HR Happens

Have you ever received a text or e-mail and wanted to immediately celebrate, but were worried those around you would look at you funny if you started doing a happy dance at your desk? What about bad news that ruined your day, but you didn't have an outlet to talk about it? These types of scenarios are best handled in person. Written messages can be interpreted differently by each individual, and having a conversation face-to-face will allow all parties to get their thoughts across clearly and concisely. As a general rule of thumb in our tech-savvy world, the following types of conversations are best delivered face-to-face: 1. News to be celebrated! This can be anything from a promotion or raise to the company being recognized as the top in the industry. Whatever the news, this should be done in person so that employees feel like a team and can celebrate together! This does not have to be a big production. Grab employees for a quick five minute huddle and announce the news....

Anyone who has found themselves in a supervisor role, has been tasked with helping one or multiple employees with matters that do not relate directly to their work. Handling these topics can become tricky, but it is essential to provide support for "home life" matters in today's office culture. Checking your 'home life' at the door, is ideal to minimize distractions and performance issues among employees. But, when tough situations arise, this is not always possible. Major life changes, such as a partner's job loss, new child, childcare issues, car maintenance issues, moving, (and the list goes on) can be so stressful to an individual that the stress spills over into the workplace. As a supervisor, you must be available to offer support to these employees, without cutting drastically into performance and production. So, how does one go about this? Here are a few ideas to implement in your workplace: 1. Use Third-Party Resources Employees turn to their...