Communication

Incentives: From Water Bottles to “Not so Substantial”
Joseph J. Lazzarotti and Patricia Anderson Pryor
For years (and we do mean years), the EEOC has waffled about whether incentives were permissible in connection with a medical inquiry under a voluntary wellness program.  Friday, the EEOC issued its most recent pronouncement on the topic, this time related to incentives for COVID-19 vaccinations. The ADA prohibits employers from requiring medical examinations or making “disability-related inquiries” except in very limited circumstances.  One such exception is in the case...
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The Role 529 Plans and Tax-Free Employer Student Loan Assistance Can Play in Improving Employee Well-being
Patricia Roberts
Employers now have an expanded opportunity to support employees with one of their most pressing concerns – repayment of student loan debt. With approximately 44 million former students in the U.S. struggling to repay over $1.6 trillion in outstanding educational debt, there have been many reasons for employers to consider...
The 2021 Recruiting Landscape: Businesses Facing Challenges as Economy Slowly Recovers
Amber Griffin
As the economy slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are looking for workers and people are returning to work. We saw unprecedented levels of unemployment as the pandemic shut down large swaths of the economy back in March 2020. While some could work from home, others were furloughed or...
OSHA Nomination Signals Greater Enforcement, New Standards
Jennette E. DePonte, Courtney M. Malveaux and Cressinda D. Schlag
Signaling significant regulatory and enforcement changes from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), President Joseph Biden has named a California official to lead the agency. Biden nominated Douglas Parker, the chief of California’s Department of Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) on April 9, 2021, to...
Reduce Wordiness – Improve Your Communication
Rich Atkins, Ed.D.
AN OVERLOAD CAN SLOW THINGS DOWN.  THIS PRINCIPLE HOLDS TRUE WITH WORDS. When communication is too wordy, readers “gray out.” It is time to reduce wordiness. From now on, imagine that each word you use will cost you 75¢!  If money was involved (and really, it is), we all would...
Does your performance management system really matter?
Harrison Kim
Many people have probably heard something along the lines of “Traditional performance reviews are broken.”. That is true - annual performance reviews are ineffective at developing and retaining people these days. If you are reading this and thinking “Duh, that’s why we just implemented continuous feedback - we’re all set!!”,...
5 Surprising Lessons I Learned From Leaders In Corporate Culture
Amelia Wilcox
We’ve all heard it said time and time again- culture can make or break an organization. It can mean serious competitive advantage in the marketplace, or can lead to literal demise of a company. No matter what, culture matters. This past year I’ve had the privilege of hosting the CultureCast...
Stay Remote: 5 Alternative Approaches To Return-To-Work Planning
Kristy McCann
Did the pandemic disappear? Has everyone had a test to see if they are asymptomatic? Is there a vaccine I may have missed that is available to everyone right now? The answer is “no” to these questions. And until it is “yes,” then the answer to whether people (who have...
Combat Unconscious Bias With Curiosity and Empathy
Pamela Fuller
In the first article in this series, I discussed the nature of bias and identified how bias can have a negative effect in the workplace. I asked you to consider what you value, where it came from, and how your values align with the values of the people around you. You might...
A Culture Of Feedback And Your Unconscious Bias
Pamela Fuller
Creating a culture of feedback is a crucial best practice for first-level leaders. Giving and seeking honest and meaningful feedback provides you with insight into your blind spots and opens the lines of communication with your team. When it comes to our biases, it’s important to get feedback on how...
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