It's easy to get into a rut and continue doing things the way they always have been done. Every once in a while, it's helpful to take a step back and ask, "is this there a better way to do this?" Here's your opportunity to ask that question for Human Resources with some great articles around rethinking areas of HR and trying out something new. 

1) Rethinking the Review from Human Resource Executive

"After 50 years of debate, has the time finally come to chuck the performance review? Adobe Systems Inc. has long been renowned for its innovative multimedia and creativity software products, most notably Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader, and the Portable Document Format that we all know as the PDF. By the fall of 2011, however, the San Jose, Calif.-based company had shifted its focus toward rich Internet-application software development -- specifically digital media and digital marketing."

2) A New Way Of Working And Learning: Adidas Style from Forbes

"At the Germany-based Adidas Group, management believes that learning should be “light, desirable, and fun.” That’s according toMatthias Malessa, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer and one of the pioneers of a brand new, innovative learning and development platform that debuts today. The Adidas Group has more than 51,000 employees globally, with an average age of just 30 years, half of them in retail. Workforce development and skills training have always been priorities for Adidas, which for years spent its learning-specific budget and resources on designing interesting, varied curricula to engage employees. The curricula focused on a classroom-based format, where employees enrolled in a range of programs focused on behavioural and job-related training."

3) Honoring the Valley’s Most Creative and Fruitful Efforts in Employee Engagement from Phoenix Business Journal

"For its inaugural Human Resources Best Practices program, the Phoenix Business Journal searched for the Valley’s most creative and successful HR programs. This year’s winners range from turning staff meetings into talk shows, to establishing unique on-boarding and staff mentoring programs, to rewarding employees at all levels for coming up with the next “big 
idea.” For this special section, we asked each winning company’s local HR leader to tell us about the program’s conception and implementation."

4) Re-evaluating Assessment from Human Resource Executive Online

"Considering their obvious importance, you'd think employers would have perfected the candidate-screening and performance-evaluation processes by now. But thanks to a range of factors, including some that are quite subtle, bias continues to persist and cloud the judgment of assessors. Many of the most important decisions in business and management involve making judgments about individual employees. From assessing job candidates to handling performance appraisals, managers are judging people all the time."

5) Obama Order Bars Contractors from LGBT Employment Discrimination from HR Hero

"On July 21, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Federal Employment Law Insider editor David S. Fortney, Elizabeth B. Bradley, and Emily Bristol, attorneys with Fortney & Scott, LLC in Washington, D.C., issued a statement after Obama signed the order. They explained that the order marks the first time a national standard has been established. They called it “a historical moment for the expansion of civil rights laws to include the LGBT status as a protected category.” The Executive Order does not include a new exemption for religiously affiliated contractors. Several religious leaders sought such an exemption after news of Obama’s plan was reported in June."

6) New Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination Released from HR Hero

"For the first time since 1983, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination. The new guidance incorporates significant developments in the law during the past 30 years, including how the 2008 amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may apply to employees with pregnancy-related disabilities. The EEOC issued Enforcement Guidance: Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues on July 14. Besides the guidance, the agency released questions and answers about the guidance and a fact sheet for small businesses."

Lexi Gordon is a Lead Consultant for exaqueo, a workforce consultancy that helps startups and high-growth companies build their cultures, employer brands and talent strategies. Contact exaqueo to learn more about how we can help you build a workforce that’s aligned with your company culture and develop an employer brand that will allow your business to scale the right way.