(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
Loading ...Please, Stay Away if You’re Sick
If you are sick, should you go to work anyways? This is a great debate among many. Staying home to watch tv and lounge on the cough is an easy suggestion, right? To some it may be, but to others a day staying home from work is just creating more work to go back to, or some feel they are indespensible and can’t miss a day, while others just don’t have the time to take work off. Whatever the reason is, is it really a good idea to go in to work when you are under the weather?
An article from Business Week that I ran into goes into great detail of the downfalls of having a sick co-worker show up on the job. “Illnesses like the cold and flu can be spread by physical contact. When we're sick, the people with whom we come into physical contact have a significantly increased risk of coming down with the illness, according to virologists, epidemiologists, and other experts. There is a causal relationship between being sick with a cold or the flu and making others sick by touching them directly or handling an object that they soon touch themselves.”
Some other points brought up in the article for staying away from the office were, if we can actually perfrom to the best of our abilities while not feeling well, getting other co-workers sick, getting co-worker’s families sick, and the last one here that caught my attention, “going to work sick is unfair to your employer. According to a report published in The New York Times in 2006, researchers at Cornell University found that ill workers on the job could account for up to 60% of corporate health costs. The recently coined phrase "presenteeism" speaks to the financial downside of overly motivated workers who bring their upper respiratory illnesses to work with them.
All in all, is it fair to yourself to work when you are not feeling well? I guess that is up to you.
Posted February 29th, 2008 by admin - Posted in Benefits, Health, Human Resources, Other, Productivity | | 0 Comments
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5) Loading ...Get Blogging or Get Out of Business
Has your company tried out social networking or blogging? Better jump on board before your company is left behind.In a article I just read from Business Week, it goes into fine detail on the ins and outs of where businesses are looking to make an advertising splash. Yes, that's right, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are and have been the hot topics around companies. Also, another craze has caught on called blogging. "Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself." I find it fascinating that blogging has become such a phenomenon. Who would have thought that hearing other amateur people's opinions on a particular topic would be something of interest to the masses of people that surf the internet? Its the new generation that you always heard when you were a kid from your grandmother. "Back when I was younger…", you know what I mean.
Some numbers from the article that really caught my attention were, " There are some 9 million blogs out there, Yes, there were 9 million, but how many of them were active? Probably only a fraction. In early 2008, says Technorati Chairman David Sifry, the search company indexes 112 million blogs, with 120,000 new ones popping up each day. But only 11% of these blogs, he says, have posted within the past two months. That means the active universe is closer to 13 million blogs. Kevin Burton, CEO of FeedBlog, argues that the number should be lower, from 2 million to 4 million blogs. with 40,000 new ones popping up each day."
Posted February 22nd, 2008 by admin - Posted in Advertising, Human Resources, Other, Recruiting, Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
(2 votes, average: 4 out of 5) Loading ...Getting credit for your work?
Believe it or not, there are some people who have a hard time recognizing others for their work. Unfortunately, they happen to be bosses most of the time. So what do you do if you're working your tail off, and you feel like nobody's noticing? or you're not compensated for it?
1. Ask for an annual review if you don't already have one. In this review, you can usually highlight your accomplishments AND set your goals for the next year, systematizing your production under plain view of your boss.
2. Develop a company-wide recognition program and present it to your management team, providing details on how recognition boosts employee morale and production. Be sure to point to how this help the company's bottomline, and how it will help others in the organization (not just you).
3. Speak directly to your boss if you can. Be careful on this one. Your relationship has to be strong enough to handle this sort of brutal honesty.
4. Conduct a salary review on your position, so that you're sure you are not expecting more than your position is worth. This can really help your peace of mind if it turns out to be that your paid well for your position.
If none of these work, you may want to find a new place to work! 
Seriously, in this economy, its important to see both sides of the coin before jumping ship, meaning understanding what your boss is facing as well as what you're facing. Move slowly and deliberately, as the grass is never usually greener on the other side. Sometimes we just have to be thankful for what we have and sit tight. Sometimes you can see things will never change and you need to do something drastic.
Posted February 19th, 2008 by Aaron Witsoe - Posted in Human Resources, Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5) Loading ...Is Your Place to Work, Great?
Having open communication is a key to avoiding organizational or interpersonal problems at work. What can you do shen there is silence among some employees? Are your employees just not speaking up or is it just in thier personality not to?
Here are a few ways to create a work environment with a commitment to open communication and how to break the silence. (Creating a Great Place to Work from Business Week)
Spend the day out of the office: Meet with employees in their own departments. Actually take the time to see your workers in their element rather than yours.
