Don’t allow these two strategies to be part of your cost-cutting plans.

Many organizations are implementing cost-cutting measures. I have been stunned to learn that some companies are trying to cut costs by recalling hybrid and remote employees to the office and are thinking about implementing forced ranking with the intention of…

Remote work uncovered but didn’t create problems

Surveys show that the war over hybrid, remote, and office-based work continues. It is a conflict that about two-thirds of current remote and hybrid workers are willing to quit over. And the number of employees working remotely or in hybrid…

Better work-life balance tops list of seven job candidate preferences

Criteria, a research and talent success company, has published its 2022 Candidate Experience Report. It shows the top job candidate priorities for 2022, a year of the great resignation, the US’s lowest unemployment rate since 2019 of 3.5 percent (tying a…

Virtual work accelerates what’s innovative!

When I worked for Medtronic businesses in Santa Rosa, CA, in 2012, implementing a remote work environment, we learned that requiring innovation workers to come into the office every day was unnecessary. In fact, we discovered that virtual teams and…

Covid-19 endemic or epidemic? Smart firms need to be agile.

In past columns, I have advised business leaders to take precautions against the next wave of Covid-19. It keeps mutating. Although it appears to be transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic, it can still be epidemic and very dangerous.…

How the War for Talent looks different in the 2020s

CEOs are asking their human resources leaders to implement talent management strategies to beat the Great Resignation and attract new employees to their brands. This request is not a nice to have. It is essential for business growth. Talent management…

Professionals cite key trends for HR in 2022

In a 2022 report on HR Trends, Trust Radius has concluded that most HR professionals are pleased with the success of remote work implementation and employee wellbeing. But, at the same time, HR professionals have been challenged and exhausted by…

As work reopens, studies show workers prefer remote work, especially women

Studies by Pew Research and the Labor Department show that as work reopens, most employees prefer working from home, especially women. After the pandemic, women lag men in rejoining the labor force, exacerbating our labor shortage. Preference has replaced fear…

Don’t let office real estate be a financial drain.

When I was at Medtronic in Santa Rosa, CA, in 2012, I learned that individual office cubes and offices were in use only about 37 percent of the time, as the occupants were traveling or in meetings. Worse, many employers…

My family learned that Omicron changed the rules. Three tips for businesses.

Over the holidays, I experienced how Omicron has significantly changed the rules for Covid-19 for my family and businesses. Two members of my family -- both fully vaccinated, and one even boosted -- caught Omicron. The former had four days…