There are times when absenteeism and tardiness are valid and unavoidable.  But what happens when these “unavoidable” issues arise frequently?  They can be a sign of burnout or lack of motivation, or other warning signs. What should you do about absenteeism and tardiness? First, don’t paint them all with the same brush.  If you have an employee who’s suddenly having an issue getting to work on time, pull them aside and ask if there’s something that could require an adjustment.

The word “accountability” gets thrown around a lot in business.  We all like to think we’re holding ourselves and staff accountable, but are we?  Does your staff know what you expect on a daily/weekly/monthly basis?  Do they know why?  When someone doesn’t meet expectations, do you address it or try to hide from the information? Of all the issues I’ve seen in business over 30+ years, failure to hold employees accountable has caused the most problems.  Why is accountability so

We all like to think we’re indispensable, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need a succession plan.  Have you thought about what that looks like and how you’ll get there? Most of us want to encourage our staff to move forward and learn and grow in their roles, but until you start seriously planning skill development, you may not cultivate the specific knowledge and talent needed when you have an open position.  Look at your staff and identify potential abilities and areas for gr

February is national heart health month, but we don’t often think about that in relation to work.  So what does this mean to us and our staff, and why should we talk about it? According to the American Heart Association, every 34 seconds, heart disease claims a life.  In addition, the CDC notes that someone in the US has a stroke every 40 seconds, potentially causing long-term disability or death.  Among other risk factors, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obes

It appears the trend to return to office continues, but I shake my head at the messages provided and the reasoning used by various organizations.  For the most part, the reason to return to office continues to be “because I said so.” As an advocate for teamwork and the synergy created in having people meeting face to face, I’ve also realized how advantageous remote work can be for many employees and employers.  While I understand that many positions don’t have the ability to

In many parts of the country, planning for bad weather is a winter requirement.  There are often at least one or two bad winter storms each year, depending on where you live.  But what does that mean for your staff and your organization? For those with remote workers, it can mean life as usual.  Unless there are power outages, there is no concern about the safety of getting to work, so poor travel conditions don’t matter.  For many companies, however, employees are required t

Now’s a great time to consider that since it’s a new year, there’s a new paycheck.  That means this may be the best time to encourage staff to look at their pay statements to ensure deductions are what they expect. Many companies have benefits change with the new year, so it’s great to remind your staff to see that they’re being charged what they thought they signed up for, and it’s also a good time to check the alphabet soup of savings deductions: FSA’s, HSA’s, 401k, ESA’s a

January is Blood Donor Awareness Month; have you considered hosting a blood driver at your location?  Why is that important and what can it mean for your staff? According to the American Red Cross, blood donations help cancer patients, trauma patients, burn patients, sickle cell patients and more.  They note that every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, and approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S. One donation can help save mor

Most managers want to encourage productivity in staff, but what are they doing about it? First, do you know what the means—do you have productivity measures or is it just a gut feel?  If you do have measures, do the staff know what they are and are you reinforcing them? Are they tied to performance reviews and/or compensation? We all want to be productive and have productive staff, but sometimes the effort to get there feels overwhelming.  If we don’t really comprehend what p

It’s the time of year we think about getting organized, cleaning out our space and getting ready for the new year.  But what does it mean to get your team organized and why is that important? When’s the last time you worked with your team to evaluate strengths?  Have you done a team SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)?  Did you do this individually or as a group exercise? Now would be a good time to bring your team together and discuss what’s needed

There has been some publicity lately that hasn’t reflected positively on Human Resources as a profession.  There have been allegations of discrimination, HR leadership issues, and discussion of HR being replaced by AI among other things. Having been in HR for many years now, I’ve seen the looks I get when I tell people I’m in HR (the slight backing away, the quick panic of wanting to change conversations, etc.) and I understand where that comes from.  Unfortunately, I’ve seen

As we get further into the holiday season and the pressure may start to build, for yourself and others, make acts of kindness a daily habit.   Include each of your staff in your actions and encourage them to pass on these acts, too. It’s easy to lose sight of the spirit of the holiday, which should focus on lifting spirits and putting smiles on faces, not who gets the best gift or how much debt you are going into.  Acts of kindness are free and priceless.  And we can all use

Most organizations have Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) if they offer any type of insurance.  These resources may come through medical, dental or ancillary providers.  Now’s a great time to remind staff about them as the holidays can be a time of high stress for everyone. Holiday times bring their own chaos and heightened emotions.  The idea that it’s a celebratory season where it appears others are out shopping at leisure, enjoying holiday shows or other sites, buying the

It’s the time of year when we often reflect on where we are and what we’ve accomplished, but have you expressed being thankful for your staff?  It’s easy to take things for granted but we all like expressions of appreciation periodically. When staff make extra efforts, do you make note?  Have you acknowledged their work? If asked, would they say you appreciate them?  When is the last time you made the effort to show your gratitude? If you have staff who are not doing their jo

Here’s some creative thinking—why don’t we make meetings productive?  How many times have you had that thought as you sat through a meeting, reflecting on how you could be better using your time? But what have you done about it?  Have you taken any action to make meetings more productive or taught your staff how to make them count? If you already come to every meeting with an agenda, a clear purpose, a current and future action plan that ends with a list of specific accountab

It seems like a natural progression to promote a star employee to be a supervisor in their career.  After all, don’t we want all employees to be stars, and who better to show the way than someone who’s proven themselves? The problem with this practice is that we end up putting someone in a management role who may be great in production or some other aspect of the workforce, but they can't manage people. And rarely do we have the time or resources to provide the training and p

We recently celebrated HSA Day, and it suggested reminding staff about financial benefits. We tend to discuss benefits like retirement savings, Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) annually, but is that enough? Companies provide benefits as a way of attracting and retaining staff, but they're often discussed during the time of lots of choices where attention may be divided.  Additionally, it’s not unusual to see an employee’s eye cross when discu

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and we need to remember to address this in our workplace.  As domestic violence is increasingly common, chances are someone within your organization is or has been affected.  Providing resources and helping management understand ways to help can make a difference in someone’s life. Most companies have employee assistance programs; make sure that information is posted and that each manager has the information to provide staff.  Relo

Is your staff financially aware?  Have you ever talked about budgets and expenses?  Do they understand your company or departmental...

What is free speech for employees?  Should it be defined and discussed?  Does it matter if the speech is made at work or outside of work?...