HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Best to all of You for a Wonderful Holiday Season

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bob McKenzie has been selected as one of the guest speakers for the Georgia State Conference for the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.  The conference will be held on February 7 and 8 in the Gwinnett Center in Atlanta.

The NEW I-9 Forms MUST start being used NO LATER than December 26, 2007. 

Florida Minimum Wage going to $6.79 per hour effective January 1, 2008

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We’ve Moved!

We have again moved to larger facilities.  Our new address is:

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Building 1, Suite 112
Jacksonville, FL  32216

Our fax number has also
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A New and Improved
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Jacksonville, FL 32256
Phone: (904) 861-2903

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It's That Time of Year Again

Many HR people and office managers are at wits end this time of year.  Planning the holiday party is probably one of the most stressful events of the year.  Most holiday planners have the greatest of intentions of making the holiday party one that all employees will remember.  However, they are also bombarded by the “I’ve got a better idea” crowd or the “why did you do that” gang.  None of these people want to help, they just want to criticize.  The holiday party planner often gets to the point of pulling out their hair, kicking the cat or worse.  You have to feel for the people who take the time and effort to find a place, figure out a menu that would satisfy all attendees, develop an agenda and all the things that go into planning and holding the party only to be second guessed every step of the way.   

Here are a few suggestions to make the holiday or end of the year celebration a little less stressful and much more meaningful. 

  1. Contact a local children’s charity and adopt some needy children or needy families.  Use the money budgeted for the holiday party to purchase toys, gifts and food to make the holiday especially meaningful to those who would really appreciate it. 

  2. Contact the same charitable organization and get the name and a wish list of three items from each child.  Hold a party for these children and make sure each of them receives everything on their wish list.  Again, the money that is budgeted for the holiday party can be used to purchase the gifts and buy the food for a party.  If you are gratified by seeing happy children’s faces, this will be something, you won’t forget.  

  3. Have all gifts received donated and raffled off to employees at a company sponsored lunch. Supplement the gifts by purchasing additional items so all or most of the employees receive something of value.  The amount spent per employee for this type of event will probably be less than the expensive dinner.

  4. Don Dymer, president of SingleSource, started a great tradition a few years ago in which he decided not to send holiday cards, but instead, donated the money he would have spent for the cards and gifts to a charitable organization.  His reasoning is that cards are thrown out and gifts often forgotten, but the money he donates is always used for a worthwhile cause. 

It is not too late to help those children in need.  Diane St. Laurent, the HR and Safety Officer for the Community Connection in Jacksonville recently sent out an e-mail appealing to the community because there are 200 children that they serve who will not have anything this holiday if someone does not help.   Look at their website at www.communityconnectionsjax.org.  Also if anyone is interested in helping one or any of these children, contact Nicole Butler-Bryant at 904-350-9949 or nicole@communityconnectionsjax.org.

The holiday season is a time to give thanks for all you have and to reflect back on the year with anticipation of better things to come in next year.  It is usually filled with high hopes and optimism.  It can also be the most stressful time of the year.  Giving a little back to the community and those in the community who need help will help take the stress out of the holidays.  Try it and see. 

Since many of the readers of this newsletter are in Jacksonville, Florida, here is a link to a list of charities in Jacksonville published by the Florida Times Union - https://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120307/met_222320804.shtml


Other ideas from our readers are welcomed and will be published in the next issue of the McKenzie Mailer.  Please send your unique holiday event ideas to:

Bob McKenzie
President
McKenzieHR

potential@mckenziehr.com

 

September 2007 -
HR Hot Topic #2 - Controlling the Cost of Medical Benefits
August 2007 -
HR Hot Topic #1 Recruitment and Retention
June 2007 -
Strategic Human Resources is Not an Oxymoron
May 2007 -
Is It Really a Hostile Work Environment?
April 2007 -
What happens after a new employee is hired?
March 2007 -
SHIFT HAPPENS
February 2007 -
Imagine
January 2007 -
Discrimination & Harassment
December 2006 -
IT’S BEEN A HECK OF A YEAR
October 2006 -
The Why Label Generation Y?
September 2006 -
The World of Recruitment Has Changed
August 2006 -
Keep Your "A" Players
July 2006 -
Traits of a High Performance Workplace
June 2006 -
Is a Mediocre Employee Better Than No Employee?
May 2006 -
The Compliance Vultures are Circling – Are You Prepared?
April 2006 -
Is Administrivia Keeping HR from Getting a Seat at the Table?
March 2006 -
Agreeing to Disagree or Avoiding the Subject
February 2006 -
Happy Valentine's Day
January 2006 -
Be a Talent Magnet and a Talent Utilizer