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Balancing perks and payoffs: Staying on course with employee incentives

Employers are always on the hunt for ways to attract, retain, and engage employees. They resort to a variety of perks including flexible scheduling, plenty of paid time off, and more. But employers also strive to go beyond those common incentives as they search for an innovative perk that will produce a payoff in the […]

5 Laws that Job Descriptions Can Violate

What Laws Are Involved? A number of laws and regulations are involved as you complete your job descriptions and work with them, says Kennedy, including: Fair Labor Standards Act (proper classification as exempt or nonexempt) Equal Pay Act of 1963 (comparing job values, pay values, and gender) Equal Employment Opportunity (comparing pay levels and protected […]

What Happens When the Police Want to Share Your Investigation?

Yesterday’s Advisor gave guidance about reluctant witnesses. Today, what happens when the police want to be involved. Again, we turn to BLR’s Workplace Investigations: The HR Manager’s Step-by-Step Guide for assistance.   On occasion, you may have to interview someone who has been accused of an act that is a violation of your workplace policy […]

Wal-Mart Pharmacy Sued over Refusal to Hire Rehabilitated Addicts

Wal-Mart is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that its refusal to hire pharmacists whose licenses have been suspended violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Wal-Mart recently implemented a policy of firing and refusing to hire pharmacy employees who have any history of adverse action against their licenses by a state pharmacy board, the suit […]

Train Employees How to React to Chemical Spills

Taking immediate and appropriate action after a chemical spill can save lives. If hazardous chemicals are present at your facility, train employees in how to react should an emergency occur. Here are some key actions employees need to be trained to take if they identify a chemical spill: Once you have identified a spill and […]

Boo: Stories that Will Make HR Scream

With Halloween around the corner, we’ve decided to put together a list of some of the scariest HR Strange but True! stories from this year, guaranteed to frighten any HR pro. 10 Most Outrageous Things Applicants Have Done that Did and Didn’t Work—Candidates want to stand out from the crowd and be memorable. However, sometimes […]

The Evil Presence that Lurks in the Workplace at Halloween

Halloween can be a very scary time of the year for HR pros! An evil presence is out to kill the efforts being put into company wellness programs—Halloween candy. Yes, it seems like Halloween becomes the end of year "kickoff party" for calorie-, sugar-, and fat-filled holiday celebrations in workplaces, sabotaging companies’ health efforts. And […]

Beware! Dark Overlords, Dungeon Masters, and Attention Vampires Can Ruin Your Brainstorming

Scary creatures and evil spirits are fine on Halloween night. But they have no place in your brainstorming sessions, where they’re sure to terrorize everyone in the room and thwart any fresh, innovative thinking. Mitchell Rigie and Keith Harmeyer, idea generation experts and coauthors of SmartStorming: The Game-Changing Process for Generating Bigger, Better Ideas, have […]

Reluctant Witness—Can You Demand Participation in Investigations?

What do you do about a reluctant witness, that is, the employee who doesn’t want to participate in your investigation? For guidance, we turned to BLR’s Workplace Investigations: The HR Manager’s Step-by-Step Guide.   Start with the Handbook Your employee handbook should have a provision stating that all employees are required to participate in any […]

Performance Problem—Blame the Job Description?

Well-written and effectively developed job descriptions are communication tools that allow both employees and candidates to clearly understand the expectations of the role, its essential duties, competencies, and responsibilities, along with the required educational credentials and experience, says Kennedy. Kennedy is the principal consultant of MAKHR Consulting, LLC, and author of the career coaching book […]