Most Popular

EEOC

The Company that Hires Ex-Convicts

Most people who have filled out job applications have at one time or another seen the question asking whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime. This could mean either a misdemeanor, relatively minor crimes punishable by up to a year in jail, or felonies, serious crimes that could be punished by years […]

Choose the riskier path and follow your dreams

by Dan Oswald Comedian Jim Carrey is well known for his high energy and incredibly silly impressions and comedic routines. His movie roles have included characters such as Ace Ventura, the hapless pet detective, Lloyd Christmas, one-half of the Dumb and Dumber duo, and the Grinch from Dr. Seuss fame. When a colleague shared this […]

Workplace Communication Crisis? Business Leaders Are the Answer

Communication today feels like a relentless loop of Zoom calls, Teams meetings, and overflowing inboxes. We jump from task to task, rarely pausing to think, breathe, or connect. Even a well-intentioned text can land wrong, leaving teammates feeling more isolated than ever. Nearly half of workers—45%— feel emotionally drained by the end of the day […]

It’s Bonus Season: How Companies Use Bonuses to Drive Performance and Alignment

As the year winds down, employees everywhere are looking forward to a familiar end-of-year tradition: annual bonuses. For companies, this is more than just a financial transaction. Bonuses represent an opportunity to reward performance, align employees with organizational goals, and foster a culture of motivation and accountability. But how companies approach bonuses can vary widely, […]

retirement

Managing Retirement Plans for Overseas Employees Becomes Global Concern

Employers that operate globally must often set up offshore locations and find employees to staff them. It follows that employers who sponsor retirement savings plans for their eligible U.S. employees likely will want a similar benefit for their employees outside the country. Many are taking steps to find the best way to make that happen, […]

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Broad-Based Variable Compensation Plans

As the economy crumbled around our collective feet, the proper design of a compensation program may not have seemed like a priority. But with more candidates than jobs available and the U.S. unemployment rate determined to break into double digits, you may be surprised to learn that compensation programs continue to play a vital role […]

What is Employment Branding?

Most employers want to be known for being a good place to work, but it takes active management to drive this perception both internally and externally. This is where employment branding comes in.

Where Job Descriptions Fail and How to Fix Yours

Even when they are accurate to begin with (not always the case), it’s all too easy for job descriptions to get out of date, and that causes all sorts of problems, practical and legal, for employers. The most typical problems have to do with job specifications that are inaccurate. They either require something that isn’t […]

Mediation: It Works, But Here Are Eight Myths

Mediation is mocked in some parts of the country, but New England region attorneys at a recent meeting of the Employers’ Counsel Network reported good experiences with the process. EEOC Mediator Elizabeth Marcus offered her eight myths of mediation at the meeting. The Employers’ Counsel Network includes the attorneys from each state who write BLR’s […]

COVID-19

4 Ways to Improve Your Return-to-Work Training Plan

Businesses are beginning to reopen, and I’m sure many folks are excited to get back into the swing of things. Working remotely is part of our DNA at Articulate, so our employees were better prepared than most for the shelter-in-place orders prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But even we struggled to find a new normal […]