After 5 years with the same company, an employee makes the difficult decision to take a new opportunity. This decision is not made lightly; there are many factors to consider. The time spent at the current organization has been great; however, there is no room for growth. After talking with his family, this employee accepts … Continue reading It’s Most Important to Have the Conversation →

I love the start of a new client relationship. It’s exciting to start digging into a business; you never know what you’ll find. I particularly enjoy learning about an organization’s culture, especially when the organization has never had formalized HR before. It is so interesting to talk with owners and managers about the good, the … Continue reading It’s Not Them…It’s You! →

I recently completed my first BigTen 10K (virtual) race. Here’s the before shot: I have to say it felt pretty good; I was proud of my accomplishment. Due to weather issues, I had to do it on a treadmill, but it worked well. Not particularly fast (1:20:06) but slow and steady. Here’s the after shot: … Continue reading It’s OK to Slow Down →

True stories… Manager: One of my employees is really upset about the pandemic and the furlough. She’s very worried about her co-workers losing their jobs permanently. She seems to be having a lot of anxiety and is often flustered. I’m hearing from others that she said she feels like a panic attack is coming on. … Continue reading Employers – the Pandemic is an Opportunity and You’re Missing It! →

I am a do-er by nature. When I was growing up, my parents did things themselves – home repairs, projects, you name it. If my mom could make it and not have to buy it, she did. They both grew up that way (mostly out of financial necessity). Now, I am not nearly as handy … Continue reading Take Action! →

The state of Ohio announced that masks/face coverings would be required for all employees and consumers in conjunction with the state’s re-opening plan. A bit of an uproar ensued. The mandate was then changed to a ‘recommended best practice’. During the daily press briefing, a reporter asked the Governor if the government would be getting … Continue reading Compliance in the face of a pandemic: at what point can adults be trusted to act like adults? →

I am loving all of the stories of generosity and selflessness during this unprecedented time – companies shifting gears to manufacture PPE, individuals donating large sums of money to help employees maintain income, organizations choosing to delay/reduce/refund payments to allow people to keep more money in their pockets, etc. At the end of the day, … Continue reading Quarantine Musings →

In these strange and uncertain times, I choose to remain positive. I tend to be a ‘glass half full’ gal anyway and I appreciate that quality now more than ever. So, let’s look on the bright side of this whole thing – For the next couple of weeks, we GET to stay home. We’ve been … Continue reading I Choose Positive →

I’m frustrated. It’s a tough time in our country. Priorities are all over the place. I was recently reading an article in HR Magazine (Spring 2019) about the skills gap (yes, I’m a little behind.) While I agree with the basic premise, I feel we have to go further, go deeper. There’s a lot of … Continue reading We Have to Ask the Right Questions →

Business Owner: We want to install a points-based attendance policy for the company. Me: Why? Business Owner: I’m tired of Linda and Fred coming in late and leaving early. And George isn’t taking lunch so he can leave early. Me: That’s 3 of your 20 employees. How about we deal with these employees and take … Continue reading Is it ‘us’ versus ‘them’? →

Sometimes you can find inspiration in the strangest places. This week, I found it during candlelight church service on Christmas Eve. Pastor John had me from the beginning – he began his sermon with a statement about how the scriptures of the Bible tell the story of the inclusiveness of Jesus’ birth. (Inclusion? I was … Continue reading I found the true meaning of…inclusion. →

I’ve been thinking a lot about coaching. I find myself more and more being asked to coach clients/owners/managers on how to be better bosses, better leaders. I recently assisted an employee through the journey of finding his passion and purpose in his career. Last week, I sat with a management team frustrated with their leader … Continue reading Coaching →

It may be a taboo topic in some respects, but I still believe lines of professionalism are alive and well. Becoming harder to see and more blurry, perhaps, but still there. There are just some things you do and do not do in your professional world. Social media, for example. I do not ‘friend’ clients … Continue reading Can We Talk About Professionalism? →

A friend came to me wanting to talk about making a career change. He had been in his current field for a while and he didn’t particularly care for the company he was working for, he felt the field was moving in a bad direction, he wasn’t being compensated according to the market, etc. When … Continue reading Want to be happy at work? Find your two P’s – Purpose and Passion! →

I recently learned about the #GratitudeChallenge and I eagerly signed up when the invitation came to my inbox. What’s not to love about putting some extra energy toward gratitude? I received the daily email prompts and tried to give some thought to each exercise. Unfortunately, the timing just wasn’t great. I am generally a very … Continue reading My Gratitude Challenge →

Today is July 22, 2019. 3 months to my 40th birthday (eek!) 40 days to college football kickoff (Go Buckeyes!) 23 days until my kids go back to school (hallelujah!) I have a lot of countdowns going on right now; a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and months. The thing I’ve … Continue reading A little perspective… →

The truth is that all companies need HR. But not all companies need the same type or same amount of HR. The laws are in place for all, so compliance is an issue across the board. At some point, all companies will need to hire. Some may do it once a day, others maybe once … Continue reading Outsourcing is NOT a 4 Letter Word! →

Where are all the good people? I scheduled 8 interviews this week and only 2 showed up – what gives? Why doesn’t anyone want to work? These damn millennials… Why does every person I hire have some kind of serious emotional problem? If only I could solve the current struggle for talent…I would be one … Continue reading Now Hiring!?@#*&%! →

Have you seen these signs in your workplace? I was meeting a manager at a client site for the first time and I honestly had a hard time concentrating on the introduction. Everywhere I looked, these signs were screaming at me – ‘Nap Team Captain’, ‘Lack of Planning on Your Part Doesn’t Constitute an Emergency … Continue reading Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign →

While most blog posts are aimed at employers, managers, and/or HR professionals, this is one is for the employees. Everyday you wake up and you go to work. And everyday you have to make the decision if you are on that’s employer’s bus or not. Are you in or out? I recently had an employee … Continue reading Ode to Employees: Mirror mirror on the wall…who’s the real problem? →