Transform Your Workplace

Are you an HR professional who is curious about what it is like to be an in-house HR professional or an HR consultant?  In the 45th episode of the Human Resources for Small Business podcast, Brandon Laws interviews Jenny Scull and Annie Oxenfeld of Xenium HR about their past experience as in-house HR professionals and how different their current roles are as HR consultants. Annie and Jenny share their experiences in each type of role by sharing what a typical day is like, the pros and cons to each type of role, what professional development is like, how they manage their work load, their teams and who they work with regularly, and much more.   

Dan Grinfas, a labor and employment attorney at Buchanan Angeli Altschul & Sullivan LLP, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the new proposed changes by the Department of Labor (DOL) to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that would raise the minimum salary for exempt workers.  In the episode, Dan reviews when the proposed changes take effect, what is actually changing, duties testing and what the practical action items for employers are right now. Dan Grinfas BioEmail Dan

Lacey Halpern joins Brandon Laws as co-host in this episode as they discuss an article on LinkedIn Pulse titled "Millennials Don't Want Work Life Balance." During the conversation, Lacey and Brandon draw upon their own workplace needs as millennials and discuss the points in the article about flexibility, outcomes and collaboration.

Returning guest, Jan Foster, of Performance Resources, Inc, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss recruiting and hiring the perfect sales person for an organization. During the episode, Jan and Brandon discuss common challenges with hiring sales reps, behaviors to look for in the perfect hire, interview questions to ask, whether you should hire for culture or skill, and much more.  You can contact Jan Foster at jan@prol.ws   Notes Common variances between sales roles (as referenced in discussion): Company size Startup, emerging, established organization Collaborative vs. confrontational culture Self-directed vs. micro-management Supportive (resources) or self-reliant environment Formal training vs. on-the-job Hunter/farmer/both Type of buyer – CEO/VP (decision maker), purchasing, maintenance, etc. Target client industry - industrial vs. professional organization Software vs. hardware Services vs. products Value sale vs. commodity Concrete vs. conceptual sales Size of sale – millions, hundreds or dozens of dollars Sales cycle – enterprise long-term, transactional  

Lacey Halpern joins the HR for Small Business podcast to talk about strategic interviewing. In this episode, Lacey gives tips, techniques and best practices for how to become a great interviewer. You will hear such things as what questions to ask, how many interviewers should be in the room, how to conduct remote interviews, how many rounds of interviews should take place, and whether or not anything should be done differently with key hires. Resources: Intelligent Hiring workshop Strategic Interviewing workshop Interview Etiquette for employers   Tell us what you think: Take the Survey  

Megan Leatherman, a human resources consultant in Portland, Oregon, joins the HR for Small Business podcast to discuss conflict management in the workplace. In the episode, Megan gives examples for how conflicts start and how to identify it, and she also shares tips on how best to manage conflict.  Tell us what you think: Take the Survey Resources mentioned during the podcast: Megan Leatherman's email: megan.leatherman@gmail.com http://mediate.com/ http://www.omediate.org/ Concious Communication by Miles Sherts Staying with Conflict by Bernard Mayer

Lacey Halpern joins Brandon Laws on the HR for Small Business podcast to discuss workforce planning. During the episode, Lacey discusses the process of workforce planning such as doing a gap analysis and implementing a talent acquisition strategy in an organization.    Are you a regular listener? Take our survey and tell us what you want to hear:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XeniumPodcast   

Wendy Maynard, Strategic Director & Founding Partner of Kinesis, joins the HR for Small Business podcast to discuss how the collaboration of marketing and HR can produce a successful employer brand that impacts talent attraction. She also shares about attracting, retaining, and understanding the Millennial generation. Tell us what you would like to hear: Take the Survey

Anne Donovan, President of Xenium HR, joins the HR for Small Business podcast to discuss her career in human resources and the role it played in business leading up to present day. The discussion later turns to the role HR currently has in business and people practices and where the focus of HR is going in the future. Take our quick survey about the HR for Small Business podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XeniumPodcast Learn about Anne Donovan at http://www.xeniumhr.com/about-xenium/meet-the-team/anne-donovan/  

Need answers to your employee’s questions around Oregon’s legalization of marijuana effective July 1, 2015? This informative podcast featuring Suzi Alligood will provide you with information on the law and its implications for employers and their employees.  During the episode, you will take away the following: understand what Measure 91 really means for employers, review guidelines for developing and enforcing drug & alcohol policies, including testing and learn tips for communicating workplace expectations and policies with employees. This podcast episode is perfect for managers, human resource professionals and business owners. Resources:  www.oregon.gov/olcc http://www.oregon.gov/olcc/marijuana/Pages/Frequently-Asked-Questions.aspx http://www.barran.com/display-alert.asp?AlertID=293   Take our quick survey about the HR for Small Business podcast: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XeniumPodcast