Employment Learning Innovations & Workplace Culture Blog

What do Vietnam, Brazil, and India Have in Common?

Tucker Miller July 30, 2013 No Comments

On a single day this month, ELI consultants were dispatched across the globe to work with clients from Vietnam, Brazil, and India. ELI was, for that day, part of what those countries had in common. And it didn’t stop there; our presentations also included participants from Australia, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, China, and Thailand. Simultaneously, we were working with no fewer than 75 U.S. participants on the

Thoughts on the Global Workplace from Hanoi

Stephen M. Paskoff July 23, 2013 No Comments

I recently returned from Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and a bustling, ancient, and rapidly modernizing city. My client engaged my company to help communicate common principles of daily business conduct to its leaders meeting in Asia. As a baby boomer who attended college in the late 60’s and early 70’s, this is one of the most remarkable experiences I’ve had. During my stay in Hanoi, I

What’s Cooking In Savannah – Paula Deen in the Fire

Stephen M. Paskoff July 2, 2013 No Comments

Last week, the Food Network announced it would not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of June. Her dismissal occurred after she admitted using racial slurs in a pre-trial deposition involving a lawsuit filed by a former employee. She may be the first Southern chef to make the news this way, at least from my recollection, but what happened to her

Personal Blogging & Public Transparency

Stephen M. Paskoff June 25, 2013 No Comments

We’ve been hearing stories of bloggers who have lost their jobs for writing entries that their employers decided were inappropriate. Had these people been diarists rather than bloggers, it wouldn’t even come up, but blogs are out there for everyone to see. I suspect blog entries will continue to create new questions, problems, and anxieties for companies, just as e-mail and IM did a few

5 Tips For Effective HR Documentation [HR Policy and Procedure]

Tucker Miller June 25, 2013 No Comments

Actions may speak louder than words, but few things speak louder than words that are documented. Cases can be won and lost on documentation alone. In fact, I once defended a discrimination claim in which the managers seemed to have handled the situation perfectly – they followed the company disciplinary policies to the letter, and they worked closely with Human Resources before terminating an employee.

The New York Times Test & Corporate Misbehavior

Stephen M. Paskoff June 25, 2013 No Comments

The New York Times Test is mentioned often in the context of corporate misbehavior. It basically says that you can decide whether or not you should do something by considering whether or not you’d want it (and your name) to appear in an article on the front page of the New York Times. At first it sounds like a practical, useful standard. Well, it’s clever,