Before the advent of the internet, applying for jobs was a fairly straightforward process. Candidates would keep paper copies of their resume on hand, and when they found open positions, they would send a resume in the post or drop it off in person and hope for a call back about a job interview.

HR professionals deal with a lot of challenges on a daily basis, but at the root of it, the primary goal is to maintain a high level employee retention and productivity.

Many of us work long hours, often 40 hours per week is just a minimum. Shouldn’t we know how to make the most of those hours? How can we maximise all that we accomplish?

Paying the living wage isn’t optional for survival, but neither should it be a problem.

The thought here is simple: employees want to be acknowledged for their achievements. If an employee feels appreciated, they are more productive and engaged.

Is it just me, or are we all waking up wishing there were a few more minutes in the day to get through our ‘To-Do’ lists? The goal, of course, is to complete as many of them as possible without feeling completely stressed out. Since time’s one thing we can’t get more of, we’ve got to use our minutes as efficiently as possible.

This week we celebrate National Work-Life Week 2015, this annual event, run by Working Families, aims to highlight benefits of work-life balance for employees so they are engaged, motivated and productive at work.

The initial challenge of recruiting can be divided into two important parts - first is the step of sourcing, or finding potential candidates for employment, and second is evaluating whether they're a good fit. HR offices everywhere are looking for new, innovative strategies for improving in both of those areas.

At all places of business, large and small, there's a growing expectation that HR's role is to increase employee retention and productivity. A productive workforce is the lifeblood of a successful company. If your employees are willing to stay in their positions and work hard, your business is more likely to make money.

Following on from Part 1 of my blog, HR & Marketing: A perfect blend, this post discusses aspects around HR and Marketing working together to promote colleague communication, recognition and feedback.

HR and Marketing, hand in hand
Human Resources and Marketing are two departments that have traditionally run side by side, often in silo, but can be stronger and more successful with frequent points of interaction.