After weeks of combing through resumes and conducting interviews you have finally hired the right candidate for the position. The salary has been agreed to, the offer letter signed, and the start date is on the horizon. It is time to check the box on the to-do list; the office is fully staffed, right? Think again! The hard work is just beginning.

The purpose of an employee handbook is to provide a consistent means of communication regarding policies, best practices and resources for everyone within the organization. The handbook is a guide that allows managers as well as staff to understand the expectations of role and responsibilities. However, there are consequences to using the organization’s handbook incorrectly or ineffectively.

We’ve all heard about the high cost of hiring the wrong person. How can you prevent these costly mis-hires? When interviewing, focus on the candidates’ qualifications and fit with the organization and team. Here are five interview questions and six techniques which will help you identify top performers in your interview process.

Remember when a snow day meant no school and neighborhood snowball fights? The challenges of navigating winter weather closures can be far more difficult when you’re running a company. What if your company closes for a week between Christmas and New Year’s; are you required to pay employees? The following guidelines should help you determine your legal obligations for these common winter payroll issues.

Working in a union environment has its pros as well as its cons. The purpose of a union is to have a group of organized workers come together and use their strength to have a voice in the decision-making of their workplace. The unionized group can demand or negotiate changes in their wages, work hours, benefits, safety, job training and other issues that are concerns. There are employees and managers that have successfully worked in a unionized environment their entire career. On the other end of the spectrum, there are workers and leaders that much prefer to not to have an entity exercise a level of control and dictation within the organization. For those that prefer to remain union-free, there are a number of tactics that can help alleviate the need for employees to bring in a union as the solution.