, conferences, and workshops act as a continuing training program for organizational development, HR management, training and development, business administration, information management, finance and economics, current issues on labor problems and many more.

HR Seminars

The Facts About Human Resource Management System

For people interested in the field of human resources, you should know that a Human Resource Management System (HRMS) is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software program that specializes in dealing with staff problems. These systems are often intertwined with other commercial programs such as finance. Throughout the years administering an companies human resources has become increasingly complicated since this important practical organization must needs to follow personnel data including education, job history, skills, and individual details. For years it has been virtually unattainable for moderate and big groups to administer the plethora of human resources information properly and efficiently without the aid of computers. In the past Human Resource Management System (HRMS) operated on large, enclosed mainframe computers though today most of those systems have become accessible on microcomputers. Let's look at some of the standard parts.

The Payroll module gathers knowledge on employees' time worked and absences. Subject on its sophistication this module enumerates taxes as well as auxiliary deductions and creates a array of worker paychecks, government checks, and multiple reports. It must connect to the letter, federal, state, and internal tax rules, and a array of other technical documents with union as well as non-union contracts. Certain payroll systems account and track extra time with many of them automatically [depositing] workers checks. Ideally information coming from the payroll module goes into financial management systems and assists administrators make financial determinations.

Human Resource Software

Everyone know that benefits are an increasingly pertinent part of many employee repayment packages. A Benefits Administration module lets organizations to process employee participation in compensation plans including life and health indemnity, profit sharing, stock purchases, and finally retirement pensions. The best systems give accurate reports which help the company in devise a desirable and yet generally inexpensive benefits package for the employees.

In better economic times businesses need to frequently try to gather new workers but even when the company isn't presently employing, it must gather resumes of qualifying hopefuls so it'll be able to fill jobs quickly when the need presents itself. In the information era, a lot of hiring is performed in cyberspace and Internet recruiting has turned into a popular Human Resources application. Talent Management systems, in addition called Applicant Tracking Systems, analyze the companies current staff usage and needs, find qualified aspirants whether internal or external, and deal with the actual hiring process. A major part of such systems is assuring concession with Equal Opportunity Employment laws.

The preceding isn't by no means an complete array of Human Resources modules. Other modules analyze employee productivity, track individual credentials and company training programs, and provide overall management of the HR function. Interested businesses can choose from many off-the-shelf HR systems therefore many sellers have no problem effecting complicated alterations to their systems, for a fee.

The Facts About Human Resource Management System