Category: Learning & Development

Everyone agrees that supervisors need to document their HR actions, but many have writers’ block. Just remember, says attorney Jonathan Segal, you didn’t hire them for this skill. Here are common mistakes, and ideas for doing it better. The hardest part of writing a discipline memo is writing the first sentence, so give your supervisors […]

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Virtually all HR and safety training material you’d ever need, as often as you need, at one low flat fee. That’s BLR’s new Employee Training Center. CEO Bob Brady gives you the details. Since the day I founded BLR in 1977, I’ve known employee training to be a […]

In real estate, it’s location, location, location, and in HR, it’s document, document, document. Yes, it’s the most-hackneyed saying in the history of HR, but it’s still the most important. Time after time, lawsuits are lost or settled because documentation doesn’t exist or is inadequate, inaccurate, or doesn’t support management’s statements. Somehow, you need to […]

Managers often want to know why they need documentation to fire an “at-will” employee. Simple, says today’s expert. Without it, you can end up in court explaining why your managers are so stupid that they fire people for no reason. In theory, with at-will employees, either party can terminate the employment arrangement: At any time […]

Help, no kidding. New supervisors are in for a great ride, but if you don’t train them well—and fast—they’re going to crash and burn. Here are tips and news about a new audio conference especially for new supervisors. Last issue we posed 9 problem areas for new supervisors and promised that today, we’d offer some […]

There are few times in business as treacherous as the first few months for new supervisors. They have new-found power and are eager to do the right thing—but they don’t know what it is. Pity the new supervisor. Sometimes they do the wrong thing, because they think they have to do something, and sometimes they […]

Last Advisor, we talked about 7 things not to say; today we’ll cover 3 things supervisors should say, and tell you about a new audio conference that will keep you, your supervisors, and your managers from saying “stupid things.” “Gee, I never knew that.” “Where does it say I was supposed to do that?” Aren’t […]

Supervisors and managers with the best of intentions say the worst possible things. Some are said out of concern and some out of a desire to “act like a manager.” But they’re all dangerous. Here’s a rogues’ gallery of 7 of the most troublesome. 1) I think you’re depressed. Shouldn’t you see somebody? Comments like […]

What, someone filed a complaint about me? No one gets away with that! Whoever it is will be sorry! Sound like any of your managers? Tell them that, whatever it is, get over it! Retaliation is a platinum invitation to a lawsuit. If you haven’t trained your managers to avoid retaliation, it’s likely that one […]

If termination is necessary, let it be a group decision, say the experts. That approach will hold up strongly against legal challenges. Here’s why: First, specialized input. As we mentioned in yesterday’s Advisor, specialized members of the management team, like the HR manager, are in a better position to judge the appropriate action to take. […]