The Trillion Dollar Jackpot Lurking in HR Companies, large and small alike, are always trying to find ways to increase bottom line results and return profits to the organization, shareholders and employee base to signal healthy business operations and strong leadership. I cannot name one client of mine who is not laser focused on some form of growth or revenue strategy to either sustain or grow their footprint within a given region or industry. In fact, most of my compensation related engagements center on the design and implementation of incentive plans to motivate employees to either capture more revenue or enhance business operations in an effort to optimize business and financial results. In most cases organizations achieve better business results by expanding product offerings, cutting expenses or deepening its expertise in a particular area. I can vouch that the aforementioned measures usually do result in improved fiscal and operational results; however there is one place many decisions makers are overlooking to unlock financial gains and operational efficiencies…..you guessed it, Human Resources.

What we Learned from Live! with Kelly & Michael... On Tuesday, April 26, 2016, the television show, Live! with Kelly & Michael’s audience welcomed Kelly Ripa’s return to daytime television with a standing ovation. Kelly returned to the show after taking a few days off to celebrate her wedding anniversary and a few extra impromptu days (sick days) were taken off to allow her time to process Michael Strahan’s departure from Live. According to entertainment news, Kelly did not receive the news of Michael’s departure until a few moments prior to the information being released to the public. She was given no time to process and according to news articles, Michael Strahan was not allowed to discuss his departure with others.

A colleague reached out to me last week asking for advice. She had recently been promoted and now was in charge of her former peers and friends. She had worked at this company for several years and because of that, had built strong friendships with her team—both inside and outside of work. She now has to struggle with not only a new job and responsibilities, but now leading her friends and peers. She asked me: How can you best manage a team of your former peers and successfully transition?

Around election time, we hear a couple of questions that consistently come up by our clients. Time off for voting, the do’s and don’ts of how to handle politics in the workplace, and most importantly, how to encourage voter participation. Find out how I respond to these questions below!

Spring has approached, which always seems like the time of year I like to get organized and get rid of unnecessary clutter. It is also the perfect time for your HR department to do some of their own spring cleaning for better order in the workplace. As an HR consultant serving as the HR leader for my clients, I typically have a lot going on in Q4 and Q1. We may be managing open enrollments, setting budgets, hiring new employees, finalizing payroll, and conducting performance reviews. Come spring, I like to take advantage to ensure my HR function is up to date with the latest compliance obligations as well as purge files to create less unnecessary clutter. If you are ready to reset for Q2 and the months ahead, here are 10 tasks I tackle each spring to get the HR Department better organized for the year.