GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

Although there is a lot of uncertainty about what 2017 has in store for employers, there are a few things you should have on your new year’s checklist. 

It’s the holiday party season and of course you want people to have fun and enjoy themselves. But you also want to make sure the fun is appropriate and safe.

Strong organizations require a strong organizational culture, which helps employees understand expectations, feel a sense of pride and focus on what is good and right. A mission or values statement, a creed or a set of beliefs distinguishes a business from other firms and identifies its scope of operations in product and market terms. The organization’s mission is fundamental to establishing priorities and making strategic decisions.

From door and cabinet hardware to lighting fixtures, this online retailer sells vintage reproduction hardware that’s true to original design, materials and workmanship.

In his program “Happiness is a Serious Problem,” Dennis Prager shares three keys to happiness.

Recently an HR Manager asked me for advice on how to implement a successful cross-training program for team leads across multiple departments.

I have recently been getting questions from organizations that have already established wage ranges, asking how the new exemption rules may affect their exempt level employees. The issue concerns situations when the range minimum doesn’t meet the new threshold, and there is a blend of employees who are classified as exempt and nonexempt included in these ranges.

With the impending Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) changes effective December 1, I regularly get the question “what are other employers doing?” Survey results from a recent study on the Implementation of New FLSA Rules conducted by WorldatWork of 948 U.S. employers nationwide are consistent with the conversations that I have been having locally.

Nearly 70 years ago, this company was one of the founding members of Cascade Employers Association. Today it’s one of the most diversified and focused companies in the state of Oregon. 

Having a bad manager can make a great job terrible. The problem is that some managers were never taught the right way to manage people.

61% of employees admitted that new job responsibilities differ from the expectations presented to them during the interview process. How can you, an HR Ninja, prevent this from happening with your own new hires?

Happily celebrating four and a half decades of opening doors to new possibilities in the Columbia Gorge, this nonprofit member has provided an ever-lasting positive impact on tens of thousands of children, teens and families.

With the 2016 presidential race heating up, employees may be more likely to engage in political conversations at work. Politics is a topic that people have very strong and divided feelings about and have great potential to offend and divide the workplace. While such talk is not illegal per se, many political topics involve protected class issues such as race, age, gender, and religion which do create legal implications.

There are five primary approaches to dealing with conflict: 1) Authority, 2) Compromise, 3) Avoidance, 4) Accommodation, and 5) Collaboration. Many people are comfortable with a few of these approaches but not with all five. If you misuse, overuse or under-use any of the five, you take a risk the conflict will become worse. 

If you’re looking to get a really quick pulse on your culture and employee engagement, here is the one statement you should ask employees to rate their agreement with: “It would take a lot for me to leave this organization.”

Ever wonder what happens to your recyclables once they get picked up by the collection truck? This Eugene-based member is probably involved in one way or another. 

SwiftMD is a telemedicine service that delivers quality health care directly to patients for common conditions. Rather than visiting ER or a doctor’s office, SwiftMD Members enjoy access to high-quality, convenient medical care over the phone or videoconference, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

There seems to be some confusion around the question of what is a pay study vs. what is a pay survey. During a time when compensation-related issues are extremely challenging, I thought it was a good opportunity to explain the unique elements that make a pay study a study, and a pay survey a survey.

Leading your organization in a competitive environment requires innovation and navigating transition effectively. Some factors you can control — or at least significantly influence — while others you can’t. Involving employees early in preparing for and implementing changes helps prevent failure and regret.

If it’s been more than a year since you’ve given your employee handbook a thorough read, chances are it’s already out of date. I don’t know too many people that jump up and down about the prospect of updating their employee handbook (except some people on our staff), but here are a few tips to help get you started.

For four decades, this Cascade member has helped clients turn their ideas, blueprints and brainstorms into reality and it all began in Bandon, Oregon. 

Regardless of whether I’m training, coaching or consulting, I regularly hear the same complaint about Millennials in the workforce: They’re so entitled.

In March of 2016, Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 1532, enacting the nation’s first geographically-tiered minimum wage law. Effective July 1, 2016, the law increases minimum wage levels over a six-year period. It will impact more than 100,000 low income workers throughout Oregon in its first year.

How much do you tip when you go out to eat? Let me introduce you to one of the first Portland-area restaurants to embrace the gratuity-free concept.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has published an updated minimum wage poster that employers are required to post when the new minimum wage law takes effect on July 1, 2016. As a reminder, this poster must be posted in a conspicuous location where all employees can view it.

Whether you’re new to Cascade or you’ve partnered with us for decades, here are a few things you may not know about us.

When presenting to a group or an audience, we need to establish rapport with our listeners and have ways to engage them in the conversation. Instead, presenters often lose sight of the audience and become preoccupied with the material they wish to cover.

Many times meetings to discuss plans and change are poorly facilitated. Participants sometimes don’t share their concerns, or contradict each other and don’t commit to action.

When I’m presented with an employment situation which could result in some sort of change in an employee’s status with the company, such as a disciplinary action or a performance plan, there are four questions that I always ask in order to assess the risk.