GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

It’s hard enough for many of us to summon the nerve to provide someone with constructive feedback. Ideally we’ve done some work preparing for the conversation: we’ve thought about a way to convey that we mean well from the start, we’ve identified the specific issue in question (rather than focusing on someone’s personality), and we know how to articulate our expectation for that person moving forward.

So much to do . . . so little time. Between holiday baking, canned food drives, Secret Santa gifts, school holiday programs, gift-giving, family parties, friend parties, recovering from all the parties . . . what is a person to do?

This nonprofit member works with children, youth and their families to overcome the crisis of abuse and neglect. 

In the many years of working in the payroll field in the Salem area, there is one comment I hear from a lot of companies: they didn’t realize they may be subject to transit taxes since their business is not located in that district.

In a world where it seems like we’re always “connected” why do employers have so much trouble connecting with remote employees? Rather than focus on the reasons it happens, let’s talk about what we can do about it.

From design engineers to skilled machinists, Benchmade’s team is filled with hard-working, passionate individuals committed to producing some of the highest quality knives in the world. 

Executives in Oregon and Southwest Washington recently provided their business projections for 2018 in the National Business Trends Survey. The preliminary results show a mixture of confidence and anticipated business challenges, with the majority of executives reporting optimism for the New Year.

After doing a recent training on Performance Management, I’m beginning to understand why: not enough people know about it! So many of our members are still using up precious time and energy with pen and paper forms or Word docs that are outdated and ineffective. 

According to the research explored by the Harvard Business Review, men tend to apply for a job when they meet only 60 percent of a job’s qualifications, but women tend to apply only if they meet 100 percent of them. Further research shows that traditional “in groups” are judged based on their potential while traditional “out groups” are judged by their proven accomplishments.

In my experience as a coach, a consultant, and a trainer, the number one saboteur of workplace relationships is that we make assumptions as to why someone is acting a particular way and those assumptions are almost always negative – and incorrect.

For more than 30 years, the Oregon School of Massage has provided the most holistic, integrated approach to massage education in Oregon. This integrated approach is a core value that drives the whole program. 

The ever-dreaded “brain drain” may be upon you. A long-time employee who has contributed so much to the success of your organization is about to retire and take with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

A prominent fear many organizations are facing is the lack of suitable talent out there. Recruitment of top talent is definitely at a peak, often times having to utilize recruiters or outsourcing to find that talent where current internal methods of finding the right people just isn’t cutting it.

Early this month, the Trump Administration announced it was going to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program established by the Obama Administration in 2012. DACA authorizes young adults who were brought to the US as children illegally by their parents to live and work legally in the United States. The Administration set a rescission date of March 5, 2018 in order to allow Congress time to address this issue through legislation such as the DREAM Act of 2017.

As one of the most popular mushrooms worldwide, shiitakes are prized for their rich, savory taste and diverse health benefits. This family-owned employer has been growing these specialty mushrooms for over 26 years. 

You have heard about it. Stressed about it. Maybe even cried about it. Let’s put it all in perspective and for the sake of time and, let’s be honest, sanity, I present the Cliffs Notes version.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks any part of the sun. On Monday, August 21, 2017, a solar eclipse will be visible (weather permitting) across all of North America. The whole continent will experience a partial eclipse lasting 2 to 3 hours. Halfway through the event, anyone within a roughly 70-mile-wide path from Oregon to South Carolina will experience a brief total eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face for up to 2 minutes 40 seconds, turning day into night.

If you’re an equestrian enthusiast, chances are you’ve crossed this popular manufacturer’s path a time or two. 

Getting or keeping up with your HR certifications can be a challenge, but did you know that Cascade has partnered with the HR Certification Institute™ (HRCI) to offer our Members some pretty cool benefits.

As an employer you have an obligation to maintain a safe workplace. When employees report to work under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, it puts everyone at risk.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has released its 2017-2018 Minimum Wage Poster that all employers must have updated as of July 1, 2017.

For today’s organizations, the problem of how to effectively recruit, motivate, and retain employees is becoming an increasingly important issue.

Though most of us associate succession planning with only the highest levels of leadership, identifying and developing new leaders is paramount at all levels of the organization.

OregonSaves, a new state-sponsored retirement plan, according to the State Treasurer’s office, it could assist up to 1 million Oregon employees in their efforts to save for their future.

Now that the sun’s finally shining and our cravings for frozen desserts have escalated, let me introduce you to this member who has taken dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and certified organic delectables to the level of pure bliss. 

Hybrid jobs, or “blended jobs,” are typically unique to a particular organization, specialized industry or smaller organization and include a variety of functions and responsibilities.

I hear it all the time . . . “one of our biggest challenges is communication”! I recently read a great article in Workspan, a publication by WorldatWork which discussed how different generations prefer to hear about company offered benefits.