"Love Contracts" are a bad idea

Despite the growing popularity of so-called 'love contracts', they're a really bad practice.

While any manager would strongly prefer to eliminate workplace romance, the fact is that they've been going on for generations and will continue to do so.

You walk a fine line between imposing your will on an employee's private life and their performance at work.

In California, it's against the law to prohibit employees from dating, although it's acceptable to prevent supervisors from dating subordinates.

A good 'best practice' is to monitor your employees performance. If it drops off (for any reason - including a workplace romance) - then manage the performance, and not their personal life.

Are You A Bully (or just a demanding) Boss?

Nearly half of all workers feel their boss is a bully.

There's a fine line between being a demanding boss, and crossing that line as a bully. The best practice is to clearly lay out your expectations to each employee, and inspect what you expect.

One of the most important management practices is to constantly self-evaluate your performance as a manager (and those of your supervisors). A 180 degree survey is an excellent first step.

There Are Good Bosses Out There!

Some encouraging news out of this survey from CareerBuilder and Robert Half. Not all bosses are bad!

(Which one are you?)

Pregnant Employees - DO NOT Fire Them!

I continually get questions about pregnant employees, just like the question in this article.

This is a really good response - and a caution to any employer who'd like to terminate or discipline an employee just because she's pregnant.

Policies on Blogging

In the never-ending world of revising your Employee Handbook, here's the latest need for an additional policy - blogging at work.

Don't laugh - it's becoming a major issue, and you have the right to make sure that only business-related activities are conducted at work.

If you don't have a policy in writing, then how can you possibly discipline an employee? You cannot discipline an employee if there was no policy they violated!

The Carrot or the Stick?

I just bought this book on the basis of an article I read at CNN.com. It goes to one of the principles in my book: employees want and need to be rewarded, and the rewards to you for positive recognition are just about unlimited.

Do your managers regularly recognize good performance, or are they ignoring good performance with the expectation that 'that's what they're supposed to do'?

Positive recognition - and knowing how and what to praise for - is essential. Make sure it's happening.

What Are You Doing To Retain Your Employees?

Wow. 75% of all employees are looking to change jobs before the end of the year. The cost to interview, train, and manage an new employee is approximately 70% of that employee's salary (if they earn $50,000 per year, then it costs you - the employer - about $35,000 extra!

This is a good article on the basics of retaining employees. Remember - the single most important reason an employee stays with a company is if they're happy. That should be of paramount importance to you and your managers.

Sexual Harassment - It's Not What Your Preconception Is

The traditional notion of sexual harassment is man-woman. That's no longer the case!

Even if your company has all female (or all male) employees, the need for training is still critical (and in California, mandatory for businesses with 50 or more employees).

Update your training - or start your training - right away.

The Pitfalls of Layoffs

If you need to layoff employees, make sure the criteria you use is both consistent and business-related. There is a huge potential for accusations of discrimination when laying off employees.

Also, note the differences between a 'lay-off' and 'termination'.

A lay-off is done for business reasons and it means the elimination of a position(s) that will not be re-opened again (or at least for a very long time).

A termination is a specific action against a specific employee. The position will be filled again.

Don't Wait - Determine If They're Exempt Now!

The number one area for all California employers should be the proper classification of their employees. Too often, employers don't know the guidelines for determining if an employee is exempt or non-exempt from overtime provisions.

You've probably seen the headlines - Wells Fargo recently settled for $12.8 million...IBM ponied up $65 million, and many small businesses have written large checks as well - all because they misclassified their employees.

This article is a good attempt and trying to simplify a very complicated issue. Get your labor attorney or HR consultant to review all of your job descriptions to avoid writing that big check.

Sex Harassment - All is not Lost

Sexual harassment lawsuits justifiably worry many business owners and managers. But if you do the right thing - that's prevention, investigation, resolution, and non-retaliation - you can prevail.

This article shows that - dispite a supervisor's improper behavior - the company did the right thing: before, during, and after the incident.

E-Mail Etiquette in the Workplace

There's way too much overuse of e-mail in the workplace. And many managers are using e-mail for the ultimate no-no: reprimanding employees. That should only be done in person (or, if necessary, by phone).
E-mail is a wonderful tool for disseminating information quickly to a group of people. Unless it's absolutely necessary, though, make sure your one-on-one communication is in person.
Here's a typical story of how e-mail can be abused, and some good tips on preventing its improper use.

Time to Add Flexible Work Schedules?

More businesses are looking at ways to reduce employee turnover. They're evaluating compensation and perks as the panacea to their problems. However, a less costly and potentially more effective method is to evaluate flexible work schedules.

As our workforce continues to age, the benefit of a flexible work schedule may be more important in keeping (or recruiting) an employee than salary or benefits.

FMLA Abuse

Yes - it happens. Although the FMLA is in the best interests of employees, it can (like anything else) be abused by employees.

This article (courtesy Constangy, Brooks & Smith via Ceridian) shows how you can take steps to prevent abuse by employees who take FMLA intermittent leave.

Harassment - Same Sex

The EEOC reports that there's a sharp increase in men filing sexual harassment charges.

Harassment of the same sex is prohibited; make sure your handbook is updated (and your employees are aware of this policy as well)...

Preventing Violence in the Workplace

Not only should there be a policy in your handbook on violence in the workplace, you should reinforce with your employees that awareness and reporting is the best possible prevention of a violent act. An employee may think they're doing the right thing by not reporting potential behavior, but they're not.

Stupid Managers - Part 85

The tragedy of this story is that it's likely the business owner - the one who had to write a check for $85,000 (plus attorney's fees) didn't know one of his managers was acting so irresponsibly.
Yet the business owner is responsible for all of his/her manager's actions.
Get your managers trained, get a grievance procedure in writing.
Oh, and make sure not to promote people who don't have the faintest idea on how to manage people.

Stop Driving Your Boss Crazy

There are so many things that drive a manager crazy, it's hard to list them all. Author Anita Bruzzese has tried to do it; here's an interview with her.

HR Checklist

This is by no means a comprehensive audit checklist, but it's well written and focuses on the major issues California businesses needs to know.

I particularly like their focus on the single most important area you can do to improve our Human Resources and Employee Relations issues - communication.

Grievance Procedures

Every Employee Handbook should include a defined grievance procedure, which outlines the steps an employee must take when he/she has a problem, from potential violence in the workplace, to harassment, or even a common complaint.

The very first step should be to encourage the employee to talk to the person they feel is causing the problem. 90% of problems go away after this, without the necessity of management involvement.

The next steps should be hierarchical - if you're uncomfortable going to that person, or unhappy with the outcome, go to your supervisor, and so on.