Employee Relations

Don’t overlook oral warnings in progressive discipline process

08/19/2013

Progressive discipline often focuses on the end of the process—the written warnings that, if unheeded, can lead to firing. But the oral warnings that come at the beginning are just as important.

The distasteful ‘sandwich’: How to rethink your feedback strategy

08/14/2013

Many managers and HR professionals have been taught to “sandwich” constructive criticism between two positive statements. But I think this is a distasteful way of delivering feedback. Here’s why:

What should we do? Employee says he’s allergic to co-worker’s service dog

08/13/2013

Q. After making several accommodations for an employee who was recently diagnosed with epilepsy and assigned a service dog, another employee is now claiming he is allergic. Can we ask for medical documentation to confirm his allergy? And aside from moving him farther away from the dog, are there other accommodations we are required to make for him?

Recession took toll on workplace collaboration

08/13/2013

U.S. workers are focusing more and collaborating less than they did six years ago—a likely result of the Great Recession and a lagging recovery—according to researchers at Gensler, the nation’s largest commercial interior design firm.

5 tips to help co-workers hear your ideas

08/12/2013

How to get your ideas heard: 1. Build buy-in by “noticing out loud.” 2. Repackage your ideas to sell. 3. Use what you know to connect. 4. Get agreement with repetition. 5. Wear navy blue.

Hypersensitive employee? What’s hostile depends on objective analysis

08/08/2013

Don’t worry too much if a sensitive soul finds the workplace unpleasant. Absent tangible, objective evidence that an environment is truly hostile, her lawsuit won’t go far.

Warn bosses about personal liability risk

08/07/2013

Remind supervisors that the integrity of the performance evaluation process depends on their honest assessment. Providing anything less may mean a court date and personal liability under North Carolina law.

Employees’ emotional outburst: A patient, calm response is legally smart

08/06/2013

Occasionally, all supervisors and HR professionals have to deal with overly emotional employees. Handling such situations with a calm and measured response isn’t just good for morale, it could mean the difference between winning and losing a lawsuit.

Document stressful work conditions to defend against retaliation claim

08/05/2013

Some jobs are inherently more stressful than others and some positions require careful supervision. Employees with such jobs may feel anxious and under constant scrutiny. That can be an unexpected benefit should an employee claim some form of harassment based on sex, race, disability or other protected membership.

@#$%&! Maybe partisan politics isn’t the problem

08/02/2013

They may fight like cats and dogs in Washington, D.C., but they swear like sailors. The nation’s capital is America’s foulest-mouthed city, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com.