Small Business HR Guide

The New Right Way to Hire

In a recent episode of The HR Life Podcast, my co-host and I talked to Ryan Kohler about the current state of AI, and it has left me contemplating the changes that are coming to business.   Most of us...

How to Interview Candidates: An Introduction

How to Interview Candidates: An Introduction “Let’s face it, you suck at hiring people.”   This line jumped out of my television and smacked me across the face a couple of months...

When Should You Call an HR Expert or Lawyer? 

No matter how good you are at managing your small business, there comes a time when an employee says or does something that sets off legal alarm bells and you need expert advice.  Maybe they have...

How to Discipline Employees

"The purpose of a written warning isn’t to document the process to protect yourself in court, although good documentation does that.  The purpose is to improve the performance of the employee."...

Stop Asking for A Doctor’s Note: A Logical Conversation

Doctor’s notes are little culture killing pills that cost business a lot more than they are worth.    Most employees are conditioned to offer you a doctor’s note if they miss a day of work.  When we...

What is Culture, and Who’s Shaping it In Your Company Right Now? 

Interactions add up over time until employees at all levels begin to believe that they can predict the behavior of others...

Startups: Six HR Steps You Can Do Now

When do you need HR?  As soon as you hire an employee.  If your business, however, is like most businesses, you can’t afford to hire an HR person at the same time you hire your first employee.  If you...

HR Doesn’t Have to Suck

Most HR People Suck.   Seven years ago, I stood before a crowd of 300 to 400 HR professionals and started my presentation with that phrase. Every day, when I met with potential clients, I got the same...