Archives

He Doesn’t Talk Like Us

By Charlie S. Plumb As the diversity of our workforce expands, it isn’t unusual for companies to have employees with different cultural backgrounds. In some cases, that may mean your employees speak different languages or sometimes have difficulty communicating. Remember, however, that expressing your concern about an employee’s language capabilities can sometimes lead to an […]

The 10 Questions You Must Ask Before Firing

Faced with a firing, managers are typically upset and uncomfortable. They want to just “get it over with.” Stop right there. Slow them down, and ask these 10 questions first. Otherwise, you’re likely headed for an expensive lawsuit. Here are the 10 questions BLR® experts recommend you ask before any termination. If your answer to […]

Take a Vacation from Smartphones and Overtime Laws

by Sarah McAdams Do you keep your personal Blackberry or iPhone on your bedside table, yanking yourself from deep sleep every time a new message dings in? You’re not alone, sad addict. I, for instance, am typing this on a Saturday at a picnic table in my backyard. For years, employers have most frequently issued […]

Take Extra Care When Firing or Laying Off Disabled Employees

As a result of the recent economic crisis, many employers have been faced with the unpleasant task of laying off workers. But what happens when one of those employees is disabled? We recently received a question addressing that very issue. The situation involved a severely disabled part-time worker who was hired to stuff envelopes as […]

Symbolism and the C-Suite: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

For the last decade, big companies and the people who run them have been some of the most despised and least trusted in America. In the 80s and 90s, “greed was good” as everyone benefited from a skyrocketing stock market. No one much cared what was going on in those big companies as long as the […]

Spotting Your Michaels (and Dwights)

After watching last night’s repeat of The Office, I decided that some of my clients’ stories this week were more titillating. That’s what she said. (Couldn’t resist.) The theme of calls that I got this week almost made me feel like I was on the show. I looked for cameras (and Ashton and Howie) more […]

An Invitation to Share Your E-Pinion with a Few of Your Colleagues (About 155,000, Actually)

How many times have you had strong feelings about something in HR that you wanted to share with your colleagues? Well, here’s your chance to do it. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know it’s usually written by BLR’s founder and CEO Bob Brady. Bob’s “e-pinions” have crisscrossed the wide world of […]

Employers Should Be Prepared in Case Swine Flu Strikes

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, has officially reached the level of a pandemic. Swine flu first became big news in the U.S in late April and early May, but within a couple of weeks was off most people’s radars. Although it […]

Effective Wellness Means Branding, Integration

Especially with online wellness programs, corporate branding and integration are essential, says wellness expert Barb Rouleau, APRN.  In today’s Advisor she shares her “top nine keys” to building great wellness programs. Rouleau is chief wellness officer at PureWellness, a leading provider of online wellness programs. She was joined by Ron Keen, the firm’s president, on […]

Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World

HR writer Sarah McAdams reviews the book Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott. There are a handful of reasons to read Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World HC. Among them: 1) You don’t “get” the youngest workers at your organization; 2) You […]