Training

Self-test: How well do you keep employees on task?

05/23/2014

Workplace surveys suggest that employees waste up to one full day of every workweek—up to nine weeks a year—with unproductive time. While some of the blame lies with inefficient or unmotivated employees, some can be chalked up to decisions made (or not made) by managers.

Avoid the 10 reasons most workplace training fails

05/20/2014

Organizations waste most of the time and money they spend on training because most rely on outdated training ideas and boring methods.

Who’s in charge of implementing corporate diversity initiatives?

05/09/2014

HR is responsible for running most American employers’ diversity initiatives, according to a new survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Explain why employee didn’t receive training

04/30/2014

Employers should be careful to design training programs that make training opportunities available for all. But sometimes, an employee won’t be able to participate in training. In those cases, be prepared to explain why.

Train & track: The secret to preventing and beating harassment lawsuits

03/20/2014

Employers aren’t required to prevent every moment of harassment in their workplaces—just to stop harassment whenever it occurs and to take reasonable preventive steps. Two of those: Providing anti-harassment training to every employee and tracking who gets that training.

Container Store takes 260 hours to train each new hire

03/17/2014

One of the Container Store Group’s “foundation principles” is “1 = 3”—one great employee equals three good ones when it comes to productivity. And the 63-store chain only hires about 3% of all who apply. Then, it pays them 50% to 100% more than its competitors, and spends at least 260 hours training each new employee.

Use split-sample tests to gain backing for HR

03/06/2014

Say you want to implement a new training program for sales reps. But every time you propose a new HR initiative like this, executives question whether it can work or say the company can’t afford it. Next time, take a different approach: split-sample testing.

Everyone’s business: Teach staff the ABCs of customer service

02/18/2014

Many of your employees have to deal with customers, even if it’s only occasionally. Here is a 26-step primer to help your employees understand what it takes to not only hang on to customers, but leave them with a positive impression of your business.

Want to muzzle all workplace gossip? Use training, not a blanket no-gossip policy

01/30/2014

You may not like the idea of employees grousing to each other in the breakroom about their knucklehead managers or the new health care plan. But don’t try to silence such behavior with a broad no-gossip policy. As this new case shows, you could run afoul of the NLRA.

Remind supervisors: They can be held personally liable for many work-related problems

01/28/2014

Quite often, employees’ attorneys make sure supervisors are separately charged and individually liable. Cite this trend during training to instill in your managers and supervisors that they need to follow the professional advice HR provides—or else face the consequences.