John S. Barry staked his entire claim on WD-40 and the motto of keeping it simple. When he took over his father-in-law's small company—$1 million in annual sales—he made it smaller, chopping the product line to one and renaming the company after that product: WD-40. Then … no changes—for 25 years. While his strategy seems simple, it’s actually pretty savvy:

Employees are often the best sources of ideas because they are closest to the daily details of the organization. But too often, employees are sitting on great cost-saving, business-generating ideas because they’ve never been specifically asked. Here are five strategies to help encourage input from employees.

Employees are often the best sources of ideas because they are closest to the daily details of the organization. But too often, employees are sitting on great cost-saving, business-generating ideas because they’ve never been specifically asked. Here are five strategies to help encourage input from employees.

Resistance to change is one of the hardest things to face, and follow-through one of the hardest things to do. It’s easy to become defensive about changes—you risk running off track, rolling over skeptics, losing goodwill or ignoring red flags. To manage resistance:

Instead of reinventing the wheel every time you repeat a task, create a template and then reuse it. For years, Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, has used templates to improve his productivity ...

Q. Sometimes we hold important meetings at lunch and provide food. An employee then takes her lunch hour after. Can we tell her she can’t do that?

An Arizona technician lost 100 pounds in a weight-loss competition to snag the grand prize: his first skydive. Read about that and other employee wellness initiatives from across the country. They're keeping employees healthy, and helping employers keep health benefits costs down.

In a case that has simple yet profound lessons for employers, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an employer wasn’t liable for co-worker harassment—all because the company acted fast and effectively when it discovered the harassment.

At work, numbers speak volumes. If you can’t show, quantitatively, that something is improving, then how can you really know it’s improving? It’s not surprising, then, that more admins are being asked to set SMART goals—specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals—to be evaluated against.

There’s been a lot written lately about the demise of humility in our culture. Fortunately, we still have some great examples of successful leaders who demonstrate humility. One of those is the Super Bowl winning former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Tony Dungy.

Technology is blurring the lines between work and leisure and revealing real tensions between Gen Y, Gen X and baby boomer employees. The generations have very different ideas about what is and isn’t an appropriate use of technology in the office. Here's one simple solution for bridging the gap.

Sometimes it seems like supervisors and employees work in entirely different places. For years, researchers have known that bosses and line workers have widely varying views about things like priorities, performance ratings, communication and benefits. Here are eight areas for which recent studies have revealed major disconnects between what employees want and what their bosses think they want:

You shouldn’t have to worry about losing a retaliation lawsuit if you consistently follow your internal rules for seeking medical information from employees who ask for sick leave. That’s true even if the employee has already complained about discrimination, either internally or to the EEOC.

If you happen to have 100 million Euros (about $150 million) to spare, you might be in the market for the yacht, The Why, pictured to the left. Yes, that’s the stern of a boat that was featured in the House & Home section of a recent edition of the Financial Times Weekend. 

As described in the FT, The Why is a one of a kind yacht with 3,400 meters of guest space and an optimal cruising speed of only 12 knots. (You can see more pictures of The Why at http://www.why-yachts.com .)

Your morning is completely planned, with top priorities penned on your to-do list, when a boss derails everything with two additional, hefty tasks that he needs “ASAP.” Doesn’t he realize there’s only so much you can do? Here’s a calendar-planning tactic that will let the boss know where you spend your time and help you better manage your schedule.

Layoffs, shortened workweeks, stressed-out workplaces … it all can lead to another byproduct of the recession: increasing workloads and work slippage. How are administrative professionals ensuring that, with stakes soaring higher than ever, no work falls through the cracks?

“My senior admin recently asked us what we should discuss during our monthly admin meetings,” a reader wrote. With time at a premium, this is a good point, as there’s an ever-increasing need for groups to get more real work done during regular meetings. Suggestions for making your next admin meeting more productive:

When Fiona MacLeod was tapped to become president of BP Convenience Retail U.S. & Latin America, she rolled out a bold plan that eliminated 9,500 jobs. But she needed those employees—whose jobs were being phased out—to stay motivated over the next 18 months. How did she keep them performing at their peak?

Women leaders in Generations X and Y don’t go it alone or count on legal remedies to break the glass ceiling. They are highly interdependent. This distinguishes them from their predecessors. Today’s high-watt Silicon Valley women make heavy use of social networking to get ahead.

During a recession, every organization seems to face its own unique HR challenges, and that’s leading to creative solutions and new ways of thinking. Here are five best practices that can help comp and benefits pros make changes that contribute to their organizations’ survival.

You may dread confronting employees face to face about performance issues. But employees are far more likely to accept your critique and commit to improvement if you present those problems in a fair, concrete and "problem-solving" manner. Use these six tips as a framework to guide your discussion:

Q. An employee sent a companywide e-mail inviting employees to attend a morning prayer and Bible study prior to work that will be held on the company premises. Do we have to allow this (or do we have to shut it down)?

New moms who work for Maya Design in Pittsburgh don’t have to worry about child care for their hard-to-place infants, at least for six months after they give birth. They can tote the tots to work. The consulting firm and technology research lab welcomes infants through its Babies in the Workplace program.

Almost half of executives say that employees would be more productive if their companies banned meetings one day a week, according to a recent survey by OfficeTeam. That may be the case, but administrative assistants say meetings are still very much a part of every day—to a fault. How are admins taming the meeting madness?

A brutal economy … layoffs … pay cuts. These are trying times to be a U.S. worker, and not all are handling it well. Nearly half of U.S. workers say they feel stressed out, compared with 39% in other countries, according to a Robert Half International survey. Here are 10 ways to deal with your employees' recession-induced stress:

A person’s business success has far less to do with one great decision than it does with sound day-to-day habits. “Most people think that there is some silver bullet to being great,” says Pam Bilbrey, co-author with Brian Jones of the new book, Ordinary Greatness. “Greatness is really about doing the ordinary, everyday things consistently well.” Here are a dozen habits to practice in your business (and personal) life:

Technology is blurring the lines between work and leisure and revealing real tensions between Gen Y, Gen X and baby boomer employees. A recent LexisNexis survey reveals divergent ideas about what is and isn’t an appropriate use of technology and software in the white-collar workplace:

Size matters when it comes to planning events. For smaller events, you can go solo. But for larger ones, it takes a committee, a nod from management and a zinger of a spreadsheet for keeping tasks and timelines on track. To help you track the details, try this sample checklist adapted from Midwest Meetings:

Talk about timing. Ellen Kullman, long on the short list of possible chiefs at DuPont, became president on Oct. 1, 2008, and CEO on Jan. 1. As the economy tanked and the chemical company’s sales fell, Kullman almost immediately had to decide what should and shouldn’t change. Organizing the company to respond to these trends, Kullman decided on four principles:

For the past several months, The New York Times has been running interviews on leadership with the CEOs of well-known organizations. The best one in the series so far is the interview with Dave Novak, CEO of Yum Brands. I’d like to share six thoughts from him on how to be a great leader, along with my take on how to follow through on those thoughts.

“Write this down in the minutes,” demands a board meeting attendee, implying that his clout alone should be reason enough for you to do what he says, right or wrong. In such a situation, you could use minute-taking standards.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published new guidelines to help employers prepare for the flu season, which is expected to include rapid spread of the H1N1 influenza (swine flu). The CDC encourages employers to take these steps:

Imagine typing only about half of what you do now. Keyboard shortcuts may seem like more trouble than they’re worth. But once discovered and practiced, shortcuts can prove to be valuable timesavers. The key is not trying to learn them all...

The United States is facing a swine flu outbreak that has caused the government to declare a public health emergency. Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published new guidelines to help employers prepare for flu season and prevent the rapid spread of the H1N1 influenza. Here are the CDC's suggestions, plus insight on your risks and obligations as an employer ...

When Jan Carlzon, former CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, wanted to give customer service representatives more autonomy, he feared the board of directors would balk. Even if the board members initially approved it, they might reverse course when faced with any backlash ...

At Progress Energy’s quarterly “compliments and concerns” meeting, senior administrative assistant Amy Finelli uses a template for minute taking. As a result, she can quickly send out notes after the meeting “because I don’t have to figure out how to organize the topics,” she says. Here are a few more of Finelli’s power tools for meetings:

Layoffs, pay cuts and an uncertain economy have left many organizations with fewer employees to do the work—often for the same or less money. Not all of those employees are handling it well. Here are a dozen ways you can deal with economy-induced employee stress and help your employees focus on their work:

More than half of HR professionals report that gossip and rumors have increased at their workplaces since the recession began, according to a SHRM study. And 23% say they’ve had to address more frequent “eavesdropping incidents.” The solution? The times call for stepped-up communication, says Steve Williams, director of research for SHRM. His suggestions:

With more than 200 other administrative assistants in her building, Ilja Kraag sees admins working away in their “own little boxes,” independently figuring out how to tackle tasks that an admin at the next desk may have mastered long ago. So she decided to share some of her “best practices,” especially for common tasks, such as scheduling meetings.

Lead your team using Google’s “wisdom of crowds” model ... Lay the foundation for tomorrow’s workforce by developing virtual teams ... Close the gap between leader and followers by demonstrating visibly that you value employees.

Problem: Your department meetings have too much socializing, especially at the beginning. People are complaining that the weekly gathering runs longer than it should. Advice: Address it with the group by citing some specifics, says Amy Henderson of Henderson Training.

Communication is a cornerstone of any relationship—at least any good relationship. So why do so many executives rely on casual, on-the-fly exchanges with their assistants? Joan Burge, an administrative trainer CEO of Office Dynamics, holds a daily huddle with her executive assistant. Here’s how they make the communication work:

Here are four ways managers can make sure they really hear what their employees are saying. The payoff: fewer costly mistakes, less wasted time and better quality and service. Feel free to pass this article along to your supervisors.

Now that the Cash for Clunkers program is over, the results are coming in and it looks like the big winners from the program are Hyundai and Ford with year over year monthly sales increases of 47% and 17% respectively. The number three selling new car during the Clunkers program was the Ford Focus with the Ford Escape showing up in the top 10 as well. The other two American car companies actually showed declines in sales during August with GM down almost 20% from last year and Chrysler sales down 15%.

What’s the difference between the three U.S. auto makers? Obviously, there are a lot of factors, but I’d argue the most important is leadership.  As I wrote in this blog back in August of 2007, my money was on Ford CEO Alan Mulally to lead a turnaround at Ford and it looks like that’s what he’s doing. I spent some time earlier today reading some recent articles about Mulally and watching some video interviews with him to try to determine what he’s done right since arriving at Ford from the Boeing Corporation in 2006.  (My sources include articles in Fortune magazine, Business Week, and the U.K. Guardian along with video interviews from Time magazine and the New Yorker

Based on that research, here are five Mulally success factors I’ve come up with that I think apply to any leader charged with leading a turnaround in their organization.

This spring’s swine flu scare might have been just a warm-up act for a far more serious flu pandemic this fall. If you took steps to prepare your workplace for an outbreak in April, dust off those plans and check them against our list of things to do to make sure your organization keeps running in the coming months.

Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, says that he and Bill Gates used to like meetings where the presenter took the long and winding road—or where a presenter describes his winding path of exploration and his ultimate conclusion. Now, though, Ballmer feels the practice is inefficient. He espouses a different approach to meetings.

