Most Popular

absenteeism

The Vicious Cycle of Absenteeism and Employee Engagement

Even for very large companies, absenteeism among employees can be a big deal. But, for smaller organizations, where there are fewer people in a given position—perhaps only one person in a certain position—absenteeism can have a significant impact on productivity and customer service.

skills

Upskilling Workers for the AI and Automation Age

In a knowledge-based economy, companies upgrade their “capital” not by overhauling outdated machinery but by upskilling their workforce. That’s because human capital is increasingly the most important asset companies possess. And while humans aren’t as static as machinery, they still need to be retooled and upgraded.

processes

Best Practices for Setting Up Formalized Workplace Processes

Most organizations value employees who can think for themselves and think on their feet. But even employees who are the most independent and thorough can make mistakes. For this reason, a key focus of many training programs is training employees to follow a formal process.

Beware the Slippery Slope of Affinity Groups

Today’s workplace is far more diverse than workplaces of the past. That diversity is exhibited through a wide range of demographic characteristics: age, sex, sexual preference, nationality, ethnicity, and religion, for example. There are big benefits to building a diverse workforce. Researchers writing for Harvard Business Review, for instance, were able to draw a correlation […]

morale

Tips for Empowering Employees

Ensuring that your employees feel empowered can help them not only to be able to successfully handle everyday quandaries that arise, but also to feel they’re more trusted and valued in the workplace.

Do You Use a Fitness-For-Duty Certification After FMLA Leave?

Employers have come up with dozens of methods for ensuring the proper administration of Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and minimizing its abuse. It’s important to ensure that employees who return to work are truly ready—and that the leave is administered in a way that is fair and legal for all employees. One such […]

leave

Targeting FMLA Fraud and Abuse: What is Fraud?

One of the biggest Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) frustrations for employers is what to do with an employee who appears to be abusing the law’s protections or, even worse, fraudulently using approved leave for non-FMLA purposes.

toxic coworkers

4 Consequences of a Poorly Inspired Company Culture

In 2017, a whopping 80% of businesses claimed that they were planning to improve their corporate cultures, most likely in an attempt to better engage their employees and promote better cohesion across their organizations.

leave

Does That Law Apply to Me? Sick Leave Laws Raise Questions for Out-of-State Employers

Maryland is now the ninth state to have enacted a paid sick leave law. Effective February 11, 2018, the Healthy Working Families Act became law as the result of a veto override, which understandably means there are still a few details related to the law’s enforcement and implementation to be ironed out. In fact, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan promptly created, by Executive Order, a Small Business Regulatory Assistance office to smooth the transition and help Maryland employers comply with the new law.