Training

Hot & bothered: Team-building goes wrong

09/10/2010

As part of a team-building activity, an Italian company hired a motivational trainer who specializes in firewalking. The goal: help employees see beyond their limits. The problem: The motivational guru brought the wrong kind of wood and artificial charcoal that day. Nine of the company’s employees were sent to the hospital with burns to their feet.

Constant hiring means high-speed, nonstop training

08/24/2010

One of the country’s fastest-growing companies, LTC Financial Partners is looking for 300 new sales agents—and when those jobs are filled, more will open. Because the organization is constantly hiring, it’s also constantly trying to get new employees up to speed. So it created the LTC Insurance Training Institute to get recruits ready to work within five days.

Online learning: Back-to-school picks

08/17/2010

Autumn brings with it a “back to school” feeling that can be sated only with a seminar or course. And there’s no easier, more affordable source for online learning than iTunes. Find out about this new, free training resource that just might work in your organization.

Make it one of HR’s goals: Ensure everyone gets training on harassment

07/13/2010

Courts have long said that employers are supposed to be proactive about preventing and stopping sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers know or should know that simply having a sexual harassment policy in place isn’t enough—they have to aggressively enforce that policy. What employers may not fully realize is that no one within the organization is exempt from education, training and discipline.

Are there special requirements for training employees who do not speak English well?

07/09/2010

Q. Our company recently hired some employees who do not speak English as their first language. What are our obligations in training these employees?

Management 101: Five legal lessons your supervisors must learn

07/06/2010

When it comes to employment law, it’s always best for managers to learn from others’ mistakes rather than their own. Share these recent court cases—and the lessons learned—with your organization’s supervisors:

OSHA: Employers must provide safety training in ‘language and vocabulary’ that worker understands

06/23/2010

Many government safety regulations require employers to give employees safety or health training. In May, OSHA issued an enforcement memo to its inspectors, directing them to verify that employers are giving such training, “using both a language and a vocabulary that the employee can understand.”

Make sure everyone in same job has shot at training

06/18/2010

Here’s an easy way to prevent a discrimination claim: Offer everyone holding the same position the same opportunity for training. Otherwise, supervisors may play favorites, and that can end in litigation if the better-trained employees end up getting the promotions.

Failing to investigate nebulous charges isn’t a federal case–and it’s not retaliation

06/02/2010

Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation for doing so. In order for the employee to win a lawsuit, the retaliatory act must be adverse—that is, it must be an act that affects the employee in more than an inconsequential way. In a recent case, an employee claimed that by merely ignoring her complaint, her employer was retaliating. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals nixed that idea.

Unexpected bias worry: denial of training

05/28/2010

Remind bosses that everyone who is qualified for training should have access to development opportunities, and that hand-selecting subordinates to attend training can be discrimination. Note: Be sure they understand that older employees are also entitled to training—even if it seems reasonable that they may quit or retire soon.