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Communication

How to counsel employees who have personal problems

01/15/2008
At one time or another, most employees you manage will have personal problems that hinder their job performance. Often, the problems aren’t serious and employees can quickly return to normal productivity. But in some cases, deeper personal problems can cause long-time, productive employees to suddenly underperform, become tardy or react differently to co-workers. This is […]

7 ways for employers—Big or small—To recruit & retain in ’08

01/01/2008

f you work for a large organization, get ready to fight with small ones for your employees. If you work for a small organization, get ready to spend more on the pay and benefits that will lure big-company stars over to your shop …

Add coaching, mentoring to retention effort

01/01/2008

Coaching and mentoring are among the top new ways to retain high-potential employees, says a survey by ClearRock, a Boston-based executive coaching firm …

WARN notice: What if employees aren’t all terminated at the same time?

01/01/2008

Q. I’ve read that 50 or more employees must be affected by a plant closing in order to trigger a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice requirement. We will be closing a plant, but it will take several months before all employees will be laid off. When are we required to give the notice? …

OMG, TWD is nothing to LOL about; Set a policy to stop ‘Texting while driving’

01/01/2008

Even if you already have a policy that bans chatting on cell phones while driving on company business—or at least requires hands-free devices—you should prohibit texting or surfing the web while driving, too. Train your staff and use e-mail reminders …

Duke offers elder care for employees, community

12/01/2007

When holidays bring together young and old family members, the brightly wrapped boxes under the tree don’t hold the only surprises. In fact, says Lisa Gwyther of Duke University Medical Center’s Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, holiday visits can expose an older family member’s frailties to the rest of the clan …

E-mails and messages may come back to haunt managers

12/01/2007

Increasingly, courts hearing discrimination cases order employers to turn over e-mails and text messages. These communications may include correspondence employees may have sent or received from clients and customers. One reason is that federal court rules on electronic discovery now require employers to retain vast amounts of information for use in litigation …

Raymond James sued for discrimination, published denial

12/01/2007

Three former employees of St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial are suing the company, claiming they were paid less, passed over for promotions and denied training and perks because they are women. The lawsuit, which follows an EEOC complaint, also includes claims of sexual harassment and race and age discrimination …

Worker notification requirements when layoffs are planned for 2008

12/01/2007

Q. We employ nearly 100 employees at a facility in San Jose. What type of notice must we provide if we are planning to lay off more than half of these employees during the first quarter of next year? …

8 ways to kill HR credibility … and tips to avoid them

12/01/2007

Lose your credibility and you lose your career. Credibility is the most important predictor of an HR professional’s effectiveness, according to the 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS) by The RBL Group leadership firm. Here are eight key ways to diminish or destroy your credibility …