HR Professional - August/September 2008 - (Page 12)

UPFRONT MONEY | GUNS | NEW HIRES ©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/THEPROPSHOPPE BY THE NUMBERS SALARY COMPARISON HOW DOES YOUR COMPENSATION COMPARE TO YOUR HR PEERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY? HERE’S A LOOK AT HR GENERALIST SALARIES WITH FIVE TO NINE YEARS’ EXPERIENCE FROM FOUR MAJOR CITIES ACROSS CANADA. Employee Rights Guns in Employee Parking Lots The right to bear arms in workplace parking lots is a singularly American HR issue, and one that’s i i llA i i d th t’ pitting U.S. employers and labour lawyers against gun-toting employees and the National Riﬂe Association (NRA)—the nation’s powerful gun lobby group. At issue is employee rights to keep guns locked in their cars during work hours. In an effort to reduce workplace shooting deaths—estimated at about 1,000 per year in the United States.—employers and the American Bar Association want to outlaw employees keeping guns locked in cars during work hours. After several workplace shooting rampages, many states passed legislation banning weapons from the workplace. The NRA argues these bans limit gun owners’ ability to protect themselves “when you’re driving home,” says the group. In 2002, forestry giant Weyerhauser ﬁred eight staff members in Oklahoma after ﬁnding guns in their vehicles during a drug search. In response, Oklahoma passed legislation prohibiting employers from banning weapons in locked vehicles. The NRA is mounting a state-by-state campaign to promote similar legislation across the country. Business groups are vehemently against the proposals. HALIFAX Source: NRA $48,200 TORONTO $56,600 CALGARY ONBOARDING Virtual Orientation at IBM programs for interns in China and India. In the Chinese pilot, U.S.-based HR staff and Chinese interns create individual avatars to build relationships, learn about their functions and hold meetings within Second Life. In India, IBM is using another virtual tool, called Plane Shift, to allow virtual teams to simulate project work. A third pilot is focusing on mentorship and leadership development. IBM wants to create a virtual community of retired employees, former IBMers, as well as existing in-house IBMers who want to share their wisdom with younger generations. $57,600 VANCOUVER $54,500 TO SEE HOW YOUR JOB MATCHES UP—OR TO COMPARE COMPENSATION FOR DIFFERENT TALENT CATEGORIES—CHECK OUT WWW.PAYSCALE.COM. Source: Payscale.com Forget the traditional ﬁrst-day, get-to-know-you lunch for new hires—IBM is turning to the virtual world to introduce new workers to life at Big Blue. Using Second Life, an online artiﬁcial 3-D world, IBM has been piloting two virtual onboarding Source: Talent Management 12 A u g u s t / S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 8 HR P R OF E S S I ON A L http://WWW.PAYSCALE.COM http://Payscale.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - August/September 2008

HR Professional - August/September 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters Upfront Legal Compensation Human Capital The New Frontier On Message Strategy HR 101 Interview with Annette Veschuren Talent Management Training Work/Life Balance Off the Shelf The Last Word

HR Professional - August/September 2008

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