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FLSA Hot Topics—2013 and Beyond

Panelists included Susan Webman, Of Counsel with FortneyScott in Washington, DC., John Husband, senior partner with Holland & Hart in the firm’s Denver, Colorado office, Linda Walton, attorney with Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle, and panel moderator Charles Plumb, partner with McAfee & Taft in the firm’s Tulsa, Oklahoma office. Hot Topic: Fallout of Christopher […]

Cutting Corners When Cutting Employee’s Hours Can Cost Employers

As surely as the word “layoffs” have become part of nervous break room conversations in companies across the country, enterprising employers have sought out creative alternatives to the standard layoff regime of cost-cutting. Using tactics such as hiring freezes, offers of unpaid leave, shortened workweeks, and even pay cuts, employers may be able to avoid […]

401(k)

401(k) Funds Are Being Diverted for Medical Expenses

The short-term financial impact of COVID-19 has been swift and damaging to many Americans. While we can’t yet calculate the long-term impact, early indications present a serious financial strain on future retirees’ retirement. We know that COVID-19 has increased the retirement gap, and new data from Kiplinger show the extent of this impact: 60% of […]

descriptions

Job Descriptions: Worth Doing or a Tedious Waste of Time?

Job descriptions—usually seen as just another task on the to-do list for HR professionals—are generally an underused resource. But you can rely on them for a variety of reasons, including recruiting, performance reviews, reasonable accommodations, and employee classification.

Planned Merit/General Increases by Size and Industry: Survey Results

BLR’s 2012 Pay Budget Survey was conducted in June 2011. A total of 1637 organizations participated.  (For a complete copy of the Pay Budget Survey, including regional data, go here.) Here are more findings: Planned Increases by Company Size Small employers (those with fewer than 100 employees) and medium (between 100–500 employees) are planning the […]

behavior

Most Annoying Office Behaviors

Let’s face it: working in an office—including a remote office—is rarely the peak of human social interaction for most participants. We don’t necessarily like everyone we work with. In fact, some of our colleagues might down-right annoy us. But we suck it up and do what we can to cope in order to get the […]

Looking for Great Talent? Look for Potential

The cover article in the June issue of Harvard Business Review is titled “The Big Idea: 21st-Century Talent Spotting.” Since all of us as managers are constantly on the lookout for talent, the title, of course, grabbed my attention. The author, Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, a senior adviser at a global executive firm, boldly claims that potential […]

Four T’s for Dealing with That ‘Tough Nut to Crack’

With difficult, loud people, ask, Why is he or she so difficult? Maybe my thought is that this person is insecure, so I change my behavior, things change for the better, and the other person takes the credit. But there’s the beginning of a relationship. Four Ts of Crucial Connections To work on difficult relationships, […]

Wage Growth Remains Moderate, Study Finds

A recent report from Mercer aimed to understand the state of salary budget increases for 2019 as well as projections for 2020. A comparison with the same report from previous years showed similar findings: low to moderate wage growth. I recently spoke with Mary Ann Sardone, U.S. Talent Solutions Leader at Mercer, to explain the […]

succession

3 Ways to Improve Succession Planning in Your Organization

For many employers, risk management includes succession planning. One goal is to avoid or reduce business interruptions and maintain momentum toward achieving your objectives. Another goal is to avoid the unnecessary loss of knowledge and experience occurring when valuable personnel depart suddenly and unexpectedly.