QUESTION: We are a small company, and I serve customers as well as run the business. I am having a hard time managing the needs of the customers, the staff, and the business as a whole. Something always seems to be falling through the cracks. I’ve thought about how I might get more help in […]
QUESTION: During a few recent exit interviews with departing staff, it has been suggested that improving our company’s onboarding process would make a positive impact on the employee’s overall work experience. We have a process called ‘orientation,’ but I’m worried it doesn’t include everything it should. How is onboarding different from orientation and what would […]
QUESTION: With the national election coming up, I’ve had several staff ask about flexing their time in order to vote in person. We have a busy company, and we can’t always be flexible, however, voting is important and I want to support them. Also, this particular election has become contentious, and I don’t want differences […]
QUESTION: We have several employees, primarily mothers, who are parenting younger children. Are there strategies we should consider for recruiting, retaining and better supporting these employees? We notice that some of them struggle to balance child care, school and work schedules. ANSWER: According to data collected by Harvard University, approximately 73% of all employees […]
QUESTION: I know I am supposed to conduct employee evaluations on a regular basis. I understand why they are important, and I have the best intentions of doing them each year. However, I struggle to complete them. In fact, I dread it! Do you have any tips to make this process less painful and more […]
QUESTION: I hired a woman with very little experience as my Office Manager. She retired from the corporate world and understands management better than anyone I know. She has cleaned up the office and we no longer have excessive absenteeism and tardiness; people are working together and productivity is up. She had to do this […]
QUESTION: In addition to the COVID 19 pandemic, there seems to be many crises that have impacted our business. We are unsure how to respond to these and balance the employee needs as well as our business requirements. Can you help guide us? ANSWER: No one is “ready” for a crisis, and we all […]
QUESTION: I messed up. Last month in a moment of anger, I fired an assistant. She had been getting on my nerves. She had a snarky attitude and had made one sarcastic comment too many. I have had several discussions with her about the comments that I felt undermined me, but she did not change […]
QUESTION: I’m a new to human resources (HR) and I am trying to learn all I can. Can you share some common mistakes that HR professionals make and how to avoid them? ANSWER: At HRM Services, we’ve worked with organizations on their HR needs for well over a decade. Throughout the course of these […]