Blog Posts

Disciplinary Actions, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Leadership, Termination

Suck It Up! Sometimes You Have To Be The Bad Guy

BarbBuckner

For most managers out there, being the “bad guy” isn’t always easy.  Sure, when it comes to disciplining and employee they have no problem.  But when it comes to having to terminate an employee, most don’t like that feeling regardless of how rock solid a case you have. Being the “bad guy” comes with the… Continue reading Suck It Up! Sometimes You Have To Be The Bad Guy

Benefits, Communication, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Performance

Performance Review Time – Should You Keep Doing Them?

BarbBuckner

  Its the beginning of the New Year and many companies may be getting ready to produce their employees' annual performance reviews, so I'm sure the topic of whether or not its worth the time has started to come up. There are a lot of different opinions out there as to whether or not companies… Continue reading Performance Review Time – Should You Keep Doing Them?

Employee Relations, Human Resources, Recruiting

Poaching: Is It Just Business or Vengeance?

BarbBuckner

It happens all the time: You land a new position and find that there are other open positions that maybe your previous co-workers would be interested in.  You tell your new supervisor and, on your recommendation, they give you the “green light” to reach out to them and ask.  Nothing wrong with that, right? But… Continue reading Poaching: Is It Just Business or Vengeance?

Human Resources, New Hire, Recruiting

As the Interviewer: Stages of the Interview

BarbBuckner

There are so many different ways that companies are conducting interviews these days that it begs the question: Should there be different steps in the interview process? Some will say the process depends on the size of the company…others will say it depends on the level of the position.  But too many times either a… Continue reading As the Interviewer: Stages of the Interview

Communication, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Leadership

Culture: Do You Define It or Does It Create Itself?

BarbBuckner

“Culture” is another one of those buzz words going around lately as companies strive to up their game or reinvent themselves.  With the changes in the market after the economic crash of 2008 and the new generations entering the workplace now, the new goal is to make your workplace happier, healthier and higher performing….still all… Continue reading Culture: Do You Define It or Does It Create Itself?

Performance

What If The Motivator Needs Motivating?

BarbBuckner

You see all kinds of articles and comments about how a “good leader motivates their people.”  Leaders, Managers and even HR folks are tasked with solving problems which include improving morale and motivating others…but who motivates them? As a HR professional, my entire career has been dedicated to helping improve my workplaces and grow my… Continue reading What If The Motivator Needs Motivating?

Employee Relations, Human Resources, Leadership, Performance

Are You Grooming A “Mini-Me”?

BarbBuckner

“Talent Management” is one of those buzz words flying around lately and everyone will have their own definition of what it is and how they approach it in their company, but in my view Talent Management is just the upgraded version of Mentoring. Mentoring to me isn’t assigning an experienced employee to a new employee… Continue reading Are You Grooming A “Mini-Me”?

Human Resources, Leadership, Performance

Exhaustion: The Latest “Status Symbol”

BarbBuckner

I have been following the work of Brene Brown, Research Professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.  She spent over 10 years studying the topics of shame and vulnerability in an effort to help uncover how we can find our inner courage and be more authentic in today’s world. In one of… Continue reading Exhaustion: The Latest “Status Symbol”

Employee Relations, Human Resources, Leadership, Performance

Do You “Motivate” Or Do You “Inspire”?

BarbBuckner

When we talk about “performance,” our minds automatically go to “how to we improve performance.”  It’s always on the mind of every leader or manager that has a team under them.  We think by coming up with ways of improving performance that it will translate into happier and more productive sub-ordinates.  For the majority of… Continue reading Do You “Motivate” Or Do You “Inspire”?