Human Resources For Small Business

Alfred Dual and Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR join Brandon Laws for a discussion on ways to engage employees at work. The discussion is centered around a handout that shared ideas on engaging employees at work from a keynote presentation at the Portland Human Resources Management Association Strategic Management Conference titled "What's Brewing in HR." During the discussion, Brandon, Alfred and Lacey discuss engagement methods such as friday fun, huddles, ongoing learning opportunities, mentor programs and more!     Take our quick survey about the HR for Small Business podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XeniumPodcast 

In this episode, Brandon Laws and Tim Winner, Vice President of People at Metal Toad Media discuss the title “VP of People” and its role in an organization as it relates to HR and leadership.   Brandon and Tim discuss how focusing on "people" has fueled growth in Metal Toad Media’s business. Tim talks about how culture development, recruiting great people, and having philosophies instead of workplace policies were some of the main components of focusing on people.      Take our quick survey about the HR for Small Business podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XeniumPodcast

Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss giving feedback to employees, being authentic and managing performance. During this episode, Lacey and Brandon discuss how giving negative feedback is better than no feedback at all, methods to give positive and negative feedback, types of feedback worth sharing, what is more appropriate—public or private feedback, why being authentic is important, how giving feedback can affect a relationship.

Tyler Meuwissen, HR Representative at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. During the episode, Tyler and Brandon discuss the main takeaways within the book, including: what it means to focus on "One Thing," why we should do fewer things instead of more, why multitasking is a lie, how to set and accomplish goals using "The One Thing" method, how to balance work and life.

Listen in as this podcast episode features a recording of the HR leader panel from the Attracting and Retaining Talent workshop Xenium hosted on April 16, 2014.The moderator for the panel discussion is Suzi Alligood, Director of Training & Development at Xenium HR. The three panelists are Susy Dunn, VP of People at Jama Software, Paige Jackson, VP of HR at Stimson Lumber Company and Tana Thomson, VP of HR at Xenium HR.This episodes features segments such as How HR can work with marketing to attract new talent to the organization, unique benefits that can attract talent and differentiate against competitors, practices that have been effective in identifying high potential employees, what small businesses are doing to bring innovation and change in order to attract and retain talent, professional and career development as a retention strategy

Molly Kelley, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss developing for skills, training and a new program created at Xenium called XenTalks—which is an internal program intended to develop speaking skills. During this episode, Molly and Brandon discuss why employee development is critical to culture, the impact development has on an employee engagement, what Xenium is doing to develop for specific skills and the format of XenTalks and why it was developed.

Alfred Dual, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR, and Brandon Laws discuss the leadership book The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life by Robin Sharma. During this episode, Alfred and Brandon discuss the background of the book, what it means to be a Leader With No Title, how turbulent times build great leaders, the habits of leaders and how any employee can be a leader and spark change.

Lacey Halpern, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss how to create and implement corrective action and performance improvement plans. During this episode, Lacey and Brandon discuss the ways to manage performance, including the difference between corrective action and performance improvement plans, how to implement each plan and the important ways to document and measure results.

Jan Foster, an Account Executive at Performance Resources, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss applicant tracking systems. During the episode, Jan and Brandon discuss how to implement applicant tracking systems, what questions to ask during the implementation process, creating automated "thank you" messages for candidates, search engine optimization (SEO) for job postings and much more.

Benjamin Prinzing, Principal at Kadalyst, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to talk about creating successful and effective wellness programs. During this episode, Benjamin and Brandon discuss: The overall importance and purpose behind wellness programs, activity-based and outcomes-based wellness programs, building a wellness program brand, encouraging participation and tracking results and planning for future programs.

Molly Kelley, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR, returns to the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss exit and stay interview processes. During this episode, Molly and Brandon discuss: the definition and purpose of an exit and stay interview, questions that should be asked in an exit interview, who conducts each type of interview, communication of results to the organization and how to develop a process around the exit and stay interview. Music Introduction By: “Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 3.0″ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/”

Iris Tilly, an Associate at Barran Liebman who specializes in employment law advice & litigation, ERISA compliance and HIPPA, returns to the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to follow up on the changes that have occurred in Health Care Reform, including: the delay of the employer mandate, Exchange Notice requirements, individual mandate regulations, employer requirements to establish measurement and stability periods, and the new same-sex marriage guidance from the IRS (DOMA). Music Introduction By: “Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 3.0″ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/”

Kim Smith, a Human Resource Business Partner at Xenium HR in Portland, Oregon, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss employee satisfaction surveys. In this episode Kim discusses: Effective tools for conducting satisfaction surveys, what kinds of questions should and should not be asked. how to encourage participation from all employees, analyzing and presenting results to stakeholders, and the difference between satisfaction and engagement surveys.

