Communication

How to prevent succession planning from triggering discrimination complaints

02/04/2011

Many companies design succession plans so they can spot the next generation of leaders early and develop current employees to their full potential. If your organization is involved in such a process, step back and look: Does everyone who is tapped for special treatment come from the same race or gender? Or does the chosen group exclude older workers or the disabled?

5 mistakes to avoid when recognizing employees

01/18/2011

If a star employee has ever surprised you during an exit interview by saying she had been dissatisfied with her job for a long time, you’re not alone. It’s common to find a vast divergence between employee satisfaction and management’s take on the situation. Managers frequently make five big mistakes that can send your valued employees packing. Luckily, they’re easy to fix.

Winter of discontent: 10 tips to help workers through bleak months

01/17/2011

There are two seasons almost everyone looks forward to: the winter holidays and summertime. The first now seems like a distant memory, and the other is still months away. That can make this time of year feel a little bleak, and it can make work productivity lag. Show your employees that you understand the midwinter doldrums and you care enough about them to try to help them through it.

The 10 best ways managers can build employee trust

01/05/2011

Surveys consistently show that lack of trust in management is one of the main reasons employees disengage from their work and seek jobs elsewhere. Here are 10 ways managers can work to earn trust from their employees:

Scrooges on staff? 8 ways to turn ’em around

12/21/2010

As another year winds down, the economy isn’t the only thing that’s in a slump. Plenty of workers are in the doldrums, too. They feel stuck in their jobs because new ones are hard to come by. They can’t afford to retire. So they’re not performing as well as employees who look at their jobs as labors of love. Here’s how HR can help get them back on track.

Give employees heads-up on new flex spending rules

12/07/2010

The new health care reform law resulted in some changes in the way health care Flexible Spending Accounts will work—and employees need to act on some of those changes right away! Help employees make the most of current FSA benefits and plan future health spending by letting them know about the following changes.

The HR I.Q. Test: December ’10

12/02/2010

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

No bonuses this year: Do we need to give notice?

12/01/2010

Q. Our employees have come to expect a holiday bonus every December. We need to end that practice this year due to the economy. Are we legally obligated to give some kind of notice?

15 ways to unlock creativity and generate ‘light bulb’ moments

11/30/2010

Whether they express them or not, your employees constantly have creative ideas swimming in their heads. How can managers get employees in the right atmosphere to generate such ideas and put them into words? Here are 15 simple steps, according to a new book, Attention!, to help you and your employees spark creativity and produce great ideas:

9 surefire morale deflators–and how to avoid them

11/23/2010

With everything on your radar during the workday, it’s easy to forget about employee morale. But keeping the team engaged isn’t something that can be ignored or postponed. To keep morale on your radar, be aware of some of the common management mistakes that undermine it. Here are nine main deflators of employee morale, plus tips on avoiding them: