HR Spot

Most leaders don't struggle because they lack strategy, they struggle because they avoid the conversations that actually drive results. In this episode of HR Spot, Linda Michaels and Gary get real about the tough conversations leaders put off—and the hidden cost of that silence. From performance issues and cultural misalignment to pay, accountability, and termination decisions, they break down how avoidance quietly impacts morale, retention, and the bottom line. If you’ve ever hesitated to address something you know matters, this episode will give you the clarity and confidence to step into those conversations—and lead at a higher level.

What if you woke up tomorrow and someone took over your HR… what would they find—and more importantly, what would they fix first? In today’s episode of HR Spot, Gary and I are pulling back the curtain and walking you through exactly what we see when we step into an organization for the first time. From hidden compliance risks to unclear roles and overwhelmed managers, we’re sharing the first five things we tackle to bring structure, clarity, and real business impact. If you’ve ever wondered what’s working, what’s not, and where to start—this episode is for you.

In this episode of HR Spot, Linda Michaels and Gary dive into one of the most common challenges facing HR professionals and business leaders today—being stuck in “firefighting mode.” They explore what it looks like when HR is buried in day-to-day issues, why even the most capable leaders get pulled into the weeds, and the real business impact of staying reactive. More importantly, they share practical strategies to break the cycle, including building scalable systems, developing stronger managers, and shifting into a true business-minded approach. If you’re ready to move from overwhelmed and reactive to confident and strategic, this episode will give you the clarity and direction to start leading at a higher level.

If you’re a business owner or leader who feels pulled into the day-to-day challenges of managing people, this episode is for you. It will help you shift your perspective from reacting to HR issues to using HR as a strategic driver of business success. You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how your people, leadership, and systems directly impact growth, performance, and profitability—and what you can do differently to get out of the weeds. If you’re ready to lead with intention, build stronger teams, and make smarter business decisions, this conversation will give you the clarity and direction to start.

What if you could anticipate - and avoid - your next HR issue?  Take a listen to this podcast as we share the seven most frequently HR mistakes we see business owners make.

Learning to navigate conflicts is not really a choice in today's organizations.  It is an imperative.  In this episode, I explain what conflict resolution is, why it's an essential skill and how to approach the conflict process. I offer four steps: 1) Try to see the situation from the other person’s point of view; 2) Pinpoint what the conflict is really about; 3) Think about your primary goal; and 4) Decide how to proceed. Mastering all of this will not absolve you from having conflicts at work. But that isn’t the goal. You may on occasion still react in a way that you regret. 

When you are told you need to be more strategic, it's tempting to feel defensive.  But it is more productive to take the feedback in stride and demonstrate your skill proactively.  We will share how to make this integral part of your leadership more visible to others.

Before we jump into the checklist, let’s talk about why HR matters. At its core, HR isn’t just about managing people—it’s about protecting your business and fostering growth.From compliance with labor laws to building a strong company culture, HR touches every part of your operations. If you don’t have the basics in place, you’re leaving your business exposed to risks like fines, lawsuits, or high employee turnover.The good news? You don’t need an in-house HR team to get it right—you just need a clear understanding of what’s essential. That’s where this checklist comes in

This podcast, "Building Better Workplaces: How HR Services Drive Business Success," highlights the critical role HR services play in empowering businesses of all sizes. It begins by addressing the importance of effective HR management in fostering employee satisfaction, ensuring compliance, and driving productivity.The podcast outlines common challenges, such as compliance issues, high turnover, recruitment struggles, and time constraints, and explains how HR services provide solutions like streamlined hiring, risk management, employee engagement, payroll, and strategic growth planning.A real-world success story showcases the tangible benefits of partnering with an HR services company, emphasizing improved employee retention and operational efficiency. The episode closes by encouraging businesses to invest in HR services as a strategic move to future-proof their growth and build thriving workplaces.Listeners are left with actionable insights and a compelling case for outsourcing HR to focus on what matters most—their business success.

