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HR Management

Summer scheduling: What changes do you make?

07/24/2009

If you notice that “summer stare” on employees’ faces as they gaze longingly out their office windows, it may be time for a morale-boosting seasonal schedule change. Here are some ideas working for the readers of the HR Specialist Forum:

Tap into the power of e-mail to change employees’ health habits

07/24/2009

When employees hunch over keyboards all day, all the motivational posters in all the break rooms of the world won’t improve their health. Solution: Deliver practical, actionable advice directly into employees’ e-mail in-boxes.

Press ‘send’ for liability: The legal risk of misdirected e-mail

07/24/2009

Have you ever felt that punch-to-the-stomach feeling of clicking “Send” and realizing you blasted an e-mail to the wrong person? As the CEO in the following case learned, one misguided e-mail mixed with some poor judgment can stir up a potent legal stew …

New CDC web site helps employers combat obesity

07/24/2009

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month unveiled LeanWorks, a web site designed to help U.S. employers address employee obesity and its related costs.

Hacked! Limiting employer liability for breaches of employee data

07/24/2009

Imagine this nightmare scenario: You’ve contracted with a vendor to enter personnel data into a new computer system, including employees’ Social Security numbers, addresses, names of dependents, health records and bank account routing numbers. Then the vendor notifies you that employee data was somehow stolen or lost. What do you do?

Set clear, fairly enforced rules on behavior to trump ‘my disability made me do it’

07/24/2009

Some employees with genuine disabilities think they can use their health conditions as excuses to break workplace rules regulating behavior. They can’t, if managers genuinely believe the employee violated the rules, and those rules are clear and equitably enforced.

How can we legally combat tardiness?

07/24/2009

Q. Some of our admin assistants are good employees, but they’re constantly late. What can we do to get them to come to work on time?

Make sure employees understand policy and process for reporting sexual harassment

07/24/2009

Employers can do plenty to stop sexual harassment, but employees have obligations, too. If the company has a process for reporting co-worker sexual harassment, employees must follow it. Otherwise, they lose the right to complain. That’s why you need a sexual harassment policy that gives employees the information they need to come forward.

Train front-desk workers what to do with legal papers

07/24/2009

It happens all the time: An employee sues and the papers show up at the front desk. Unless the employee on duty knows what to do with legal documents, you may lose valuable time preparing a response. Make sure everyone knows exactly where to send legal paperwork.

Want healthier staff? Cash incentives work best

07/24/2009

First, employers suggested. Then, they encouraged. Then pleaded. Now more U.S. employers are turning to the almighty dollar to get their employees to change their pound-packing, chain-smoking, sedentary ways. Despite the sour economy, more employers are creating and expanding wellness programs in recent years. And they’re increasingly turning to financial rewards and penalties to increase participation.