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HR professionals or owners are faced with my conflicting HR questions or situations everyday and how to solve the issues can vary depending on who you ask.  Many business owners or HR professionals often ponder the same question, “Is there an agency or source where I can go to get guidance or assistance on these HR issues?”.  Well now there is a solution!  www.HumanResourceBlog.com is now available for any HR professional to come and share their thoughts, questions, or issues and to openly discuss the situation or issue at hand.  Where else would you be able to go to find a community or center that has professionals sharing your same common problems and also having suggestions for you to possibly consider.  Like they say, two brains is better than one.  In this particular case, it’s two professionals better than one! 

www.HumanResourceBlog.com has a goal to build a community strictly for HR professionals all across the states to be able to post and receive answers from actual professionals in the same situation or have the knowledge to possibly guide you to answer.  State laws vary from state to state.  If your organization operates in multi-states, this is the place for you.  www.HumanResourceBlog.com does not limit the answer to any particular state or topic.  It does not have boundaries and/or limitations in the state the question is deriving from.  If you are seeking an answer to your HR question, www.HumanResourceblog.com will be the solution!

Answers are posted daily from Real HR experts that are emailed the questions instantly.  There is no automation to the postings of answers.  The website is strictly for owners, HR professionals, supervisors  and managers to post their HR related issues, questions, or concerns.  Post your questions today! The web site is not intended for employees to post employee related questions. 

Come join and lets build an HR Community together.

Hope to see you there!

Take a longstanding association of human resources professionals. Add a federal agency created in the 21^st century specifically to help disabled employees.

You now have a team capable of producing more resources for the disabled worker than ever before.

Wisconsin workers with disabilities will be among those benefiting from the alliance. The Wisconsin Department of Labor has an extensive history of providing workers with disabilities a wide range of services. The new linkup will bring to bear a team working nationwide on behalf of the disabled worker.

On the private side of the equation is SHRM – the Society of Human Resource Managers. On the public side is ODEP – the US Office of Disability Policy.

The predicted outcome of this national venture is more recruiting, training, outreach, information and help for the target population. ODEP maintains that even though opportunities for the disabled have shown an improvement recently, there is still a long way to go. The economy has yet to benefit fully from their talents. Most important is a predicted opening of further lines of communication between the federal government agencies involved, and industry as a whole.

The relationship has always been there, said Assistant Secretary for Labor Roy Grizzard. It is just that in the past, it has been informal. He said both sides should benefit. SHRM will get the resources that ODEP “brings to the table,” while ODEP gets formal access to the talents of the human resource managers.

This is the first such agency-association team effort of its kind. ODEP is a relatively new agency, formed in 2001 as a breakaway from the US Department of Labor. It establishes policy and spots the resources necessary to the disabled employee. SHRM, founded in 1948, has 205,000 members. It is found in more than 100 nations around the world. It has 550 chapters.

A number of Wisconsin companies have received recognition for outstanding performance by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle. The annual Wisconsin Forward Awards were created in 1997 by the Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment. They encourage and reward companies that advance the competitive position of Wisconsin’s world-class organizations in the international marketplace.

Non-profit organizations recognized for excellence this year include The American Society for Quality in Milwaukee, the Bay Area Medical Center in Marinette, The Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls, The National Council on Crime and Delinquency in Madison, The Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, ProHealth Care in Waukesha, Red Cedar Medical Center (or the Mayo Health System) in Menominee, St. Michael’s Hospital in Stevens Point, St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo and St. Clare Meadows Care Center in Baraboo.

”These award winners demonstrate that an organization’s ongoing commitment to excellence can have long-term effects and lead to major gains in financial performance, patient care and safety, customer satisfaction and retention, and employee performance and involvement,” said Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman.

Part of the purpose of the Wisconsin Governor’s human resources awards is to enhance learning, continual improvement and outstanding enterprise performance in the international marketplace. The awards promote excellence in human resources, and organizational management. They also publicize successful performance and excellent management strategies. All types and sizes of Wisconsin organizations are eligible to apply including manufacturers, service companies, and small business. Applicants from the public sector include health care organizations, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations including associations, government entities and charities.

The not-for-profit organization receives financial support from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development as well as other organizations across the state. All 16 applicants were rigorously evaluated by an independent Board of Examiners in seven areas including Human resource focus; Leadership; Strategic planning; Customer and market focus; Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; Process management and Results. This prestigious award has only been given 6 times in 10 years.

Sixteen Wisconsin companies recently competed for a highly coveted award for excellence in human resources, customer service, leadership and strategic planning. Four of the companies earned the prestigious Wisconsin Forward Governor’s Award for Excellence, which will be presented in Madison on February 7, 2007.

This year’s Wisconsin human resources award winners include Meriter Hospital in Madison. The hospital is a 448-bed non-sectarian teaching hospital providing inpatient and outpatient care to the people of south central Wisconsin. Care is delivered through three key service lines: medicine, surgery, and emergency services and two specialty centers for cardiac care and women’s health.

”These award winners demonstrate that an organization’s ongoing commitment to excellence can have long-term effects and lead to major gains in financial performance, patient care and safety, customer satisfaction and retention, and employee performance and involvement,” said Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman.

In announcing the awards, Secretary Gassman praised the recipients, noting that these organizations “are committed to management excellence, have developed innovative strategies to address health care and business challenges, engage in proactive efforts to build a high-skilled workforce, and have demonstrated outstanding results.

Also earning one of the highly acclaimed Wisconsin human resources awards was Luther Midelfort May Health System of Eau Claire. This is a highly integrated, physician-led multispecialty health care system that serving 123,000 patients at 4 hospitals, 11 clinics and 3 long-term health care facilities spread throughout 7 counties.

All 16 applicants were rigorously evaluated by an independent Board of Examiners in seven areas:

• Human resource focus
• Leadership
• Strategic planning
• Customer and market focus
• Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management
• Process management
• Results

The evaluation process included about 875 hours of review. Eight organizations earned on-site visits to clarify questions and verify information in the applications. Two other companies also received the awards and will be honored at the ceremony in Madison.

Several Wisconsin employers were recently honored with awards for excellence by Governor Jim Doyle and Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman. The companies received the Governor’s Wisconsin Forward Award of Excellence. This coveted annual prize represents the state’s highest honor for excellence in organizational performance.

The winners of the Wisconsin Forward Governor’s Award of Excellence for 2007 are outstanding Wisconsin employers whose companies are models in healthcare and business management. In announcing the awards, Secretary Gassman praised the recipients, noting that these organizations “are committed to management excellence, have developed innovative strategies to address health care and business challenges, engage in proactive efforts to build a high-skilled workforce, and have demonstrated outstanding results.

These outstanding Wisconsin employers represent the best the state has to offer. Added Gassman,”These award winners demonstrate that an organization’s ongoing commitment to excellence can have long-term effects and lead to major gains in financial performance, patient care and safety, customer satisfaction and retention, and employee performance and involvement.”

Wisconsin Forward Award recipients will be presented with their award in a ceremony at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison on February 7, 2007. This year’s winners include the Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare All Saints. Based in Racine, this is an integrated health care delivery system serving a population of nearly 200,000 through a network of multi-specialty and primary care physician offices and a medical center operating on two campuses.

Also receiving a Wisconsin Forward Award is Runzheimer International of Waterford, Wisconsin. The firm is a management consulting company specializing in employee mobility, with services tailored to specifically meet the needs of 2,500 customers through four primary business lines of service: business vehicle, global mobility, government, and travel management.

Two other Wisconsin companies will also be honored with the prestigious Governor’s Awards for excellence at a presentation ceremony.