One of our employees would like us to designate a room as a playroom for kids. Employees could bring in their kids in case of some emergency—say, on a day that the babysitter doesn't show up. It sounds good in theory, but I'm concerned about insurance, bothering other employees and, especially, parent productivity. Any suggestions for making this work? — Gary, AZ

As the weather turns, many of our employees want to leave early on Fridays. I am wondering, does anyone have a seasonal flexible schedule plan that they use and would recommend? Can you share what your policy says?—Erika, MA

I’m studying for a bachelor’s degree in business administration. I’ve been considering an HR career once I graduate. Beyond my biz ad requirements, what kinds of courses should I take in my junior and senior years to help me qualify for an HR position?—E.B. in New York

We have an African-American employee who has repeatedly complained that supervisors and co-workers single her out for poor treatment because of her race. This has ranged from the very serious (that she received a poor review because she is black) to the trivial (that someone told a joke about Barack Obama to upset her).

On every occasion, HR has investigated her complaints. We’ve never found any evidence of discrimination or harassment, which infuriates her even more. Eventually, she calms down, but five or six months later she’s back with another complaint. She’s otherwise a good employee. Any ideas on how to handle her?—Jeanne

I work as an HR professional in a nonprofit company. I was asked by my boss to write goals and a mission statement for my job. I'm lost! How should I get started on this project? Can anyone share brief examples of goals and a mission appropriate for an HR generalist?—Hala, Egypt

We're a fairly buttoned-down company. Now that the weather is finally warming up, several employees have been agitating for a less formal summer dress code. I think our biggest obstacle will be some of the senior executives. Can anyone suggest dress code policy language that will reassure them staff won't look like they just wandered in from doing yard work?—James, PA

How do you handle two owners who still do business as if they are stuck in the 1950s? I am the HR director at a not-so-small, not-so-big company that has been a family business for over 100 years. The owners have no respect for HR. They play favorites, are extremely sexist and face EEOC discrimination complaints at least twice a year.

The employee handbook is the current flashpoint. The owners neither follow nor enforce the policies in it, and it needs a complete overhaul. I tell them constantly that if I am to protect them, we need a well-written and enforced handbook. They pay no attention at all. They look at me as if I am the bad guy.

I have been here only eight months. I spend lots of time putting out fires they personally start. I really feel I’m compromising my ethics by staying! What should I do?  In this economy I cannot look for another job. Do I just stick it out until it starts to turn around—and then leave?—RS, Midwest

We have an employee who lies all the time about work he has or has not completed. His boss and co-workers have had enough, and they came to me in HR for a solution. How should I approach this problem? I’m afraid if I confront him on it, he’ll just lie to me.—Denise

One of our employees has called in sick every other Tuesday for the past three months. She gets her work done and has plenty of sick leave, so I’m not worried she’s abusing our leave policy. But I am worried something is going on that HR should know about. Would I be out of line to ask her about her absences?—C.S., California

Our company is struggling to survive. One of our employees has demanded an increase in the bonus that we have traditionally paid in the past. We don’t know we will be able to afford bonuses this year, and we have spoken to him about the situation. Now he insists on bringing in a third person to negotiate on his behalf. He asked to see the company's financials, which the president agreed to show him this week. He says his negotiator—who, it turns out, is his girlfriend—“has coached many executives and companies in our exact situation.” He refuses to understand that the money is not there. He has a two-year contract that will expire in November 2009. How should we handle this situation?—MA

Like everyone else I suppose, we're kind of stressed about our business. We've had to cut hours, and of course, everyone worries that we'll have to lay off some people. Naturally, the rumor mill is operating overtime and there's lots of grumbling. What can we do to get back to the generally positive and cheerful workplace we used to be?—Ann, NorCal

An employee asked for bereavement leave when his cousin died. I turned it down and made him take vacation time instead. I felt bad about doing so, but I believe our policy, which vaguely refers to "family members," means immediate family—spouses, children, brothers, sisters and parents. The employee is pretty ticked off about this. What do your policies say? Should we amend our policy?—Denise in SC

I’m looking to streamline our HR office, and it strikes me that getting rid of old résumés applicants have sent in over the years would help. What guidelines should I follow when deciding which applications and résumés I should keep and which to toss? Specifically, I need to know what to do with applications that didn’t meet the minimum requirements we advertised, arrived too late to be considered or that were unsolicited.—Markie, Oregon

The recession is taking its toll on worker morale. But some organizations seem to weather tough times just fine, with purpose, good humor and great results. Does that sound like your company? If so, please tell us what you do to keep employees motivated and engaged in their work. Do you use formal programs? Special recognition events? Or just good, old-fashioned management?—John, HR Specialist

Several people in my office—line employees and managers alike—have expressed interest in establishing a 360-degree feedback system for evaluating individual job performance. That sounds great, but it also sounds like a lot more work for HR and everyone else. How can I structure such a system to make it easy to administer? Is there software that does this? What kinds of training will we need to conduct?—Virginia, N.H.

We're looking for simple ways to boost morale as we weather the recession. I'd like to start an "employee of the month" recognition program. Who should choose the employee: co-workers or management? Does anyone have tips on making this program successful?--Steph, Cincy

We have recently hired several part-time employees to gear up for what we hope will be a nice business rebound. Eventually we hope to make them full-timers, but that's going to take a while. In the meantime, we would like to encourage them to stay by offering a limited benefits package. How many hours should we require them to work before they're eligible for benefits?—Sari, Dallas

"My boss has told all supervisors we must terminate anyone who is late for work, no matter what. But common sense tells me that some situations just can't be avoided (late trains, traffic jams, delayed school openings), and I know we're going to lose some good employees along with some slackers. What can I do to stop this policy from being implemented?"—Ingrid

For years, we have used the same attorney to handle all our legal needs--contracts, leases and so forth in addition to employment law. Now we're getting to the point where I suspect we need an attorney who specializes in employment issues. Any tips on what to look for in such an attorney and how to work with him or her?--Steven, Atlanta

We have a lot of employees asking to take a couple hours off next Tuesday (or the whole day) to watch Barack Obama’s inauguration on TV. We're thinking about setting up a big-screen and buying lunch. Is anybody else doing anything special for this day?—Pat, NoVa

As we've downsized, several of our employees are working across different departments. As they've now got more than one boss, I'm wondering what's the best way to handle their performance reviews. Should one manager take the lead, or is there a realistic way for all to have equal input?—Joe D, New Jersey

"We're revising some of our policies, and I came across an issue I'd like some perspective on. We don't have an anti-nepotism policy, but it seems like we should. What do other company policies say on hiring employees who live in the same household? Do you reference whether supervisory employees can manage employees if they both live under the same roof?" — Don

"Like everyone else, we're having to make some hard decisions about staffing. I accept that. What I can't accept is the haphazard way my company is doing this. People are making cuts department by department, project by project and budget by budget. When the recession ends, I'm afraid we'll be so gutted we won't be able to recover. What can I do now to help our executives think long term even as they deal with short-term business needs?"—Tess, Maryland

"In the past we've turned a fairly blind eye when employeess have used company credit cards for personal expenses. As long as they wrote us a check right away, we let it slide. But now credit card issuers are lowering credit limits and raising interest rates even for good customers like my company. I feel like it's time to clamp down on personal use of our cards. Have any of you done this? Can you share some sample policy language I could borrow?"—Tim, Indianapolis

"I’m looking for a cost-effective Human Resource Information System (HRIS). I’m looking for software that does applicant tracking, performance review management, education & pay increase tracking, etc.  Any suggestions?"—Hilda, Florida