With the prevalence of technology in the workplace, it seems that with each passing year employees are logged into the online world more and more. With email communications, cloud sharing, and the other great advancements we’ve made, people can go days or even weeks without having to talk to someone.

While there are immense benefits to technology, it’s important for organizations to not let technology take away the humanity and culture of a workplace environment. Here are five ways to grow a more human workplace and make the office more pleasant for everyone.

Leadership transitions are tough for any company. No matter if it’s for good reasons or bad, this is going to be one of the biggest challenges you’ll ever face in HR.

Part of the issue is in keeping people motivated. Uncertainty about the future of the organization, or maybe even their jobs, tends to get people distracted, hurting productivity and the long- and short-term health of the company.

HR can be a very challenging, yet rewarding profession. HR Gurus have the ability to help their people reach their full potential through guidance, opportunities, support, and more while also helping an organization grow and succeed. However, there are many difficult and strategic business decisions that may need to take place in order to take an organization to the next level.

Whether it be on the business side or the people side, there are always obstacles to overcome and lessons to be learned. For this segment of Ask an HR Guru, we asked, what is the biggest HR challenge you’ve had to overcome?  

According to a Gallup study, an alarming 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged at work, costing U.S organizations between $450-$550 billion in lost productivity each year.

With the summer almost over and fall quickly approaching, HR leaders are kicking into high gear planning for Benefit Open Enrollment, Budget Planning, Compliance Reporting, and Mid-Year Reviews. If you are like so many other HR leaders of mid-market organizations, you may have elected to upgrade or deploy a new Human Capital Management (HCM) software platform with a January go live.

It’s no secret that high performing teams continuously exceed expectations and deliver tremendous results. High performing teams consistently go above and beyond by contributing new ideas, delivering first class customer support, and enriching an organization's culture that ultimately leads to a better bottom line. 

We know that a lot of effort, thought, and strategy goes into building a high performing team, but what are the secrets to creating such a team that everyone strives for? In this segment of Ask an HR Guru, we asked HR professionals: What’s the secret to a high performing team?

In general, most of us try to avoid getting fired by following laws, company policy, and practicing common sense. Common sense between right and wrong in the workplace should be evident- don’t punch your boss, harass coworkers, steal, etc.

However, not everyone is blessed with common sense and happen to make some very unforgiving mistakes. Here are three dumb ways that can get you fired from your job:

Before you can go scouring the marketplace for your perfect HR technology solution, you first need to know exactly what you’re looking for. Which means knowing what your organization needs in an HRMS. So, how do you go about identifying those HRMS requirements? First, know where you’re starting from. Second, establish what your users need by way of functionality. Third, look at your technical requirements.

Although the percentage of American adults that smoke has dropped significantly from 20.9% in 2005 to 15.5% in 2016, smoking-related illnesses are still costing businesses more than $156 billion in lost productivity each year.

The awareness on the negative effects of smoking has drastically increased over the past decade. As a result, many organizations have taken action like creating designated smoking areas, enforcing a smoking distance from the building, and even so much as to becoming a completely tobacco free campus in order to promote a healthy working environment. 

When we think of superheroes, we often think of fighting villains in eccentric costumes with ungodly powers. These costumes and powers are cool and entertaining, but it’s the way superheroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman use their superpowers to perform genuine acts of kindness that turn us into raving superhero fans.

Same is true in the workplace. HR superheroes are behind the scenes heroes that work tirelessly every day to deliver greatness to their people, workplace, and community. Although they may not be able to fly or become invisible, HR Gurus possess superpowers of their own. In this segment of Ask an HR Guru, we asked HR professionals: What’s your HR superpower?