With fear and uncertainty circulating about the continued spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, it’s no surprise that employers are wrestling with the best way keep employees healthy and to ensure that sick employees stay at home for as long as needed. In particular, I am concerned about industries with heavy concentrations of hourly employees – such as retail and restaurants – that could be hit worse because sick employees will still try to come…
How do you define employee engagement? Is it by remembering birthdays, providing lunch to your team or recognizing accomplishments like anniversaries? Employee engagement certainly encompasses those things and hopefully makes for more cheerful employees; however, I define an “engaged employee” as one who is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work, and takes positive actions to further the organization’s reputation and interests. Consulting giant Deloitte looked back on 2019 and made note of the…
Ahhh…vacation. We all love it and look forward to it. It’s not only a fun and welcome change of pace; research has found that vacations are actually really good for our health! Stress reduction, heart disease prevention, improved productivity, and better sleep are just some of the health benefits that vacation can provide. But have you ever wondered why employers would actually pay someone to take a vacation? The concept of paid vacation was started…
Flu season is getting started here in the South, and now is a great time to get your office and your workers ready to battle it. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), every flu season sickens millions of Americans, hospitalizes hundreds of thousands, and kills tens of thousands. The 2017-2018 flu season was the most severe in a decade. While only moderate in severity, the 2018-2019 season was record-breaking in duration, with flu…
The end of any year is always challenging, between juggling employees’ holiday vacation schedules, preparing year-end paperwork, and making adjustments for the upcoming year. However, an end of year assessment is a valuable way to review your company’s accomplishments for the year, celebrate successes, and share business updates and progress with your employees and stakeholders. You also can take stock of how well you met your goals and capabilities, which allows you to set objectives…
I’m always interested in reading books and articles that address the concept of productivity. After all, learning to balance work and personal responsibilities is a challenge that we all face. A while back, I read a book called “The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy” by Chris Bailey. It prompted to me to look at my own effectiveness and assess what’s working and where I could improve. Here are the…
Prudent business leaders recognize the importance of requiring “fitness for duty” certifications as part of the hiring process, especially where a worker may need to perform lifting, bending, stair climbing and other physical duties. Many organizations also request fitness for duty certifications for a change in work status, and this is legal provided that the requirement is consistent across all workers. When workers (as well as job candidates) are pregnant, however, HR professionals face special challenges….
Per a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, more employees are voluntarily leaving their jobs than at almost any other time this millennium. When an employee quits – especially if the individual was a valued contributor – or the person “ghosts” the firm (stops showing up with no notice), employers can feel confused and betrayed. If the organization has invested resources in the employee, such as training, the loss can be financial, as well….
Periodically, we issue article updates on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the legislation enacted to promote accuracy, fairness and privacy for consumer information stored and used by consumer reporting agencies. Hiring organizations need to be aware of FCRA regulations, because in some instances they can be held liable if their reporting agency violates them. Right now, we are monitoring several issues that may affect business owners’ rights. Two that could have significant impact follow….
It’s been 55 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 13 years since the #MeToo movement started. Companies from Sephora to Starbucks are making assertive efforts to expand their support for “workplace diversity” — not only through training, policies and procedures but also by ingraining it into corporate cultures. Increasingly, companies are embracing the concept that everyone has the potential to contribute regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic…
Buffalo's Cafe Ends Human Resources Headaches;