How to Work With a Remote Workforce During COVID-19

Focus HR

The world as we know it changed overnight as the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak dropped on us like an anvil. Before we could catch our breath, schools closed, we were ordered to shelter-in-place, and we’ve been barred from going into the office. Small businesses, especially, have to pivot in order to survive, which means […]

5 Leadership Missteps

Summary: How many times have you said “why can’t people just do their job?”. Avoid these 5 Leadership Missteps to be more successful. How many times have you said this “why can’t people just do their job?”. If you are like most people – lots and lots. It doesn’t matter if you were a shopper […]

Is a Bad Apple spoiling your Bunch?

Summary: We have all experienced or have that one person who started out well and over time has become mediocre to awful. Worse yet, it has become contagious and spread to others. What do you do?  We have all seen it, we have experienced it…and uh, oh…you have one. Now they didn’t start out this […]

The What and How of Saying It

Summary:  The message to our people can get lost in the “how” of “what” we said. Don’t let this happen, here are a few tips to keep you on track. This is the dilemma we usually face isn’t it. We want to focus on the “what” of our communications and our people focus on the “how” of […]

Do you have values?

Summary: Are your values posted on a wall where no one pays attention? Some ideas to work them into your organization and how to live them. When working with companies on setting up their HR department/policies, one of the questions I ask is “Does your company have Values?”  I am not talking about the personal […]

Are You Playing Favorites?

Summary:  As a leader we may have a favorite person on our team. Be sure they deserve the status by answering these question or you may suffer some backlash. It’s ok to admit, everyone knows it – you have a favorite person in your office. Maybe it’s their personality, they always say “good morning” or […]

Is a bad apple spoiling the bunch?

Summary:  One person with a negative attitude in your business can infect everyone. Tips on what to do about it. The one aspect of human behavior that still confuses me is how infectious negative behavior is compared to positive.  Why is it that rumors, bad behavior or criticism can spread throughout a company at lightning speed whereas […]

Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen

Summary: When there is more than one person in charge, ensure you are providing a unified front. Do people in your business have to report to more than one person? Is your business based on a partnership – where maybe both of you don’t always agree? Are you family operated? These three scenarios can lead […]

When They Won’t Play Nice

Summary: Frustrated by two employees not working well together, try one of these three tactics. What a frustrating situation – you have two great employees who do their jobs wonderfully and the customers love them EXCEPT they can get along with anyone else. Arg! The real frustration is because they need to work together.