Tag: Policies

Bad Hires—HR’s Most Costly Mistake

Are there any HR mistakes as aggravating, time-consuming, money-losing, and lawsuit-threatening as making a bad hire? It can mean wasted training and coaching, disgruntled colleagues, work undone, angry customers, and a likely lawsuit when you are forced to let the person go. The best prevention? Meaningful background checks. The best way to avoid bad hires […]

CDC’s Flu Face Mask and Respirator Recommendations

Yesterday’s Advisor discussed the issue of face masks and respirators and H1N1 “swine flu.” Today, we’ll look at the CDC’s specific recommendations and find out about a special training tool for helping all your employees prepare for a flu pandemic. CDC has issued the following recommendations for face mask and respirator use in preventing infection […]

Will Face Masks Save Employees from Swine Flu?

The swine flu predictions are flying in all directions—from “no worries” to “half the population will be infected.” If you assume the middle ground is likely, should you be breaking out respirators or other protective gear for employees? CDC’s not sure. It might seem like a no-brainer to get everyone in face masks or respirators […]

Detective’s Tips for Hotel Safety

Yesterday’s Advisor presented general safety recommendations for travel safety. Today, Detective Kevin Coffee provides his recommendations for selecting hotel rooms, and the Hotel and Lodging Association shares its hotel safety tips. Coffee operates a consulting service, Corporate Travel Safety LLC. He offers the following suggestions for picking out a safe hotel room: Avoid ground level […]

Feudal Mentality About Business Travel?

“Many companies operate with a feudal mentality,” says Jon D. Groussman. They do a great job of protecting their employees “inside the castle”—think how difficult it is to get past a security guard or receptionist. However, they neglect their employees’ safety when they “leave the fortress and cross over the moat.” It often takes a […]

Pay Differences Not Related to Race or Gender? Prove It

There’s a compensation heat wave, says Susan Willmott, SPHR, and the only way to avoid it is with a compensation structure that’s carefully worked out based on job content and value to the company. In yesterday’s Advisor, we learned about writing job descriptions that provide information about job value; now with job descriptions done, here’s […]

Job Descriptions: Your ‘Weakest Link’?

Despite the fact that a sound job description is the basis for a meaningful compensation plan, all too often job descriptions are the weakest link in the connection between compensation and performance management, says Michele Whitehead, PHR. Not sure about your job descriptions? You can poll your people to find out where you stand, Whitehead […]

Employees ‘Gruve’ on NEAT ‘Exercise’

Yesterday’s Advisor introduced the Mall of America’s wellness program. Today we’ll look beyond their Fruity Friday program at some more physically involved programs, and take a look at a unique wellness program guide. The Mall of America, located in Bloomington, Minnesota and one of the largest shopping malls in the country, prides itself as being […]

“Fruity Friday" and "Veggie Vensday”—Vellness at Mall of America

Only a year and a half into wellness programming, the Mall of America already has seen a wellness “buzz” and health care savings that may be the result of its employee wellness initiative. Susan Amundson, HR director of the mall’s 900-employee workforce (that’s just mall employees–about 12,000 more work in the stores), acknowledges that while […]

Why Employers Can’t Ignore Social Networking Sites

Over the last several years, social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter have evolved to the point where most employees use at least one, if not several, of them throughout each day. Social networking sites provide an easily accessible medium for individuals to stay in contact with friends, colleagues, clients, prospective clients, and […]