A recent study says that 40% of managers are considered “bad bosses” by their employees. Yet most managers assume that their relationships with their employees are running smoothly. Obviously, some of those bosses are wrong … and that can create major problems for a business. Here are seven common employee complaints about management, plus ways managers can silence them.

Question: “We have had monthly admin meetings for the past six months. The senior admin is now asking for our input about how and what should be discussed during those meetings. I'm curious as to what other admins do in their meetings. What do you discuss?” — Barb

With benefits election open-enrollment season looming at organizations across the country, here are 10 ways you can do a better job of communicating with your organization’s employees. None of them costs a fortune. All can help increase employee participation in your benefits program.

A CEO held six big town-hall meetings with employees to present the new company strategy. Everybody seemed to be paying attention. Yet, now nothing was happening. The reason? A survey of employees showed that 70% understood the strategy, only about 60% agreed with it and more than half didn’t have a clue what they were supposed to do next. To avoid getting tuned out like this, take these steps:

You may have noticed more people than usual lurking outside your executive’s door. That’s because economic fears are prompting more employees to eavesdrop and gossip about what might happen next at their workplaces...

You’ve no doubt seen the videos of members of Congress such as Arlen Specter and Claire McCaskill conducting (or, more accurately, trying to conduct) town hall meetings on health care reform. This seems to be rapidly turning into the summer of the shouters. My friend and blogging colleague John Baldoni picked up on this trend and posted a solid piece this week on how speakers should deal with an unruly crowd. My concern is that with all of the cable TV coverage of the health care shouters, leaders in other domains may soon face more of this behavior in town hall meeting type settings. The health care town halls feel like the latest example of how the bar for what passes as civil discourse in our country keeps getting lowered.  

So, with the goal of prepping you for leading and communicating effectively the next time you face a contentious group, I want to recap John’s good advice, see what we can learn about what not to do from Senator Specter and share with you a lesson I learned when I had to defend a tax increase to a bunch of beer fueled construction contractors twenty years ago.

By now, nearly everyone in HR has heard of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), under which unions would have a much easier time becoming certified. Because unions have become more aggressive and more successful at unionization even without the EFCA, I recommend that employers adopt the TEAM approach to keeping their workplaces union-free.

If you develop a reasonable retention policy and follow through by regularly deleting information you don’t need, chances are an employee later won’t be able to say you intentionally interfered with the ability to present a legal case ...

Question: “Our organization will start a performance-based management for all employees in 2010.  We are to select two goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.  As an executive assistant to a senior-level executive in a large organization, I find it difficult to define specific and measurable goals. I schedule meetings, make travel arrangements and generally manage the people traffic for my boss's attention, but I don't see those duties as measurable.  Does anyone have suggestions for adding specific performance goals for an administrative support professional?” — Karen Bryant

In 2007, the EEOC released a set of guidelines advising employers on issues related to caregiver bias. Following up on that issue, the commission has supplemented those guidelines with recommendations designed to help employers “reduce the chance of EEO violations against caregivers.” It’s imperative that companies begin to train managers and supervisors on the content of this most recent guidance.

Meetings can be brutally boring. They can be too frequent, too long and too unproductive. You may think you can’t do anything to make a meeting more efficient and results-oriented—you aren’t the person leading it, right? But Amy Henderson, Henderson Training Inc., believes you can do a lot to influence a meeting.

When Angie shares her opinions in meetings, she feels the group tunes her out. Sometimes, others make decisions about her workspace without even asking for her input ...  Jennifer Webb, a consultant, trainer and coach, offers this advice for making your voice heard.

Discipline and termination meetings are emotionally charged events that carry the potential for nasty words, hurt feelings and even legal troubles. As a manager, you never know how employees will respond to discipline or firings. But you need to be prepared for anything—including employees who “let it all out” in long, loud rants. Follow these four do’s and don’ts to defuse rants and avoid lawsuits:

How many times have you come up with a more efficient way to accomplish something and wished you could quickly share it with co-workers? You can with collaborative tech tools, says Richard Laermer, media consultant and author of Punk Marketing.

Question:  “Our appraisal system requires supervisors to schedule quarterly conferences with their employees, but my boss never does. On my annual performance review, he always lists the dates when our conferences should have happened, then asks me to sign it. I have never been comfortable falsifying this information, but I don't know what to do. Should I just suck it up and sign to keep my boss out of trouble? Or should I refuse and risk becoming the target of retaliation?” — Honest Employee

Q. A female employee has made a hostile environment claim for the first time. She alleged that her male supervisor began sexually harassing her more than two months ago. She claims she didn’t complain sooner because she feared her supervisor would retaliate against her. Based on her excuse, will we still be able to defend against a lawsuit claim by asserting that she unreasonably failed to use the complaint procedure available to her to prevent and stop any alleged harassment?

In light of the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, employers have begun re-examining the cases of some employees who were involuntarily discharged for misconduct. The purpose? To determine whether the employees are eligible to receive a 65% subsidy for continuation of health insurance benefits under COBRA.

In a case that illustrates why you should review all your employment decisions for potential hidden bias, a California appeals court has ruled that employees can use other employees to testify that they, too, were discriminated against in the same way.

For the past several months, the New York Times has been running interviews on leadership with the CEO’s of well known organizations. They’re almost always interesting. Sometimes I agree with the points they make, sometimes I learn something new and, honestly, sometimes I find myself wondering, “How did this person become a CEO?” The latest Times interview subject is Dave Novak, CEO of Yum Brands. I think it’s the best one in the series so far.

To counteract the karma of my last post about how terrible leadership helped blow up AIG, I thought I’d share ten thoughts from Dave Novak on how to be a great leader along with a tip from me on how to follow through on that thought. The bold face points are direct quotes from Novak, my accompanying tip is in plain face type:

It’s not the end of the world, but to your employees, it feels like it could be. How you handle times of trouble for your company will decide whether or not your people come out unscathed.

If you’re looking for a textbook example of how to be a dangerously ineffective leader, look no further than the great writer Michael Lewis’ article, “The Man Who Crashed the World,” in the current issue of Vanity Fair. It’s the story of  a guy named Joseph Cassano who ran AIG Financial Products from the end of 2001 to 2008 when his unit helped crash the global economy. Based on reporting he undertook after receiving a few phone calls from a former AIG FP trader, Lewis details what can happen when what he calls a “cartoon despot” ends up running something important. It’s an amazing article and worth your time.  If you want my Cliff Notes version of how to lead your team to a $182 billion loss, read on.

Question: "I feel that I have been misled by my manager. When I was taking college courses, she told me she would work on getting my pay increased after I received my degree.Now that I’ve graduated, she says our company apparently does not give raises based on degrees.  She also says that our vice president feels I don’t deserve a raise because of tardiness and because I missed some meetings with him.I recently started an MBA program, but I’m not sure management appreciates my efforts to advance my career. What do you think?" — Educated and Underpaid

“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours are wasted.” This old saying may be true in many cases, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A bit of preparation, discipline and solid follow-up can help you conduct more productive and focused meetings. Here are 11 guidelines.

Question: "I work at a company that loves meetings. I support a C-level executive and am always looking for ways to reduce the amount of meetings he needs to attend. I’ve tried reducing the length of meetings, sending delegates, changing the frequency (quarterly instead of monthly), handling more topics via e-mail and scheduling them over lunch or dinner. Every few months, we review all scheduled meetings to see whether we can cancel anything.  And yet there still are not enough hours in the day to accommodate all the high- priority meetings. Does anyone have additional suggestions for eliminating the amount of meetings?"  — Angela Van Cleve

How do you deal with problem employees? Expert HR trainer Amy Henderson says supervisors' discussions should focus on four points when addressing problem behavior.

You may have noticed more people than usual lurking outside your executive’s door. That’s because economic fears are prompting more employees to eavesdrop and gossip about what might happen next at their workplaces. The solution? The times call for stepped-up communication, says Steve Williams, director of research for SHRM.

When dashing off your next memo, report or e-mail, cut right to the core points. HR directors from half of the 120 major American corporations polled in a recent study said they consider writing ability when making promotions. "You can't move up without writing skills," one HR director said.

How can you be assured of enough face time with your boss to ask questions, convey critical information and dazzle her with your smarts—without coming across as a time drain? The key, advises author and workplace columnist Anita Bruzzese, is to be aware of what your boss wants and when and how she wants it.

The Secrets of Facilitation, 101 Ways to Make Meetings Active,  Instant Icebreakers ...

"Our office allows a more casual attire in the summer. But some of the employees push it way too far. It doesn't help that the VP in charge of the office likes to wear shorts, so everyone else thinks it should be OK. We don't have any written rules on this, but I think it's hurting our image (as some of our sales reps sometimes have clients in for meetings). How can I present this to 'Mr. Casual' VP...or should I? -- Kathleen

Q. We need to cut two employees from our marketing department. One of the employees we would prefer to keep was hired only six months ago. If we don’t base our decision on seniority, are we more susceptible to discrimination claims?

Do any of these statements sound familiar? “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done correctly.” “I can do it better (or faster) than anyone on my staff.” “My employees are already so busy.” All of them indicate that a manager is struggling to overcome roadblocks to becoming an effective delegator. (To find out whether you’re an effective delegator, take the quiz below.)

Face tough issues early to avoid being viewed as a lie-back-and-wait leader ... Rein in marketing budgets and spur creativity with a competitive “jump ball,” as Wal-Mart is doing ... Take efficiency to a higher level by tapping the expertise of your managers ... Use a threat to gin up innovations.

Straddling the line between “smart” and “smarty pants” can be tricky. How do you show off what you know—and become more visible around the office—without alienating people with a showy attitude? Here’s a strategy to employ at department meetings:

When it comes to whom you employ, pay no attention to your customers’ preferences if they lead you to make illegal decisions. Simply put, employers can’t consider what race or ethnicity their customers or clients would prefer when making hiring decisions. That would be discrimination.

The recession has plenty of employees distracted and anxious—about their jobs, their 401(k)s and their monthly bills. That’s not good news at a time when you need to squeeze every ounce of productivity from your employees. These 14 tips can motivate shell-shocked employees.

Last week I was coaching a group of high-potential leaders moving up to the executive level. Our topic was “organizational presence,” which was on point since many of these folks are working on expanding their networks beyond their immediate areas of responsibility. 

When I lead a group coaching session, I like to have everyone share examples of what they’re doing to improve their leadership skills in “real life.”  It was striking to hear the results that several leaders were getting by being intentional about asking more questions in meetings. There were two big tips in the stories. Here they are along with a “bonus tip” I shared with the group.

Everyone talks about getting good customers to give you a referral, but few businesses actually pursue them. Earning referral business can be a fantastic way to grow your business. The best part: All of the calls are warm leads. Here's a step-by-step plan for asking for (and reeling in) those referrals.

You don’t need to pay nonexempt employees for their commuting time to and from the workplace. That’s simple. But what if such employees occasionally travel off-site (or even overnight) for work reasons? When to pay nonexempt workers for travel baffles many employers. Mistakes can spark anything from mild complaints to class-action lawsuits—a black eye for you either way.

How often do you start the day with a to-do list? And how often does that list fly out the window by 10 a.m.? The trouble is, says time management coach Patricia Hutchings, we don’t build enough flexibility into our calendars.

If you’re a manager, spawn more golden nugget moments for your team by creating informal learning opportunities: mentoring, on-the-job training, brainstorming and good, old-fashioned trial-and-error. Encourage employees to tap into blogs, discussion forums and wikis.

