Are Goals a Waste of Time?

Goals text with man

  We are constantly being told to have goals, accomplishment or achievements to work for. If you are a business owner this may look like a business plan or a strategic document. If you are a manager, it would be revenue, service, or leadership goals. How often do you take the time to pull out […]

You Might Have an Employee if…

Focus HR

One area small businesses tend to run afoul of the law is determining whether a person is an employee or independent contractor. In the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if..”. Here’s our informative and fun way of determining a person is a employee or a contractor. Ready? You might have an employee […]

What’s a Salary Grid and Do I Need One?

Focus HR

One of the biggest expenses in a business is payroll. Having a structure to how you determine pay for each position is essential to not having out of control costs. When salaries are determined on a whim, based on what they previously earned, or some other factor you can create inequities, poor morale, and damage […]

Resolving Their Problems Equals Lazy Employees

Focus HR

What? By resolving their problems I am creating lazy employees? How? That doesn’t make sense? I know, that’s the answer I usually get. This is because even after we have trained a person or given them the information they need – they don’t always apply it, use it, or understand it. However providing them with […]

Dread Annual Reviews, Skip It, & Get Surprising Results

Review Time Clock Evaluation Rating Words 3d Illustration

Every year companies put themselves through the ritual of asking Managers to sit down with their employees and discuss the past 12 months. The ritual looks something like this.  An announcement, “It’s Performance Review time! Please complete the attached form, send to your Manager, and schedule a meeting within the next 30 days”.  3 weeks […]

Is the lack of employee accountability driving you crazy?

excuses, red rubber stamp with grunge edges

You have given a person a job, explained the responsibilities, and did the training. All is going well until….something happens. Depending on your business that something can be anything from missing a deadline, lack of follow through, not doing what is needed or worse yet – upsetting a customer. Being the patient and coaching leader […]

How to Get Beyond the Frustration When It’s Not a Fit

Businesswoman Mess on Blackboard

Has this happened to you? You find a good person to come work for you, they are excited to join your team, and then after a week or two…the picture isn’t rosy. Luckily it doesn’t happen often, but when it does, the frustration is unbelievable. You might even feel tricked, disappointed, or angry – it’s […]

Why is your job posting not working? Marketing

Dream Job

When most people think of recruiting, it looks like this. Get the job description and post it on-line, review the resumes, lots of non-qualified people, post again, review resumes – possibly find one or two that could do the job. Does that sound like you? Why is this process so frustrating? Because you need to […]

Your WHY Matters

Sticky note with tex what is your why

When you think back to when you started your career – do you remember why? Why you choose the career you did? What was your bigger goal/ambition? Now that you are further along, is your “why” the same? Or has it gotten bigger? I remember when I first started in Human Resources I was driven […]

Employee Engagement Strategies for 2017

Employee Engagement

A new year in business is usually kicked off with some new initiatives, goals, or resolutions. You probably have already complied your business plan for the year and have started working on it. Wonderful! Does your plan include employee engagement? Employee Engagement is about having people emotionally committed to the company and its goals. The […]