Employee Relations

Track, date all steps in disciplinary process

06/08/2021

When employees figure out they are about to get in trouble at work, expect a flurry of complaints and requests for job-protected leave. These desperate measures are based on the belief that employers can’t fire anyone who has a pending discrimination or harassment case, or who is out on some form of medical leave. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t impose discipline for actions unrelated to an employee’s protected status.

Humdrum job? Show the value

05/28/2021

Face it: Not every job is exciting. Most tasks can be repetitive and lull your employees into complacency. Here are a few suggestions for keeping spirits high in what a worker may call a monotonous job.

Use judicious threats to propel talks

05/27/2021

When you’re working out a problem with employees, vendors, or customers, making threats can be risky. People resent them, and you may decrease the likelihood of cooperation and even risk inciting revenge. Yet, as negotiation experts Adam D. Galinsky and Katie A. Liljenquist point out, threats can be effective—if you follow these three principles.

Beware ‘no-poach’ pacts with competitors

05/20/2021

Recruiting new employees is difficult these days, making it more important than ever to retain the staff you already have. Just make sure your retention efforts don’t cross the line into collusion with other employers.

Get back to normal, minus the telework stigma

05/18/2021

Telework saved countless organizations during the pandemic. Remote work shed its occasional stigma as a privilege or a grudging accommodation of special-case employees. But as the covid crisis winds down, backlash against telework has begun to surface again.

Steady the ship when employees lose their balance: 3 tips

05/12/2021

Employee disengagement or burnout isn’t always apparent, and some employers may be in for a surprise if and when the COVID-19 pandemic winds down. Leaders need to learn how to recognize when the people around them—peers, colleagues, but especially subordinates—are out of balance or are heading in the wrong direction.

Keep antsy employees from jumping ship

05/06/2021

Some of the employees who loyally stuck with your company throughout the pandemic may be getting ready to bolt. It’s not too late to stop them!

Here, there, everywhere: Foster harmony and productivity with a hybrid workforce

04/22/2021

Flexible, hybrid arrangements allow for better safety precautions and relieve some of the chaos experienced by working parents with children e-learning at home. For managers, however, the set-up can prove a major headache. How can leaders improve the harmony of a hybrid workforce and perhaps save their own sanity?

As pandemic eases, which employees should you bring back into the workplace?

04/15/2021

Many employees who were sent home at the start of the pandemic are in no rush to return to the workplace full time. The “when” and “who” and “where” of returning your workers requires looking at these key questions, according to attorney Jon Hyman.

Be persistent with new procedures

04/09/2021

You probably already know the basic steps in helping your employees implement a new work procedure. Whether it’s an improved way to handle customer calls or a better manufacturing process, you can’t give these steps the once-over—you have to be excessive all the way through to make the transition work.