Pat DiDomenico

In Their Own Words: 12 Key Quotes From This Week’s SHRM Conference

June 25, 2014

So you weren’t able to make it to the big Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) annual conference in Orlando this week? No problem. We trucked the HR Soapbox south and brought back a big bag of HR wisdom, all arranged in a dozen tweet-sized quotable quotes …

Why Assault & Battery is a Growing HR Concern

June 13, 2014

Have you ever thought about what constitutes assault, battery and “intentional inflictions of emotional distress” in the workplace? It has becoming an important concept for HR professionals to learn because employees’ attorneys these days are filing an increasing number of state-law assault claims based on conduct similar to that which gives rise to basic harassment suits.

The Top 10 Interview Mistakes From Both Sides of the Desk

June 6, 2014

Someday one of those HR software behemoths will crank out a program that lets you hire the absolute correct candidate through a simple eye scan or mouth swab. Until then, we have job interviews. Here are the top 10 mistakes made by interviewers and interviewees … plus some strange-but-true memorable moments in interviewing history …

Has HR Become Your Organization’s ‘Manager Complaint Department’?

May 16, 2014

HR people realize it’s part of their jobs to help supervisors deal with employee issues. But what if managers go overboard, reflexively dumping even the smallest of employee complaints onto HR? Stop doing your manager’s dirty work! Teach bosses who instinctively turn to HR to, instead, seek solutions on their own. Here are four tips to make this happen …

The NLRB Wants to Rewrite Your Email Policy … and Your Whole Employee Handbook

May 9, 2014

Under the Obama administration, the NLRB has begun involving itself in your workplace—unionized or not—more than ever. A new ruling could erase your ablity to prohibit employees from writing personal emails at work.

10 Things Employees Are Dying to Hear Their Managers Say …

April 21, 2014

Employees crave more than just a paycheck from work. They want to go home feeling valued and respected for the job they do. Here are 10 phrases or questions that managers can use with employees to help build respect, gratitude and trust …

When an Employee’s FMLA Leave Expires, Can You Say Goodbye?

March 28, 2014

Few issues churn up as much HR confusion and frustration as the FMLA. That’s why organizations are typically more than happy to quickly pull the termination trigger right after employees reach their legally allotted 12 weeks of FMLA leave. But employees who need a finite amount of additional time off may be legally entitled to more leave as a “reasonable accommodation” under the ADA. Learn more …

Best Quotes From the 2014 LEAP Conference

March 20, 2014

From March 12-14, 2014, hundreds of HR professionals from across the country gathered at the Bellagio in Las Vegas for the 10th annual Labor & Employment Law Advanced Practices (LEAP) Symposium, hosted by Business Management Daily and The HR Specialist. Here are some nuggets of wisdom from the event:

8 ‘Tough-Love’ Truths for the Business World

March 10, 2014

At some point, every business and every employee seems to fall in a rut or get stuck in neutral. The problem typically isn’t bad luck, bad people or even a bad economy. It could be you. Here are eight “tough love” truths to help get you going again …

The Free-Range Office Concept: Will It Catch On?

February 28, 2014

How would your employees respond if you took away their desks and, instead, told them they could plop down anywhere each day with their laptops and phones. Conversion to such an “untethered” office isn’t a concept sweeping the country, but it is being tested in some locations. How would your office respond?