HR Tips & Strategies

Find tips and strategies on topics ranging from EEO, and FLSA to sample interviewing questions, tips on recruiting in a tight labor market, writing effecting recruitment ads, and much more here.

Communication

• Keys to Effective Employee Communications
  Creating an employee communications program is crucial to a productive organization. Many companies are successful communicating with managers downward, but employee communications is actually a two-way process. 
  
  
  

• Dealing with a Difficult Employee
  Every company has a difficult employee -- the person who constantly complains, bullies others or is not working up to par. As a manager, you must act on this issue immediately, because the longer the employee demonstrates this behavior, the worse it will get, the harder it will be to change it, the less work will be completed and the lower employee morale will be.
  

• Dealing with Poor Performers
  In today’s competitive market, employers cannot afford to tolerate employees who are marginal performers.  Inevitably, every manager sooner or later will have to deal with a poor performer, an employee who is not successfully performing their duties.

Diversity

• Managing a Diverse Workforce
  The face of the United States is changing every day as our society becomes more culturally diverse.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau one out of three Americans identify themselves as a minority, and this ratio is expected to continue to increase.
  
  
  

Human Resource Issues

• NEW-Managing to Survive the Layoff Process
  Customer service is defined by dictionary.com as: “assistance and other resources that a company provides to the people who buy or use its products or services,” but in reality, it is so much more. Your customers’ experience with your organization will determine how they perceive the quality of your service and that experience begins and ends with the relationship you share with your customers.
  
  
• NEW-Preparing Your Business for a Disaster
  Imagine that your thriving business is negatively impacted by a natural disaster. Will your company survive? The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports that nearly 40 percent of small businesses will not reopen after a major disaster. As hurricane season approaches, it’s time to safeguard your investment.
  
  
• Avoiding Potholes on the EEO Highway
  Your company's road to success is littered with curves and hazards, not the least of which are potholes of concern about discrimination lawsuits. Read about positive steps you can take to make the road a little smoother.
  
  
• Complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
  The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes requirements for minimum wage, equal pay, overtime pay, child labor and recordkeeping standards for employers
  
  
• HR Legal Issues, Are You Prepared?
  As most savvy employers realize, the number of employment-based complaints, charges and lawsuits filed by current or former employees have escalated rapidly in the past decade. Are you prepared?
  
  
  

Leadership

• Tips to Building a Successful College Internship Program
  College internships allow students to explore possible careers, obtain real-world work experience and apply theories learned in the classroom, all while networking with professionals in their area of interest.  But, a college internship is not just beneficial to the student – there are many benefits to the employer as well.
  
  
• Team Building 101
  Since teams typically can accomplish larger projects than individuals working on their own, knowing how to build an effective team is vital to achieving a company’s goals.  If you are a manager or an entrepreneur, team building skills are a must.
  
  
  

Training

• NEW-Improving Customer Service
  The process of recruiting and hiring quality employees may seem daunting, but by avoiding some simple pitfalls, you can secure better hires and strengthen your organization in the process.



• NEW- Writing and Designing Employee Newsletters
  Whether your business is housed in one location or multiple sites, consistent and meaningful communication is crucial to your organization’s success, and a well-developed employee newsletter can provide the ideal vehicle to convey your company’s news.



• Developing an Employee Handbook
  Every company, no matter its size, should have an employee handbook that provides a summary of company practices and spells out employee rights and responsibilities. This is an important tool for a company and its employees because it provides a one-stop place for employees to reference, helps ensure employees are treated fairly, minimizes conflicts and sets up defenses in case the company is audited or an employee sues.

• Keys to Effective Orientation
  You never get a second chance to make a first impression.  When you have new employees joining your company, properly orienting them is essential to shorten the learning curve and provide a smooth transition.
  
  
• Stretch your Training Dollars
  Company training plans are often hit or miss.  Many managers set a date, pick a topic, train and then hope for the best.
  
  
  

Recruiting

• NEW-Common Hiring Mistakes
  The process of recruiting and hiring quality employees may seem daunting, but by avoiding some simple pitfalls, you can secure better hires and strengthen your organization in the process.



• Keys to Conducting an Interview
  After conducting an interview, as a recruiter you are expected to clearly understand a candidate’s background enough to determine if he or she would be a perfect fit for your company.  Conducting an interview properly and asking the right questions can improve your chances of selecting the right person for the job.  A productive interview should clearly allow you to assess the candidate’s behavioral traits, qualifications, strengths and weaknesses and determine if the applicant would fit into your company culture.
  
  
• Interviewing Questions
  Find a listing of sample interview questions to use as a guideline when developing questions you might ask a potential employeeto get the maximum benefit from your interview.

• Save Time & Money by Writing Effective Recruitment Advertisements
  A poorly written recruitment advertisement often leads to receiving too many applicants which leads to far too much time spent on sifting through resumes and interviewing candidates who aren’t actually qualified. Save time and money by learning to write effective recruitment ads.

• Keys to Writing a Job Description
  With today’s low unemployment rates, businesses of all sizes are often in need of qualified employees. An integral part of successful employee recruiting and retention is the formal job description.

• Recruitment Strategies
  In a today’s market, Central Florida employers are finding it more and more difficult to fill their job opportunities with qualified, skilled candidates.  Competition for talent is high and many businesses are realizing that without a reliable strategy to attract and retain qualified workers, their business could fail.

• Hiring the Right Sales People
  Since sales people are trained in the art of persuasion, hiring the right representatives for your sales team can be difficult.  In order to find an appropriate person to join a sales team, it is imperative to develop a screening program that clearly defines the candidate search process from beginning to end.
  
  
• Workplace Readiness Skills
  In order to be successful in today’s knowledge based economy employees need a wide range of skills including basic academic skills and the ability to apply these skills in the workplace.  According to a recent in-depth study “Are They Really Ready to Work” conducted during April and May 2006, in collaboration with The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the Society for Human Resource Management, new entrants lack skills essential to job success.
  
  
• The Search for an Honest Employee
  Has the person you are about to hire been honest on his or her resume and during the interview?  Due to the potential of legal or financial issues for a company, background checks have become more important for companies to conduct before making an offer to a potential candidate.

Retention

• NEW-Managing Employee Morale
  Employee morale. It’s a subject that is often neglected in the best of times and commonly feared during the worst. But, in order to advance your business goals, employee morale must be evaluated, discussed and addressed. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can implement to acknowledge and recognize your team members, manage their expectations and reward their successes.



• Retain your Top Employees
  Employee turnover is a critical issue facing organizations today.  A recent study by the American Management Association (AMA) revealed the average cost for employee turnover to be about 30% of an employee’s salary.