Management Training

Sometimes, the best lessons are learned from the worst examples. That’s often the case with HR management. When employers make big mistakes and have to pay for them in court, other employers with good practices—that maybe need just a little tweaking—can discover what not to do.

Look, I keep warning you about the “new” EEOC and how it’s getting more and more aggressive. It’s keeping more cases, rather than issuing “right to sue” letters. It’s securing more smaller settlements, but in greater volume. And it’s creating more burdensome terms to settle consent decrees and conciliation agreements. Now, a new court ruling just gave the EEOC even more powerful ammunition to use against your company if it's accused of discrimination …

Before you can manipulate office politics to work in your favor, you’ll need an organized, clear picture of the lines of power that exist within your workplace. Here’s how: Start with a blank sheet of paper. Place the names of the highest-ranking people in your unit or company in a row across the top of the page...

Question: “Our top executives use a lot of profanity. Most of us who report to them, both male and female, find this very offensive.  During one meeting with hourly workers, some employees even asked them to ‘stop using that kind of language.’ Ironically, these men frequently tell us to treat our employees with respect, yet they seem to have no interest in being more respectful themselves. How can we end this verbal abuse without getting ourselves fired?” — Offended Manager

One side effect of the recession: Cash-strapped employees are eating more processed and fast foods and exercising less, studies show. All the more reason for employers to maintain or even expand funding for employee wellness programs. As your organization watches every dollar it spends on benefits, consider the latest research on what’s working when it comes to employer wellness programs.

Your employee handbook can be a helpful reference providing needed information, or it can turn into a weapon that employees and their attorneys can use against you in court. The choice is yours. Follow these four steps to make sure your handbook works for you, not against you.

Q. We require all applicants to complete a pre-employment screening form that asks for their date of birth. The firm that conducts our background checks needs that information to perform the screening. Does this practice run afoul of laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of age?

Simply collecting business cards at a work-related event isn’t going to build your network. To gain the benefit of meeting new people and make your network work for you, you need to work for your network. Here’s how:

How can you increase employee health and decrease health costs? Many of America’s best companies have found that a few best practices do a remarkably good job of improving employee health and controlling health care expenses.

Workers who lose their jobs in a reduction in force may look at those who were retained and conclude there had to be a discriminatory reason for their misfortune. But before they can successfully sue, employees must show some degree of initiative before they can claim discrimination. An employee who never applies for an open position or who doesn’t actively ask about available jobs isn’t going to win a lawsuit.