3 Steps to Keep a Bad Employee from Suing You

As the mom of three boys who are full of mischief, I often hear the phrase “I didn’t know” or “you never told me.” And usually it’s in response to something that I had addressed with them at least once. Sometimes I wish I could approach disciplinary issues in parenting the same way I approach disciplinary issues in my career, with a formal sit down discussion and written documentation. One of my favorite aspects of Human Resources is employee relations. I love the opportunity to speak with managers about the performance management process and the importance of documentation. Having kept

The Candidate Experience Influences The Brand

Branding is an important marketing topic. Some organizations invest heavily in a brand strategy that reaches many audiences, including the job seeker. A great brand attracts job candidates to an organization. As a marketer and HR professional, I have a unique perspective on this topic.  The marketer side understands the importance of brand equity and the HR side values the role it plays in talent acquisition.  Some organizations fail to make this connection. Other organizations offer poor candidate experiences, which cast a negative image. As a result, it harms the brand while turning away potential talent. Over the years, I

Chocolate Anyone? Symbols to Remind You to Be Grateful and Spread Gratefulness

“I’ll be right back,” the lady said to her colleague. “I’ve got to finish giving my chocolate bars away.” The colleague nods.  I’m sitting next to him at a conference breakfast, and I look at him with must have been a look like, “What? Chocolate bars? At breakfast?” He smiles, and says, “You’ll have to ask her about them.” I could tell he was indirectly saying, it’s her story to tell, not mine. Yes, ask her about the chocolate I will. I see her hand a chocolate bar to a server and give him a hug. She finally comes and

The Conundrum of Incentive Pay

I know of two people who have left their job in the last year because they felt like they were slighted when it came to how their company handled incentive pay.  Both of them- one working for a global behemoth of a company and one working for a family start-up- were promised things when it came to incentive compensation and then the rules were changed on them in the middle of the game, thus slighting them in pay they felt they were entitled to. And I can think of one company owner who is a friend that has tried and

HR Santa Clauses focus on the Employee Experience

Whether you like it or not, the Christmas season really starts the second Halloween is over.  I walked into Target a few minutes after it opened on November 1st (like at 8:01 a.m. because we were out of dog food and the dog was hungry) and it had been transformed into a Christmas shopping wonderland. Where has Thanksgiving gone? With Christmas marketing screaming at all of us to buy a lot of stuff most of which we don’t need, I’m beginning to think about how to make Christmas meaningful for my almost six and two and a half year old