Companies that promote 'open doors' among their employees may end up with fewer discrimination charges, simpler dispute-resolution practices, and a happier, more productive workforce.
The size of your business and its stage of development can have a profound effect on your HR policies and practices. Just ask the folks at Harry's Fresh Foods, which started out in the 1980s as a friends-and-family operation and now has more than 200 employees.
Conducting periodic HR audits should be on every employer's "to do" list, all the time. Experts say the price of conducting them is very small compared to the potential risks of lawsuits, noncompliance penalties, and failed business strategies.
Wondering why everyone around the office looks so annoyed whenever a cellular telephone rings? Consider that the noise can reach about the same frequency as the sound of screeching car tires. Combine that with people working in close proximity, and you've got an etiquette problem.
Nine out of 10 CFOs believe that using outside resources to perform non-core functions of their business increases shareholder value, yet few measure the return on the investment (ROI), according to a new study by outsourcing and consulting firm Hewitt Associates.
The telephone is a very old "high-tech" instrument that has been the source of wonder and frustration since the first words were transmitted through it in 1875. For employers, however, the telephone can often become an instrument of abuse.
If an HR professional had the chance to conjure a fantasy of what an exemplary working environment for employees would be like, Famous Dave’s would probably come close to fitting the bill.
Armed with broad new powers and a sense of urgency because of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, the FBI has gone to at least a few businesses and simply asked for confidential documents - nicely, but without a subpoena, a summons, a warrant or anything else that resembled a court order.
Perhaps your company is not a New Age sort of organization, so some of the more offbeat benefits out there have not made it into your agenda, but maybe we can convince you to try one. How about a little feng shui?
