Sealing deals with a handshake and a taco

  • September 24, 2014

After more than two years of testing a Doritos-flavored taco shell, Taco Bell still had not signed a contract to partner with the company that made Doritos. So as the...

Consider FMLA before firing for attendance

  • September 10, 2014

Here’s some advice that can save you money you might otherwise have spent defending an FMLA lawsuit: If an employee has accrued enough absences under your...

Never say ‘It’s not my job’

  • September 01, 2014

You can feel put upon and taken advantage of when work is dumped on you. It’s tempting to speak up when it isn’t in your job description to complete those...

Is it possible to apply FMLA retroactively?

  • August 26, 2014

Q. We have 75 employees at our one facility. An employee recently took two months off for a serious operation. We did not classify this as FMLA leave, but now we think...

Pepsi CEO’s emphasis on ethics pays off

  • August 25, 2014

Steve Reinemund, Pepsi’s former CEO, recalls an incident in which his counterpart at Coca-Cola called out of the blue. Coke’s CEO thanked Reinemund for his...

Modern-day etiquette for admins

  • August 20, 2014

Jorie Scholnik is an assistant professor of student development at Sante Fe College in Gainesville, Fla., as well as an etiquette associate at the Protocol School of...

Culture is the key differentiator

  • August 13, 2014

"We’re in an industry with 115% annual turnover," says Brian Fielkow, president and CEO of Jetco Delivery. "Our raw number is about one-third of that." How does he...

Learn to quiz staff the right way

  • August 11, 2014

Quizzing employees on critical facts can help them acquire the knowledge they need. But there’s a right and wrong way to administer one.

Deal with a clingy coworker

  • August 01, 2014

Clingy coworkers can be tough to dodge. If you’re having trouble getting things done, use these tips to help you escape:

Star Trek analogy conveys tough concept

  • July 28, 2014

David Pensak faced a challenge during the early days of the Internet. He wanted people to understand the purpose of a firewall. But they were still grappling with the...

Do you have the right soft skills?

  • July 28, 2014

In today’s marketplace, soft skills—in­­tan­­gi­­ble personality traits and qualities such as organization, flexibility and ...

Can sick leave hours count toward overtime?

  • July 25, 2014

Q. Last week, one of our hourly employees was out sick on Monday, but she worked a total of 40 hours from Tuesday through Friday. She would like to use her sick leave...

Combine hard and soft data

  • July 24, 2014

We tend to admire leaders who proclaim, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” But what if that’s not necessarily true?