Memos to Managers

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Step by step: Becoming a great manager, the Google way

January 25, 2012
Google, the king of search engines, recently set out on a search of its own—to identify the qualities that make the highest quality managers at Google Inc., and then to replicate those qualities across the entire company. The end result: a simple, yet ele­gant, list of eight management practices that the best Google managers consistently do.
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How to become a great manager, the Google way

January 23, 2012
Google, the king of search engines, recently set out on a search of its own—to identify the qualities that make the highest quality managers at Google Inc., and then to replicate those qualities across the entire company. The end result: a simple, yet ele­gant, list of eight management practices that the best Google managers consistently do.
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How to manage employees who are grieving

December 29, 2011
When an employee experiences the death of a family member or close friend, it’s tempting for supervisors to take a hands-off approach to the em­­ployee’s grief. However, silently waiting for the em­­ployee’s emotional recovery isn’t the best strategy. Take the following four steps to sensitively manage grieving employees and their impact on co-workers.
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What managers need to know about hiring

November 29, 2011

While legal problems can crop up during an employee’s tenure, the two events that carry the most legal risk for employers are the hiring and the departure of an employee. Hiring discrimination lawsuits are particularly dangerous. To stay out of court, managers should build their hiring process around these principles:

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The art of giving negative feedback: A 7-step approach

October 28, 2011
Giving feedback is an important management task but certainly not an easy one—especially when the feedback isn’t all sunshine. Fortunately, it’s a skill that can be learned. Follow this seven-step method whenever giving negative feedback:
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Interview questions: What’s legal, what’s not?

September 26, 2011

Conducting job interviews is one of the most legally dangerous tasks performed by managers. One misguided question could cause an applicant to think he or she was re­­­­jected due to one of the federally pr­o­­tected categories. Take this hiring quiz to see if you know which questions are legal and which are not:  

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How to manage ‘super-qualified’ employees

August 31, 2011
With unemployment still running above 9% nationally, many people are taking jobs that are lateral—or even downward—moves in their careers. As a result, many managers are supervising employees who have far more experience than the job requires. Use the following guidelines to effec­tively manage overqualified workers and lengthen their stay:
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‘Can we talk?’: How to handle requests for secrecy

August 1, 2011

Say one of your employees stops by your office with a troubled look on her face. She has a complaint, but wants to speak with you “off the record.” Can you comply with her request for confidentiality? Should you? It all depends on the content and context of the complaint.

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Quiz for managers: Documenting discipline the legal way

June 14, 2011

If an employee ever sues, you need to have strong documentation of performance, behavior and discipline issues. Managers sit on the front lines of the documentation battlefield. Have your supervisors take our quiz to test their knowledge of documentation do’s and don’ts. Plus, learn three documentation rules every manager must know.

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Top 7 reasons why the wrong people get hired

June 1, 2011
Nobody ever sets out to make a bad hire. But it happens, even to the best hiring managers. From managers’ inadequate preparation to misguided hiring criteria to misreading applicants’ credentials, here are the seven biggest reasons for hiring decisions that bomb.
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