• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employee Relations

Put brakes on discipline when allegations of supervisor harassment seem credible

08/26/2011
It would be naïve to think your organization’s supervisors would never sexually harass subordinates. Here’s what to do when an em­­ployee complains she’s being sexually har­­­­assed. Make sure you investigate thoroughly. Don’t approve any discipline recommended by the same supervisor until you have had a chance to verify or disprove the allegations.

Employee’s poor personal hygiene puts you in a difficult situation

08/15/2011

Telling a person they have bad breath or body odor is difficult to do. That’s why so many managers toss this employee problem HR’s way. You need to toss it back to the managers.

Workplace Pranks: More Costly Than Funny

08/15/2011
As April Fool’s Day approaches, some employees might be scheming to pull a range of pranks on unsuspecting co-workers. Of the 6,800-plus employees surveyed by Careerbuilder.com in 2008, 32% reported having either initiated or been on the receiving end of an April 1 prank.

20/20: Small business best benefits practices

08/12/2011
Only big companies can offer generous benefits, right? Wrong! SHRM and the Families and Work Institute have uncovered dozens of examples of small organizations—those with staffs of 20 or fewer—that think big when it comes to employee benefits. See how many of these ideas might be right for your small business.

No-raise promotions: A handy tool, but beware risks of ‘title fluffing’

08/11/2011
While salary budgets are up this year—merit raises are running near 3.0% compared with 2.7% in 2010—some still-skittish employers are more likely to dole out title raises rather than extra cash. The danger: Organizations may give gratuitous no-pay promotions instead of using the practice as a selective ­reward and retention strategy.

Cydcor employees take charge of charity effort

08/04/2011

When they’re not matching businesses with outsourced, face-to-face sales teams, Cydcor employees are putting smiles on the faces of children in Peru, Cambodia and Rwanda. Employees have raised nearly $150,000 for Operation Smile, a children’s medical charity.

Just looking at the caller ID, you’re already dreading answering the phone. The person on the other end of the line is …

08/02/2011
Ouch! Be glad you’re not a vendor—the people HR pros really don’t want to talk to.

All together now: Teaching workers to ‘manage’ their bosses

08/02/2011
Pay-for-performance is effective only when managers spell out for each employee exactly what he or she must do to get paid more or reap perks like flexible scheduling. In reality, too few managers do that. They need to know supervision is a two-way street. Solution: Sometimes employees must “manage the boss.”

Worker lost $700: Can we make him pay it back?

08/02/2011
When an employee loses company property or money, what recourse do employers have to recoup their loss? It depends on the applicable state wage law … and on whether you believe the “loss” was really accidental.

Thin-skinned employee or bully boss? Trust your HR instincts to decide who’s right

08/02/2011

HR professionals must often make judgment calls about who is telling the truth. In fact, just about every workplace investigation requires assessing the credibility of employees, co-workers and managers who disagree about what happened. Trust your gut — and follow these four guidelines for figuring out who’s right.