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.

Bye Bye Boomers, Hello Millennials. Is Your Workforce Ready?

Forbes recently reported that the average workplace houses up to four generations: veterans, who were born before 1946; Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964; members of Generation X, who were born between 1965 and 1979, and Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 2000. Of these groups, there are approximately 66 million [...] Read More

Stop Making Bad Hires! But How?

Hire well and you’ll have a high-performing and happy team. Hire just one wrong person – sometimes called a “misfire hire” – and you’ll spend a lot of time, money and energy doing damage control. Have the right process, with the right checks and balances in place. Select wisely to achieve business growth while providing [...] Read More

Onboarding Remote Employees Made Easy

Onboarding new hires has its challenges, but how do you manage it when working with remote employees? As with any onboarding process, you need to keep it as streamlined as possible, but you’ll also have some unique needs to address to get them both excited and prepared.   Make getting the basics painless. Using services [...] Read More

Remove These Obstacles So Your Team Can Succeed

As a leader, your most important role is to set the direction for your team. But what happens when you’ve done this to the best of your ability, and things still aren’t working? You have a good sense of what your team needs to do – and everyone is skilled and appears motivated. Yet, you’re [...] Read More

Create a Positive Company Culture

It’s a candidate’s market. Demand for top-performing talent has never been higher. When hiring for long-term loyalty and success, cultural fit is equally, if not more, important than technical skills. This is especially true among millennial employees, who tend to prioritize meaningful work over pay and won’t hesitate to leave if their employer’s values clash [...] Read More

How to Be Flexible with Parents Now that Kids are Back to School

Many employees talk about the importance of a work-life balance, and when that life involves parenting, they sometimes worry that they can’t possibly find enough time in the day to attend to both their jobs and their families. It doesn’t help that companies still don’t appreciate the desire of their employees to split their focus. [...] Read More

Becoming an Effective Decision Maker is Easier than You Think

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” With these words, President Teddy Roosevelt wisely summarized the core of effective decision making. Like all skills, being a good [...] Read More