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1. FEATURE STORY:
MOTIVATE SUPERVISORS TO TAKE COMPLIANCE
TRAINING MORE SERIOUSLY

When you mention employment compliance training to supervisors, do their eyes glaze over? Do they start yawning? Do they grumble about it cutting into their work time? Not many companies can boast of having supervisors that jump at compliance training opportunities. While you may not be able to make your supervisors look forward to the training, you can help make them appreciate it. Giving them the old "lawsuit prevention" rationale isn't enough. You need to answer what's in it for them.

• Hit them in their wallets. Connect the dots for them from the expense of fighting a legal complaint to the hit on the company's bottom line to the smaller pot from which raises and bonuses come.

• Hit them in their wallets, again. In some cases, they may be held personally liable, and won't be able to hide behind company coffers.

• Hit them in their wallets, yet again. Non-compliant supervisors (whether they violate the law themselves, or they fail to keep their employees in line) should face termination — the permanent loss of paychecks from your firm.

• Save their time. If they think the time spent in training is inconvenient, tell them to think about how much more time they could lose if a lawsuit hits the fan. They could spend more time explaining to legal counsel what happened to spark the suit and erecting a defense; they could be called to testify in court; their department may be further disrupted if employees are called to testify in court.

• Show them what they don't know. Reading up on laws' requirements, restrictions, obligations, and prohibitions is one thing; applying the provisions in real life is another. An effective training program captures both the letter and the spirit of the law, which will equip supervisors to handle those gray areas that create the most trouble.

For example, a female employee complains about being the butt of her male colleagues' dirty jokes, but she's been known to tell ribald jokes herself. Does she have a valid harassment complaint? Or, an employee with performance problems complains about fatigue and headaches. Is it termination time, or is it time to mention family and medical leave laws or disability discrimination laws?

Can your supervisors answer those questions? Can you?

EMPLOYEE THREATENS MANAGER...OR DOES HE?

Minus a zero-tolerance policy for workplace violence, you may need to make a judgment call on what to do when an employee threatens you or another co-worker — especially if... View the full story on our website.

FREE REPORT OF THE MONTH:

Check out the Free Report, "Controlling Absenteeism," which arms you with the information you need to combat absenteeism and tardiness in your workplace. You get techniques on how to improve attendance through motivation, strategies for disciplining employees with chronic attendance problems, tactics for tackling tardiness, plus a rundown of how issues surrounding absenteeism are interpreted under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Kick back, relax, and take a few minutes to check out the new HR Soapbox, "Seven Years Of Bad Luck And Other Superstitions," in which an editor discusses the rituals of superstitious workers.