Human Resources For Small Business

Email has become one of our chief methods of communication in the workplace, yet one of the biggest thorns in our side in terms of productivity. Several companies are experimenting with limiting email usage, or attempting to do away with email altogether. Is this a progressive choice that represents what’s next in the world of work, or would it do more harm than good? Should we view email as either an all or nothing tool, or are there ways to walk the middle line and make changes to our habits to improve our relationship with it? And how could changing our email habits impact our relationships – both personal and professional? Molly Kelley, Senior Human Resource Business Partner at Xenium, talks all things email and productivity and share resources for any employee or business leader to implement in their own work life and organization. -- Give us a review on iTunes and be entered to win a free book! Take our survey and be entered to win a free book!   Follow Brandon on Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Xenium H

Lacey Halpern, Sr. HR Business Partner at Xenium and frequent podcast guest, joins us for a special episode to discuss how she landed in the HR industry after graduating college with a psychology degree, the challenges and rewards of being a working mom, memorable and challenging moments from working in HR with a variety of organizations, her experience working with millennials, and where she finds fulfillment in her career.   Give us a review on iTunes and be entered to win a free book! Take our survey and be entered to win a free book!   Follow Brandon on Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Xenium HR Follow Lacey on LinkedIn

How do you approach a coworker or friend with a concern about their body odor? Or negative feedback about their work or attitude? The prospect of an uncomfortable conversation has a tendency to set our heart beating a mile a minute - but it doesn't have to if we take a few simple steps to establish openness and honesty within our relationships, whether professional or personal. Tyler Meuwissen, Xenium's Compensation & HR Analyst and a frequent guest of the podcast, joins Brandon Laws to discuss Shari Harley's book, How to Say Anything to Anyone and share practical advice and examples on getting comfortable with tough communication. Give us a review on iTunes and be entered to win a free book! Take our survey and be entered to win a free book!   Follow Brandon on Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Xenium HR Follow Tyler on Twitter | LinkedIn  

Communication is key in many areas of life, most chiefly the workplace. An office of clashing employees not only makes for unpleasant feelings amongst the employees, but can impact the overall effectiveness and productivity of our employees. But what are some tricks of the conflict resolution trade that can smooth the path to a calm and productive workforce? Laura MacLeod, licensed social worker and creator of the From the Inside Out Project joins us to discuss the most challenging and nuanced aspect of any job – people. Learn simple ways to improve interactions between employees, reduce conflict in your workplace, and know when it’s necessary for a manager to jump in and fix an issue versus when it’s best to let an issue resolve itself.  Give us a review on iTunes and be entered to win a free book Take our survey and be entered to win a free book --- Follow Brandon on Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Xenium HR Learn about Laura MacLeod

Worksite wellness programs are often launched with very employee-centric goals in mind. But what about employees’ families, and the benefits that could result from intentionally involving an employee’s family in your wellness & health initiatives? How do you appropriately design your wellness program to be legally compliant and not unlawfully require too much of family members? What are some practical ways you can keep employees engaged while involving families in wellness activities? Benjamin Prinzing, President of local worksite wellness company Kadalyst, returns to the podcast to discuss how to effectively include families in corporate wellness programs.   --- Follow Brandon on Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Xenium HR Learn about Kadalyst Attend the Worksite Wellness Summit

As an HR professional, how do you jump into conversations about the business side of your organization, particularly when it’s about finance, marketing and operations? How do you learn what’s truly keeping your CEO up at night, and how you can become an even greater asset to the organization in your HR role? Lori Kleiman, author of Taking Your Seat at the Table – Being a Strategic Executive Creating Actionable Plans and Embracing Technology joins us to discuss the keys to developing a career in HR and gaining a strategic role within an organization on the executive team. Learn more about the book Taking Your Seat at the Table   Follow Brandon Laws on Twitter | LinkedIn Follow Lori on Twitter | LinkedIn Visit the HR Topics website  

Picture a workplace free of micromanagement—where responsibility in the hands of many and everyone is empowered to do their best. That’s the goal of holacracy. But how do you go from a traditional structure to this self-management model? Megan Leatherman, HR consultant and author of The Integrated Workplace, joins us to discuss the benefits and challenges of holacracy. We’ll talk through the thinking behind the movement, how it works, and how it can change your organization for the better.   --- Follow Brandon on Twitter | LinkedIn Learn about Xenium HR Learn about Megan Leatherman | The Integrated Workplace Blog

Today we’re talking brand promise, that elusive but essential vision that affects every element of a business—from customer experience to employee attitudes to HR practices. Rick Thomas, business advisor at Pilot Wealth Management, joins us to discuss the ins and outs of brand promise. We’ll cover everything from what exactly a brand promise is and how to develop one, to how you can use it to make solid business decisions and ensure the long-term success of your organization. -- Follow Brandon Laws on Twitter | LinkedIn Follow Rick on LinkedIn Visit the Pilot Wealth Management website

What does a baby boomer do when he finds himself the fish-out-of-water at a tech startup? Well, if you’re Dan Lyons, you write about it and expose a side of startup culture that we don’t usually see in the news. Xenium’s Brandon Laws leads a discussion with Tyler Meuwissen of Lyon’s latest book, Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble. We’ll touch on all the hot topics, from “unicorns” and Silicon Valley culture to the free candy and flip flops, and offer our HR perspective on Lyons’ most interesting insights.  

