Thoughts on HR

If you search online for interview questions to ask a candidate, you’ll find no shortage of lists of questions and justifications for why those are the best questions to ask. There are plenty of default questions people feel like they should ask, but not many people...

We’ve previously talked about the manager’s role as cheerleader and as lifeguard. Now it’s time to talk about the most challenging role for many managers—the bouncer. I don’t know any managers who enjoy the process of firing an employee. There are surely some who see...

The cheerleader is the most important role that a manager has. In that role, the manager rallies the team around the company’s mission and helps them achieve their goals. But sometimes people fall out of line, which is where the manager’s second role—the...

Every manager must take on a variety of roles to help them successfully lead a team to accomplish its goals. While each manager’s roles will look a bit different based on their industry and organizational structure, there are three primary roles that should apply to...

Dress codes are a bit of a loaded topic in the business world. Businesses want to appear hip and fun in order to attract great talent, and they want people to have the freedom to be themselves and be comfortable in order to retain that talent. So they say, “Let’s just...

Policy is a critical component for any organization, but it’s a place where many small businesses fall short. In some cases, the business simply hasn’t taken the time to develop their policies and share them with employees. In other cases, policies exist, but they’re...

Federal law prohibits asking about a lot of things on a job application—sex, race, color, national origin, or religion—in order to prevent discrimination in the workplace. One thing not included in that list is criminal status.

First impressions are important. A new employee’s first impression of the company may have occurred during the hiring process, but the first day of work is another critical opportunity for the employer to make a great impression. A quote from Maya Angelou sums this up...

Meetings are a perpetual topic of debate in the business world as organizations strive to find balance between having enough meetings to maintain open communication and overwhelming the team with too many meetings. Meetings are a necessary part of any organization,...

When it comes to the hiring process, consistency is key. If you're a regular reader of our blog articles, you're probably thinking you’ve heard that phrase before, and you're right. Consistency is key not only for hiring, but also for all aspects of human resources....