Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for July 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]
Facebook gets a lot of press as the epicenter of many workplace social media debacles, but Twitter can do its fair share of damage, too—and in fewer words. Here are a few cautionary Twitter tales.
Two years ago, your company offered Bob a job, and he turned you down in favor of a newer, flashier start-up.
A consultant survey says that HR people have the opportunity to greatly increase their pay these days, but only if they develop the skills that merit such raises. What level of salary increase is in your company’s plans for the coming year? Probably about 3 percent to 4 percent, if you fall within national averages. […]
Despite two transit parity bills introduced so far this year on Capitol Hill, Congress so far has made no indication it will extend the mostly non-controversial proposal to equalize the tax breaks for qualified parking and mass transportation and vanpool commuting expenses. Both bills were introduced in the House and seek to amend the tax […]
After Thomas White was fired from his job at an Ultramar convenience store several years ago for allegedly stealing a soda, his employer was ordered by a jury to pay $342,000 in lost earnings and punitive damages. And the company’s legal expenses were just beginning, as the case wound its way through the state appeals […]
A study by Fidelity Investments of 13 million 401(k) investors across U.S. metropolitan regions pinpointed the cities where plan loans are most heavily used. The analysis found the greatest percentage of participants with outstanding plan loans, at 33 percent, in the McAllen, Texas, area. The second-largest proportions of borrowers were in the Riverside and Bakersfield, […]
Customer service reps have a difficult and mostly thankless job. Every year, though, we recognize their important work during Customer Service Week (this year it was October 5-9). We thought it might be interesting to ask BLR’s customer service reps about some of their most unusual calls or experiences. We weren’t disappointed. To begin with, […]
Ubiquitous Affirmative Action Policy Is Unenforceable, Meaninglessby Kurt Ronn, president and founder, HRworks If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there to hear it fall, does it make a sound? If affirmative action regulations are so complex, so broad that they impact nearly everyone, so constantly changing that no one can keep […]
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has declared H1N1 influenza, commonly known as the Swine Flu, to be an epidemic. It seems like every national nightly news program brings more stories of outbreaks, school closings, and even deaths — and it’s just the beginning of flu season. What’s a conscientious employer to do? Take the […]