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Employee Relations

Turn slackers into stars! How to spark the turnaround

03/17/2014
Dealing with underachievers requires using judgment and some knowledge of human psychology. Here are some ways to get underachieving employees moving in the right direction.

North Carolina SBI plans probe of Scotland County Sheriff

03/13/2014
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has announced plans to investigate the Scotland County Sheriff’s office, but it’s been mum about the investigation’s focus. At least one news report has linked the probe to the office’s practice of requiring deputies to moonlight for a local warfare training company.

Adapt ‘management by walking around’ for the HR world

03/10/2014
As Yogi Berra noted, “You can observe a lot by watching.” The time-honored management-by-walking-around concept is based on this theory. It’s an effective way to discover employment problems no one would normally tell you about.

Win by losing: 7 bad communication habits to shed

03/05/2014
The quickest way for managers to improve their professional image is to improve their communication skills. And the simplest way to improve those skills is to stop doing things that repeatedly get you in trouble.

Bill would target nurses who dodge drug diversion

02/27/2014
Following reports of numerous Minnesota nurses continuing to practice despite failing to abide by the state’s substance abuse diversion requirements, State Rep. Tina Liebling has introduced legislation to require regulators to suspend noncompliant nurses.

Foster friendship to achieve results at work

02/25/2014
While vigilant HR pros might bristle at the notion of “work friends” and office romances, cubicle camaraderie can be awfully good for morale—and, it turns out, the bottom line.

Could manager’s telecommuting ban be bias?

02/24/2014
Q. We have a bunch of employees who telework. One manager wants to follow the approach Yahoo took last year and eliminate teleworking. He believes that employees are not actually working and that their inability to see the whites of each other’s eyes is limiting their collaboration. He’s made some comments in the past that make me think he really worries that female employees are spending work time caring for their children from home. What should we do?

Consider alternatives to your formal annual review process

02/24/2014
Many companies—including Adobe and Netflix—have abandoned annual reviews, focusing instead on continuous performance management. Could this process work for you?

Discrimination hotline won’t protect against lawsuit

02/20/2014
Merely creating a hotline for reporting discrimination isn’t enough to protect an employer against harassment and discrimination claims.

Managers commit 60% of all workplace misconduct

02/18/2014
In a poll of 6,400 U.S. workers, 41% said they have observed misconduct on the job. Then they named the culprits.