Channel Surfing

Can’t sleep. The past couple of days have been really hard on everyone in the family. I got back to the hotel tonight around 10:00, took a shower and just fell across the bed with the TV’s remote. Watched as much of the local channel news and reruns of sci-fi that I could stand and then I started flipping through the other cable channels. The hotel doesn’t have all that many channels, but there must be something on TV at 2:00 am besides infomercials with Susan Lucci’s skin care and the next great kitchen gadget.

As I was sufing the channels I came across a headshot of someone that I recognized immediately – Steve Cropper. Now I have been a big fan of Steve Cropper for many many years and I was intrigued – what is this show about? Turns out I struck gold and had come upon a special documentary show about Staxx records in Memphis back in the 1960’s. It had info on Booker T and the MGs, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave, and all the greats of the Memphis sound, narrated by Samuel Jackson.

Great show – what a lucky break that I found it this morning.

College Bound and Down

My step daughter had decided to become a professional student. She goes to school for a bit, then quits. Then a few months later she regrets having quit and signs up again. Then she find a reason to not go. Then she hears about a scholarship program or student loans and she goes again. I think she will be 30 before she ever actually finishes school.

My son is much more serious about getting a college education and we are in the process of evaluating the different colleges and universities to see where he would like to go. Of course, I would prefer an in state school to help save on tuition and take advantage of the scholarships available to residents through the lottery funded programs. But if he gets his heart set on an out of state school then I’m down with it and will find a way to get the money for him.

There’s a cool website that helps kids with their college applications called CollegeZps. They have tips on their site for students who want to get help with the college application process from CollegeZapps. Here are their top tips:

1. Proofread your applications for spelling and grammar
2. Read the instructions carefully and all the way through before beginning
3. Type the applications and write legibly
4. Apply to several schools
5. Don’t use a silly nickname in your email address – get a free email account using your first and last name to appear more serious and professional

Outsourcing HR

A good friend of mine has worked in Human Resources all her professional life. At the company where we worked together for a couple years, she was taking night time college courses to get her Master’s Degree in HR and the company was helping her with the tuition for the classes. She was so proud to finally graduate with her Master’s and I must say that it was quite an accomplishment, as she not only had a very demanding job at the company, with long hours there, but she was also mother to three children in school and wife of a musician who traveled quite a bit and because of his touring schedule he would leave her alone at home with the kids for weeks at a time.

We were all shocked and amazed when our company made the announcement that the Board of Directors had decided to eliminate the Human Resources department and outsource those tasks as part of our staff reduction and reorganization plans. My friend was laid off and we were all instructed on the new processes for HR support within our departments. After the initial shock of losing a friend and co-worker, I must say that the new processes are not bad.

My company found that most HR functions can be easily standardized, and outsourcing makes financial sense. There are good companies who can step up and take over the HR processes, like payroll services, handbooks, insurance forms, etc. by using computer programs and the internet.

If you are not familiar with outsourcing HR, you might be interested in reading the website of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to learn what they can do for your company or organization. Of particular concern to a lot of employers is compliance with the new immigration laws and hiring requirements. National PEO has a great program to E Verify new hires and rehires, including follow-up on discrepancies, auditing the required forms, and being available to answer questions.

There’s a lot of responsibility with administering Human Resources. My friend has found another position and is very happy with her new company as VP of HR, and our company is happy with the move to outsourcing their HR. So it was a win-win change for all.

Family Photos

The kids came home from their first day of school full of chatter and excitement about their new classes, their new teachers, and all the friends they haven’t seen over the summer. They brought a pile of paperwork that needs to be filled out and signed and sent back in, often with a check attached. One of the things I wanted to see right away was the school calendar with all the holidays and vacation dates. Sorry to say, here it is August and I’m already thinking about December and Christmas vacation.

This year we won’t be seeing much of the family as we are going to go to the Bahamas for Christmas. Usually we all get together at my mother’s home for a dinner and gift exchange, and I’m sure they will all be disappointed that we aren’t coming, but I have a great deal on the Bahamas trips and that’s what my kids want to do, so that’s the plan. I just needed to know the dates of their school holidays so they don’t miss any school when I book the trip.

Since we won’t be seeing all the family this Christmas, I thought it would be nice to see out Christmas Photo Cards to everyone. That at least puts our face in front of them over the holidays, even though we won’t be there in person. Found a great web site to order the cards and they have two options for the types of cards you can order. One option is a designed frame and they print your photo right on the card frame. The other option is a photo holder where they printed the inside of the card and you insert your own photos right into the frame using double sided stickers or sliding the photo into the cut corners of the frame.

I have some snapshots of the family from our company picnic and our trip to the amusement park to look through for using on the photo cards, and if none of those work out well for a photo Christmas card, I can take some more with my digital camera until I get the right pose and the right shot. The web site has a link with tips on taking photographs using digital cameras and even cell phones. It’s always good to read through photo card taking tips – you never know when you’ll learn something new and useful.

Internationally Yours

When you work for an international company you must develop an increased awareness for the holidays and celebrations in other countries. As American’s we are used to the banking-type holidays, when the banks, the post office, government buildings and sometimes school will all be closed for the day. Then there are the cultural holidays, like Mother’s Day, Flag Day, even Thanksgiving, that are celebrated in America on certain dates but perhaps not observed in other countries on the same dates, if at all.

A good example is Father’s Day. In America, Canada, and the U.K. we all honor our fathers by celebrating Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June, every year. However, in Australia, Fathers Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September.

With Father’s Day just a little over a month away, our friends in Australia are already shopping for gifts and planning their celebrations. A great site to shop for Fathers Day Gifts is DadShop.com.au and it’s not bad for ideas for Christmas gifts, either. Check it out. I can be Australian for the day if the urge to buy me something overcomes you!