Have an employee orientation: New employees should have an extensive training and "getting to know you" period. Have a strict plan in place to make them feel welcomed.
Company wide meetings: This way everyone is in the same place hearing the same thing. Everyone is then on the same page.
Keep open lines of varying communication: Have multiple ways for your employees to communicate to their managers and bosses. Some personality types like face to face conversations while others express themselves better in writing.
Posted February 15th, 2008 by admin - Posted in Customer Service, Human Resources, Other, Performance Reviews, Productivity, Recruiting, Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Helpful Tips to conduct your Employee Performance Reviews
It's February and every employee here at Creative Business Resources is ready for their annual employee performance review. Our organization has an annual review for every employee to discuss their accomplishments and areas for improvement. We use this as a benchmark so the management staff has an understanding of where they can best help an employee reach their career goals and identifying the key areas that may be preventing them from reaching their career goals. We help our clients incorporate strategies like this in their workforce, so you better believe that we are practicing what we preach.
Many business owners invest their blood, sweat, tears and finances in building their business. The reality is that no company can function without a solid and productive staff supporting it. Performance reviews represent a great way to ensure your staff is not only feeling appreciated and recognized for outstanding accomplishments, but also provides a benchmark on where they stand on their personal path for success within your organization. There are many reasons WHY a company would conduct performance reviews, but in my opinion the best reason is for the growth of the company and the well being of it's employees.
Conducting performance reviews may be unfamiliar territory to some business owners. So in an effort to put your mind at ease while you consider adding this to your management strategy. Here are a few tips to ensure your performance reviews are well executed and well received by your employees.
1. Be Prepared. Make sure you are clear on what you plan is to discuss with your employee before you sit down with them. Take into consideration your experience with the employee and develop a game plan on how you plan to communicate this review to that employee. People receive criticism differently. The same type of review approach you take with your sales team may not hold up well with an accounting or operations person.
2. Lead with positive feedback. One best practice is to always start by reaffirming the employees positive contribution to the team. With job security being a concern to most people, now is a good time to express why you value that employee in your organization.
3. Do not be confrontational. It is a must that your employee is not getting the feeling that they themselves are being criticized. The review is simply an evaluation of job performance not the actual person.
4. Keep it real. No need to run out and invest in the latest employee review software or system. Avoid overly detailed reviews that seem to be to mechanistic. By keeping the review simple, your employee will feel more valued about your opinions and communication rather than spitting out a report from a management software system. Develop your own criteria and system on what is important to you, your business, and your employees.
5. Be Consistent. This is crucial for your staff. It's important that if this is to be done that it is regular and consistent. Top performers should hear plenty of affirmations and praise during their reviews; weaker performers should be shown areas in which they can improves. One simply way of evaluating this is by making your main focus based on quantity and quality relative to each job requirement.
6. Make it a two-way conversation. This meeting should serve as a forum for open communication and dialog. It's equally important to hear feedback fro your employees. Try to ask questions that ask the employee ideas or recommendation to make them feel more valued during this process.
7. Address what important to each employee. Since job satisfaction should play a major role in the performance of your employees. Focusing on topics and conversations that are important to them are crucial. It almost goes without saying but an operations person has no desire to hear about the performance of the sales department during this meeting. Save that for a company wide meeting. This meeting is about the employee in the room.
8. Discuss Work/Life Balance. take this opportunity to learn how you may contribute to your employee's work/life balance. Is an employee late because he or she has to drop of children at daycare and get's caught in morning rush our traffic? Create a compromise that will be a win-win. For instance, have the employee come in an hour earlier or later to allow the drop off of the children in the morning and allowing the employee to get to work on time and focused. Now you have just solved a major issue regarding that employees performance and also increased the value of their work/life balance.
9. Listen, Listen, Listen. Take this opportunity to really just "be in the moment." This means do away with distractions such as phone calls, text messages and emails while discussing some of these very important topics. It's a great way to understand your employee and also pick up on verbal and nonverbal clues.
10. Review Regularly. Reviews should be done proactively and with the purpose for improving employee moral and productivity. Conducted often, you avoid the difficult and uncomfortable reviews performed solely to document poor performance. From an HR standpoint, this can be seen as just information being gathered for that sake of collection evidence to avoid litigation should that employee ever be terminated.
Posted February 13th, 2008 by Vincent - Posted in Human Resources, Performance Reviews, Productivity | | 0 Comments
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Some like it HOT!
