Archives

Listen To Employee Phone Calls? Not In My State, You Don’t!

Your right to do electronic monitoring, like many other management actions, is regulated by state law as well as federal. Here’s how to know what your state allows. You’ve been tipped off by a competitor, who’s also a friend, that someone in your organization is offering her your secret information in exchange for a job […]

Employment Law Tip: Four Cures for Workplace Stress

Employee job stress can take a heavy toll on your business—in high turnover, frequent illness, increased workers’ comp premiums, and reduced productivity. Fortunately, there are steps employers can take to ease job stress. The solution often lies in making organizational changes that will improve working conditions. Here are four ideas:

‘You’ve Got E-mail!’… And I’ve Got the Right to Read It

What rights do bosses have to monitor their workers’ communications, especially when sent through the new technologies? The answer (as usual) is: It depends. Warren the Worker hunches over his desk, positioning his body to block any view of his computer screen. Whenever you or other managers are near, he quickly minimizes the image, leaving […]

The Coup

LITIGATION VALUE: $65,000 Somehow I don’t think that having Dwight stand on his desk with the word “liar” hanging from his neck is exactly what Jan meant when she told Michael to get control of his branch. Nevertheless, while Michael’s reaction was extreme, it will probably not expose the company to significant legal liability. Being […]

12 Easy Steps to Training Success

Think you can’t train effectively? Follow these 12 steps and see how easy it can be. In business, the difference between success and failure these days is often measured by how well you train your workers. The reasons are understandable. Changing technology constantly creates new skills to master. Competition forces us to hone employee performance […]

3 Formulas for Better Training

To train better and to get more funding for training, do it “by the numbers.” These days, business is increasingly ruled by numbers. But there are some things that can’t be quantified, right? Like how the human mind can be affected by training. Not so, says training industry leader Bob Pike, speaking to a meeting […]

Human Resources: Should We Outsource HR Activities?

Our management has asked me to explore the possibility of outsourcing substantial parts of our HR function. (They’re not singling us out—other functions are doing the analysis, too). How can we tell what to outsource, and to whom?   — Tammy, HR director in Cupertino

Should We Train Managers As We Do Shamu the Whale?

BLR founder Bob Brady’s look at manager training may be tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a really important principle behind it. There was a wonderful article by author Amy Sutherland in The New York Times recently. She wrote about how animal training technique helped her train her husband. The article could help us train managers and supervisors, […]