Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Our management has asked me to explore the possibility of outsourcing substantial parts of our HR function. (They’re not singling us out—other functions are doing the analysis, too). How can we tell what to outsource, and to whom? — Tammy, HR director in Cupertino
We’ve got some questions about reimbursement for pre-hire travel expenses. For example, do we have to reimburse expenses for: Coming in for an interview from out of town? Going to a facility for a psychological test? Going for a drug test? Going for a physical? Coming in for training or briefings before coming on […]
We’re working on revising our handbook, and the process has turned up a few questions. What procedure should we use to distribute the changes? Anything special we need to keep in mind when we do this? We’re planning some significant changes. Do we need to remind our people of our policies on some schedule (e.g., […]
When we interview a potential new hire, HR professionals assess the candidate against a list of key skills and personal characteristics needed for the job. Let’s turn the tables and see what that list of key attributes would look like for a human resources management professional.
We have a policy we’re planning to change. We told the affected employees that we will be handling the issue a particular way, but we didn’t explicitly tell them that the new practice is contrary to what is in the handbook, or that we intend to change the policy as it is currently stated in […]
We are having a lot of trouble with employees—both exempt and nonexempt-who come to work late. Our attempts to deal with this haven’t been too successful. In some jobs like the assembly line, punctuality is critical-we can’t run the line without all the people there. In other cases, it doesn’t matter so much as far […]
A recent verdict provides a good reminder ofwhy it’s important to listen to and follow up on employee complaints. A juryawarded maintenance technician Bob Haist $500,000 on his clam that his managerat Chula Vista–based Goodrich Aerostructures slandered him by accusing him infront of his co-workers of stealing from the company. Haist’s co-workers alsoallegedly watched managers […]
Generally, employers have 90 days from the date of an employee’s workers’ comp claim to investigate and then accept or deny the claim. And it’s critical not to miss the deadline because if you do, there will be a presumption that the injury is covered by workers’ comp. But suppose a worker who hasn’t filed […]
Employers tend to give a lot of leeway to high-level or valuable employees. But if a rogue boss’s behavior goes unchecked—and forces other employees to quit—you may have a lawsuit on your hands. In one recent case, the employer’s failure to rein in a renegade manager turned into a $600,000 mistake.