Articles

Sexual harassment training is one of the best investments in time and money that a company can make. It is imperative in today's litigious world that everyone in an organization knows exactly what sex harassment is and why it is unacceptable. Despite the heavy amount of press on the subject, there are still employees who either know better and still do it, or simply don't understand exactly what constitutes harassment in the workplace. In addition, a company can be held liable even if they didn't know the harassment was occurring if they did not provide training and a policy to employees.

Sexual Harassment training is quite possibly the most important training that your organization can provide and the use of sexual harassment videos is the most effective way to conduct this training. Sexual Harassment videos almost always come with a leader’s guide, a quiz and attendance forms. Everything you need to give the training in one box. There is no need for trainers to reinvent the wheel. Everything is provided and the training is ready to go when you are ready. There are some excellent programs on the market. Here is a list of 6 of the best. (In no particular order)

Great business leaders know that there is a lot more to becoming a leader than simply being assigned to the role of manager. A manager is primarily an administrator. The job of a manager is to run a section, group or division of an organization and the role is an important one. The skills associated with this administration take years to develop and the position is earned. However, it does not automatically make you a leader. A leader earns his title by getting others to follow his vision. Both roles are extremely important within an organization and the employee who excels in both becomes an organization's most valuable asset and leadership training is imperative to accomplish this.

We all have biases. It's a natural phenomenon created by our life experiences. What's important is how we handle these biases. We can choose to stereotype and apply our biases to an entire group of people or we can respect the differences people have and accept that others are different. When we accept and respect differences we strengthen the workplace. Diversity is here to stay and if we accept that others are different and avoid stereotyping then our personal and professional lives will be more productive and fulfilling.

Interviewing an employee is one of the most important jobs that a manager will do. All interviews need to have a combination of legal and effective questions that will hire the best candidate and keep the company out of legal jeopardy. Setting the right tone at the beginning of an interview is essential to the whole process.

 

Hiring a new employee can be a legally dangerous situation. Turnover as a result of a bad hire can be costly. Most studies show a cost of about 30% of the employee's annual salary to find a replacement. In addition, interviews can put the company in legal jeopardy if they are not conducted correctly. One of the most important aspects of conducting a legal and effective interview is the preparation. In addition to preparing questions that are legally acceptable, an interviewer needs to make sure that the questions also are sufficient to provide an effective hire.

Change is inevitable. Unfortunately, change can bring about fear, uncertainty and distrust amongst your workforce. These reactions are normal. Most people will feel one if not all of these feelings at some point when faced with change. It's your job as a manager to get them through these tough times. The business world is constantly in flux and it will be a constant challenge for all managers to bring their employees along and through these changes. Here are three ways to help your employees to embrace change.

Turnover is a huge problem in every organization; however some are worse than others. Most estimates say that employee turnover costs from 35% to as much as 100% of an employee's salary. The cost to recruit, interview, hire and train new employees increases every year. Turnover, of course, cannot be fully stopped, but one of the most effective ways to lower it is to higher better employees from the beginning. If you the employee that you hire has the skills, knowledge, ability and desire to do the job you hired them for then there is a much better chance that they won't quit or be terminated. The most effect way to hire a solid, productive, happy employee is through behavior based interviewing.

Facts are the buried treasure of any interview. As an interviewer your main objective is to dig through everything and get the facts that determine if the candidate has the knowledge, skills and ability to do the job you are hiring for effectively. The way to accomplish this is through behavior-based questions. These are questions that are designed to uncover past behaviors that can be used to predict future behaviors.

Discrimination in hiring is prohibited by federal and most state laws and should be avoided at all costs. Individuals who have been discriminated against can seek redress in civil court and it can cost your company dearly in both reputation and dollars. Discrimination is prohibited against the following protected classes or groups: race, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, disability, military service, religion and color. The questions asked during an interview are the most important part of avoiding employment law discrimination. The best way to avoid any mistakes is to ask the same exact questions to every candidate who comes to your business for a job interview.