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New Data Explores Trends and Challenges in Skills Development

Skills development has become a critical component for both employers and employees in the modern labor market. D2L’s latest report, “Invest, Upskill, Excel,” sheds light on the increasing recognition of the importance of upskilling while also revealing significant challenges that both sides of the employment equation face in pursuing skills development. The Current State of […]

overtrained

‘I Know I Should Have Dealt with This Months Ago’

Our experiences with COVID-19 have demonstrated something your grandmother probably already told you: A problem ignored is not a problem solved. While procrastination can sometimes be a good thing (e.g., brussels sprouts go bad, so you don’t have to eat them), it also can set you up for failure, especially in the workplace—for example, not […]

Risk of Employees’ Losing Exempt Status Rises During Times of Short-Staffing

In times of short staffing, it’s important to remember exempt employees may lose their exempt status if they spend too much time performing nonexempt work. A recent ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota serves as a stark reminder that exempt employees may perform nonexempt work but only if their primary […]

Have You Ever Found Out a Reference Was a Fake?

Do you check up on applicants’ references? If you don’t, you may want to start. According to a new survey, nearly 30 percent of employers reported that they have caught a fake reference on a candidate’s application. Do you check up on applicants’ references? If you don’t, you may want to start. According to a […]

company culture

Post-Pandemic Office Reorientation

As staff start returning to the office, is it time for companies to consider implementing mandatory re­orientation programs? As the United States continues its nationwide vaccination efforts, states and cities across the country are starting to open up, relaxing capacity limits on indoor spaces, removing mask requirements, and allowing larger events. This also means that […]

HR Departments in Flux—What Are Best Practice Companies Doing?

For years, BLR® has surveyed HR and compensation/benefits professionals to find trends in policy and practice. We appreciate your participation in our series of brief, targeted surveys. Today’s survey topic: Your HR Department. (We’ll publish the results in a future issue.) Please participate in this brief survey and together we’ll get answers to these questions […]

The Importance of Cross-Training

Companies want their employees to be effective at and knowledgeable about their jobs, and many managers try to remove ancillary activities from employees’ plates to allow them to focus on their core job functions. For example, companies hire administrative staff so their managers, accountants, lawyers, etc., don’t need to spend time scheduling meetings or routing […]

student loan

Student Loan Assistance Boosted by Recent Legislation

The first 4 months of 2021 have been packed with major nationwide events, including significant news surrounding management of the $1.7 trillion in student loans. With all that’s going on, we’ve been following legislation from the new administration, a new Congress, a COVID relief bill, and now the American Rescue Plan.