Every change in season seems to bring on new "wars" in the office. The AC War. For the most part, we can laugh at it. But these constant changing of the temperatures in the office could be adding to an influx of colds and other ailments. You know you have seen it. One employee is "freezing" in their office and bumps the control up to warm it up. Two offices down the hall all the sudden wonders why they are sweating and gets up to adjust the thermostat down to "his" comfort level….and the war begins.
Some offices will lock a box around the control box to keep this from happening. That is fine, but what about the person sitting in the office that happens to have poor circulation? You're wondering if I mean the vents or the blood flow of the employee. Well, I mean both. Are companies obligated to purchase heaters and fans to keep their employees happy? What about the "warmer" employee falling asleep on the job, being lathargic from the heat? Or the "freezing" employee with the sniffles, sneezing all day. How does this affect productivity? Should we be worried?
Really, I am just wondering. Just wondering while I am typing away with my frozen fingers.
Posted February 8th, 2008 by Camille - Posted in Customer Service, Health, Human Resources, Productivity, Safety, Uncategorized, Workers' Comp | | 1 Comments
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Get Familiar with the New Sanctions Law
I'm sure there are still a few more appeals, but the Arizona Employer's Sanctions Law is a go. Get fimiliar with the rules and regulations.
House Bill 2779 (Fair and Legal Employment Act)
Prohibit employers from knowingly or intentionally hiring undocumented workers. - Starting Jan. 1, would require all employers to run their employees through the Basic Pilot Program to determine their legal status. Use of the program would act as a sort of immunity for employers facing prosecution under the law.
1st offense: Businesses caught "knowingly" employing an undocumented worker would lose their license for up to 10 days. Those caught "intentionally" hiring an undocumented worker would lose their license for at least 10 days.
2nd offense (while on probation): Permanent revocation of the business license.
The big question remains on how will the law be enforced? - Investigations would be conducted based on complaints against employers.
If the complaint was shown to be valid, the investigator would be required to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement.
From the state's 2007-08 General Fund, the bill would provide $100,000 to the Arizona Attorney General's Office, and $2.4 million to be distributed to county prosecutors.
Posted February 8th, 2008 by admin - Posted in Human Resources, Immigration, Recruiting | | 0 Comments
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5) Loading ...Office Romance? Please see HR for your Love Contract.
I found this great HR Tip online today to help some of you dealing with office romances. I wish I could take all the credit but but in this case I can't. In the spirit of the love month, February, I thought I'd bring this article to you compliments of HR Daily Advisor.
Love on the job usually can mean nightmares and headaches for HR because of charges of harassment, retaliation, and favoritism that often follow cupid's arrow.
What exactly is a Love Contract?
According to employment law attorney Joseph Beachboard of the Los Angeles office law firm of Ogletree Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, it's a document between the involved parties and the company that recognizes the negative effects workplace romances often have and that states that the parties are agreeing on paper to do all in their power to avoid these effects.
In essence, it's the old logic of "if you can't stop' em, join' em … but do it legally." Here's how Beachboard says the making of such a contract should go:
First, he says, have separate conversations with each individual. In those talks:
1. Confirm that both agree that the relationship is truly consensual.
2. Advise both of the company's sexual harassment and other applicable policies and have them sign those policies.
3. Stress the importance of professionalism at all work-related activities.
4. Warn against favoritism or conflicts of interest that may develop from their romantic involvement.
5. If the relationship ends, advise them to report any harassing conduct.
6. Ask both to sign and commit to the contract.
Contract Wording
The contract itself should start by reiterating the organization's policies with regard to relationships, discrimination, favoritism, and harassment. It should state outright that:
1. Our relationship is entirely voluntary.
2. Our relationship will not have a negative impact on our work.
3. We will not engage in any public displays of affection or other behaviors that create a hostile work environment for others or that make others uncomfortable.
4. We will act professionally toward each other at all times, even if the relationship ends.
5. Neither party will participate in any company decision-making processes that could affect the other's pay, promotional opportunities, performance reviews, hours, shifts, or career
6. We agree that, if the relationship ends, we will inform the company if we believe it is necessary to protect our rights or if the Harassment-Free Workplace Policy is violated.
7. We agree that if the relationship ends, we will respect the other person's decision to end the relationship. We will not retaliate against the other person, seek to resume the relationship, or engage in any other conduct toward the other person that could violate the Harassment-Free Workplace Policy.
(Both parties date and sign.)
Posted February 5th, 2008 by Vincent - Posted in Human Resources, Productivity | | 5 Comments
