SHRM Blog

How to Retain Minimum-Wage Employees

by Deniece MastonOn May 25, 2021 0 comments

 


 

As COVID-19 restrictions are lifting across the country, more stores and restaurants are hiring back employees. Most of these jobs will be paid at the minimum wage or at a low wage. Now more than ever, employers want to know how to retain minimum-wage employees.

Recently, a member asked me, “How do you retain minimum-wage employees and stop them from job hopping?” This question made me think about my first job. Although I was making minimum wage, I didn’t mind because I was excited to go to work every day....

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6 Ways to Get the Job References You Need

by Val OlsonOn May 25, 2021 0 comments

There’s no better way for employers to get direct input about someone than from a reference.

While it might be easy for you to find people who will say nice things about you, you should focus more on those who can speak to your attributes and experiences that would make you right for the job. If it is a global position for instance, or at a company that just went through a merger, you will want to prepare your reference to talk about your experience in those areas.

Here are six more ways I recommend securing the most effective references:...

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Do You Know Me?

by Roxi Bahar Hewertson On May 24, 2021 0 comments

 

We all make immediate assumptions about each other - it’s part of our basic survival instinct driven by our reptilian brain. In a nano-second we decide whether the person in front of us is likely to be more or less safe or dangerous, and then we act according to that instant answer, even as more clues to come into focus.

Yes, our instincts, not our assumptions, are mostly reliable, and what Oprah Winfrey calls, “the whisper” happens when our bodies communicate danger messages to our brain. Both are important, and potentially...

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Another COVID Symptom: Silence

by Melanie Peacock PhD, MBA, CPHROn May 20, 2021 0 comments

When recently visiting my Dad in his long-term care facility I noticed a new addition to his floor. A big cage with a lovely bird in it was sitting just outside his room. As I was looking at this, the head nurse wandered by and told me that the bird had a mate for many years and when she passed away the bird stopped making any noises. He was completely silent. If you will pardon the poetic license, we both knew why the caged bird didn’t sing. Grief.

Each of us have been experiencing a form of grief over the...

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Experience Needed ??

by Steve BrowneOn May 20, 2021 0 comments


 

It’s hard to believe that I’m entering the 35th year of my career. I can distinctly remember the challenge of finding my first job. You see, I was trying to land a role in the newly renamed field of “Human Resources” before the internet was anything to be reckoned with. In fact, I went to a library on the campus of Ohio University at the beginning of my senior year and found a book called The Million Dollar Directory. It was a list of companies and their profiles. I picked out a list...

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Productivity, Wellbeing, and Mental Health

by Ludmila N. Praslova, Ph.D. SHRM-SCPOn May 20, 2021 0 comments


 

There is no shortage of advice about the “best” approach to productivity. Yet somehow, many of us feel that we are doing both too much and not enough. Productivity stress can even affect our sleep and our mental health.

The experts are very sure of themselves - but their advice is often contradictory. 

“The best place to work is the office.” “The best place to work is home.” “The best place to work is the coffee shop.”

“The best way to work is the “Pomodoro.” “The best way to work is...

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The Looming Talent Pandemic

by Richard MarshallOn May 19, 2021 0 comments

 

Is your Organization Prepared?

With vaccine penetration approaching herd immunity levels, businesses rebounding and re-opening, and more optimism around a “return to normal” there is yet another pandemic looming that threatens business: A talent pandemic.

The covid aftermath is impacting the enterprise’s most precious asset – its core talent. And top talent has an evolving, if not yet fully clear, framework of how they are defining their expectations for the new workplace. How companies recognize and address this will determine their ability to recover and move forward.

The Issues:

“Burnout” –...

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To Return or Not to Return?

by Angela Simpson, SHRM-CP On May 18, 2021 0 comments

 

 

Now that COVID-19 concerns are starting to fade and more people are getting vaccinated, many employers are anxious to get back to some sense of normalcy. But they are struggling to get workers to return to the office with a chorus of employees saying, “Why do I have to?”, “I mean really, why should I?” and “If we can get the same job done remotely, why can’t we just continue to work from home all...

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Empathy for You Cancels out Empathy for Me. So, What Gives?

by Jasmine ChenOn May 17, 2021 0 comments

 

 

The other week, I posted information on #stopasianhate to my personal Instagram, hoping to educate and elicit empathy among my peers. I was taken aback when a former classmate asked me to stop these posts because they made social media less “fun.” Instead of empathizing with my sorrow, he was asking that I empathize with his annoyance. What gives?

Why we choose not to empathize

Empathy is such an incredible cure, yet studies show that we have a robust preference to simply avoid it. Why? Sure, empathy takes some cognitive resources,...

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The Great Engagement Tug of War

by David KovacovichOn May 14, 2021 0 comments

 

 

It's been a while since there has been a topic that has lacked decision in a way the post-pandemic workplace continues to. Will we return to the office? How often? Will there be parameters for hybrid models? Each region, industry, and individual organization seems to have their caveats that are ping-ponging policy.

As we discussed last month, the interpretation between policy and organizational strategy creates a huge opportunity for partnership between HR and Business Unit Leaders. Additionally, we'll see a continual reliance on technology as the backbone to guide culture and engagement. We all want to see our co-workers again....

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