This episode addresses a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of running a business—human resources. Many small to mid-sized companies struggle to manage HR effectively, and this podcast highlights why outsourcing HR can be a game-changer. It provides actionable insights, real-world examples, and expert advice, all tailored to help business owners save time, reduce risks, and focus on growth.Whether you're a startup founder, a solopreneur, or the owner of a growing team, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge you need to avoid costly mistakes and build a thriving workplace culture. It’s not just about HR—it’s about setting your business up for long-term success.

Discussing a promotion with an employee when you’re not ready to give them one is a delicate balancing act, but it’s also a golden opportunity. It’s a chance to turn a potentially negative situation into a constructive, forward-looking dialogue. By approaching the conversation with empathy, support, and a focus on the future, you set the stage for a collaborative relationship with your employee. The author offers strategies for approaching the conversation and planning for the future.We hope you enjoy these pointers and they help make your conversation more comfortable.

Employee engagement is an important topic.  We definitely want our employees feeling passionate about their work.  Don't let this become a check the box activity.We share 3 strategies to fix your employee engagement problem.

There's no better time to be hiring as a small or medium size business.  This is a unique opportunity for businesses to rethink and revamp your hiring processes.Hiring assessments can help reduce costs during the hiring process.  It can:Speed up the processHelp you navigate the employer's marketAttract and retain top talentReduce turnoverIf interested in learning more, click to visit our partners page.

Onboarding a new hire is crucial to any business.  In this podcast we share best practices for businesses and HR professionals on how to create exceptional employee onboarding experiences. We set the stage and share the plan, talk about the importance of employee onboarding, and talk about some best practices to make your onboarding effective.

In today's fast-paced and demanding work environments, the significance of mental health cannot be underestimated.  We share why mental health in the workplace is so important.We will talk about how can business owners and HR professionals create a mentally healthy workplace as well as how business owners and HR professionals can break down barriers.#azhrhub #mentalhealth #healthyemployees

The great resignation and a highly competitive labor market have made attracting and retaining talent a major challenge for employers.  Why not ask people what they want and try to give it to them.In this episode we will talk about designing and implementing an employee value proposition and talk about four interrelated factors.#business owners #employees #humanresources #hrconsulting

The purpose of performance reviews is two fold: an accurate and actionable evaluation of performance, and then development of that person's skills in line with job tasks.  We will talk about rethinking performance reviews, what to convey during the review, and what to do after the review.#performance reviews #business owners, #hrconsulting #hr

If you are setting up a business in Arizona and will be hiring employees, we wanted to share a few important things that you must have in place.As always, we can help you with setting up any of these items or handling them on your behalf.Feel free to learn more by booking time with us.#azhrhub #

In the competitive landscape of today's job market, attracting and retaining top talent is a challenge faced by businesses of all sizes. One crucial factor that can make or break an organization's ability to secure and retain skilled professionals lies in its compensation structure. To ensure a fair and competitive pay strategy, more and more companies are turning to compensation studies.Let us conduct a compensation analysis on your company today!  Book time with us for a free conversation.#azhrhub #hrspot #hrconsulting #compensation

Navigating the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) can be complex.  The interactive process is a term most often associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law that requires organizations with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees who have a disability.We can help you navigate these waters.  Book some time with us to see how we can help!

Finally the new Form I-9 (Rev. 08/01/23) will be available for employers to use on or after August 1, 2023, and once released can be found on the USCIS website. Employers can also order paper copies if they don’t want to use the electronic version. The version date, noted in parenthesis, can be found in the bottom corner of the Form I-9.Please let us know if we can answer any questions:  https://azhrhub.com or [email protected]

Executives must make decisions about what their company's priorities should be and HR professionals can and should influence those decisions.HR professionals need to be influential and not just an influencer to business leaders.Listen in as we share 5 priorities for HR and the future of work.

Most HR professionals recognize the importance of documenting employees' performance problems.  Our challenge is to teach managers how to document those issues in an appropriate manner.We will share 7 tips for creating "bulletproof" documentation.

It can take new employees time to settle in and learn the ropes of a new position. However, employers want to see productivity sooner than later. This is why developing a 30-60-90 day plan is a good idea. It’s a plan that outlines target milestones for employees to hit in the first 30, 60 and 90 days of employment. Take a listen as we share more about the 30-60-90-day plan and how to create your own. To help give your employees the best start possible.