Gather everyone in your office—or on your team if you work for a large company—for a quick morning huddle to create a more efficient company culture. Morning meetings work for a lot of companies, according to a recent article in Inc. 

Sara feels like retreating into her shell whenever a certain VP, with his bellowing baritone of a voice, talks to her. Sam shuts down in meetings when an opinionated co-worker dominates the conversation. Feeling intimidated is like having a heavy chain around your ankle. Here are some tips for combating the feeling.

Your boss asked you to prepare a spreadsheet for a meeting the next day. It took a couple of hours and some shuffling of priorities, but you did it. When you arrive at the meeting, though, your boss handed you a spreadsheet that someone else created. Should you tell your boss how frustrated you are?

Imagine sitting in a staff meeting, and every time you offer a suggestion someone looks at you and shakes her head. Or a co-worker consistently “forgets” to invite you to meetings. It may seem trivial, but belittling behavior—or bullying—can take a toll, especially when it occurs over and over again.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have for years predicted that a virulent influenza outbreak could kill tens of thousands, hospitalize hundreds of thousands and sicken millions. Regardless of how the swine flu crisis plays out, it should be a wake-up call for employers. If you haven’t already, now is the time to undertake pandemic planning efforts.

The time-waster meeting is a common fixture in offices across America. The reason, says Reid Hastie, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, is that we’re not thinking about and valuing our time the right way.

As a way to cut costs, more organizations are replacing their company-paid benefits with voluntary benefits. However, choosing (or negotiating) the wrong voluntary benefits plan can result in extra fees, added paperwork and push-back from employees. Here are five key questions to ask when shopping for voluntary benefits:

It’s sad enough when an employee becomes seriously ill. What makes it tougher is that work doesn’t stop. Responding to these challenges requires tact, sensitivity and flexibility. Mistakes can mean not only hurt feelings but also potential legal liability problems. The key is balance ...

Admin Brooke Wiseman knew that administrative professionals in her company weren’t being used in the most productive ways. For example, some shared the same title but had wide variations in duties. Her goal was to bring more value to the company by turbocharging the partnerships between executives and their assistants. Here’s how she did it.

One of the basics in the senior leader’s communications repertoire is the town hall meeting.  Sometimes (oftentimes?), these meetings can really run off the rails.  When they do, it’s usually because the leader comes in without the answers that people care most about.  Another classic mistake is to come in with the desired information but to deliver it in a way that shows no connection whatsoever with the people in the audience.

Fortunately for all of us, there aren’t many town hall meetings on the subject of what leaders are doing  to prevent a global pandemic of influenza.  But, that’s exactly what three senior leaders took on in front of the White House press corps that Sunday afternoon.  To share what the government is doing to deal with the rapidly developing outbreak of a new strain of swine flu, homeland security advisor John Brennan, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control Richard Besser and Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano took to the airwaves.  By chance, I watched it on CNN as it happened and I have to say it was a best practice example of how to conduct a town hall meeting.  (If you missed the briefing, you can watch it here. If you want more information on swine flu and how to stay healthy, visit the CDC website here. In about 20 minutes, these government leaders showed how it should be done when it comes to the what and how of conducting a successful town hall meeting.

Here’s what I saw in their briefing and what leaders can learn from their example.

Your business has crunched the numbers, considered the alternatives and come to the conclusion that layoffs are necessary if the business is to remain afloat during these challenging economic times. But how much thought have you given to your remaining employees who are about to watch their friends and colleagues lose their jobs?

In this brutal economy, desperate applicants—and current workers who believe they may be laid off soon—are trying an interesting tactic: They’re volunteering to work for less pay … sometimes much less. A new court ruling shows why you should take those offers seriously.

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz ...

If you are planning to visit the Philadelphia regional office for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, make sure you have the correct address. The agency recently moved ...

Employees may assume that, just because they hold the same job title as another employee, they should receive the same pay. But the label an employer assigns to a job isn’t nearly as important as the job duties performed by the person holding the job.

Issue: Poorly written layoff letters can open your organization to legal action. No matter how you write layoff letters, they are bound to anger employees, especially if the employees don’t see it coming. Don’t give irate employees legal ammunition by writing misleading, inaccurate or insensitive layoff letters. Action: Create notices that explain the layoff in the most straightforward, respectful manner possible. To avoid legal action, think of layoff letters as informal legal documents that include the following:

In my line of work as an executive coach, one of the most frequent opportunities I see for smart and talented leaders to be even better is to improve their listening skills.  What is often the case with really bright people is that they have so many ideas and so much energy  they end up dominating conversations and creating a disconnect with everyone else in the room. You’ve probably seen this.  It happens all the time.

One of my clients is a newly promoted executive in his firm.  He fits the profile I’m talking about.  He is an extremely intelligent guy and an innovator in a very technical and fast moving field.  He is full of ideas and enthusiasm and can’t wait to share his ideas with you.  It’s all really charming in a way.  The problem is that his colleagues and the more senior executives in the firm have complained that he sucks the air out of a conversation by not leaving space for others to contribute.  Not a great situation for long term career development, right?

With my client’s permission, I want to share with you the technique he’s used to listen more and talk less over the past three months. I know from talking with his colleagues that it’s working and that they’re a lot happier with him now than they were at the beginning of the year. 

So, what’s the magic answer to his rapid improvement? It’s simple really. He’s keeping score. Here’s how he’s doing it and what he’s learned in the process.

If the worrisome economy is keeping your employees up at night, offering them a place to nap during the afternoon could help them get their work done. Nearly 30% of employees admit they have fallen asleep on the job, and 12% say fatigue has made them late for work, according to a National Sleep Foundation poll.

You never appreciate a good performer until you’ve fired a bad performer. That’s because bad performers take so much time and attention to manage. From the moment you sense that an employee isn’t working out—and you set in motion disciplinary steps—you have to imagine a judge and jury watching your every move. That way, you can stand behind your actions without feeling embarrassed or guilty.

There’s never been a better time to implement a violence prevention plan. Tough economic times sometimes cause people to snap—and they might do so at work. You need a prevention program that starts with employee screening and ends with publicizing your tough anti-violence policy.

On average, American professionals spend 5.6 hours each week in meetings that 71% say “aren’t productive.” If you'd rather spend those hours creatively engaged, try these tips for making the most of meeting time ...

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz ...

One "difficult" person is ruining your meetings with his or her bad behavior. What do you do? Those who pontificate or bully put a strain on the group and can sabotage productivity.

If your organization operates machinery, chances are there is an industrial accident waiting to happen. Consider holding regular safety meetings where the only purpose is to identify potential dangers.

Some employers assume that for a hostile environment claim to have merit, the victim must practically have a nervous breakdown. Not so. A strong-willed employee may be able to tolerate a barrage of abuse in good spirits, but may still have a hostile work environment claim.

Sometimes, employees suggest telecommuting as an accommodation if they have temporary disabilities. Telecommuting may be possible for some kinds of jobs. But in other cases, the job itself may make telecommuting impossible.

You are in charge of a committee at work that no one seems to care about. Meeting attendance is lackluster, and those who do come rarely speak up. How can you make people feel more engaged? Try these 11 easy-to-implement strategies.

Work is ever more collaborative, and the need for daily efficiency stronger than ever. So who has time for boring, unproductive meetings? No one. Keep meetings focused by heeding these don’ts.

Managers may dread performance reviews, but employees are more receptive to them than you think. In fact, 77 percent of employees polled by staffing firm OfficeTeam said they consider performance reviews valuable. Only 8 percent said they weren't valuable at all. Advice: Managers must be alert to these four potential pitfalls that make reviews less effective and heighten the legal risk:

As health insurance costs skyrocket, even as benefits dwindle, so does the trend toward employers setting up wellness programs—71% of U.S. employers offered such programs in 2008. Is your office ready to be a part of the wellness movement? Here’s how to make the case to leadership and take some initial steps.

Tap into the power of peer pressure by giving manageably sized groups more autonomy ... Prepare for dwindling travel budgets by replacing some in-person meetings with videoconference technologies ... Drive higher corporate earnings for your company by realizing that the key to productivity is not maximizing it at all costs, but maintaining a level of consistency.

One important way to judge your success as a manager is by the success of your employees. How can you be sure that your best people will someday be top-notch leaders themselves? Start with these four basic yet effective tips for developing managerial skills among your employees.

There’s no doubt Generation Y will fundamentally change corporate America. It’s already started. Managing Gen Y is a hot topic among consultants, HR executives and talent management professionals. For a Gen Y’er like me, this is great news. We’re primed to change the workplace for the better. Here’s how we’ll do it.

Settling with an employee who has filed a discrimination lawsuit? If the EEOC gets involved, it can continue the case on its own—and may be able to get a court to order you to take corrective measures that go far beyond your settlement terms. That’s one good reason to conduct your own thorough investigation before you settle with the employee.

An association representing University of Texas faculty members recently filed a lawsuit against university officials on behalf of UT Medical Branch employees, challenging the legitimacy of the decision to lay off 3,800 employees in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

Your organization, like many, may have embraced a wellness program to help employees quit smoking, lose weight, exercise more or participate in screenings for high blood pressure or cholesterol. You may have even thought about requiring employees to participate. But that's a controversial practice that is likely to step on laws ranging from HIPAA to the ADA ...

Now may be a good time to review your employee handbook for potential big trouble. The problem: Because handbooks spell out policies that apply to many or all employees, they can be used to justify escalating a simple lawsuit into a class-action suit ...

Oops! Wal-Mart’s paying the largest settlement ever for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations—a whopping $640 million! Even small employers can be liable for huge penalties if they violate the wage-and-hour law. That’s why HR Specialist’s upcoming Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium features a session titled “Wage & Hour Litigation Rages On—The 10 Most Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)." Meanwhile, here’s a primer on FLSA compliance.

Use your laptop to squeeze more productivity out of meetings: Share data; brainstorm better; take and distribute meeting notes digitally.

Most organizations stick to traditional management approaches, largely because they don’t trust employees with control. But studies consistently show that employees who set their own goals work harder to accomplish them and are happier with their jobs. Here are some practical tips for empowering your employees.

Are you considering holding your next big business event at a resort? Aim to site-inspect as much as you can before you leave home, advises Amy Pfeiffer, managing sales director for the Walt Disney World Resort.

Your boss just can't seem to get it together when it comes to managing his or her time? Your boss is always late for meetings, can't seem to make decisions quickly and doesn’t churn out projects in a timely manner. In short, he or she is making both of you look bad. What can you do?

For many HR pros, the clock is their biggest adversary. Finding enough time in the day to complete every necessary project can be difficult. But the old adage of “work smarter, not harder” is based on the concept of managing the minutes in your day more efficiently. Here are six tips to help you work toward that goal.

Serving on a board of directors, advisory panel or school board is a responsibility that ought to bring satisfaction. After all, it’s your choice to be there. Here’s how to make the most of it, especially if you head the board.

Not everybody is ready to step up, so congratulations if you have done so. Here are a few guiding principles on building loyalty and trust.

The latest trend in workplace training may be “in the moment coaching.” It challenges employees to stay focused so they don’t leave meetings or conversations wondering what just happened. Staying in the moment keeps our minds from drifting, so we can really listen and retain critical information.

The same tactics you use at work can help you get everything done at home. Some people, however, leave their work skills at work. What they should be doing, experts say, is setting goals, outsourcing tasks and reviewing performance, just like a workplace manager.

