Motivating the work force Bryan Alaspa of Management Issues has an excellent post about one simple way that many senior managers miss the mark by simply being thoughtless when it comes to the people who work for them. They often lose touch with the rank and file by forgetting to acknowledge their employees and showing that they care. Thoughts from Training Time offers a related post on the importance of employee recognition during tough times – the age-old tried-and-true motivator, the compliment. And perhaps one of the reasons why managers and supervisors often forget these people management basics is that they haven’t had enough training in interpersonal skills. Wally Bock of The Three Star Leadership Blog discusses the importance of ensuring that Interpersonal skills are a critical a part of leadership development.
Sick leave – lawmakers in 12 states are considering legislation that would require businesses to provide sick days to some of the 46 million workers who lack the benefit. Many workers’ advocates believe paid sick time should be an employment standard, like the federal minimum wage. State legislatures began considering the legislation when a federal proposal failed. According to the Department of Labor, about 39% of service workers have such a benefit, in contrast with about 80% of management workers. HR Lori recently write about how a sick leave mandate recently failed in California.
Surveillance and the FMLA – Jeffrey Hirsch of Workplace Prof Blog posts about employers’ increasing use of surveillance against employees who are out on FMLA leave. He notes that while employers have the right to raise reasonable suspicions of abuse, there is a risk of crossing over into retaliation or intimidation.
Handling resignations – Susan Heatherfield of Human Resources at About.com tackles a reader question about best practices for an employee resignation. She offers advice on areas you need to be sure to cover, such as exit interviews, transitioning the work load, and communicating the news to other employees.
Intergenerational mutual mentoring – Are your older workers having trouble adapting to Web 2.0 technologies? Why not start a cross-generation mentoring program pairing senior staffers with younger workers? Stuart Mader of Grow Your Wiki posts about how Wachovia has just such a program. Mader suggests that technology can be a connector for multiple generations. He notes that, “Between the two workers one has the technology knowledge, one has the business experience, and both are needed to be successful.”
Cohabiting employees – If you think your job as an HR manager is tough now, consider your Japanese counterpart. What if among the other benefits you manage, corporate dormitories for your single employees were part of the package? HR Blunders posts about how some larger Japanese companies are bringing company-sponsored dormitories back as a way to attract and retain younger workers.
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