Worker Protection and the Buffer Zone

Years ago, I hired chemists and engineers for Monsanto. Back in the day, Monsanto was a different company and had a diverse portfolio that included hardcore chemicals products, food additives and pharmaceuticals. And it employed many different types of workers — from hippies to lobbyists to lawyers — who honestly dreamed of saving humanity and…

A Culture of Appreciation #shrm14

I am am here at SHRM speaking at the Globoforce booth. We will be discussing ways to be smarter when it comes to employee recognition and appreciation. When it comes to recognition, HR professionals want to offer something more than emotion to CEOs. And business leaders are often reluctant to focus on recognition for myriad reasons. I am no…

Addiction, Alcoholism and HR Conferences #shrm14

Business travel, under the best of circumstances, is disorienting. You relinquish control when you travel. You can plan and prepare for diversions, but your destiny isn’t in your own hands. Someone is always pushing alcohol. Whether it’s a business dinner or a cocktail party, there is always an opportunity to have an extra beer or a…

I Am HR - Laurie Ruettimann Ebook

[ebook] Download I Am HR Today!

As I was doing research for my new ebook, I learned some interesting statistics about how CEOs feel about human resources professionals. 42 percent of business leaders think that HR is either underperforming or just getting by 45 percent think HR isn’t ready to tackle basic tasks such as performance management, succession planning and e-learning…

Throwback Thursday #TBT

I am not nostalgic. At all. It’s a good thing because I have very few pictures of myself from my childhood. My photos are all on slides. That’s right. Slides. If you are my dad and it’s 1982, you have a machine that shines a light through these slides and projects the images on your basement…

Why I Love the Beach

Many of you know that I was diagnosed with Ménière’s Disease in my 20s. If you don’t know, here is the story. I had balance problems in college and in my early 20s. I was constantly misdiagnosed with ear infections. I always heard a high-pitch tone in my ears, too. It was frustrating and no one…