When faced with a poor-performing or disruptive employee, it’s easy for supervisors to play the wait-and-see game and simply hope the situation will improve. But problems rarely solve themselves. And that’s especially true with problem employees.

Executives say their lunch breaks have dwindled to 35 minutes and they work through lunch, on average, three days a week.That means many admins likely feel compelled to forgo lunch, working through lunch or shortening lunch. To take back the shrinking lunch break, OfficeTeam offers these tips.

Change. America voted for it, and small businesses will certainly receive their fair share in 2009. Here are the five most important workplace issues on President Barack Obama’s agenda.

Here’s a primer on common surprises that new chief executives face, starting with: No. 1: You don't actually run the organization ...

You are in charge of a committee at work that no one seems to care about. Meeting attendance is lackluster, and those who do come rarely speak up. Here are 11 ways to make people feel more engaged.

If you're spending too much time managing who can use which meeting room when and what equipment they will need, turn to software for a solution.

At Florida-based Baptist Hospital, the CEO declared an all-out war on turnovers, pulling out all the stops to tear down typical corporate walls and retain his best workers. That CEO is one of the corporate leaders who “gets it,” according to Greg Smith, author of 401 Proven Ways to Retain Your Best Employees.

Standard & Poor’s has come up with a solution to snow days for employees of its Centennial, Colo., office: laptops. The credit ratings firm gives a laptop computer to any Centennial employee who wants to work from home during foul weather.

Planning an out-of-town meeting? Here’s how to deal with delays, cancellations, shutdowns, mergers and other airline industry woes.

The global financial meltdown has workers fearful and downright angry. If you plan on surviving the recession, your managers must acknowledge the fear and anger employees may feel. Don't let these seven gripes pollute your workplace.

Kate believes the meeting is a huge waste of time because colleagues always ramble on when it’s their turn to speak, and there’s no real structure to the gathering. At this point, says family and divorce lawyer-mediator Laurie Puhn, Kate can handle this situation in two ways. One is a communication blunder; the other a communication wonder.

An employee who can’t prove she actually suffered discrimination can still win a retaliation lawsuit—if she can show that her employer retaliated against her for complaining about alleged discrimination. That doesn’t mean, however, that anything negative that happens to the employee adds up to retaliation.

Five female faculty members at Rutgers University in New Brunswick have filed a complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office, alleging bias in pay and decision-making in the Political Science Department.

It’s bound to happen. An employee will complain about supposed sexual harassment and you will have to investigate. How you handle that investigation could make the difference between winning a retaliation lawsuit and losing it—big time. Here’s the best approach:

What do the nation’s top 25 small business employers (those with 50 to 250 employees) have in common? Great communication. The top 25 put into play an “open communication” concept, says Deb Cohen, chief knowledge officer at the Society for Human Resource Management.

Headed to a conference soon? Plan a better business trip for you or the boss with these five tips.

Money is great. Benefits are nice. But there’s one key thing that keeps good employees from walking away: knowing that management appreciates them and their work. Here are 12 low-cost ways that your organization can show gratitude to your employees all year ...

You’ve been fired, laid off, rendered redundant. Yet, no matter what the reason you were released, you never saw it coming. Here are lessons you can learn from a job loss—or prepare yourself for that possibility—so you can more easily dust yourself off and land the next job.

Q. What are some proactive strategies employers can implement to promote a safe workplace? ...

You don’t have to ignore a sudden and shocking deterioration in an employee’s performance and behavior. You can and should ask for a fitness-for-duty exam. Just be prepared to discuss possible accommodations if it turns out the employee is disabled.

It takes more than a written policy to avoid liability for sexual harassment. But if you back up your policy with regular training and reminders and quickly fix any harassment problems that come to your attention, chances are you won’t be liable unless the harasser was a supervisor and the employee suffered an adverse employment action ...

No matter how you write layoff letters, they are bound to anger employees, especially if the employees don’t see it coming. Don’t give irate employees legal ammunition by writing misleading, inaccurate or insensitive layoff letters. To avoid legal action, think of layoff letters as informal legal documents that include the following ...

Employers sometimes forget that just because a condition has a name and can be serious, it doesn’t always mean it’s a disability. In one recent case, an admitted alcoholic who had undergone inpatient treatment was deemed not to be disabled under the ADA and therefore not entitled to reasonable accommodations ...

As health insurance costs skyrocket, even as benefits dwindle, so does the trend toward employers setting up wellness programs—71% of U.S. employers offered such programs in 2008. Here’s how to make the case for establishing a wellness program in your workplace, plus initial steps to put the plan in motion.

Robert Orben wrote speeches for President Ford and jokes for Jack Paar, Red Skelton and Dick Gregory. Now he advises business people, entertainers and politicians on inserting humor into their talks. Here are a few situations in which you can use his gems.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Rockville, Md., has figured out a way to reduce its employees’ reliance on medication: fitness classes.

As baby boomers prepare to retire, offices are left to figure out: “How do we make sure all their know-how and institutional memory are left behind?” Here are a few tips for capturing admin knowledge before it walks out the door, and making sure it sticks with younger generations ...

The average worker spends about two hours every day dealing with unnecessary interruptions, which cost businesses $590 billion a year in lost productivity. HR professionals can help solve this problem. In fact, it could be the latest work/life benefit: time to pay attention.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction in North Carolina, recently ruled that an employer could withdraw recognition of a union if it can present “substantial objective evidence” that most employees no longer support the union. The decision gives employers a road map for handling situations where a union has lost the backing of the employees ...

Most managers have faced this dilemma at least once in their careers: A candidate looks great on paper and gives a knockout interview; but two weeks into the new job, you're less than enthused. You now have a choice: Cut your losses or run a salvage operation.

Betzy Cowan, who worked for McLean County Clerk Peggy Ann Milton, has filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor (DOL) seeking $3,000 in unpaid overtime. Testifying in a misconduct hearing against Milton last year, Cowan said her boss frequently asked her to shuttle Milton’s children home on county time ...

You know them well: the co-worker who spends way too much time talking on the phone, and the colleague who projects boredom in staff meetings. How can you possibly tell these people that they’re hurting themselves professionally—and should you try?

As costs rise, employees are traveling less for business and using more teleconferencing, videoconferencing and online collaboration tools. Fortunately, these top-notch tech tools are now more affordable and user-friendly, making them viable meeting alternatives. Here are two virtual-meeting tools.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor (DOL) has ordered Lebanon-based Pennsylvania Counseling Services (PCS) to pay $196,477 in back wages to 203 mobile employees who were improperly classified as exempt from overtime ...

Eighteen workers filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) against retail hardware supplier Crown Bolt in August to protest racist graffiti in the Carlisle warehouse where they worked ...

Seating arrangements become the top priority when planning a successful off-site meeting. Here’s how to set up the room—no matter what the meeting’s size—to make sure attendees can see, hear and be heard.

It happens at meetings more often than it should: Co-workers bad-mouth one another’s work in front of the group. Nothing is quite as frustrating as being “cut off at the knees.”

Learn how most professional planners schedule agendas for two- and three-day meetings ...

“I hate taking minutes. What do I write down? How do I know what’s important?” Streamline your minute-taking by recording notes as bullet points. Distill any conversation down to its essentials.

Some employees can tolerate coworkers’ swearing and rude behavior, but don’t even dream of touching their ham sandwiches.

Wow clients and others in your network by sending handwritten notes to thank, follow up with or congratulate. Video producer Ellen Barnard says she always sends handwritten notes or flowers to clients, and “they’re left with the impression that I’m really good at what I do.” ...

Every year, junior-level staff members in the Virginia office of Merritt Group take a trip to San Francisco. Merritt execs figure a week at the communication firm’s California office is a good way to integrate staff at the bi-coastal organization ...

Fish ponds and Weight Watchers are just two of the benefits Acuity offers its employees. The insurance company’s Sheboygan, WI, headquarters has four ponds on its 115-acre campus, all stocked with bluegill, perch and bass ...

Even if you’re not the person's manager, you can gently coach a “difficult” co-worker toward positive behavior. Try taking the employoee aside after a meeting and follow these steps.

Resolve to make 2008 the year you successfully manage your schedule. Here are five tips from time management expert Patricia Hutchings: 1. Start by keeping a time log ...

Ever notice at meetings how some people effortlessly gather attention and recognition while others struggle even to get noticed? Keeping your nose to the grindstone and working hard isn’t enough in today’s workplace. Smart professionals employ meeting moxie to make themselves memorable. Here’s how.

If you don’t punish it right away, even a single racist comment by a manager can result in an employee filing a racially hostile environment claim. Here’s why: If the employee on the receiving end is also being dealt with harshly by her boss, she can effectively link the comment with the other poor treatment ...

Question: “My team recently got a new boss who is very green as a manager. Although I have 20 years’ experience, she makes it abundantly clear that she feels superior to me in every way. She talks incessantly about her credentials and all the 'important' tasks she has been given.  I find her condescending, unapproachable and inflexible. Staff meetings have become a painful experience because they accomplish nothing.  Our new boss will not discuss projects in detail nor take any direction from ‘subordinates.’  I have known her manager for a long time and have a good relationship with him.  He’s a fair guy, and he respects my opinion. Should I tell him how I feel about my new boss?” — The Underling

Q. As the owner of a small company, I have been invited to join a professional association. The dues cover luncheons at meetings. Would it better to deduct those costs as business meals?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to compensate employees for any time spent on the job that benefits the employer. There are, however, some exceptions. For example, if employees use their own time to study materials that will qualify them for promotions, that time generally doesn’t have to be paid.

Terminating an employee is probably the hardest thing an HR professional has to do—and the most legally dangerous. To handle terminations well, you need to keep calm, communicate your message without escalating the tension and stick to a plan. Here’s a 10-step course of action ...

 The male Internet manager at Belle Glade Chevrolet-Cadillac-Buick-Pontiac-Oldsmobile Inc. and Plattner Auto Group is suing the company over sexual harassment by a male co-worker who eventually became his supervisor ...

 A counselor for the Hillsborough County Children’s Services Department (CSD) lost her disability discrimination case against the county in U.S. District Court for the Middle District in Tampa ...

The setting for a termination meeting can be crucial in preventing an unexpected charge—false imprisonment. To avoid unfounded false imprisonment charges, make certain termination meetings are private, yet open. Allow the employee to sit by the door, with nothing blocking her exit ...

You’ve probably got an ADA policy that extends reasonable accommodations to any disabled workers. That’s good. But are your managers following through? If your paper policy is the only thing granting accommodations, a court could make you pay the price … big time. As in punitive damages...

You won't find many people who love meetings. That might be because attendees often feel like meetings are a waste of time. At Marilyn Halsall’s workplace, “action minutes” are part of the remedy.

Q. We are entering our busy season. Although our budget is tight, we’d like to reward those employees who go above and beyond with some sort of additional “perk.” Can you recommend some low-cost ways to reward exceptional performance? ...

HDG Mansur, a multinational property company based in Indianapolis, is poised to launch the first global real estate investment fund compliant with Islamic sharia law. But the firm has drawn complaints from a U.S. imam, Indiana clergy and unions ...

Q. We have a nonunion shop. It is not uncommon for our employees to insist that they have the right to have a witness present during investigatory interviews and disciplinary action meetings. I have heard conflicting answers to whether employees in a nonunion facility have the right to have a witness present during investigatory and disciplinary interviews. Can you clear up the confusion for me? ...

