Dear Colleagues,

I hope you had a fantastic summer!  For me and my business, Connect to HR, 2011 has proven to be a great year so far.  I’d like to take a moment to share with you what I’ve been up to.

Despite the uncertainty of the economy, the San Francisco Bay area and in particular, Silicon Valley are creating jobs again.  A recent article in the Silicon Valley Business Journal shows various companies such as Kaiser Permanente, Apple Inc., eBay Inc., and Lockheed Martin Corp. have listed thousands of jobs in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.  Working in the small business sector, I have seen an increase in hiring in the first two quarters of 2011.  It has been exciting to assist a start-up company that hired 24 new employees in a period of weeks across the country or to meet with a small business owner who will be hiring 20 new employees in a period of 90 days in California and the east coast.

Due to the uptick in hiring, I’ve developed a new presentation addressing the 4 essential hiring considerations when adding new employees.  I made a presentation to the Power Partners networking group in August and I will be presenting at additional networking groups throughout the remainder of 2011.  Please visit continue to visit my blog for dates and times of my presentations.  Also note, this blog contains posts with relevant information about the hiring trends in 2011.

In addition to helping businesses with their hiring needs, I continue to be approached regarding the best ways to prevent employee issues.  Many business owners are concerned they do not have the proper policies in place.  I’ve worked with small business owners to develop employee handbooks. No matter what your industry or sector, an employee handbook is a must-have. Clearly written policies can provide a defense against many employment-related claims brought by employees. A handbook is a means of uniform distribution of policies and procedures to all employees.

Please help me make sure every employer has a handbook for their business. I can take the stress away and make it hassle-free to implement. If you or one of your contacts needs assistance with an employee handbook, please send me their name, email and phone number.  You can also find more information about my handbook service at http://connecttohr.com/employee_handbook.

What I am most proud of this year is the opportunity to collaborate and partner with various organizations and serve a larger community.  In May, I was asked to join the Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center as a HR Advisor.  This means I get to do what I love and help coach business owners with HR needs in a different capacity.  I also presented to SCORE counselors in July.  SCORE has asked me to develop a HR workshop to help small business owners avoid employee mistakes.  This workshop will be launched in 2012.

I look forward to an exciting second half of 2011.  I would also love to hear from you and what you are experiencing in your careers and businesses.  Please drop me a note at connecttohr@yahoo.com.

I wish you all the best for a fantastic fall.

Thank you for your support!

Michelle