We’re bombarded on a daily basis with news of people behaving badly towards each other, so we need to promote and practice kindness in our lives and with our employees. What does that mean? When you walk into the office each day or log on for remote work, do you greet the people you see all the time or do you just get right to it? Do you ask how they are and mean it or do you pay no attention to any response and just move on? When you’re having a tough day, do you take it o

What does it mean to make an accommodation for an employee and when is it appropriate? Since April is Autism Awareness Month, it’s a good time to address the general issue of accommodations as many managers shy away from the idea. Accommodations are appropriate and reasonable in many cases and don’t have to be difficult. Often the hardest part is establishing a culture making it easy for the employee to bring up the need and then determining what works best for both parties

We all have times of adversity that can do anything from sidetrack us momentarily to changing the course of our lives. It’s important to acknowledge adversity and the effect it has on us and those around us. When our employees face adversity, managers should do what they can to be supportive. It’s easy to take for granted our daily tasks and schedules and go about our work without appreciating the good things we have. In addition, we may take our staff for granted, expectin

We’re getting closer to the summer months, and many have already planned time off, but what can you do as a manager to encourage employee PTO for those who don’t take breaks? As managers, we’re often guilty of feeling pressured to work 24/7 and may ourselves not take the PTO to which we’re entitled on a regular basis. What kind of message does that give to staff and what is that doing for our mental health? And when our staff ask for time off, do we show frustration at the

Time flies by and days run together, so how do we motivate staff on an ongoing basis? How do you continually prevent jobs from becoming rote and encourage new ideas and processes? First of all, don’t assume your staff are happy. Even those with long tenure may surprise you with unstated frustrations. How are you getting feedback from staff? Do you have an environment of trust where feedback is meaningful? Or are you likely to get no comments or misleading ideas that don’

What’s it mean to plan forward with staff? We spring forward with clocks and plan our summer travel, but why should we plan forward with our employees? It’s easy to get caught up in daily requirements and the lists we have of tasks that we must complete to simply get by, but if we’re not keeping our head up and our eyes forward, the days fly by and we often look back and question what we’ve actually accomplished. Each day should devote some time to looking forward and not do

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