Well-designed interview questions help you figure out how candidates will perform as future employees, whether they will be great additions to the team and if they will thrive in the role.Ineffective interview questions, waste everyone's time and ultimately do not give the hiring team enough information to make a good decision. Take a listen as we share some helpful job interview question tips.

In this episode, we will discuss five troubling employment law bills that are pending in the California Legislature this year: SB 809, SB 616, SB 723, SB 627, and AB 1356.We will cover:Background checksPaid sick leaveRight to rehire (two bills)WARN act

Maintaining a drug-free workplace is critical for preventing accidents, reducing turnover, and protecting the safety of your employees.Reasonable suspicion drug testing is a type of testing program employers use when they find evidence or make observations indicating an employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol at work.Take a listen as we share helpful tips when it comes to suspecting an employee of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Our experience with small business is that some brokers only push high commission products.  Does your benefits broker truly care about you and your business.Take a listen as we share great questions to ask your current broker of if you are shopping for a new broker.

Many employers have fears about training employees, believing the training will encourage employees to find other jobs.  It's true training and developing employees for future roles, but not training employees can create stagnation and boredom and may ultimately hurt your business.Take a listen as we share more about the importance of training and development of your employees.

We have two employees who don’t seem to like each other, and it is starting to affect their work. How do we help employees who don’t get along to work well together?Navigating these HR waters can be tricky.  Take a listen as we help you with a few easy ways to address this.

Have you heard about pay transparency? It’s the idea that companies should be open with employees and applicants about pay and, more broadly, what factors they include when making decisions about compensation.It’s no secret that expectations around pay have changed, and employers need to pay attention. People on the lookout for a new opportunity want to see pay ranges on job postings, and some of them make it a practice not to apply if that information isn’t immediately available. Employees want more clarity about their own pay and how it stacks up relative to their peers, and in a tight labor market, they may hit the road or expend less effort at work if they don’t feel they’re paid fairly.But pay transparency isn’t just about what current and would-be employees want. Their expectations have now made their way into state and local law. 

The last few years have proved challenging for employers trying to fill positions. Low unemployment, among other factors, made the job market much more friendly to jobseekers than to employers keen to hire them. In this highly competitive environment, some organizations upgraded their compensation packages or experimented with other attractive perks, hoping to stand out as the best.

While succession planning sounds like an overwhelming task, it’s simply a method of considering who your organization’s potential leaders may be in the years to come and placing them on a path to be successful in those roles. Future leaders will most likely come through a combination of promotion from within and recruiting sources from outside the organization—succession planning focuses on that first source of talent, your current employee base.This podcast is intended to break down succession planning into simple steps to help you formalize a program within your organization.

Everything DiSC Workplace® is a classroom training (in person or virtual) and personalized learning experience that can benefit every person in the organization— regardless of title or position—in building more effective relationships at work.To learn more or book a session, visit https://azhrhub.com/training/

Think about your favorite manager. Now think about what made them your favorite. Was it the success you earned while working with them? Your employer may have evaluated them based on metrics like team productivity or turnover rates. Great managers are usually good at leading productive, low-turnover teams, but those aren’t the things their employees remember.So what about them left such an indelible mark on you? Perhaps this manager was easily approachable and worthy of your trust. Perhaps they effectively led your team through a major change and had your back the whole way. Perhaps they were always laser focused on developing their team—on developing you.In this episode we will talk about the success of a manager.

Everyone experiences grief at some point in their life, and yet for being such a common experience, it’s also one that few of us are fully equipped to navigate when it comes. In part, this is because grief is such an overwhelming and horrible experience. Nothing can prepare you for it. You just have to go through it and get through it. Grief is also a unique experience for each person. Everyone has their own path through its stages, and what helped one person work through their grief may not help another.No one can make the grief easy, but there are ways to be supportive and to give people the time and space they need to process their emotions and find healing. We'll share  some ways that businesses and employees can support a grieving employee.

This episode we talk about how to make good use of your employee handbook.  Employee handbooks are a nifty communication and reference tool for the workplace, but only if they’re used and not collecting dust on some physical (or digital) shelf. A handbook is only as good as what it does. Listen as we share more about putting your handbook to good use.

