Don’t Text And Drive

Studies say that drivers using phones while driving are four times as likely to cause a crash.  A Harvard study conducted in 2007 found that 2,700 fatal crashes a year and 570,000 crashes of varying injury level per year are caused by mobile phone use while driving. And that was seven years ago when adoption of these devices was not as high as it is now. Furthermore, hands-free devices do not help because we are still distracted from our driving by the conversation.

We would think that common sense would keep our eyes on the road while driving. But, drivers largely ignore the research on the dangers – even those who have previously been in a crash or near crash caused by using a mobile phone while driving. Taking our eyes off the road to read an email or respond to a text is the equivalent of driving with our eyes closed. Consider that for a moment.

There is currently no national ban on texting while driving, but individual states have passed laws governing the use of mobile devices while driving. According to the FCC:

  • 14 U.S. states and D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held mobile phones while driving. An officer may cite a driver without any other traffic offense taking place.
  • 44 U.S. states and D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers.

None of us are capable of driving with our eyes off of the road.  No text, email or call is important enough to try.

August 2014 Newsletter

August 2014 – All Clients Must Offer Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) To Eligible Employees / Business Disaster Planning / Review Of The Benefits Of Outsourcing Payroll / Social Media: Mistakes That Are Often Repeated / Time Off To Vote / Free August Webinar – For Assisted Living Industry / Blog Corner: Drink Water

June 2014 Newsletter

June 2014 – Involuntary Deductions / Harassment And Sexual Harassment In The Workplace / Social Media And Small Business / Healthcare Premium And IRS Section 125 / Free June Webinar: Family Medical Leave Act / Blog Corner: Minimize Negativity In The Workplace

Minimize Negativity In The Workplace

Negativity in the workplace drags down employee morale and adversely affects productivity and performance. It is evident in attitude, outlook, willingness to participate and engage, and the general vibe of the office. It is contagious and it often follows a feeling of loss of control or confidence.

Keeping in close touch with staff will help to alert you quickly when and if this negativity is taking hold in your office, and will allow you to diagnose and address the symptoms before the situation builds. You can learn about the issues, rumors and perceptions that are causing the negativity and then help you to formulate a strategy. Ignoring the situation will only fan the discontent and potential damage.

To keep the negativity from taking hold in the first place, there are strategies to employ.

  • Give staff a voice to ask questions, address rumors, and participate in decision making about their jobs or work life.
  • Recognize the impact of change and do your best to address questions that may come up before they do.
  • Be transparent, fair and consistent with policies.
  • If there is a problem with a staffer, address it with that person in a professional and respectful manner. Don’t blanket the entire team with the issue.
  • Communicate with everyone as appropriate. Don’t assume trickle down communication works.
  • Invest in your team. Provide training and development opportunities. Allow staffers to cross train each other if beneficial.
  • Conduct regular performance appraisals and award bonuses and rewards.

March 2014 Newsletter

March 2014 – What Does Reasonable Accommodation Mean With Regard To Religion? / The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Part 2 – The Employer Responsibility / How Has Social Media Changed Hiring Practices? / Importance Of Direct Deposit / Go Green For Nutrition / For Our Clients / Blog Corner: Inject Energy Into Your Meetings

Inject Energy Into Your Meetings

Are your meetings to long? Low energy? Indecisive? Sparsely attended? Antagonistic? Dreaded? If so, there are steps to take to transform your meetings into productive, solution oriented, efficient sessions. Meetings should be a part of work – a strategy to get things done and a way to spur conversation. We include a few tips below to infuse meetings with energy and motivation:

  • Don’t try to change everything about the meeting at once.
  • Encourage your staff to speak up – without repercussion – if the meeting has no longer become useful.
  • Prohibit texting and emailing in the meeting.
  • Make sure that if someone brings up an issue, there is discussion and a query of “what do you need” to get this resolved.
  • For issues that arise with next steps, make sure it’s very clear who is responsible and what the expected outcome is.
  • Don’t email meeting minutes with a list of action steps and no responsible parties.
  • Don’t allow staffers to grandstand or ramble.
  • Ask staffers to prepare for a meeting as appropriate.
  • Unless it’s a regular meeting, be clear on the meeting purpose, suggested outcomes, duration, and preparation. Circulate a draft agenda but be open to additions.
  • Clearly start and clearly end the meeting. It’s ok to have a bit of catch up at the beginning, but don’t let it go on for too long. When the meeting is over, end it. Don’t have busy staffers sitting around waiting to be dismissed.
  • Although the meeting participants may agree on the desired outcomes, they don’t have to come to consensus on every topic. Allow staffers to own a topic and be responsible for it.
  • Celebrate successes – company wide and for individual staffers.
  • Rotate responsibility for meeting facilitation.
  • Cross-train colleagues through mini-presentations.
  • Surprise everyone with a snack or a gift card giveaway.
  • Allow time for questions throughout.
  • Ask your staffers how they would make the meeting more productive and what they would like to discuss.

Most importantly, be the change you want to see. If you are the leader of the organization, don’t come to your meetings late or miss them altogether. If you are late for a critical reason, let everyone know what it was. (I was just signing the contract with our new client and wanted to announce that great news in this meeting.) Be energetic and optimistic. Ask questions. Be mindful of body language and tone.

January 2014 Newsletter

January 2014 – The Stay Interview / Company Wellness / Avoiding the Most Common Payroll Errors / The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Part 1- History / Blog Corner: Keep It Peaceful / For Our Clients: North Carolina Withholding Tax, Payroll Corner