GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

Last week, the Seattle City Council voted to require employers to provide paid “sick and safe” time to employees working in Seattle beginning in September 2012.  The new ordinance applies to all employers in the city of Seattle with five or more employees.  It also applies to employees who perform more than 240 hours of work per year in Seattle, even if their employer is not located in Seattle.

Cascade is delighted to introduce Bill Swift to our Members. A trainer and counselor since 1981, Bill has a passion for promoting life-long workplace learning. He is an expert at facilitating organization development, exemplifying forward-looking leadership by practicing principles of honesty, direct communication, and resilience. 

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries has announced that the state’s minimum wage will increase by 37 cents to $9.04 per hour starting January 1, 2012.

Issue: Many of your employees have taken out loans from their 401(k) plan accounts in the last few years. You have a rather large downsizing of employment coming up.

Employee engagement sometimes has a reputation of being something soft and fluffy that HR is buzzing about. It’s fun to talk about, but your executive team wants to know what’s the impact on the bottom line? Try throwing some of these compelling stats out at your next meeting. 

In your workplace, have you heard the phrase “Employee Engagement” and the word “Kaizen”? It is true that there are various definitions of “Employee Engagement” in each different organization. And “Kaizen” is originally a Japanese word that means continuous (quality) improvement.

The lights are on, but not everybody’s home. Or at the office for that matter. The mobile workforce is now working 24×7. But they aren’t just working from their cubicles and living rooms — they are holed up in coffee shops and many other public venues, or out working in a park, getting some badly needed fresh air.

On November 14, 2011 a new rule will take effect requiring most private-sector employers to post a notice to employees regarding their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. 

Effective August 2, 2011 employers with six or more employees are required to provide leave and safety accommodations to employees who are victims of harassment. 

The United States Supreme Court decided in favor of Wal-Mart by blocking what would have been one of the largest sex discrimination lawsuits from proceeding as a class action. 

Talent shortages drive nearly half of hiring managers and recruiters to seek professionals outside their local markets, study finds. America’s hiring managers and recruiters are forecasting healthy job growth for the remainder of this year, according to a new survey by Dice Holdings, Inc. 

What’s better than a Groupon offer, worth more than most gift cards, and replenishes itself each year? Your training credit with Cascade!

According to most research, one of the key drivers of employee engagement is the “opportunity to do what I do best everyday.”

In today’s environment, more and more employers are unwilling to share salary information about their former employees due to legal concerns; verification of compensation when commissions are involved can be especially challenging; and background checks continue to reveal a problem with inflated salaries reported on job applications. While asking for a candidate’s W-2 form may seem like the answer, it is important to consider the issues.

If your employees think there is any chance they will be identified based on their responses or comments in an engagement survey, the validity of the survey immediately comes into question.  Although this factor can be somewhat beyond your control, there are steps you can take to build confidence and anonymity.

I got my first performance appraisal about seven years into my HR career. While I was excited about it, I also had reservations because I had heard about how supervisors hated to give appraisals (second only to firing someone). I soon discovered that I didn’t like being on the receiving end of an appraisal either. 

Engaged employees need to know they belong to something meaningful that is worthy of their commitment. They need the sense “We are all in this together” and that no barrier should stop them from collectively achieving success over time. They need to know the mission.

Have you ever had a valuable suggestion or need to talk and could tell your supervisor or co-worker just wasn’t open or tuned in –and then something bad happened because communication didn’t happen? Most of the people I train on proactive listening skills admit that they don’t listen really well. They are distracted, impatient or too quick to assume they know what is being said.

Are you a leader or a follower? We all need to be both. Sometimes we know what has to be decided or accomplished and we can influence others to get moving. Other times, we accept others’ influence. While authority is sometimes important, sharing good sense is more central to personal, team and organizational success. That’s collaboration.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) new regulations for Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) have finally been published. 

It’s Spring! That means it’s time for Spring cleaning. Here is a quick checklist of things to get out of the way and get ready for summer.

After a long wait, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) new regulations for Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) are expected to be published in April, 2011. 

As recent graduates pour into a workplace brimming with older employees, cross-generational dynamics are rife with age stereotypes. But are these stereotypes scientifically valid? A new study by the international training and consulting firm AchieveGlobal found they are not.

“Success is the feeling you get when you accomplish your priorities,” according to Keith Gibson, President of IntegrityLogistics. I attended his talk in Portland, where he shared insights about living your values rather than falling into others’ vision of success.

Part 4 of the the Employee Engagement series by Jenna Reed. Asking your employees to tell you what they really think about their job and your workplace can be unnerving.

I love it when a member asks, “Now remind me, what are the benefits of membership in Cascade”?  I see that statement as an opportunity to share something that I know every employer can use:  resources to help develop their organization into a great employer.

Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) settled a case involving an employee who was terminated after posting derogatory comments about the company on Facebook.  It’s probably not nice to admit this, but I’m a little disappointed this case settled (although I figured it would) ...

Part 3 of the the Employee Engagement series by Jenna Reed. Now that you’ve decided to conduct an Employee Engagement Survey, there are a few things to consider.

Can an employer reassign an employee because her pregnancy might offend someone?