Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
If you’ve read many (any?) of my writings, you may have gathered that I’m a sports fan and often use sports-related stories to make a point. This week is no different. Earlier this NFL season, I, like many football fans, suffered through the debacle that was the replacement referees. I’m sure you recall those ill-prepared […]
Early in my career, I worked for a boss who, every time he returned from vacation, measured the productivity of his staff by the number of reports and memos he had waiting from each person. It didn’t take long for his staff to realize if you wanted to impress upon him that you had worked hard […]
HR professionals may not go looking for trouble, but that doesn’t mean trouble doesn’t go looking for HR. Complaining employees regularly find their way to HR and often demand a solution to a problem they either don’t want to handle themselves or should leave to management. One such problem is a coworker with an offensive […]
I was watching a movie recently in which the lead character was up for a prestigious award. While she was visiting an elderly shut-in, the subject of the award came up. The shut-in confidently stated that the woman deserved to win the award. But the nominee wasn’t certain she was worthy of such recognition, so […]
It’s often said that employees are an employer’s greatest resource. That being the case, it’s no wonder many employers turn to mentoring — the linking of talented but inexperienced employees to proven leaders. Famed scientist and philosopher Sir Isaac Newton has been quoted as saying, “If I have been able to see further, it was […]
I once read that you need three people to run a successful business — a creative leader, a businessperson, and an asshole. (Sorry, but that’s what it said!) As I recall, the argument went that you need a creative type who has that intuitive ability to judge what the market wanted whether it was in […]
Can’t we deal with job descriptions later? No, you need lean, practical job descriptions that accurately reflect essential job duties, says BLR’s California Employment Law Letter. They serve an important, if not necessary, function in virtually every significant employment decision businesses make.
Litigation Value: Dwight manhandling Gabe = a pricey negligent retention/supervision lawsuit; Andy trying to convince Oscar to cook the sales books = $700 for an expedited severance agreement and release in full for Andy; Kevin and the Einsteins claiming all the glory at trivia = one priceless fluke. What happens when an office is $800 short of […]
Everything I need to know about management, I learned from my mother. No, she wasn’t the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. In fact, she didn’t work outside the home for more than 30 years while she raised me and my three siblings. Yet every management lesson I’ve learned in my 25 years in business, […]
By Bill Duvall Employers in Canada have taken comfort from the fact that most provincial workers’ compensation agencies provide benefits for workplace mental stress only in very limited circumstances. But that comfort may be threatened, at least in British Columbia. Earlier this month, the B.C. government introduced legislation that, if passed, will expand workers’ compensation […]