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Training

Fire offender to decouple discrimination, employment action

10/01/2007

Remind upper-level managers: When a supervisor or mid-level manager makes comments that could be construed as racist or religiously motivated, it pays to act fast. In fact, firing the responsible manager sometimes can be the best way to go. That way, if the employee he disparaged later gets turned down for a promotion or a raise, it will be much harder for an attorney to show a connection between the supervisor’s biased views and the denied opportunity …

The ‘iPod generation’ soaks up employee training via podcasts

09/18/2007

HR staff at McLean, VA-based Capital One wanted a training program that would allow users to learn at their own pace and free them from sitting in classrooms and at their computers. So they piloted the Audio Learning Program, passing out iPods to about 300 employees and creating digital audio training programs …

Top 5 e-mail mistakes and how to avoid them

09/11/2007

E-mail is a great business tool, but sometimes it makes one yearn for the bad old days of neatly typed (and proofread) memos in interoffice envelopes. Here are five tips to share with employees to keep e-mailing safe and productive, rather than embarrassing and destructive.

Save on tuition aid by managing colleges like vendors

09/01/2007

Tuition-aid budgets currently account for 10% to 12% of overall training costs, says Jeanne Meister, a corporate learning consultant and former vice president of market development at Accenture Learning. “That (increase) could grow out of proportion unless employers put the brakes on and manage tuition assistance,” says Meister. “It will be a big issue in five years.”  Here are six practical tips to help you manage tuition-assistance programs like your vendor relationships …

It’s time to figure out who will replace the boomers

09/01/2007

Despite what you’ve heard about would-be retirees clinging to their jobs long into their golden years, the average retirement age is 62. That means the boomers are going to start racing into retirement. How many employees is your organization going to lose? Chances are, you don’t know. Most organizations don’t know how old their employees are or when those in their 60s plan to retire. Supervisors may know on a case-by-case basis, but what the organization needs is an overall profile so a mad dash out the door doesn’t catch anyone by surprise …

NYSHRL assigns personal liability to those who harass

09/01/2007

Having trouble finding the best way to explain to employees that it’s in their best interest to maintain a harassment-free environment? Try this persuasive sentence: Co-workers who participate in discriminatory conduct can be held personally liable for damages. Or explain it this way: If co-workers name-call, harass or otherwise discriminate against another co-worker, their assets—house, car and personal possessions—are on the line …

Provide training when promoting into management ranks

09/01/2007

When promoting someone from the rank-and-file to first-level management, be sure to provide harassment and discrimination training. Here’s why: If the employee you have selected as a supervisor has a hidden history of discriminatory behavior, you’ll want to make sure that’s all in the past …

Porn at work: Don’t get into debate over what is ‘Too much’

09/01/2007

When an employee says no to the sexual images posted in co-workers’ workstations and to their sexually laced comments, your company had better listen … and act. It shouldn’t debate over “how much” porn is acceptable. As a recent lawsuit shows, even if an employee initially tolerates a sexually charged workplace, she can drop the lawsuit hammer at any time …

Don’t Ignore—or Make Light of—Harassment Complaints

09/01/2007

Remind supervisors, managers and HR staff: Don’t brush off or make light of sexual harassment complaints. Doing so can just add more fuel to the fire. When employees are ignored, they may begin to see every slight that comes their way—getting the cold shoulder at meetings or missing out on promotions—as retaliation for voicing their concerns about sexually hostile behavior. And that can make them much more likely to file lawsuits against your company …

Making it mandatory boosts ER workplace violence training

09/01/2007

A study in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that workplace violence training for hospital employees occurs more frequently in states where the law requires such courses …