WHY YOU SHOULD READ MY BLOG...REGULARLY !!

Welcome Back Friends,


Being new on the blog scene, I understand that I need to win you over, to give you some good reason to return to read whatever I may have in store for you. I believe that this "winning over" process includes helping you to get to know me a little better, so you can conclude for yourself whether I am worthy of your time and trust. So allow me to do that now:


I am a ten year widower who retired from corporate life just over five years ago. I was a Human Resources executive in the retail dept store industry in Canada. My main strength was in employee & customer relations and in training and development of the people at all levels in the organization. It was in this area that I really devloped my passion for writing and editing.


One of the most satisfying responsibilities was when I was assigned by the President of the company to create from scratch, then write, edit and publish an Employee News Magazine for both the English and French language employees across Canada (70,000 strong from coast to coast).The first edition was a meager 8 pages long, to introduce the newsletter and to invite employees across the nation to submit stories , items , questions, etc that they thought would be of interest to our diverse group of employees. We called it " THE COMPANY CONNECTION ". The newsletter had a good life of ten years and it grew in size to well over 100 pages in length at its peak and then retired gracefully, undefeated, to the dismay of many. The new president decided he wanted to go in another direction. He, understandably, wanted to put his own stamp on the company and this was one very visble way to do so.

Looking back to 1995, when the company was preparing to celebrate its historic 325th anniversary (no, that's not a typo) I was asked to create a Special Anniversary Edition magazine that would be handed out to all employees as a keepsake of this unique & special event. It was to include a lot of historical information covering our growth & development over that 325 years . That was a huge task ,because there was an incredible amount of history from which to choose. But it was a labour of love for me and an enjoyable task for Bernice Watson, a good friend and wonderful research assistant who I had the good fortune to have available to assist me.

Happily, the magazine was a big hit, extremely well received throughout the
organization. The CEO & the President expressed their appreciation and honoured me with a special Achievement Award. However, the real satisfaction for me was the many, many notes of thanks and appreciation I received from employees across the nation. They felt that the special edition really helped them to get a better feel for the history,culture and tradtions of their company. And that's exactly what it was intended to do. And that's when I fully realized that I am truly passionate about writing and enjoy the challenges it presents to do it consistently well. I confess, I am not there yet. But I am working hard at it all the time.

When I wasn't busy writing, I was working on resolutions for a wide and ever changing variety of employee relations problems. In two of my assigments, Winnipeg and Victoria, labour relations issues were also part of the job, things such as contract negotiations, settling grievances, etc etc and monitoring to ensure that both parties lived up to the CBA requirements.

The other aspect of my human resources "portfolio" was training and development. First, there was customer relations & satisfaction training for sales associates, as well as support staff who had any kind of contact with the public.

Secondly, I particularly enjoyed doing the leadership training we provided for our managers and supervisors . It was aimed at helping the people in leadership positions to develop real excellence in employee relations. My particular focus was to have the leaders understand the importance of helping every associate for whom they were responsible,to feel valued, respected , appreciated and trusted.

This included maintaining a respectful attitude even when dealing with employees who had performance problems that had to be addressed. The initial assumption was always that the poorly performing employee wanted to find a way to improve, just as much as we wanted them to improve. If they made a truly honest effort to make the improvement, but after a reasonable time period it just wasn't happening, then a fair and compassionate termination arrangement that took into account their age, service and salary, was the last act of kindness we could show them. But if the improvement was made, then it was important that the manager conveyed positive words for the employee to hear about how their hard work and effort was very much appreciated .....and very successful. As a result, they were fully restored to good standing & deserved to be congratulated.

The other very important general point in employee relations was always one of regular ,positive employee communications. I "preached" that face to face,one on one discussions with individual employees , right in the area where they worked, was one of the most effective things that could be done to convey thanks and appreciation, accompanied by a smile, a warm tone of voice and ending in a warm handshake.