A recent survey found that potent scents ranked #4 on the list of employees’ workplace pet peeves. Yet for some who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity, strong odors aren’t just an annoyance—they’re a real health concern. Is it serious enough to warrant ADA accommodation?

Lose your credibility and you lose your career. Credibility is the most important predictor of an HR professional’s effectiveness, according to the 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS) by The RBL Group leadership firm. Here are eight key ways to diminish or destroy your credibility ...

An agnostic paramedic sued Madison County for religious discrimination after the county offered Christian counseling, held Christian prayer meetings in the workplace and allegedly terminated him because of his agnosticism ...

Gloria Pimental, a worker at Nordstrom stores in Wellington and Palm Beach Gardens, has filed an EEOC lawsuit alleging a manager harassed her and other Hispanic and black employees. Pimental claims she was fired when she complained ...

RadioShack earned a public relations beating last year when it used e-mail notifications to alert 400 employees at its Texas headquarters that they were being laid off. But that practice may be more popular than you think ...

A cosmetology instructor in the state prison system will have her case heard by a jury after she convinced a judge her employer most likely retaliated against her for filing a race discrimination charge with the EEOC ...

If you’re holding the line on pay raises, you’re in good company. Three new surveys agree that most employers will raise salaries between 3.8% and 3.9% for the second year in a row in 2008, halting a steady upward trend in pay raises that began in 2004 ...

Do you have an employee who grates on everyone’s nerves and makes unreasonable demands on subordinates? Are you afraid to discipline the employee because he or she belongs to a protected class (e.g., race, age, sex)? Fear no more! As long as you use a fair process to correct the employee’s shortcomings, chances are he or she won’t win a lawsuit ...

Nothing generates paper like the hiring process, especially if it involves multiple interviews and committee meetings. What do you do with all that paper? If you destroy it, be prepared to show you do so routinely. Otherwise, a jury or judge may view the destruction as evidence you have something to hide ...

Remind supervisors, managers and HR staff: Don’t brush off or make light of sexual harassment complaints. Doing so can just add more fuel to the fire. When employees are ignored, they may begin to see every slight that comes their way—getting the cold shoulder at meetings or missing out on promotions—as retaliation for voicing their concerns about sexually hostile behavior. And that can make them much more likely to file lawsuits against your company ...

When it comes to recruiting and retaining, organizations don’t need to reinvent the wheel or create bold initiatives to attract and keep the best workers. Sometimes, simply doing the tried-and-true things right are all you need ...

Employees of Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta don’t nosh on the organization’s famous breaded chicken breast sandwiches at lunchtime. They don’t “brown-bag” it either. To encourage employee bonding, the organization treats employees each day to entrées, such as pork loin with asparagus and crusted chicken breast with cauliflower ...

How would you rate your orientation process for new managers and executives? Not good, if you're like most organizations. Poor orientations can cause high-dollar hires to leave or fail to become productive in the critical first months. Improve your orientations by taking the following steps ...

Employers and employees know that wearing the proper protective equipment can prevent workplace accidents. But too often employees fail to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), sometimes with disastrous consequences ...

HR Specialist editors joined more than 15,000 HR professionals in Las Vegas for the 2007 Society for Human Resource Management conference -- the largest annual gathering of HR pros in America. Following are some nuggets of advice collected during the conference ... 

Q. Our office secretary is the backbone of our company. Her son is in special education, and she periodically asks for time off to attend various school conferences and meetings about his progress. I don’t want to be stingy, but her absences really create problems for us. Do I have to allow her to take time off for these meetings?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets strict rules for how you pay employees, including setting a minimum wage and overtime. The basic concept is straightforward ...

In another sign of just how diverse California’s economy is—and how challenging its HR environment could become—a web site that focuses on Pasadena’s municipal affairs has hired two reporters to cover City Hall. From India ...

The California Court of Appeal recently ruled that binding arbitration mandated by an arbitration agreement could determine a former employee’s wage claims for an unpaid profit-sharing bonus and severance pay ...

Q. Occasionally, we offer in-house training and development programs for our employees. These programs are strictly voluntary and are not conducted during normal working hours. Our company has never paid employees for the time spent attending such training. Is this legal?

Most federal discrimination laws require employees who think they have been wronged to file a complaint with the EEOC or their state’s equivalent agency before going to federal court. But that’s not the case when it comes to disability discrimination cases brought under the Ohio Revised Code anti-discrimination provisions ...

Michigan has one of the toughest weight discrimination laws in the country—a law that can trip up supervisors who innocently offer diet tips. It’s crucial to train management staff to recognize that discussion concerning an employee’s weight is off-limits ...

Should your organization buy a computer, pay for Internet access and maintain the equipment that your teleworkers use in their home offices? The federal government recently authorized its agencies do all of that for their teleworkers. And that may be the smart play for your organization, too ...

Shifting some health care costs to employees can help control an organization’s ballooning expenses, but it doesn’t make employees healthier or reduce their need for services. Help your organization progress down the path toward employee engagement by using these eight tips ...

Infighting among union groups has the labor movement cranking up its organizing efforts to prove a point. Many employers panic when they become union targets, tripping over costly labor relations rules. Follow these steps to avoid becoming a union target ...

While the ADA was created to stop employment discrimination, the law also requires you to provide equal access (and possibly accommodations) for disabled employees in the area of emergency evacuations from your workplace ...

Should you guarantee employees confidentiality when they voice complaints to you or to supervisors? Blanket promises of confidentiality could blow up in your face; some laws require you to report illegal or unethical conduct ...

Your unique vantage point in HR equips you to identify managers with the potential to become company leaders. By sharing your insights with top execs, you'll help build organizational excellence and make yourself more valuable. Use these tips to alert top execs to possible future leaders they might be missing ...

March 10 is Employee Appreciation Day, but you can show your gratitude throughout the year. Studies show that employees who feel valued are more likely to stay ... Choose your favorite ideas from among these real-life suggestions ...

One wrong move (especially during the firing process) can send employees running for courthouse. Teach supervisors to avoid unnecessarily angering employees by pointing out the following common mistakes ...

The recent sentencing of a Coca-Cola employee who tried to steal (and sell) the secret formula serves as a cautionary tale for your employees about the confidentiality of trade secrets. Here's a five-step strategy for shoring up your trade-secret walls and making sure confidential info stays in-house.

When a sexual harassment accusation arises, employers often move into crisis mode. But don't try to push the problem off your plate by quickly jettisoning the employee via a kangaroo court ...

A new survey shows that employees are becoming increasingly comfortable checking their e-mails in the middle of meetings. But do those numbers make the practice OK, and does your organization need to lay down the law on when and how mobile devices can be used? If your organization is going to allow employees to use mobile devices during meetings, pass along these tips ...

Everything is done by e-mail these days, but the American worker still isn't ready yet to be fired that way ...

Workplace humor is fine until it drifts into the realm of gags about employees' gender, race or religion. Even age-based jokes can trigger lawsuits. Although few employees will win age-discrimination lawsuits based on a joke or two, such juvenile behavior can take an otherwise marginal case and give it legal legs ...

When you rattle off your employee benefit offerings to prospective employees, what raises their eyebrows? It's probably not the basics: People have come to expect health/life/dental, 401(k), etc. What really catches a prospect's attention are the creative perks that prove your organization has their interests in mind ...

Question: I recently worked on a "team project" that included giving a presentation to an entire department (think "The Apprentice Lite"). We didn't have a project manager, but three out of the four team members worked night and day for three weeks on this project.

The three of us did literally 99.9 percent of the work. The fourth team member (we call her "The Albatross") came up with the "concept" but when asked to complete her portion of the presentation, she would regurgitate what we had already done in a completely unusable format.

When we gave the presentation, she chimed in during our portions, making it look as though we had overlooked something and that she had "saved the day."

Unfortunately, the Donald wasn't there to ask us who should have been fired. What is your advice on handling future projects such as this, with a deadbeat project member who happily lets you do all her work and takes all the credit? -- Migraine Millie

If you have non-English speaking employees, you may be making efforts to help improve their language skills. But in which cases must you pay employees for that training time? ...

A reader of our weekly e-mail newsletter recently posed this question to the other readers: “What’s the best way to include Spanish-speaking employees in orientation sessions with a predominantly English-speaking group?” ...

Great ideas drafted on whiteboards during meetings or brainstorming sessions can disappear if you don’t somehow capture them. Three low-cost ideas ...

Loganville, Ga., has found a unique way to deal with an allegedly roguish, abrasive manager ...

Do the supervisors in your organization know how to handle potentially volatile employment discussions? If they don’t use kid gloves, they could be sued personally by employees for state torts such as false imprisonment and battery ...

It pays to make every effort to publicize job openings to your current staff and make clear how employees should apply. If you don’t, you face potential discrimination claims ...

For some bosses, “Good work” or “That stunk” is all the feedback they offer employees in a day. But the employees crave a whole lot more ...

Do you have employees who clock in before their shift starts, then stand around drinking coffee for a half-hour? How can you cut down on this “on-the-clock-but-standing-around” time? ...

Here are six common communication mistakes that people—especially professional women—make in the workplace, according to communications consultant Colette Carlson ...

When it comes time to fire a difficult employee, focus on clear and easily explained legitimate business reasons for the action you want to take. That means documenting any work problems and relating those problems to the major job functions you hired the employee to perform ...

Question: I frequently send out meeting notices by e-mail to a large group of volunteers, well in advance of the meeting date. While some of the volunteers RSVP, many do not. I also send out a small reminder closer to the meeting date.

Sometimes this helps, but quite a few volunteers never respond. This is a problem because their attendance is very important, and I order food according to how many people are coming.

How should I handle this in a courteous and professional way? You can't force people to respond to your e-mails. My last resort is to call each person individually, but I feel like I'm being "pushy" when I do that. Plus, that takes a lot of time. Any suggestions? -- Anonymous

Question: We're gearing up for our annual performance-appraisal cycle, and I know I'm going to have to hound several managers to get their reviews done on time. We go through this every year. Any advice for encouraging (or forcing?) them to complete the paperwork and conduct review meetings on a timely basis?  -- Stephen, Arizona

Question: A couple of years ago there was a "Your Problems Solved" article relating to scheduling meetings and other tasks often requested of Administrative Assistants/Secretaries. One or more respondents had Meeting Request Forms they used in order to get ALL pertinent information they needed to schedule a meeting (attendees, timeline for scheduling, etc.).

I cannot find the article, and now I find myself in need of such a form or template. Does anyone have one they could recommend and/or share?  -- S Clark

HR Law 101: The ADA requires employers to walk a fine line between enforcing reasonable workplace safety and behavioral rules and making accommodations for those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The law doesn't protect current users of illegal (i.e., “street”) drugs, but it does protect alcoholics and those who’ve shaken their drug addiction sufficiently to no longer be classified as active illegal users ...

All peak performers do certain things: put in long hours, exercise, work in family time, etc. But they also have idiosyncrasies or secrets for making sure that they stay at the top of their game. What’s remarkable is how much their work habits vary.

