The Watercooler

The Watercooler Blog is full of workplace tips and trends related to employee retention, engagement, interviewing and more. The Watercooler is frequently refilled, so gather ‘round often.

Can an Employee Ask Too Many Questions?

Asking questions is a normal part of everyone’s workday. In fact, you want employees who are naturally interested, inquisitive, and curious. But, dealing with constant barrages of questions can make it difficult to get your own job done. A key part of your job as a manager is providing clear, direct feedback. But you wouldn’t [...] Read More

5 Tips For Retaining Your Top Talent

You invest a lot in your top talent. And in today’s workplace, company loyalty has changed dramatically. Millennial employees have a reputation for moving quickly from job to job, and the days of staying with a company long enough to earn that gold watch for 25 or more years of service are fast becoming ancient [...] Read More

How to Interview Candidates for Soft Skills

The right hire is not based solely on a candidate’s education, experience, and technical prowess. Soft skills are equally, if not more important in determining whether a person will be a good fit at your company. Soft skills are those transferable traits beneficial to many different types of jobs. These personal qualities and attributes enable [...] Read More

How to Handle Bickering Employees

It’s unrealistic to think all your employees will get along famously, all the time. But you may be surprised to hear that typical managers spend up to 40 percent of their time on conflict resolution – and 60 to 80 percent of workplace trouble is due to strained employee relationships. How can you avoid having [...] Read More

Should You Allow Employees to Telecommute?

Workplace norms have changed dramatically in recent years. From 2005 to 2012, telecommuting grew by 80 percent, due in large part to technological advancements and the influx of millennials into the workforce. Allowing employees to work from home or another remote location has its pros and cons. Will it work for your company? The Plusses [...] Read More