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How Every Office Miscommunicates and Three Ways to Avoid It

Considering how vital communication is to the success of each and every business, it is important that we constantly strive to improve upon our methods and work to avoid the common pitfalls.

Unintended Consequences When Setting Sales Incentive Programs

For example: If salespeople don’t view your program as competitive, your best salespeople will seek greener pastures. If salespeople don’t view your program as fair, there will be morale issues. (For example, if plans aren’t carefully thought through, some territories may experience a high volume of easy sales, while other territories have little opportunity to […]

Don’t Let Unions Sink Their Teeth into Your Property Rights

July is the best month of the year. It’s warm everywhere, even in Chicago. I look forward to the al fresco dining, outdoor concerts, neighborhood block parties, cookouts with family, and the beach. And sharks. July seems to be synonymous with this apex predator. Whether it is because the movie Jaws took place over the Fourth of July or […]

Coaching Can Be Effective—But There Are Challenges

In a recent survey of 230 organizations by AMA Enterprise, a division of the American Management Association (www.amnet.org) that offers advisory services and tailored learning programs, executive coaching programs are seen as being “very effective” by 26% of companies offering such programs and “somewhat effective” by 62% of companies. In addition, 12% reported that their […]

6 Innovative 401(k) Options to Consider that Support Employees’ Holistic Financial Wellbeing

401(k) plans have been a staple of employee benefits offerings for decades and are a way for employees to save money for retirement by deferring taxation on contributions. One of the most attractive aspects of a 401(k) is the employer match, which averages around 4.7% of employees’ salaries in the United States and adds substantially to employees’ retirement […]

Working hard or working smart? Take a break to figure it out

It’s a rare boss who expects workers to spend hours constantly on task without taking the occasional 10- or 15-minute break to rest and recharge. But tell that to employees who, because of workplace culture or their own insecurities, think their careers will suffer if they’re not knocking themselves out every minute of the day. […]

HR Far Removed? I Don’t Think So (‘Seat at the Table’ Talkback)

HR Far Removed? I Don’t Think So HR is far removed from the people and points that make a difference to the business? Tell that to the disgruntled high performer who’s thinking about leaving the company if better retention efforts aren’t made, or the vengeful terminated employee who sues for an amount that could devastate […]

When Is an Employee Protected from Retaliation?

When Is an Employee Protected from Retaliation? Retaliation should never be a motivating factor for employers. While this statement may seem obvious, it’s all too easy for emotions and frustrations to cloud employers’ (and individual supervisors’ and managers’) judgment when something goes awry at the workplace. Unfortunately, it’s also easy to inadvertently appear to act […]