Month: July 2015

What it takes to be an indispensable employee

by Dan Oswald The other day, a colleague passed along an article from Inc. magazine titled “35 Habits That Make Employees Extremely Valuable.” Whether you’re an employee trying to figure out how to make yourself indispensable to your employer or a manager looking for the right type of person for your team, this piece, written […]

Please Sue Me 2015

Consultant and trainer Hunter Lott, famous for his annual “Please Sue Me” presentations, delivered the 2015 version of his talk to attendees at the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Annual Conference and Exposition, held recently in Las Vegas.

The DOL Internship Test—Has It Taken a Swan Dive?

Internships have long been considered a great source of development—and the Department of Labor (DOL) has certain requirements in place to ensure that “interns” are properly classified. However, a recent court case indicates that the DOL’s test may not cut it anymore—BLR® Legal Editor Jasmin Rojas, JD, has the facts of the case and what […]

Is Pay-for-Performance the “New Normal”?

Pay-for-performance, once considered a cutting-edge compensation strategy, has now gone mainstream. Dan Walter, CEP of Performensation, says that competition, performance, and reward have become so intertwined and such an integral part of our everyday lives that they should unquestionably affect the way employees are paid. Today and tomorrow, we’ll share some of his insights in […]

“It’s not me, it’s you!” Seinfeld lessons on candid employee evaluations

I confess, I’m a Seinfeld junkie. I’ve watched every episode multiple times and literally love every single one—even the finale (I know, I know, I’m in the vast minority, but I’m committed, you could at least give me that). To this day, I watch Seinfeld’s re-runs over and over again, which I’m sure makes me […]

Single mom wins rotating shift job—then wants days only—and court agrees

by Christian Paquette Did an employer discriminate against a single mother when it required her to work the regular shift rotation job she’d applied for? An Alberta court was recently asked to rule whether an arbitrator was right in deciding against the employer. The court in SMS Equipment Inc. v. CEP, Local 707 agreed that […]

Brevity Is the Soul of Wit

President Woodrow Wilson was once asked how long it took him to prepare his speeches, and his answer was quite telling. “That depends on the length of the speech,” said Wilson. “If it is a 10-minute speech, it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour speech, it takes […]

The Fine Art of Brevity—Can It Help Your Training?

In today’s Advisor, we hear from BLR® CEO Dan Oswald regarding the effectiveness of brevity. With his message, consider this: Would your training have more of an impact if it was shorter and sweeter?