The View from HR

Soft skills are crucial to success in workplace

Hard skills are necessary, but a lack of soft skills renders hard skills ineffective in practice. Today’s workplace requires everyone to work together more effectively than in the past.

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THE VIEW FROM HR

The right process is key when dealing with employee problems

No process always works, but this one comes very close. Call it “The Box.” The Box has four sides with only two doors out: success and failure. Boxes do not work when there are other ways out such as excuses, vagueness or short-lived improvements.
BUSINESS

Employers, be honest about management mistakes

Workplace law is complex but you can rarely go wrong by being honest and showing humanity.
THE VIEW FROM HR

Succession planning requires more than a list of names

Thinking about who we have today who might be ready in the future is only part of the process. Proactive grooming, education and on-the job experience are also required.
THE VIEW FROM HR

Use of authority in the workplace requires balance

The highway is littered with managers who relied far too heavily on formal authority and lost their followers. The most successful leaders find the right balance and use their personal authority to get the most done.
THE VIEW FROM HR

Flexible schedules can help retain top talent

Flexibility will be on the minds of some of your best employees one day. How you respond may make your organization a stronger or weaker performer.
THE VIEW FROM HR

The case against ‘workplace excellence’ awards

The best workplaces in America have never applied for an award and do not know how. They are too busy doing an excellent job leading, communicating, mentoring, managing through problems and hiring the right people.
THE VIEW FROM HR

A good workplace message should be received and understood

Effective verbal messages to employees, while harder to craft, increase the chance your true meaning is received.
THE VIEW FROM HR

Build -- don’t burn -- bridges when departing a company

When you leave a company voluntarily or otherwise, you get to choose how it goes. Better to build a bridge when you change employers so it is there to help you cross the next unexpected employment canyon.
THE VIEW FROM HR

Finding meaning in Labor Day

The history of Labor Day has made it feel more like a day of protest and solidarity than a day of celebration. Whatever “working people” used to mean, the edges are blurred today and the phrase is far too limiting.
THE VIEW FROM HR

Bad performance reviews come in many forms

Unfortunately, too many managers see performance reviews as a way to avoid real issues and important conversations. The review is seen as the end product rather than a tool to improve the conversation.