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We all have a LinkedIn profile, right? With over 150 million members, and growing at the rate of two new users per second, it’s hard to imagine anyone not being on LinkedIn. It’s a great place to share your professional accomplishments.  And, it’s a good place to be seen by recruiters.  But sadly, I’ve also seen articles cautioning LinkedIn users about references …

There was an unscientific experiment conducted in the 1950’s by Candid Camera to determine the impact of group behavior on individuals. The experiment took place in an elevator in what appears to be an office building.  Without knowing they were being filmed, each subject walked into an elevator with complete strangers.

The first subject faces towards the closing door but he notices everyone else in the elevator is facing the opposite direction towards the rear. You could tell he was uncomfortable and confused. Without asking a question and within seconds, he turned 90 degrees and faced…

In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next.

Mike Aitken, SHRM’s Vice President of Government Affairs, shares his thoughts on key issues surrounding the 2012 political landscape as they relate to HR and business professionals.

Meanwhile, U.S. military veterans are being hired, yet not targeted in recruitment, according to a recent military poll conducted by SHRM.

We saw text messages resurface in employment law litigation, reminding employees to be aware of the need for appropriate professional relationships in…

“If you come to work with ten fingers and ten toes, then that’s how we intend to send you home each day.”     That was the oft-uttered phrase of an Operations Manager with whom I worked.  It was the foundation of his message to new hires during New Employee Orientation and he repeated it at all staff meetings. Safety mattered.   Most employers are subject to the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act and therefore have what’s termed a “general duty” to provide a workplace that’s free from…

As 2011 draws to a close and a new year begins, SHRM is pleased to report that the global HR standards initiative has not only successfully launched but also continues to gather steam across the world.  As of the end of December, there are 13 participating countries and 19 observing countries from around the globe that are involved with ISO Technical Committee 260 for Human Resource Management.  Additional countries are expected to join the effort in 2012.  This assembled body will propose and develop global standards for topics within the purview of HR.     Why do standards matter for HR?   …

Numerous employment, labor and employee benefit laws regulate the American workplace.  Human resource professionals conduct business daily within this framework. But what if HR professionals helped shape these very laws and regulations?     Given HR’s unique knowledge and experience of implementing these laws within their organizations, wouldn’t their influence make for better HR public policy?  The answer is unequivocally YES, which is why the role of an HR Advocate is so important.   But what does being an HR ADVOCATE entail?  Consider these key elements of the job:   Activism – Engaging…

Between now and New Year’s Eve, just about everyone — from late-night comedy show hosts and newspaper editorial boards, to individual families — will be compiling their Top 10 lists for 2011. SHRM’s Government Affairs Team has taken a slightly different approach and compiled its Top 8 list of HR public policy accomplishments for this past year.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, “America is not governed by the majority, but by the majority of those who participate.…

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down.  No matter what he did, Sisyphus could not get to the top of the hill.

We can all feel Sisyphus’ pain as HR and other executives.  We are constantly rolling up against regulatory boulders, plaintiffs’ lawyers and labor unions marketed by the NLRB.

But Sisyphus had it easy in one respect.  He did not have to worry about the FLSA.

We are…

There has been an astronomic increase in employment litigation. The result is that there is almost an apoplectic fear of litigation. Indeed, because the cost of litigation can be so high, sometimes we try to avoid risk at all cost.

But we cannot avoid risk. It is not a question of risk avoidance, but rather risk selection.

In my experience, here are the top three mistakes that are sometimes made in managing risk and can result in buying one risk to avoid another.

Failure to distinguish between what is illegal and what has legal…

Earlier this year, a local teacher was suspended after her school learned about nasty comments on her personal blog concerning her students. And that story became national news. Now, word has it that the school is considering a social-media policy. Well, it's about time!

Social-media policy? We don't need no stinkin' policy! Then again...

According to this report from Christina Kristofic of The Intelligencer, the draft social media policy…