Question: It is my job to order the food for our board meetings. We’ve had several complaints about ordering the same types of food for each meeting. My boss generally requests Caesar salads or sandwiches with small sides. Does anyone have any ideas as to what else we could serve for our board meetings? I need to keep the cost reasonably low.  -- Gina

HR Law 101: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) applies strict rules of conduct to employers during union-organizing campaigns. But whether you choose to accept the union or resist it, you can still exercise your rights effectively. Or, if a union has already won a representation election in your organization, you need to know how to prevent the union from encroaching on your management rights ... 

Question: I read your Admin Pro Forum - Dealing with Divas, and I’m interested in obtaining a job description for a Sr. Admin Assistant. I am an executive assistant doing Sr. executive work. I’d like to see other job descriptions in order to help establish my own senior job description and present it to my boss. Having input from another senior admin assistant would be helpful.  -- Cindy

Question: I am the HR Director for a nursing home. I have had several complaints against one of my supervisors from his staff. I have reported a more serious incident to the Administrator and also presented a few other complaints to him. The Administrator confronted the supervisor. The staff has since reported back to me that the supervisor’s attitude has changed toward them, and it makes them uncomfortable and creates an unpleasant working environment.

They do not want me to report him again because of his behavior toward them after the last complaint. And they do not want me to confront their supervisor.

How can I help this department if they do not want me to report him?

I feel that it’s my obligation to these employees to make them feel safe in the workplace and enjoy coming to work each day.  -- Anonymous

Question: I will be working with a new director soon. When I meet with the new director, I would like to ask the right questions in order to get to know his work style or what he expects of me. I would like help in asking the right questions so I know what he expects. For instance, the information that I placed on my former boss’s Outlook calendar may not be what my new boss would like on his calendar. Another question might be how he prefers me to handle mail, for example, date stamped, placed in folders, etc.

What other questions should I ask?  -- Anonymous

HR Law 101: Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Courts are increasingly taking a dim view of employers that don't take decisive action to prevent sexual harassment ...

HR Law 101: If your organization becomes the target of a union-organizing effort, keep your head. Some activities can spell disaster. Both the NLRA and the Taft-Hartley Act prohibit employers from discriminating against employees for participating in union activities ...

Q. We have an employee who works for two different departments, under two different supervisors. Which supervisor should conduct the review, the one with the most seniority? —D.F., Illinois

Q. About a year ago, our company replaced manual time clocks and punch cards with a computerized system, so each employee would punch in and out on the computer. The information is downloaded directly to the payroll department. Despite numerous reminders, from stickers to manager meetings, we still have a chronic problem of employees failing to clock in or out of work. Any suggestions? —M.M., Minnesota

Q. Is it legal to give our full-time, salaried employees extra time off from work due to meetings and extra workload responsibilities? —C.E., West Virginia

Q. Can we require full-time nonexempt employees to attend work-related functions after regular hours? If so, should this time be compensated? —M.A., Texas

Q. One of our nonexempt employees was traveling with her boss to other company sites to conduct meetings. After one meeting, she and the boss went to dinner, which the company paid for. During the meal, the employee broke a crown on her front tooth, requiring emergency dental work. Would this fall under workers' compensation? —R.B., Alabama

Q. Last week, we asked a nonexempt employee to come in 30 minutes before her regular start time to talk to her about a complaint that had come to our attention. Do we have to pay her for the time spent in discussions with management? —G.B., Kentucky

Make sure your managers and supervisors know that politics and religion are individual choices and don't belong in the workplace. Otherwise, you could face stiff fines or penalties under New Jersey's new Worker Freedom from Intimidation Law ...

New federal court rules for electronic-records maintenance and discovery took effect on Dec. 1, 2006. The rules govern discovery of electronically stored information in federal civil litigation ...

Employees at Amherst, N.Y.-based Ivoclar Vivadent started walking in the spring, and for 20 weeks, they didn’t stop. Thirty teams of four people each used pedometers to count their steps and competed to see who could walk the most. ...

If your employees hear “casual” when you say “business casual,” they might benefit from an emerging new perk: the employer-supplied image consultant ...

Some of your organization’s employees may be eligible for a larger tax refund without knowing it. You can do them a huge favor (and earn some good will) by introducing them to those tax savings ...

Florida mirrors America’s growing diversity in many ways. Today, co-workers wear burqas and yarmulkes, and some employees request prayer breaks. Religious diversity is a reason for celebration, but it also presents workplace challenges. Religious discrimination claims filed with the EEOC more than doubled in the past year ...

One of the toughest tasks for HR is to decide which employees are supervisors. Employers need to know this because supervisors are excluded from a collective bargaining unit for union organizing and voting purposes ...

If you hire emotionally disabled employees, be sure to integrate them into your regular staff meetings and events. Avoid treating them as a separate (even if equal) component of your work force ...

HR Law 101: When a new hire comes on board, you must determine whether to classify him or her as exempt or nonexempt under the FLSA. The key consideration: Exempt workers aren’t eligible for overtime pay. Rather, they’re paid for the job they do, not the hours they keep ...

Question: Has anyone in a Sr. Admin. Asst. role had to deal with a “Diva”? I am a Sr. Admin. Asst. and I work with an Admin. Asst. who feels that she doesn’t have to respond to my requests, especially when I ask her to provide information to me prior to meetings. She wants to do the PowerPoint presentation herself; therefore, she shows up with it on a disk the morning of the meeting. Others provide the information to me and I create the PowerPoint, so I know I have everything ready. She’s very talented and I depend on her, but she comes across as “I don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules.” Any suggestions?  -- Anonymous

Question: Our company has job descriptions for several levels of administrative assistants, but it doesn’t have one specifically for executive assistants. Typically, the executive assistant position requires a level of support beyond what the average admin provides. Does anyone have a really strong job description for an executive admin position?  -- Carol

Question: I am organizing a meeting in Coventry UK for a large group of top level executives and quite naturally it needs to be close to perfect. Does anyone have a meeting checklist (preferably for large groups) that I can use to make sure everything I need to consider is taken care of (travel, room reservations, equipment, meals, etc.)?  -- Anonymous

Question: My boss has several direct reports that he meets with individually each month. After each meeting, my boss gives me his notes and I use them to assign tasks. We are looking for some software or a system to track when the tasks are assigned and a reminder when the deadlines have occurred.

Question: I work at a very large corporation. Our small department is at an off-site location, so as the administrative assistant, I also work at the front reception desk.

We have a somewhat laid-back atmosphere, and I like that. But when I'm on the phone, I can barely hear the caller.

The source of my problem is twofold:

First, it's noisy in the room. Often, many loud conversations are carried out right by my desk. Also, the guys just have loud voices that carry across the room. Some people hold conversations across the room. Very often, impromptu meetings are held with vendors as they come in.

To deal with this, I’ve tried to talk on the phone near the corner wall of my desk. (We have 5-foot-high sheet-rocked walls around our desk areas.) I’ve tried to let my co-workers know when I'm on the phone with a friendly wave to my co-workers or by asking the caller to hold and then asking my co-workers to keep it down. That's been a temporary solution. My supervisor is aware the problem and tries to remember to not hold meetings at my desk.

The second problem is the phone system: Everyone here has a hard time hearing callers. To cope with this, I often have to apologize to callers and ask them to speak up or to repeat what they've said. Because I'm at the front reception desk, I can't go to another location to speak on the phone.

I researched this problem with our telecom department. I've tried using a handset with a volume control, but it doesn't work on my phone, nor does a headset.

For several years, I've talked to my supervisor about getting a better phone system. A new system would actually pay for itself within two years. Our department manager is aware of the problem, yet a new phone system is never put in the budget.

Question: I just was given the job of scheduling parent/teacher conferences and I am looking at streamlining the process for next year. Currently, the job is done manually and is very cumbersome. It also has the potential for errors, as the same information is entered into several different documents.

I've looked on the Internet and found a number of software companies that offer parent/teacher conference software. I've noticed that some software allows the parents to schedule their own meetings on the Internet. At this time, this portion of software would not be an option for us to use.

My question is: Does anyone have any suggestions/experience with this type of software?

Thank you in advance for any feedback.  -- Cindy, British Columbia

Question: I work in at a college and have a situation: One of my co-workers is very sensitive to smells (perfumes, colognes, etc.) and is often relocated to other workspaces to avoid headaches or becoming nauseous.

Her supervisor would like to put some type of sign around the area, notifying people that the area is fragrance-free. This will be posted inside the office (for other co-workers who wear perfumes to back off a little), as well as outside the office (for students/visitors who visit at the window).

What’s a nice way of wording a simple sign, without offending anyone?

Thanks!  -- Tami

Question: I work in an office where I am the senior administrative assistant to the senior vice president of our company. Five other administrative assistants in the office report to various directors and managers.

The senior vice president would like for me to mentor the five other administrative assistants. The other directors and managers see mentoring as my overseeing their work, which ultimately means that I am responsible for their work.

How do other offices handle this type of reporting structure? Does a 50/50 supervisory role over these admins really work? Or should the directors and managers take over seeing there admins and I am really only there to guide in general administrative questions?

I also see value in having the six of us meet on a monthly basis to go over what is happening in the office and what role they play (such as general administrative tasks). Will that just confuse them on whom they report to?  -- Jackie Smith

Question: We have two or three regional meetings a year, and my boss -- the EVP -- likes to have employees' comments after each meeting. He wants to know if they feel that they benefited from attending; to rate the presentations/speakers; to see if they feel we can do something better or improve on; and, of course, for their suggestions for future meetings. He also wants them to be "anonymous" so employees feel they can comment how they like and not how they think we want.

I have searched the Web numerous times -- even Microsoft templates -- to find a feedback/comment card template, etc., but have come up empty-handed. Does anyone have any suggestions and/or templates of their own they can send?

Additionally, because employees have no time at the meetings to give us their comments back, they will need to take the forms with them and submit them once completed. Do you have any suggestions on how to go about this so when they're returned to me, via U.S. mail, I won’t be able to know whom or where they came from?

Thanking you in advance for your any assistance I receive.  -- Brenda, bsamartino@kimcorealty.com

Question: I know before I start this that I'm going to sound like a shrew, but there is just no tactful way to put this.

I'm an executive secretary/admin for our company president and vice president of sales for a privately held manufacturer. We have about 500 employees at this location, and 150 of them are office personnel. Only three admin people serve this whole office. As I said, I have two executives and numerous requests from other managers, corporate personnel, as well as field sales personnel.

This is my complaint: On numerous occasions, we've catered lunches for meetings and mill visits. These meals are always delivered, served and taken away with little disruption of an admin’s day.

My VP of sales, however, is forever deciding to have a "working lunch," for which I have to order, pick up and deliver to him and others. This is at least one day a week, unless he’s traveling. Occasionally, our president will request this service, also.

These are usually orders for only three to five people, and none of the restaurants or fast-food places in our small town will deliver for fewer than 10 orders.

I have to spend my cash, my gas and time out of an already-busy work day to do this. I'm reimbursed for the money, but that in itself is a hassle, with forms and signatures required. Most of the time, it’s the next day before I can get it back.

To me, this seems to be an unreasonable expectation when my work load is already heavy. I'm not allowed to work overtime to catch up when I’ve lost an hour from my day.

I assure you that I'm not lazy. I love everything else about this job, but these too-numerous lunch requests are dragging me down.

