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Plan your work and work your plan: 3 tips toward effective execution
Adam C. WrightLeading a team and getting the job done is easier said than done. In today's market-driven economy where everything is about the bottom line, executives cannot afford to waste resources on personnel who do not know how to execute.
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Job search: Finding a world-class sales organization
Teresa HiattIt’s getting close to the start of 2014, the economy shows signs of life, and businesses are cautiously beginning to release the pent-up demand for products and services. This is great news for salespeople, as companies will now begin trying to attract and employ good sales teams, ending a long dry stretch of hiring freezes.
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A crisis in leadership
Michael J. BerensAs the global economic slump drags on, pressure builds on heads of state and other leaders to find some means of setting things right. Tough times call for extraordinary leaders. Yet, as one scans the world stage, few, if any, are to be found.
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5 reasons every employer needs an employee handbook
D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe days of believing that a handbook can cause more harm than good are long gone. In today's business environment, a handbook serves both as a sword to carve out your legal rights, as well as a shield to protect them.
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Who do you think you are?
Michael J. BerensMarketing specialists will tell you that, as an association, one of your most important assets is your brand. Broadly speaking, your brand is your reputation — i.e., how others perceive how well your organization follows through on the promises it makes in its advertising and communications. As one marketing expert put it, your brand is what people say about you when you are out of the room. Of course all companies, be they manufacturers or service providers, must carefully manage their brands.
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10 tips for reducing the risk of employment-related litigation
D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThis article offers tips for minimizing or avoiding employment-related liability. These tips apply even to employers who may not have enough employees to be covered by the major federal employment laws such as Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Family and Medical Leave Act.
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Make the most of your staff’s skills
Michael J. BerensIt was one of those "aha" moments. A staff member had received an email inquiry from a potential customer, but she was unable to help because the message was written in Spanish. Since I was the communications director, her supervisor stopped by my office to ask if I knew of any affordable translation services that could help decipher the message. As it happened, the colleague in the office next to mine overheard the conversation and called out that she might be able to help, as she had studied Spanish in school. However, she said, there were several other employees who were fairly fluent in Spanish. In a matter of minutes, and at no additional cost, the message was translated and a reply, in Spanish, was on its way.
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The most important employment documents
D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementEmployment litigation can be expensive and time-consuming. An employer’s success or failure in defending itself can turn on the law or the facts. Employers cannot do too much to change the law that applies to any given case. But, experience shows that employers can do a lot to shape the facts and to improve their position in employment litigation. Most of the time, this shaping of the facts depends on the documentation. Moreover, while the particular facts may be different from case to case, the same types of documents are at issue in nearly every employment law case.
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Beware of misclassifying workers as independent contractors
D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIf your workforce includes contract employees, freelancers, casual workers or independent contractors by any other title, you should seriously analyze whether such workers should be recategorized as employees. The risks of not properly classifying workers can be substantial and include having to ante up back pay, liquidated damages, unpaid taxes, penalties, interest, accounting and attorneys' fees. In addition to these economic risks, other negative consequences can include interference with ongoing operations and harm to an employer's reputation.
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7 practical tips for effective supervision
D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementExperienced managers have increasing difficulty navigating today's alphabet soup of federal employment laws — ADA, ADEA, FMLA, IRCA, OSHA, NLRB, etc. State and local laws further complicate the making of employment decisions. At the risk of oversimplifying things, we prepared this list of seven tips for effective supervision to avoid legal liability in the workplace.
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