Let’s be honest, Facebook is probably the number one social media site most people will participate in online. Their most recent stats say that they had 936 million daily active users on average for March 2015. For those of us who use it know that it allows you to connect with friends, family, peers, and in general those that “travel in your circle.” So most of us agree that it's a great place to "hang out" online. That said, is it the best place to recruit for talent? Facebook is not known to be a professional social networking site such as LinkedIn. As a recruiter, I have heard arguments for using - and not using - Facebook as a means to recruit and find qualified candidates. Let’s take a little time to examine the Pros and Cons of using Facebook to recruit.

By now you are probably overloaded with all the changes and deadlines that fall under the Affordable Care Act. As we muddle through all these rulings, there always seems to be a new regulation associated with it that we either did not know about or the information is vague. One that recently came to my attention was the fines businesses can incur if they reimburse employees for individual non-group health plans.

Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and even Instagram are a part of the modern workplace today. These tools are no longer just for personal use since many people use them in their professional lives as well. In the workplace, social media sites are being used for purposes such as marketing, employer branding, and corporate social responsibility. For instance, recruiters use LinkedIn to find and connect with candidates and sales professionals use it for lead generation. Many employees use Google + for the chat feature to connect instantly with colleagues or conduct industry Hangouts. As HR consultants, we are often asked about the pros and cons of allowing social media in the workplace when developing workplace social media policies.

“Uh oh Human Resources is in the building!” “Shhh…don’t say anything Human Resources is here!” “I better not say that because there is our HR person!” As a professional providing HR outsourcing, I believe we have all heard these statements or something similar. Now at first glance, this could provide a bit of a chuckle, but let’s take a deeper dive into the real background noise of it all.

What is an Employee Handbook and Why Do We Need One? An Employee Handbook is a guide that gives organizations a tool to communicate the expectations, role and responsibilities, as well as current policies and procedures within the organization to all employees. Legally there is no requirement for companies to provide an employee handbook; it does however, offer confirmation of processes and procedures if ever questioned legally. When a company reaches 15 employees, it's time to implement an employee handbook as a best practice. This is because at 15 employees, several federal acts apply such as the Civil Rights, Americans with Disabilities, and the Pregnancy Leave Act.

As HR professionals, one of the hardest parts of the job is communicating to an employee the decision to separate them from employment. Whether it be a performance related termination, or a financially related layoff; it is never an easy task. I find layoffs particularly difficult when it has nothing to with the employee’s actual performance, and everything to do with seniority or salary. More often than not, the delivery of bad news falls to the HR professionals with the belief that we know how to handle these situations the best, right?