Most Popular

Communicating with Employees—Don’t Shove It onto the Back Burner

Ask employees what they like least about their jobs, and they typically cite a problem with communication. In fact, in many national employee attitude surveys, participating organizations across the board were rated lowest on questions related to communication, while at the same time employees who took the survey said communication was very important to them.

HR Teams Have the Power to Transform America’s Financial Health

The HR industry is on the front lines of America’s fight for financial health; it just doesn’t realize it yet.  Millions of lower- to middle-income Americans—including hourly wage earners and Gig Economy workers, are struggling with income volatility, low savings rates, and high personal debt. HR teams and executives have a unique opportunity to make […]

hybrid work call

The Challenge of the Hybrid Meeting

At one point, very early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, the assumption of many was that traditional work life would essentially return to normal once the pandemic had subsided. In other words, there would essentially be a blip in the persistent normal way of doing things: a pre-COVID “normal”; a temporary COVID-era remote period; and […]

Design Handouts to Give Trainees a ‘Hand Up’ to Better Performance

  If your handouts are “throwaways,” you’re doing something wrong. Presentation expert Marie Wallace says, “Too many presenters treat handouts like an afterthought, justifying their action with ‘They will just get trashed anyway.’ That kind of thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When handouts are not designed well, they do get trashed.” When done correctly, however, […]

Ask the Expert: When Can Employers Withhold a Sign-On Bonus?

Question: We gave a $5,000 sign-on bonus to a new hire who has been a no-show for numerous days, and we haven’t been able to contact them. Can we withhold and/or deduct from this employee’s final paycheck to recoup some of the sign-on bonus? Answer: Most likely, no. Unless the employee signed an agreement giving you […]

Employee Fraud: Warning Signs, Deterring and Responding to It

These days it seems like you can’t pick up a newspaper or log on to the Internet without reading another story about multimillion-dollar fraud. Just when we thought we’d heard the last of Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom, along comes Bernie Madoff. But fraud isn’t a problem only for Fortune 100 companies and millionaire investors. It […]

The Importance of Good Habits

A colleague shared this poem with me the other day: The Habit Poem I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half of the things you do you might as well turn over […]

The New Reality of Worksite Enforcement: Navigating I-9 and E-Verify Shifts in 2026 

For many HR and compliance leaders, the past year has been a lesson in volatility across the I-9 and E-Verify landscape. The speculation that defined early 2025 has given way to a more dynamic environment where the risks of I-9 errors and potential liability are increasingly tangible. From the return of visible worksite enforcement to […]