Coaching encourages communication, reflection, and self-correction. This helps your employees become more autonomous so that they can take ownership of their work. It also helps you develop a more confident workforce, as people believe they have the right skills to performWhen you manage through coaching, employees feel empowered to reflect on their own performance and find their own answers.

Compensation is the combination of salaries, wages and benefits that employees receive in exchange for them doing a particular job. It can include an annual salary or hourly wages combined with bonus payments, benefits, and incentives. These could include group health care coverage, retirement contributions, and short-term disability insurance. A total compensation package usually includes several of these components.Assembling a comprehensive compensation and benefits package can be daunting. Not only do you have to comply with legally regulated employee benefits, but you also have to ensure that you are offering a competitive package that attracts and retains talented employees that can help your business thrive.

You may be familiar with the word "discrimination." But do you know what it really means? The definition is to "discriminate" against someone means to treat that person differently, or less favorably, for some reason. Discrimination can occur while you are at school, at work, or in a public place, such as a mall or subway station. You can be discriminated against by school friends, teachers, coaches, co-workers, managers, or business owners.We're here to help you navigate these waters should an employee ever report discrimination or harassment.

All good things come to an end. As an employer, this can ring true when your favorite employee springs up without warning, and tables a resignation letter. No matter the work environment you provide, there are things beyond your control that can see your employee of the year want to leave.So, while you hope that you never have to come across an employee resignation announcement, the smart thing to do is prepare for it. In this podcast, we will provide you with useful tips to help you turn employee resignation into a positive experience.

Inaccurate paychecks are bad for business, whether companies are overpaying or underpaying. Either they are cutting into their profit margin or short-changing their workforce, leaving themselves open to lawsuits. Obviously, neither is ideal. We'll share 4 ways you can avoid payroll mistakes.

Harassment harms your workplace not only by creating risk for litigation but by undermining the well-being of employees—stifling creativity and career development. No one can completely control the actions of those working for them, but there are steps you can take to create a culture where harassment isn't the norm and if it does happen, it's handled effectively.

When you value your employees’ hard work and contributions to the company, it’s important to show appreciation. Showing your gratitude lets employees know when they’re excelling, and can increase engagement. Rewarding your employees can include anything from writing a note to providing financial incentives, and you can show your appreciation as often as you want.Showing appreciation and recognizing your employees’ hard work can benefit both your company and your employees.

A job posting is often the first impression a prospective job applicant has with your organization. It’s important for that impression to be an informative one. Your job postings should convey why someone would want to work for your company, what distinguishes your workplace from others, what’s exciting about your mission and vision, what you have to offer, and what the job is and requires. Here are a few ways to improve your job postings to get better results.

Periods of growth are particularly exciting for small and midsize businesses, but they also bring new HR challenges. Along with adding employees—which may change the feel of your culture as well as your floorplan—your organization may become subject to federal and state laws that take effect once you have a certain number of employees.Most employment laws apply to organizations based on the number of people they employ, so as you grow, it’s vital to keep up-to-speed on any laws that newly apply or will soon apply to your organization.

In most states, at-will employment is the norm—protecting employers and employees from financial liability when an employment relationship ends for legal reasons.Even when terminating for legal reasons, make sure to document the decision in case it was ever challenged in court.I'll share 3 big exceptions to the employment at-will concept during this episode.

The FLSA regulates the minimum amount of money that employers are allowed to pay their non-exempt workers. These rules are important because they ensure that workers understand the minimum amount of money that they are guaranteed to earn.It's critical to understand how your employees should be paid and also having clear policies so employees understand expectations.

In today's tough hiring market, it is important to get feedback from your employees.  The goal of a stay interview is to learn what an employee likes, dislikes, and what keeps them from taking a job elsewhere. Furthermore, it helps to build trust and gives employees the opportunity to communicate their experiences, ideas, and needs.#stayinterview #hr #hrconsulting 

The employee handbook can help protect your business against employee lawsuits and claims, such as wrongful termination, harassment and discrimination. The handbook is also a crucial introduction to your business for new hires, providing insights for new hires to understand your mission and values.