Month: September 2011

American Companies Are ‘Terrible at Flex’ (Sir Richard Branson)

Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Michael J. Fox all spoke at the recent SHRM Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas—and each had a few timely hints for HR Managers: Sir Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur who has started about 300 companies, doesn’t think much of American policies regarding flextime and vacations. He calls the […]

Hot List: Bestselling “Business Life” Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Tuesday morning, September 6, in the “Business Life” section of the “Business and Investing” category. 1. Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times, New and Expanded Edition by Jon M. Huntsman. Think about the kind […]

Peer Group ‘Arms Race’ for Executive Pay?

Peer Group ‘Arms Race’  Boyd, a researcher at Boston-based compensation consultant Equilar, says that pay ratcheting is a concern when companies compare themselves to their peer group. “For instance, you decide to set your CEO’s pay above the median of the peer group. Then other companies see that figure and want to set their CEO […]

How Do You Recharge Your Battery?

I hope you enjoyed a long Labor Day weekend. The passing of this national holiday signifies that summer is over. The kids are back in school and it seems like ages since your summer vacation. The pace has quickened noticeably as we move into the fall season. So the changing of the season and the […]

Expert Assessment: ‘HR Deserves a $5,000 Bonus’

In yesterday’s Advisor, Hunter Lott of Please Sue Me fame, offered his lawsuit avoidance tips. Today, his advice on legal exposure in 2011, plus an introduction to the new 24/7 leadership training system. What percent of charges did the EEOC drop last year? Lott asks. More than 64 percent. “That’s us!” Lott says. That’s HR […]

Build a Perfect Peer Group for Compensation Comparisons

Who’s in Your Peer Group?  The first thing to do is to decide which companies should make up your peer group, says Boyd. Should you compare to companies:  Against whom you compete for business? Whose revenues are approximately the same as yours? With about the same number of employees? In the same industry?   Isn’t there […]

Employees, Public Criticism, and the Media

by Jean-François Cloutier Your employee makes critical comments to the press about your company. Is he a legitimate whistleblower or has he violated his duty of loyalty to his employer? In Chopra et al. v. Treasury Board (Department of Health), an adjudicator at the Public Service Labour Relations Board recently considered just that. He considered […]

Please Sue Me? Teach Your Managers the YouTube Test

It used to be the “60 Minutes Rule,” but lawsuit avoidance expert Hunter Lott now encounters people who say 60 Minutes, what’s that? So he advocates the “YouTube Rule”—don’t do anything in the office, he says, that you wouldn’t want to see on YouTube. Lott, who is a popular speaker and consultant and owner of […]