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Our Motto: ‘Customer Service Is Job 2’

Oswald, CEO of BLR, offered his thoughts on customer service in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. Recently, my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, says Oswald. My gift to her was a trip to the Caribbean for a few days. That’s 5 days without kids! In our world, that doesn’t happen […]

Medicare

Want to Require Medicare Enrollment? Size Matters

Q. Can we make it mandatory for employees to enroll in Medicare upon turning age 65 even if they don’t plan on retiring and continue using the group medical plan? If so, how must this be communicated to employees approaching Medicare eligibility?

Why Not Stay Interviews Instead of Exit Interviews?

Retention and engagement depend on knowing who might leave and why, says consultant Leigh Branham of Keeping the People, Inc., and one of the keys is the “Stay Interview.” Who should you conduct stay interviews with? Set your priorities by putting your employees into a table like this one, says Branham. Then start with your […]

compensation

Preshift Activities: Compensable or Not Compensable? That Is the Question!

According to Albert Einstein, “Time is an illusion.” Or is it? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit— which covers Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas—recently heard a claim in which three workers said they weren’t sufficiently compensated under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for all the work they performed. The workers, who were […]

Targeted Incentive Comp Works For Airline, Employees

Mark Mitchell, managing director of American’s Customer Experience area, tells the story: “In the middle 2000s, maybe 2003 to 2006, as American worked very diligently to take the right path financially and not go through the bankruptcy courts, we preserved cash and ceased investing in some of our core products. Our customers, our employees— maybe […]

How to Avoid Disability Discrimination in the Hiring Process

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it’s illegal to discriminate against an individual on the basis of his or her disability. This discrimination protection extends to anyone who is assumed to have a disability and also to those who associate with others who have a disability. This protection extends who not only employees but […]

Pronoun War: What Trump EEOC’s Erasure of ‘Gender Ideology’ Means for Some Employers

In his first few weeks in office, President Donald Trump has demonstrated that one of his key policy initiatives is the elimination of what some call “gender ideology,” or the recognition of gender identities other than simply male and female. EEOC Acting on EO Shortly after taking office, the president issued Executive Order (EO) 14168, […]

automation

Automation and Reskilling Are Critical for Employee and Business Success

Business experts and leaders across the nation have been discussing digital transformation for decades, and with the recent coronavirus pandemic, organizations have had to adapt rather quickly to keep up with demand. The last few months have shown that technology is not something to be feared but rather something to be celebrated because without it, […]