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Employee Relations

Take steps to make a ‘newbie’ feel welcome

01/26/2012
Just as communication at the beginning of a marriage can indicate if it will end in divorce, the foundation established early on with a new hire is crucial to productivity, engagement and retention. Onboarding programs yield the best results if they cover these five areas: clarification, connection, culture, compliance and check back.

Flex drives customer satisfaction, record profits

01/26/2012
Tax services firm Ryan & Co. measures employees’ work performance by results achieved, not hours worked. The result: an ultra-flexible workplace that allows employees to choose their hours, where they work and how much time to devote to work each day.

Step by step: Becoming a great manager, the Google way

01/25/2012
Google, the king of search engines, recently set out on a search of its own—to identify the qualities that make the highest quality managers at Google Inc., and then to replicate those qualities across the entire company. The end result: a simple, yet ele­gant, list of eight management practices that the best Google managers consistently do.

What’s your organization’s (official or unofficial) dress code?

01/24/2012
Bad news for Brooks Brothers and Ann Taylor: Traditional business attire takes a back seat these days.

It’s OK to discipline employees for stonewalling HR investigations

01/24/2012

Sexual harassment allegations often come down to he said/she said arguments. Without hearing from both sides, there’s no way to determine what happened. If one of the employees involved in the allegations won’t talk, you can discipline him for refusing to co­­operate and the courts will back you up.

How to become a great manager, the Google way

01/23/2012
Google, the king of search engines, recently set out on a search of its own—to identify the qualities that make the highest quality managers at Google Inc., and then to replicate those qualities across the entire company. The end result: a simple, yet ele­gant, list of eight management practices that the best Google managers consistently do.

Nontraditional benefits set ‘best and brightest’ apart

01/23/2012
Health insurance and flextime aren’t the only perks employees consider benefits. Most of the companies that won “Best and Brightest” awards from the National Association for Business Re­­sources earned accolades from their employees for these offerings:

How to help employees understand the value of their benefits

01/17/2012

Boosting your benefits communication during lean economic times can help your organization retain good employees and ease their worries so they can focus on work. The key: Show employees the value of their benefits.

Red-handed? What to do when you suspect employee is a thief

01/17/2012

Few HR dilemmas are as sticky as dealing with an employee accused of stealing from the company. Here’s how to handle the situation with care, making sure your organization doesn’t overstep its bounds and expose itself to liability.

Be prepared to answer the question: Are you biased, or is employee overly sensitive?

01/16/2012
Every once in a while, you’ll run across an employee who is hyper­­sensitive to any criticism. She may even attribute it to bias against a protected status, and may file an EEOC complaint. Rest assured that if you investigated and took her complaint seriously, the EEOC complaint will likely be dismissed.