HR U Can Trust Blog

We were recently asked to put together a template that a client could use for Performance Appraisals. There are a number of business decisions that need to be made when developing such a template – such as: will the Company assess an individual based on their accomplishments of business goals? Will they assess workplace behaviors? If so, what are those behaviors that will be assessed? Will the company tie performance to the employee’s annual merit increase? And finally (though this is not an all-inclusive list), will the Company use performance ratings and if so, what will those ratings be?  …read more

Many people do – both managers and employees alike. Employees dread them because they often have no idea what the manager is going to say about their performance. Managers dread them because they don’t know how to deliver the difficult news when an employee is not performing well. This stems from fear of conflict and not knowing how to manage it.  …read more

This blog is primarily written for business owners and managers, but employees may find it affirming and useful as well.  …read more

This week, the EEOC issued updated guidance on pregnancy discrimination. BLR reported in EEOC releases pregnancy discrimination enforcement guidance, it has been 31 years since the EEOC last addressed this issue in a guidance document. Significantly for employers, this guidance addresses both the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your employee may be protected by both laws. Under the PDA, women are protected from discrimination not only based on pregnancy but also discrimination based on past pregnancy or the potential to get pregnant. And, the EEOC explains when the ADA may apply. According to the guidance, “[a]lthough pregnancy itself is not a disability, impairments related to pregnancy can be disabilities if they substantially limit one or more major life activities or substantially limited major life activities in the past.” SOURCE: BLR  …read more

I have been enjoying the creativity of the Google team and what they have been doing with the Google letters recently – it’s been fun to see the focus on the World Cup and the letters playing soccer. One that made me LOL was yesterday when all the Google letters were sitting around a conference table in front of a big screen monitor. They were watching the World Cup – but when the boss would walk in, the screen quickly changed to a business related chart/graph!  …read more

Have you said this to yourself lately? Or maybe you’ve even said it out loud?  …read more

Your Human Resources Policy states that the Company computer systems and devices provided to employees are intended for business purposes and may be used only during work time. However, the policy goes on to state that limited personal use is permitted during non-work time (breaks, lunch) if it doesn’t hinder job performance or violate any other Company policy.  …read more

Your Human Resources Policy states that the Company computer systems and devices provided to employees are intended for business purposes and may be used only during work time. However, the policy goes on to state that limited personal use is permitted if it doesn’t hinder job performance or violate any other Company policy.  …read more

You are a small employer and have never had an employee handbook and don’t really see the need for one, right? You may want to re-think this philosophy. Although there are disadvantages to having an employee handbook, in general the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.  …read more

We all have baggage. Some have unpacked that baggage and gone through it, but many have not. And even if you have unpacked and gone through it, you still have baggage. Let me be clear – when I say you’ve unpacked your baggage, I mean you or your insurance company has spent thousands of dollars working through your baggage with a licensed therapist. One result, if you went to a good therapist, is that you now have a lot less baggage to carry. You’ve worked through it and tossed a lot of it; you didn’t need it any longer. Another result is that for your remaining baggage you now have a better idea of what buttons push your baggage open.  …read more