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Growth has a way of making business owners question everything. “We never had communication issues before.” “Accountability used to be so much better.” “Our managers can’t seem to keep everyone aligned.” It can feel like growth created new problems. I’ve…
Most companies say they hire for values. Far fewer are willing to lose a great candidate because of them. That’s the difference between values and preferences. Preferences are nice to have. Values change decisions. I’ve seen business owners spend weeks…
One of the most expensive things in a growing business is feedback that never gets given. Owners usually notice the symptom. “My managers aren’t coaching their people.” The common diagnosis is that managers need more training or need to have…
An exit interview shouldn’t be the first honest conversation. Recently, I’ve heard employees expressing that exit interviews feel like a trap. If someone never felt safe speaking honestly while they worked for the company, why would they suddenly believe it’s…
Performance Improvement Plans have a terrible reputation. And honestly, I understand why. Too many people have only experienced them after the decision to terminate has already been made. It’s a little like hating hammers because you’ve only ever been hit…
When employees assume HR is hiding something, don’t start by defending HR. Recently, I came across a post encouraging employees to treat every conversation with HR like a legal battle. The advice was simple: assume HR is managing you, document…
You’ve probably heard the criticism: “HR protects the company, not the employee.” I understand why people say it. By the time many employees walk into HR, they already feel like the system is moving against them. Trust usually didn’t break…
Most business owners think the stressful part of a resignation is losing the employee. I’d argue it’s the realization that follows. “Who’s going to cover their work?” “Who knows how to do what they did?” “Do we even have their…
I’ve talked with owners who want their team to take more ownership. When we start digging into it, the conversation often gets more interesting. Because ownership isn’t usually the only thing they’re asking for. They’re also asking for: labor costs…
I worked with a company drowning in applications. All of them looked identical. Same buzzwords. Same vague accomplishments. Same “team player” descriptions. After screening 100 resumes, they all blurred together. The owner’s first instinct was the standard one. “Nobody puts…
