Citation
(2009), "Whats on the web", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 17 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2009.04417eag.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Whats on the web
Article Type: What’s on the web From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 17, Issue 5
Shh, you know who
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the US and subsidiary offices in China and India.
Offering information for anyone from students to CEOs the site is quick, clean and simple to use.
Much of the site is only available to members however; a shame because our eye was caught by the following and we would have liked to know more: “Obama Gets Fast Start on HR Issues … If President Obama’s first 100 days in office are any indication, the next four years could lead to drastic changes in the way HR professionals perform their jobs.”
Zoning in on HR
HRZone sells itself as an online network of 25,000 human resources professionals with the UK’s most active online human resources community, providing a wealth of free online resources, with award winning writers and leading industry figures providing the latest news, comment and analysis. Hard to argue with a sales pitch like that, and HRZone certainly has endless amounts of information on all things HR related. The site is welcoming, personal and image friendly. The information is laid out well and easy to trawl through. Registration is free, possibly explaining the large number of signed up HR professionals, and for that reason alone the site is well worth checking out. But with HR tips of the week like “detecting drunkenness” HRZone may be more suited to the uninitiated rather than the HR professional.
Let down by style
Surprisingly, we have not reviewed this comprehensive Canadian-based site before. Here you will find current news and articles from a variety of well-respected newspapers, magazines, and journals from around the world with interesting perspectives, topical stories, case studies and advice.
We were not wild about the web site’s design – too small a font and far too many colors give it a cluttered, amateur look. The content is useful but as the company’s shop window it lets them down. It could do with a re-skin if not a full re-design. Get over the design issues however and there is a lot of useful information to be gleaned.
About time
We have looked at other aspects of this portal site before but recently came across the small business section. For anyone running (or setting up) an SME, this is a goldmine.
When we reviewed it, the site kicked off with “The 9 Personality Types of Entrepreneurs – You may have heard the phrase ‘entrepreneurs are born, not made.’ Yet, nothing can be further from the truth, if you understand your personality type.”
You can browse (quickly) from a detailed list of topics including accounting and tax, business plan writing, starting a business, employee benefits, financing and loans, insurance and legal issues, marketing and sales and much more. A nice-looking site that is well worth a visit.
Nice work
Specifically aimed at the smaller business but with useful information for those in large organizations too, Bytestart provides no-nonsense guides, articles and tips.
Bytestart is an online portal for small businesses in the UK, launched in early 2005. Their reasoning was that while there is a large amount of information posted on the internet for small business people, much of the available content was either overly officious or pretty corporate in nature.
The team behind Bytestart felt that there was a great demand for a business site which was owned and edited by small business people. They were right. And they have succeeded – the information and flavor of this site is informative but also readable and entertaining.
And finally
From a recent (anonymous) blog: “Business books are 95 percent padding and a review in a blog tells you all you need to know. It also means that you can learn what 20 books say in the time that it takes to read one.” Hear, hear.
Best of all
For a particularly interesting and useful site you could always try the Emerald one!
If you have any favorite (or otherwise) sites that you would like us to review on these pages, or wish us to consider your own site, please drop us an e-mail and we will ask our reviewers to check them out.