Employee Relations

A fair investigation is all that’s required

02/14/2024

It’s important to thoroughly and fairly investigate whenever an employee is accused of wrongdoing. Employers have lots of leeway to investigate as they see fit, as long as they can demonstrate their investigation was conducted in good faith.

Get written acknowledgment for every missed shift

02/02/2024

Employers that have clear rules and apply them fairly seldom lose termination lawsuits—if they can prove their employees understood the rules. One of the best ways to demonstrate that is by consistently having workers acknowledge that they broke a rule. Do this at the time you discipline the worker, pointing out what rule they broke. A brief written disciplinary notice with a space for the employee’s signature should to the trick.

Study: No lasting productivity gains from remote work

01/29/2024

Remote workers are no more or less productive than their on-site colleagues, concludes a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The finding throws cold water on hopes that significant productivity gains reported during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns would continue post-COVID.

Recruiting: Offer work-from-home option, tout opportunities to advance

01/29/2024

It’s tough to attract the best new hires if you can’t pay as much as larger employers can. However, you may have a couple competitive advantages big companies can’t offer: the option for employees to work remotely full-time and the promise of promotion opportunities.

Want to retain your employees? Offer training

01/12/2024

If you ask a departing subordinate why she’s jumping ship, it’s likely the answer will include better pay and benefits and a lack of opportunity for advancement. You can’t do much about pay and benefits, but you can leverage the training programs you already have in place to prevent subordinates from looking for a new job in the first place.

5 ways to eliminate incivility among team members

01/12/2024

Ever feel like some of your employees slept through that elementary school presentation on the Golden Rule? It might be up to you to reteach it—and fast.

Cost of a one-sided investigation: $15 million

01/08/2024

Ignoring a complaint or summarily dismissing it almost guarantees you’ll lose a lawsuit if the complaining employee decides to sue. But how you conduct that investigation is crucial. Lean too heavily towards supporting the alleged victim, and the alleged perpetrator may be the one who sues you.

Writing job descriptions: An 8-question checklist

12/20/2023

Inaccurate or incomplete job descriptions can create costly legal risks. Here are eight questions managers should ask themselves when drafting a job description.

Survey: With retention slightly better in ‘23, how employers hope to improve in ‘24

12/19/2023

Employers spent much of 2023 trying their best to retain top talent, as workers continued showing a willingness to change jobs. Among their top retention tactics, according to a new report by the iHire online recruitment site: offering higher pay and bonuses, plus greater job flexibility and more recognition of employee accomplishments.

Top 10: The most productivity-inspiring songs and most popular artists for workplace listening

12/04/2023

According to an apparently rigorous analysis of Spotify playlists by TollFreeForwarding.com—why a phone-number brokerage does this, we don’t know—these are the top songs for promoting workplace productivity.