Author: Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

Disney World: It’s Not Magic, It’s Work

“It’s not the magic that makes it work. It’s the way we work that makes it magic,” says former Walt Disney World® EVP Lee Cockerell. His new book, Creating Magic, outlines the principles that make the Disney property a model for management. Disney World, the size of Manhattan, is the largest tourist destination in the […]

Terminated Employee Was Not a Whistleblower, Court Says

Is every employee who makes a formal complaint considered a “whistleblower”? The federal District Court says no. Mark Shulthies, a long time Amtrak employee working in California, sent an email to his supervisor complaining that the company’s decision to reorganize certain aspects of its service between the Bay Area and Bakersfield posed a “danger to […]

Plastic Rocks, the Sleep Diva, and Other Customer Service ‘Treats’

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, […]

‘No Raise This Year’ (Again): Handling the Compensation Conversation

Yesterday’s Advisor showed how author Jathan Janove’s Star Profiles can help managers avoid “Peter Principle” promotions. But it left unanswered the question of how to handle the top salesperson who didn’t get the promotion to sales manager. And, we’ll find help for tackling the tough “no raise this year” talk. If Mike (less successful as […]

You Must Be Diligent About Accommodating Disabilities—Every Single Day

A California court recently ruled that an employer’s failure to accommodate an employee’s disability on one single day, even though the employee had been appropriately accommodated for months before that, can still result in employer liability. The employer dropped the ball, the court said, by failing to notify all managers of the employee’s accommodation needs. […]

Use Star Profile to Avoid Peter Principle Promotions

Author Jathan Janove says he’s had a ringside seat for innumerable employee/employer battles that led down a path of frustrated desires and expectations. To make that relationship work better, he developed the “Star Profile.” Janove developed the “Star Profile” to provide a basis for mutual understanding between direct reports and their supervisors. One of its […]

15 Rules for Writing Tight Job Descriptions

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered the first 4 common job description mistakes; today we’ll cover number 5, and introduce an elegant solution to your job description challenges Mistake #5: Forgetting Format, Organization, and Grammar (Click here for Mistakes 1 to 4) To achieve the two primary goals of job description writing—accuracy and brevity—you must check […]

Top 5 Job Description Mistakes

Job descriptions—just the thought brings tears to your eyes. Yet job descriptions are central to hiring, compensation, and appraisal (not to mention avoiding lawsuits). Today, BLR editors reveal the top 5 mistakes managers make with job descriptions. One key to getting them done right is to give someone responsibility—and put it in his or her […]

7 Steps to Starting an Investigation in the Workplace

When an employee complains that a supervisor or co-worker is harassing or bullying them, or engaged in discriminatory or other illegal conduct, an investigation is often required to resolve the matter. However, few managers are trained in how to conduct them. Speaking at BLR’s National Employment Law Update this week in Las Vegas, Attorney Rebecca […]

Is $95K PowerPoint Preparer Exempt from Overtime?

“Artistic” exemption? Is an employee who earns $95,000 preparing PowerPoint® presentations for very high-level financial presentations exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “artistic exemption”? “Probably not,” in the opinion of Attorney Myron Moye, speaking at the BLR® National Employment Law Update running this Monday through Wednesday (October 19-21) in Las Vegas. […]