Please don’t suggest that I try talking to the execs. When someone complains about their job at this place, it comes back to haunt them at review time. Also, please don’t suggest that I find a new job. I’m almost 59 years old and would like to retire from here. I’ve out-lasted four presidents and seven VPs, but I’m getting too old to be patient!  -- Elaine Cornwell, Senior Executive Secretary

Question: I work for a boss who’s so busy, I feel like I never get to speak with him unless I walk (or sprint) down the hall with him on the way to his next meeting. We do occasionally meet one on one, but his travel and meeting schedules are so jam-packed that we haven’t been able to set up anything regular.

His interpersonal skills aren’t the greatest; he may not be comfortable in one-on-one meetings.

On top of the fact that this makes it difficult to do my job sometimes, I’m worried about my career. How can he know that I’m doing a good job unless he’s around to hear about it?

Does anyone have advice for working around a boss’s unavailability?  -- Anonymous

Question: I use Excel to post and track updates on an action-item log that I maintain for our weekly meetings. It has seven columns and is laid out in landscape format. Lately, I've run into a problem with the text not wrapping.

It starts out OK, but if the verbiage gets too long, it stops wrapping inside the cell. It sometimes looks OK in the spreadsheet, but cuts off the text on the right-hand side of the cell.

I tried expanding the cell horizontally -- and vertically -- but nothing helps. It was suggested that I post the updated notes in the row directly below, but if I do a filter on all closed action items, the second cell directly below the original doesn't show up.

I'm considering posting my action-item log in another program, i.e. Word, but I'm wondering if I should consider another software program. Excel and Word are the only two software programs I have; anything else would need to be purchased.

I need something that will allow me to add very lengthy verbiage in one cell and still print out, so all can be seen.

Thanks.  -- Susan

Question: What do you do when department heads do not communicate major changes in the department to the administrative assistant? It's frustrating to not ever know what people are thinking and talking about behind closed doors until the very last minute.  -- Carolyn

Question: When reviewing appointments or meetings scheduled by others on the Microsoft Outlook calendar, is there a way to identify who scheduled the event and when?  -- Anonymous in Los Angeles

Question: I am one of two admins in a small department. We cover for each other on days off, lunch hours, etc.

I am considerably busier than she is--both professionally and personally--and try to make good use of any downtime at work. I'm involved in a fundraiser, have elderly parents, have a busy household and work out.

As she is seldom busy, she chatters constantly throughout the day about anything and everything, which I find a total distraction and completely irritating. Two other co-workers feel the same way I do.

I'm not sure what to do about this. I've tried not looking up from my work much while she's speaking, but she doesn't get the hint. She's also very nosy and gossipy. If she hears something I say on the phone, she'll ask about it.  She occasionally looks at my computer screen over my shoulder and makes comments.

I just don't know what to do. I don't want to alienate her, as I need her cooperation in this department. I just want her to cut down the chatter and mind her own business.

Any suggestions? Thank you.  -- Anonymous, Boston

Question: I happen to be a young manager in an office of around 70 employees. We try to keep a family-type atmosphere, in which we encourage "open" working relationships with managers and staff, but keep away from managers and employees becoming buddies.

I find that most employees respond to a manager who is more of a leader; who listens and responds to valid concerns.

I have great working relationships with the majority of staff, except for two 50-year-old women. These two staff, I have "heard" through the grapevine, have an issue because I am younger than them.

The thing I am confused about is that their behavior is more immature than that of other, much younger employees. They gossip, pout when they're talked to about valid concerns of mine, have lazy work habits, are nice as pie when I am around, etc.

I was wondering if there's a way to work it out in which I can change their behavior. Or, are they never going to respond to my direction and discipline merely because of my age?

Question: We use Lotus Notes in our office, but we can't use it to print out a monthly calendar. It prints each day on several pages and is very difficult to read.

We've tried every way we know how, but it still comes out the same.

Any suggestions?  -- Sandra Rudolph, Miami

Question: I have found several resources when it comes to multiple bosses. In my situation, we have two Administrative Assistants for one boss.

What is the best way to handle two assistants? Should there be a division of responsibilities or should they do the same thing? If there is a division, how do you handle one Admin feeling less valued? I feel that one Admin Assistant is all that is needed to take care of most everything.  -- Kelleen

Question: I know someone posted earlier about having a boss with ADD/ADHD. What about when the person diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (combined inattentive/hyperactive type) is the executive assistant herself?

I would be interested in knowing what employer-provided (under the ADA) accommodations have helped other admins with this disorder to do their jobs better/more effectively.

Our responsibilities as admins are often focused on being able to multi-task, keep organized, prioritize, remain on time with projects, remember names/phone numbers, and keep focused ... all of which have to happen simultaneously, sometimes. All of these are significant challenges for someone with the disorder and who has issues with short-term memory, keeping track of time, finding/organizing files and remembering information after being distracted by someone/something else, etc.  -- Anonymous

Question: I wish to start a monthly meeting to include as many of the Administrative Assistants throughout the organization as possible. Does anyone have any hints on if monthly meetings are a good idea, if one hour is enough time, etc.?

I envision these meetings not only building relationships among all the assistants, but also giving all assistants an idea of what each area is currently working on and, if they're working on similar projects, allowing them to share feedback. Also, they can update one another on any major process changes in their departments. (We have a problem with one unit deciding to disband some information that is needed for reports, not aware that other departments are counting on it all being located in one place.)  -- Wisconsin

Question: My husband and I would like to move back to Dallas but want to have employment before I get there. I have sent resumes out, but it does not seem to be productive. Does anyone have any advice?  -- Moving

Question: I am a human resource coordinator who handles payroll, benefits and related work for about 100 employees, and I am being "forced" in very stern written communications from my direct supervisor to "fully cross-train" a co-worker "in all aspects of all duties and provide instruction and access to all documentation."

This co-worker does the same job as I do, but for a separate division of our department. She handles approximately 60 employees.

This is a very unusual circumstance; not warranted, in my opinion. (We do the same job but for different employees.)

The other side of this story is that this co-worker (female) is very good friends with my direct supervisor (male). They tell each other everything, and my co-worker has been asking me for all of my information but has told me nothing about her job. It's almost as if this cross-training is a ruse, convincing me that they just want my information so they can easily be rid of me.

I have been having some health issues lately. I have fibromyalgia and perhaps lupus, along with some other issues, and have had a lot of physician appointments. But my work is always completed, no matter what I have to do to get it done. Nevertheless, I cannot help but feel as if they are pushing me out.

What should I do? I have been complying and have been cooperative and nice, but I am not happy.

Please help!  -- Being Pushed Out in Ohio

Question: My boss, I believe, has a problem with ADHD. Sometimes, he bounces off the walls and is very difficult to keep up with. I try to keep up with him, but lately, I am exhausted by mid-afternoon. I am at the point that I am so frustrated because I am running in circles most of the time.

My boss will tell me he needs to schedule a meeting or various meetings throughout the day. Then, two minutes after we have met regarding his files/meeting requests, etc., he asks me if I have set up the meeting regarding a topic that he never asked me to schedule. So, I continually have to check and re-check my notes for who the invitees are for meeting A or B; then, I have to ask him if his question relates to scheduling meeting A or B. His normal reply: "Oh, no. This is another meeting I am talking about."

Many times, he forgets to give me all of the details.

Are you aware of any books that would help administrative assistants who work with bosses with ADHD? I would like to know how to set up boundaries with my boss, who cannot seem to focus.

I have set up color-coded files; I print meetings from his calendar and attach to the top of a folder for each and every meeting; I arrange files on his credenza; I keep a large, orange "Please sign" file for signatures; and we meet daily to plan meetings, plan projects and to follow up regarding unfinished projects.

I need some help as to how I can become a more efficient assistant to my boss. Any suggestions?  -- Frustrated in Michigan

Try these tips to get you through your busy day.

Question: What criteria (or what procedures) do other companies use to select their 'Employee of the Month' or other similar awards?"  -- Ron

Question: "I need some good employee-appreciation ideas. My company has about 500 employees who work in different departments, and we don't even recognize birthdays! There's so much to be done, but I wanted to get some other points of view first."  -- Looking for ideas in Mississippi

Question: I have been asked to start a monthly newsletter for our plant.  Since I have never done this before, I need all the help I can get such as a sample newsletter, what program to use (I was thinking Microsoft Publisher).

My goal is employee involvement. Should I send out a memo asking for ideas and input or, after the newsletter is started (hopefully), just rely on word of mouth? 

Question: I work in an office with 19 other people and I am in charge of turning on the dishwasher each night before leaving.  To some, this translates to me also being in charge of cleaning up after everyone.

Often, there are dirty dishes in the sink or the counter, crumbs on the table, empty food containers left out, etc. ... and it's left for me to clean up.

Several memos have been distributed to the staff to remind them to take responsibility for their own housekeeping, but it has not been successful.  Any ideas?  I'm tired of being known as the office maid. My name is not Hazel!  -- Anonymous

Question: I would like to meet with my peers from our 11 other plants and other persons such as A/P, A/R and any other persons  who may pertain to our job from the corporate office.  We have plants from California.to Delaware and from Illinois to Kentucky.

Apparently, admins don't travel from here (or so I've been told); it isn't part of the job description.

What can I say or do to be able to meet these people? I work with a lot of them every  day and would really like to meet them in person.  I would really like to know the "guts" of the corporation and why I do what I do and if I'm the only one being micro-managed by my super or if it's a corp. thing!

Thank you.  -- Susan

Question: Has anyone put together a group program for the administrative assistants at their company to promote communication, education, training, etc? I have been asked to organize a quarterly meeting and I need a starting point. If anyone has done this and has suggestions or ideas, I would greatly appreciate the help!  -- Anonymous

Question: Our company has been through four major acquisitions in the past 8 years, most recently a year ago.  All employees have lost faith in the executive team due to corporate flavor of policies and standards being changed constantly with each new acquisition.

Most recently, an employee who is well liked by all tendered her resignation after 28 years of service because she disagreed with her supervisor's review of her. (She thought she should have received "Above Standard" ratings on each item but didn't.)  This started a rumor that the executive team (of which HR is a part) fired her, which was not the truth. She gave the executive team an ultimatum and they did not meet it because the review was a good and fair review.

There was a silent protest with all employees not of the management team wearing a circle with "28" inside on their shoulders. The employees are very vocal in their displeasure,  stating that they will never believe what the executive team says ever again, and there has been quite a lot of gossip and innuendo, with most of the executive team being ostracized.

How do you approach this?  The employees whom HR has spoken to state that there is nothing that HR can do to make this better.  Do we review standards for comportment in the workplace again?  Get in front of them, send out a questionnaire so they can voice their grievances?  (They will not use the suggestion box.)  How would YOU handle this situation?  -- Anonymous

Question: Has anyone put together a group program for the administrative assistants at their company to promote communication, education, training, etc? I have been asked to organize a quarterly meeting and I need a starting point. If anyone has done this and has suggestions or ideas, I would greatly appreciate the help!  -- Anonymous

Showcase your talents by putting together a desk reference manual. Done bit by bit, it can become the ultimate productivity tool. Here's how to do it.

We don't want to sugarcoat things: Getting hit with an IRS "field audit" is a worst-case scenario and a cause for genuine concern. The process is expensive, time-consuming and requires a more comprehensive defense strategy than the other two types of audits we've discussed in our audit series ("correspondence audits" handled through the mail and "office audits" performed at an IRS office).

Question: How does a supervisor report staff mistakes without sounding like a whistle blower?

I am an HR and admin support staff member. I am burning out and demotivated!

