Communication

Holiday sampler: 4 treats to make HR’s season bright

10/08/2011

The holidays are special, but they’re also an HR headache. Our early gift to you: Advice on everything from planning seasonal celebrations to handling end-of-year scheduling hassles.

How to avoid the top 5 employment law mistakes employers make

10/03/2011

Failing to effectively communicate with your employees isn’t just bad for business. It also can create legal trouble. Here are five of the most common errors that land employers in court. As you’ll see, communication lies at the heart of all of them.

Exhibit A: Avoid the 3 most common documentation mistakes

09/23/2011

“Document, Document, Document.” Employment attorneys say it all the time. The quality of your documentation relating to performance management and discipline goes to the heart of your credibility as a manager or HR professional. Anything less and your documentation becomes Exhibit A for the plaintiff.

Virginia bank creates family atmosphere

09/13/2011

Employees of Monarch Bank work at cubicles so huge that they call them “Taj Ma-cubes.” Every President’s Day, they celebrate “Monarch Day” with training sessions and an awards ceremony. And last year, their bonus checks were 30% bigger than the year before. Result: Employees stay.

How to manage ‘super-qualified’ employees

08/31/2011

With unemployment still running above 9% nationally, many people are taking jobs that are lateral—or even downward—moves in their careers. As a result, many managers are supervising employees who have far more experience than the job requires. Use the following guidelines to effectively manage overqualified workers and lengthen their stay:

Employee’s poor personal hygiene puts you in a difficult situation

08/15/2011

Telling a person they have bad breath or body odor is difficult to do. That’s why so many managers toss this employee problem HR’s way. You need to toss it back to the managers.

Just looking at the caller ID, you’re already dreading answering the phone. The person on the other end of the line is …

08/02/2011

Ouch! Be glad you’re not a vendor—the people HR pros really don’t want to talk to.

All together now: Teaching workers to ‘manage’ their bosses

08/02/2011

Pay-for-performance is effective only when managers spell out for each employee exactly what he or she must do to get paid more or reap perks like flexible scheduling. In reality, too few managers do that. They need to know supervision is a two-way street. Solution: Sometimes employees must “manage the boss.”

When can we fire for offensive body odor?

08/01/2011

Q. We have a staff member with body odor so bad that other staff members have complained and even threatened to leave the company. The employee has been disciplined several times and required to go home without pay until she agrees to comply with our grooming code. At what point can we legally terminate her?

‘Can we talk?’: How to handle requests for secrecy