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Year: 2012

Make up training deficits with mentoring

A recent HR Specialist online poll found that 42% of training budgets that were slashed in the recession haven’t yet rebounded. Mentoring can help close the training gap, and improve recruitment, retention and career development—and the bottom line.

Become your office icon

Lady Gaga, Madonna, Michael Jack­­son, or Elvis … we can learn a lot from these pop culture icons. I’m not suggesting you wear a dress made of meat, highlight body parts with tassels or moon dance between cubicles. Yet, here are four lessons pop culture icons can teach us:

Bounce back from a harassment firing by being prepared

An admin’s request for advice on interviewing after a harassment firing brought recommendations to do a little advance legwork. Preparing to meet potential employers, wrote Melody and Gloria, means consulting with the HR department involved in the termination to discover what questions they can and will answer if asked. Mark and Rebecca noted that the […]

Coming to terms with a pesky co-worker

Question: How do I get my co-worker to stop annoying me? She is very self-centered, whiny and needy.  I have told her this and given her the cold shoulder, but she can’t take a hint. I just want her to leave me alone. How can I make that happen without creating tension in the office?  Fed Up

Double-check email messages

Double-check email messages where the stakes are high by taking this extra proofreading step: Print it out. It’s often easier to spy misspellings or other embarrassing errors when text is in print.

What to do when the boss won’t discipline

Question: Two people in our small office consistently come in late, leave early, and take two hours for lunch.  As the human resources manager, I’ve told my boss that we need to put a stop to this, because other employees are starting to complain about unfair treatment. My boss gripes about this tardiness, but if I ask him to confront the employees, he always says “It won’t do any good” or “Maybe we should just get rid of them.”  His refusal to deal with performance issues is driving me crazy.  What can I do?  Frustrated HR Professional

Reap the benefits of belonging

Does joining a professional organization pay real dividends?  The answer seems to be a resounding yes—if you truly engage. Many admins told us they belong to the International Association of Administrative Professionals; readers like Robin and Liz have even risen to positions of responsibility within it. Roz chimed in by recommending Toastmasters International. With the […]