On these same occasions , within that positive and encouraging environment, employees had the opportunity to ask questions, make comments, offer suggestions and express their own pleasure or concern with circumstances in the workplace. While that was happening, it was a timely opportunity for the manager to demonstrate that he /she understood that management does NOT have a monopoly on good ideas. How? By listening carefully, expressing interest in the idea or suggestion and perhaps asking the employee to do a follow-up on it, writing up a further development for submission, or arranging an early follow-up "sit down" appointment where the idea could be discussed in greater depth.

Managers who tried this learned that such brief, face to face "thank you" chats could turn into little gold mines for both parties. There is nothing that makes a hard working , contributing employee feel like they are valued and respected more, than when the boss asks for and then actively listens to whatever thoughts the employee is expressing. Managers also quickly realized what a powerful jolt this was to employee morale . Employees who feel valued, needed and respected, are not busy looking for a better job on their day off.

The definition of a good job is:
* being fairly and attractively compensated;
* given a very fair and competitive fringe benefit package;
* being valued and respected for what you do;
* listened to when you have something to contribute that will make work
procedures flow better on the job in some way, or that will improve the
atmosphere and environment of the workplace area itself.

Employees who have all this, who feel good about their present circumstances, do not & will not need to think about finding a "better" job.

Other aspects of a full and challenging and always interesting human resources management role, were :
1) Dealing with chronic absenteeism
2) Dealing with employee dishonesty and their tragic consequences when caught.
3) Dealing with sexual harassment and its complexities .
4) Dealing with the effects of difficult relationships at work (boss/ employee and/
or employee/ fellow employee) & employee personal life difficult relationships
at home ( spouses, children, elderly parents, etc)that cause serious disruption
to workplace harmony and productivity.
5) Dealing with drugs and alcohol abuse problems and trying to fairly decide
when continuing to support the employees in their substance abuse battle,
was counter productive to the best interests of the company.
6) Helping employees deal intelligently with their retirement planning.

In 1999, I was honoured to receive the company's National Award of Excellence for Leadership in Human Resources. It is an impressive trophy and I am proud of the achievements it recognizes.

Well, that's it for this time. I think you now know what credentials of skills and experiences that I will be calling on to write my future blog postings. This is the same background I regularly use to provide the customers of my personal touch writing and editing service with the kind of quality solutions that they have come to expect from me.

Visit my website at http://www.jjwritesmith.com. YOU, also, may have an important personal document that MUST be written very well and very carefully, but you are feeling ANXIETY about being able to do it personally. I CAN HELP. This is what I do and I GUARANTEE SATISFACTION (I don't get paid until you get that satisfaction).

Please remember.....it's not the problems and challenges & difficulties that you encounter in your life that are important. It's HOW you choose to respond to them and handle them that really matters.

You do NOT have to ever feel that you are completely alone, isolated or that help is not available. There are always many talented people you can call on for help. In my case, I am available for counselling on many different personal assistance requirements.

If you feel you would rather talk to me directly, instead of via my website email, please call me on the phone for a personal chat. My number is on the website and when you call, you will get me, NOT someone answering the phone for me. So your call will be direct contact and of course, strictly confidential. If I am not available at that particular moment, leave your name , number, date and time of your call and I PROMISE I will call you back shortly.

No matter what it is you do,whether you work ouside the home each day, or manage a household, or attend an educational institution , are you just doing what you can get away with, or are you doing your very best , everyday, all the time?

What is your personal standard of performance by which YOU measure your own worth? I recommend that you choose excellence as your personal standard. Choose to be OUTSTANDING !! All you have to do is make the decision and then follow it up with your very best efforts !!Use that personal power that is deep inside of you. You may literally amaze yourself.

Until next time, live well! Stay healthy! Include some relaxation in your life! Take time to read, to meditate, to laugh, to get proper rest. Practice kindness, patience, thoughtfulness, sensitivity and tell those most important to you ,how much you love & appreciate them. They will never get tired of hearing that. You'll enjoy how it makes you feel , as well.

If you like what I have to say, write and tell me. Even more importantly, if you DON'T enjoy what I have to say, I REALLY want to hear that....along with a few words of Why? Help me do a better job by sharing your views and feelings.

Warm regards,

Jerry Jellison