I supervise the work and check reports of two staff. I have to constantly check and have the reports redone.  If it’s urgent enough, I redo them myself.  I am so tired of this. But if I ever bring it up to my manager that it’s getting increasingly difficult for me to get them to be productive without personally spending time on them, her comments and action on that feedback shows that she either thinks I am undermining them or that I am being overly critical.  I am neither one and, to prove my point and not to seem like I have a personal agenda, I decided to forward the reports directly to my manager for her to get a realistic idea of these staff and weigh their feasibility.  I wanted her to see that the time and effort I was spending on these employees was taking away my time and the quality of my work.

Overall, she is a very friendly and helpful person, and I suspect that her handling of the situation is due to the different cultures we come from. But I do need to understand how to approach and resolve this.

When I started, I was also a fresher to this field. But I got some brief training and I grew into the job without much trouble or supervision. One of these staff has already been here more than 6 months and the other around 5.  I think that is more than a fair period for their training.  I went all out to give them more of a long leash to get the hang of things without blowing my top, although I got very frustrated often.  I even covered a few mistakes for them so they wouldn't lose nerve. I allowed them freedom to try their own hands in a few tasks, instead of insisting on following the existing procedures, AND have been encouraging and appreciative of even the smallest accomplishment.

In the first few weeks/month of their appointment, during a discussion when my manager was wavering on her decision to keep them, I was the one urging her to give them a little more time to get thorough!  Looks to me like I am playing by every rule in the book but I am getting a raw deal!

Earlier, I handled all their jobs single-handedly and welcomed them and went all out to get them going, thinking they would be a help.  But it has turned out to be much, much more stressful this way.

With other staff, I come across several employee issues/suggestions, which I consider my duty to report to the management for solutions and improvements.  These are genuine employee concerns that I refer to.  Since I am very approachable, people who wouldn't normally complain find it easy to confide in me.  I am able to feel the pulse, so to speak, and can make a whole lot of things better … IF my manager would take me seriously.  Right now, she cross-checks my feedback, which is fair enough.  The problem is that she communicates with certain staff who are very good at misconstruing the facts.  She believes them, since they are both senior to me and are smooth talkers, and my point is weakened.

Should I just clam up and keep with me all that I see and hear?  Am I overplaying my role?   I am so committed to making a difference that being quiet about things like this is not easy!  -- Anonymous

Question: We have an office of about 70 employees, about 55 of whom have face-to-face contact with the public. The owner would like all patients welcomed with friendly faces. Not all the employees are this friendly. They aren’t rude, but are very cold. They do their work correctly.

How do you make people smile without making them more unfriendly?  If they don't fit into the atmosphere we are trying to create, would that be crazy to let them go?  -- Anonymous

Pity the late Albert Strangi. He tried to save his family from estate taxes by transferring the bulk of his assets into a family limited partnership (FLP). But the IRS stepped in and nixed the tax benefits.

Question: I have a new boss who does not "own it" when she makes a mistake. We often have to communicate with notes, since she is out of her office in meetings most of almost every day.  This is a very busy office with lots of deadlines to meet, so time management is essential.

Recently, she left me a note requiring an answer. I responded by note and returned it to her in-box. A few days later, we were talking about the note contents and I mentioned to her that I had responded and put the note in her office.  She said she "never" got it.
I told her I put it in her in-box, but she once again said she never got it.

When I again gave her the info she was seeking, I looked in her in-box and there was my note to her. She had not even bothered to go through her box.

This happens a lot and it makes me very frustrated with her. When I brought the note to her attention, she just talked over me and said the matter was a "done deal."

Any ideas how I can forgive and forget and not get so frustrated?  -- Anonymous, Wyoming

Question: I have been offered a job at a new company that is willing to match the pay I make now for similar work. My boyfriend told me that this is a good time to negotiate for more money. For example, asking for $1.00/hour more to start, but skipping the first review for a raise.

I feel a little guilty and greedy thinking of asking for more pay. But, as I think about it more, I know I perform a great deal of duties and I'm a good worker.

Question: Does anyone have an effective, politically correct method of getting people to clear their own copier jams? Not a day goes by that I don't find someone else's unattended jam that I have to clear.

The copier has very specific, fully illustrated instructions on how to clear the jam, yet everyone seems to leave it for the next person to clear.

It's not difficult to figure out which admins are doing this (and it's the same ones who spend literally hours at a time chatting with co-workers while the rest of us slave away). What is a good way to address this?  -- Anonymous

Question: I work in a very conservative and professional setting. But, during the summer months, some corporations where I have worked in the past allow people to wear what they call "relaxed business attire," which in my circumstance means you can peel the suits, hose and ties, but keep a professional, polished appearance.

The question: Do you feel it is appropriate to have a lady in professional attire go without hose and wear professional sandals?  Please note I am referring to professional women with the proper personal maintenance, i.e., pedicure and hairless legs.  --  Valarie Hayes,  Raleigh, NC

Question: I am the office manager for an HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning) company, We need field people, mechanics and helpers, that type of thing.  The type of workers we are looking for really don’t attend job fairs much.

I have tried advertising for help everywhere: small newspapers, large newspapers, the Web and tech schools.   Does anyone out there have any scathingly brilliant ideas on how to reach this type of worker to recruit them?  I would appreciate ANY suggestions.

Thanks so much.  -- Kelly Hogue, Warminster, PA

Question: It would be fun to hear from other admins about their most embarrassing job-related boo-boo. Things like forgetting to put something big on the boss's calendar, sending a broadcast e-mail when you didn't mean to. I know we all have a few "dirty little secrets" that might make the rest of us feel better about those extremely RARE occasions when we are less than perfect.  -- Anonymous

Question: Over the years, we’ve received many questions from readers of Personal Report for the Administrative Professional about how to plan — and pull off — successful meetings and events. Now, it’s your turn to brag. What’s the best single thing you've done that made your meeting or event a success?  -- The editors

Question: If you’ve taken on more responsibility in the past five years, you aren’t alone. Admins are filling more advanced roles, according to a recent survey of more than 3,200 members of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. So, what new responsibilities have you taken on in recent years, and have they made your job more enjoyable or just more stressful? (Look for more coverage of the IAAP survey in the July issue of Personal Report.)  -- The editors

Question: I work for a company of about 1,700 employees, spread out among about 50 different locations around the U.S. and the world.  My boss is a director of the largest finance department of the company, and is constantly needed in various teleconferences.  He depends greatly on his Outlook calendar to keep him informed of what's going on, but it is always inaccurate.  His executive assistant is the person who has access to his e-mails and to his calendar, and whose responsibility it is to keep them updated.  I am an assistant secretary to her, and a project assistant for the 45 other people in our department, from whom the majority of my work comes.

One of my job responsibilities is to regularly check our various Share Point sites, through which the departments of our company work together on different projects.  Meeting schedules are usually posted on these sites when they first put them up, but after that, meeting changes/announcements are made via e-mail (which I never see).  My boss is constantly asking me whether or not I am completing my job duties, because he doesn't believe that the updated meeting information has not been posted to the sites.

It is really the executive secretary's responsibility to keep his calendar up to date, as she has the access to all of his information.  However, when we have talked about this issue, she says that it's not her fault; it's that the people sending out the updates do not always include my boss on the "Send To" list!  Additionally, three different people might send out e-mails about the same meeting, the meeting might be referred to in three different ways, and also, the time zones are not always stated and are never consistent.  (So, she finds it difficult to always be on top of this).

I don’t know how to make sure that my boss's calendar is kept properly.  He seems to be blaming me, even though I have no control over or access to the information.  How do I help him with his schedule, and how do I show him that I AM doing my job well?  -- Anonymous

Now, I have to have a training session catered and I’m using an outside caterer. I now look like the bad guy even though I’m following the company policy. I'm looking for other employment, but how do I handle this situation?  -- Anonymous

She has made several serious mistakes, all of which she has an "answer" for.  Even when I showed her the mistakes in black and white, she just said "Hmmm. I don't know what happened."

I have had three serious reviews with her, threatened to have her use her one-week paid vacation to contemplate working here, told her flat out  that her job “is on the line.”

She is pleasant, almost too pleasant at work, never complains, but rarely accomplishes anything.
I need her position filled with a capable bookkeeper. She knows a lot about our particular business, so training someone new will be a long process. Our employee pool in our community is severely limited.

I need help making a final determination to keep her, reduce her hours or just cut my losses and move on.

I have a small bookkeeping company; the clients like continuity.  HELP!!!!  -- Shelley Weiser

Question: I'm an executive assistant to the president & CEO who, in his 23 years of business, never really had an assistant before. He's mentioned once or twice that he doesn't know how he ever did it without me.

I think he understands the benefits of having an assistant, but he still does not "keep me in the loop" as I expect he should, mainly concerning his schedule. I sit in a room directly behind the receptionist and next to his office. He'll walk right by me and tell her where he's going to be. I thought maybe it was because she's been here for so long, but he also does that with the temp who is currently filling in for the receptionist.

From the road, he'll call everyone else—rarely me—and tell them what he's doing for the day. I have told him that to successfully perform my job duties, I need him to communicate his schedule to me. I even set us up on a shared MS Outlook calendar to make it easier. He said he would try harder to keep me informed, but it's not working. I'm thinking about calling him every morning to check in. Is there anything else I can do?? Please help!  -- A.S.

Question: I manage several administrative support assistants in an executive, senior management environment. One of the assistants has difficulty separating emotions from her job duties. She internalizes many business decisions either as personal attacks on her or reminiscent of personal relationships not related to work. Her feelings factor into many of her business decisions. As you can imagine, it is difficult to manage her performance.

Her interpersonal relationships with her co-workers and me are occaisionally strained. For lack of a better word, she is almost a bullying personality and is frequently moody. She is making minor mistakes on a more frequent basis, and appears to increasingly resent my corrections of them.

When confronted about her performance, she appears willing to accept and make changes, but is very emotional (crying) during these meetings. And as each issue corrects itself, it seems another one appears.

What is the message I am not understanding from her? What am I not doing that I need to do? How can this situation be corrected?  -- Anonymous

Question: If you could change one thing about your workspace, what would it be?  -- Amy Beth Miller, Editor, Personal Report for the Administrative Professional

Issue: U.S. employers lose nearly $60 billion each year due to trade-secret theft, but many still often overlook this risk.
Risk: Your organization can be ruined if competitors gain access ...

Question: “I don’t want to be the office computer expert for the nonprofit organization where I work. I’m tired of helping people who don’t have computer skills. This is a small office, and none of the people asking for help is in my department or in any way associated with what I do. “Most of the time the questions aren’t related to work. They want me to show them how to download pictures of their grandchild from an e-mail or how to rotate an image. They also want me to show them the advanced features of Word, such as mail merge. “I’ve paid my own money to take computer classes. I also obtained an office automation certificate while I was unemployed. I buy books on computer topics and read several magazines. These people don’t do any of these things. “Since I won’t share my computer skills, they’ve tried a slow down. If I need something, they delay or try to ignore my request. What should I do?” -- Anonymous

"Jean" had been battling with an executive secretary at admin meetings but felt ambushed the morning she was accused of timecard fraud.

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Reports about the demise of family limited partnerships (FLPs) are greatly exaggerated.

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Being asked to join the board of a hospital, charity or school certainly can boost the ego. But, to make sure you say “Yes” for the right reasons, ask these four questions, recommended by seasoned board members: