Thoughts on HR

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....

There are two things we see happen frequently in small businesses that result in management problems. The first is giving someone the title of manager but not empowering them with the responsibility to actually manage. The second is giving someone both the title and...

Unfortunately, there are countless situations of people being promoted to a position of authority without any training on effective management techniques. When that happens, many new supervisors default to an authoritative approach. They use fear and intimidation as management tactics, yet much of it stems from their own fear of being exposed as an unqualified manager.

The definition of a hostile work environment can sometimes seem pretty subjective. But as with many workplace situations, it’s all about perception to the employee. And as we all know, perception is reality, especially for the employee who feels they’ve been subjected to a hostile work environment.

This blog isn’t about harassment training and a long list of things that training should cover. It’s about the importance of talking to your employees about it and making sure your company culture doesn’t support it. It’s also important to recognize that harassment is...