Rebecca Naatz, Senior Human Resource Business Partner, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss coaching and developing employee performance. During the episode, Rebecca explains the importance of coaching rather than simply managing, how this method can be used to further develop employees, and how managers can measure their effectiveness. In this episode: Characteristics of a servant leader How and when to use various leadership styles The role of emotional intelligence in the development of employees The important difference between transactional management and transformational leadership How managers and leaders can measure their effectiveness as a coach Host: Brandon Laws, Xenium HR Guest: Rebecca Naatz, Xenium HR Music Introduction By: “Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 3.0″ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/”

Ellen West, Associate Professor of Management at Portland State University, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the importance of company culture in the workplace. During the episode, Ellen explains the importance of establishing a culture which appreciates creativity and allows employees to "bring their whole selves to work." In this episode: - Practicing and nurturing creativity in a professional work environment - How creativity enhances culture and leads to innovative ideas - How to encourage the personal growth and development of employees - The importance of building community in the workplace - Methods for active learning in the workplace Host: Brandon Laws, Xenium HR Guest: Ellen West, Portland State University  Running Time:   Music Introduction By: “Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 3.0″ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/”

Molly Kelley and Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR, join the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, a novel by Patrick Lencioni. During the episode, Molly and Lacey discuss the five dysfunctions that cause even the best teams to struggle, and a model that can be used to overcome these obstacles to achieve a cohesive team. In this episode: -Building a foundation of trust amongst employees -How to maintain a healthy level of conflict -Workplace politics -How to reach consensus among team members without settling -The impact egos have on teams   Host: Brandon Laws, Xenium HR Guest:Molly Kelley & Lacey Halpern, Xenium HR Running Time: 18:22 Music Introduction By: “Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 3.0″ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/”

Suzi Alligood, the Director of Training and Development at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss performance management and conducting reviews. During the episode, Suzi shares her thoughts on the importance of developing a process for managing performance in an organization. In this episode, Suzi discusses: The purposes on managing performance Challenges managers have in managing the performance of their employees Types of feedback recommended for a manager to give to an employee How often performance reviews should take place The main components of a great employee review system Compensation reviews Host: Brandon Laws, Xenium HR Guest: Suzi Alligood, Xenium HR Running Time: 25:30    Music Introduction By: “Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 3.0″ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/”

Iris Tilley, an attorney at Barran Liebman who specializes in employment law advice and litigation, ERISA compliance and affirmative action compliance, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss what employers need to know about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or commonly known as Health Care Reform or ObamaCare. During the episode, Iris provides listeners with insight about the Health Care Reform regulation and what it means for small business owners with employees. In this episode, Iris discusses: - What employers should already know about Health Care Reform - Summary of the 2013 Health Care Reform requirements for employers - Insurance exchanges in 2014 and what choices employers will face - Penalties - Discrimination testing - Wellness program regulations Host: Brandon Laws, Xenium HR Guest: Iris Tilley, Barran Liebman iTunes: Stream Episode Running Time: 30:08   Resources Mentioned in this Episode: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/ http://www.healthreform.go

Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the difference between paid time off (PTO) and vacation & sick time policies. During the episode, Lacey shares her thoughts on why employers would choose one "time off" policy over the other and explains how each works. In this episode: - The advantages and disadvantages of paid time off (PTO) and vacation/sick time - Making the switch from vacation/sick time to a PTO bank - Carry-over of unused PTO - "Going into the negative" - Which time off policy is easier to track? Host: Brandon Laws, Xenium HR Guest: Lacey Halpern, Xenium HR Running Time: 14:08     Music Introduction By: "Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0" http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"

Mathew Simonton joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the book Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott. In this episode, Brandon and Mathew discuss the concepts in Fierce Conversations and give their overall review on the content. In this episode: - The seven principles in Fierce Conversations - How can we relate this book to our daily conversations with coworkers, family and friends? - What does "master the courage to interrogate reality" actually mean? - Words that make people become defensive by nature - How do we "be here, prepared to be nowhere else?" Host: Brandon Laws, Xenium HR Guest: Mathew Simonton Music Introduction By: "Cut and Dry Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0" http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"