Human Resources

Small businesses represent 99.7% of all U.S. businesses and employ about 56 million members of the nation’s private-sector workforce, according to the Statistics of U.S. Businesses and the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. Even with this impressive presence, small businesses have one major challenge: How do you reach the right candidates to grow…

One of the lessons I learned early in my management career is the phrase “you have to put the right talent on the bus.” While I understood its meaning, it took many years to realize how important hiring decisions are to grow an organization the right way. I also felt the pain of making poor…

Whether it employs 50 people or 5,000, every company must manage certain basic issues related to human resources. These generally include recruitment, interviewing and hiring of employees, orientation and training for new hires, maintenance of personnel records and compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines and reporting requirements, and the administration of salary reviews, increases…

Perhaps the most common type of discrimination claim that employers face is disparate treatment. Disparate impact and disparate treatment are two legal theories of discrimination, and it’s critically important that you protect yourself and your business from these kinds of actions. Good intentions are not enough to defend yourself in these claims, which are all…

While there are many potential advantages to telecommuting for your business’s employees, there are also many things you need to consider and work out before setting up any arrangements. These include both personal and technical considerations, and will go a long way toward determining whether telecommuting is a good option for your employees. It’s also…