When it comes to business, great leaders aren’t born, they’re made. So how do we ensure we’re doing what we can to empower our employees? Deb Calvert, bestselling author and president of People First Productivity Solutions, joins us to discuss the importance of leadership development in your business. We’ll cover all the latest trends in training and development—from engagement to productivity to the best tactics for developing the millennial workforce into the leaders of tomorrow. -- Articles & Resources Get the free Emerging Leaders training course: http://bit.ly/20O8iJC  Link to the BrightTALK on how to build the business case for leadership development: https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/13989/195203 Article on Youth Leadership Development: http://bit.ly/1Wq4OO -- Follow Brandon Laws on Twitter @BrandonLaws Follow Deb Calvert on Twitter @PeopleFirstPS Visit the People First Productivity Solutions website    

How can asking questions lead to being an effective leader? Let’s find out. Michael Bungay Stanier, author and founder of Box of Crayons, joins us to discuss his latest book, The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever. Known for his coaching programs that help time-crunched managers develop their coaching skills in 10 minutes or less, Michael breaks down his coaching methodology, the best ways to jumpstart deep conversation and the smart habits that effective leaders embrace. Buy The Coaching Habit for $0.99 May 23rd through June 1st. Buy the audiobook for $10 May 23rd - 25th.   -- Have feedback for us? Please review us on iTunes or take our survey. -- Email Brandon or Follow on Twitter Learn about Michael and Box of Crayons

The Department of Labor has officially updated the overtime regulations of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, or the FLSA. These updates are going to affect over 4 million workers in the United States—and by extension, their employers. Molly Kelley, Sr. HR Business Partner of Xenium, is our resident expert on the subject. She joins us to explain the current guidelines, break down the new language and its effects and offers next steps for employers and HR professionals to ensure compliance with the new regulations. Have feedback for us? Please review us on iTunes or take our survey. -- Email Brandon or Follow on Twitter Learn about Molly Kelley   Supporting Resources: Final Overtime Rule - DOL

Whether it’s the office note-leaver or the backhanded compliment master, everyone has witnessed passive aggressive behavior in the workplace. But why does it happen? And what can we do about it? Berry Kruijning of Crowning Communications joins us for a candid talk about passive aggressive behavior. We’ll discuss how to spot it, why it happens and how it can impact the workplace. Finally, we’ll go over some ways you can manage your passive aggressive employees to create a more positive workplace.   Tell Us What You Think! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hr-small-biz-survey -- Email Brandon or Follow on Twitter Learn about Berry    Supporting Articles: How to Deal with a passive Aggressive Co-Worker 7 Reasons Why People Use Passive Aggressive Behavior Confronting Passive Aggressive Behavior How to Manage Passive-Aggressive People

It’s clear that the wearable trend is here to stay. From counting steps to interrupting our sedentary habits—wearable technology helps us make healthier choices—and give us a nudge when we’re not. So, what about bringing it to the workplace?  Benjamin Prinzing, CEO of Kadalyst, joins us to discuss the trends and challenges around wearable programs in the workplace—who’s doing it well, things to look out for, and how you can incorporate this technology to step up your own wellness program.     Tell Us What You Think! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hr-small-biz-survey -- Email Brandon Learn about Kadalyst

Have you ever determined whether you are better at completing tasks in the morning or evening? Do you prefer starting a new project or opening something new, or do you prefer finishing projects and seeing things through to the end? These are questions Gretchen Rubin helps readers answer in the book Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives. Tyler Meuwissen joins Brandon Laws for this episode to discuss the ideas in Better Than Before about building, sustaining, and mastering habits of our personal and professional lives.  -- Email us at info@xeniumhr.com Read more content on www.xeniumhr.com Follow Brandon on Twitter Follow Tyler on Twitter 

Why is the human resources department often seen as overhead by the leaders of organizations? Lacey Halpern joins the podcast to discuss why the perception of the HR department has actually shifted from overhead and the department of "no" to a function that can significantly impact the growth of an organization. Lacey and Brandon discuss the many ways that HR professionals have become more strategic over the years and how business leaders have begun making investments in their human resources to growth their people.

During a panel discussion at the Leadership and Economic Summit on November 4, 2015 in Portland, Oregon, three business leaders discuss some of the unique ways they are attracting and retaining talent for their business, given the tight labor market for talent. The panelists discuss the topics of recruiting and finding talent, hiring for culture fit, and offering unique benefits tailored to each individual. The panelists also discuss employer-sponsored group health benefits and whether or not they see this way of delivering health insurance to employees changing in the future. The panel was moderated by Rick Thomas of Pilot Wealth Management. The panelists included Angela Dowling, President of Regence Blue Cross BlueShield of Oregon, Mark Hellweg, Founder of Clive Coffee and Bill Huseby, Founder of SigmaDesign. 

Scott Beebe of the Business on Purpose podcast joins Brandon Laws to discuss why business leaders and HR professionals should be operating business with very clear vision, mission and values statements and how to best integrate those into their business and people practices. Scott and Brandon also discuss why lack of employee training is one of the biggest gaps in business. Lastly, Scott shares his experience in mastermind groups and also discusses a few recent books that have been insightful.

Tyler Meuwissen of Xenium HR joins Brandon Laws for a discussion of the book The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann. During the discussion, they discuss the five laws taught in the book and summarize what they thought of the message.  Looking for additional HR & Leadership content? Subscribe to Xenium's It's About People podcast for a round table discussion on hot HR & leadership articles in the news.

Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR joins Brandon Laws on the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss employee assistance programs (EAPs). Lacey shares how employers can leverage an EAP program to retain talent and do right by employees by offering this unique benefit. Lacey also shares common ways employees use the EAP in certain life circumstances.