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:

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?

Since 2016, skilled nursing providers have been required to submit Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a way to drive industry standards and ensure high quality care for patients.

CMS has been very clear from the start that PBJ data would eventually affect a providers’ Five Star Quality Rating, but it was never certain when that date would be, or how PBJ data would replace the current method of data capture.

Wouldn’t it be great to know ahead of time what questions you were going to be asked in an interview?

In a recent post, we outlined the 6 questions that a candidate should never ask during a job interview. This week, we wanted to hear the interviewing process from an HR perspective so for our segment, Ask an HR Guru, we reached out to a diverse group of HR professionals to ask: What is your go-to interview question?

It’s the end of an interview and the hiring manager asks a candidate the final question, “Do you have any questions for me?”

At this moment, the candidate is granted the opportunity to show their interest by asking questions that directly reflect their knowledge on the organization, position, and industry.

Candidates that fail to prepare a list of questions may respond with a simple, “No, I don’t have any questions” or with irrelevant and inappropriate questions that leave a bad impression with a hiring manager.

In early 2018, the IRS took the first step to reflect the Tax Cuts and Job Act by releasing the new withholding tables. PeopleGuru implemented the 2018 Withholding Calculations immediately following the release that reflected in payroll as early as Saturday, January 13, 2018.

HR Gurus are the ones on the frontline that directly interact with your people and continuously work to make a difference in your organization day in and day out. The tight-knit HR community is comprised of passionate HR Gurus who are committed to grow as independent professionals, but also dedicated to learning new ways in which they can help improve their people and organizations.

Your people are your most valuable asset and often your largest expense. This is why investing in the right workforce management technology should be a top priority for any organization.

According to a Software Advice study, 43% of employees admitted to falsifying their timesheets, costing organizations $400 billion annually in lost productivity.[i]

In addition to time theft, a countless number HR and Payroll managers are still chasing down employees and supervisors for missing punches, approved time sheets, and accounting for shift differential and overtime pay. Once the time capture is complete, managers then have to ensure that all of the clean data ultimately finds its way into the payroll system for successful payroll runs.