The Blog Roundup: HR and Project Management Trends
Miss some of our posts? We cover the latest tip, trends, and best practices for HR, project management, and workforce management in the Replicon blog. Find the advice you need below:
Wage and hour legislation trends in 2017
Has your company adequately prepared for burgeoning labor laws in 2017 and onward? We have speculation on changes on the local, state, and federal levels for the rest of 2017 from leading global employment and labor law attorney R. Brian Dixon (of Littler Mendelson).
Preview: “While there may be less activity — and possibly even some retrenching — on the federal level, there will continue to be state and local activity with respect to minimum wages, paid sick leave, and related laws. We will likely see more disputes between state governments and local governments as to when a local government has the authority to regulate wages and working conditions.”
Read on at the Replicon blog.
Common pitfalls in professional services organizations & how to avoid them
In our 3-part series on pitfalls in professional services organizations, we explore the changing professional services landscape (more difficulty recruiting and retaining employees, exacerbated competition in an ever-globalizing marketplaces, increased popularity of fixed-bid projects, emphasis on short-term firefighting as opposed to long-term strategy, to name a few), and supply you with strategies to combat problems with project planning, project visibility, and billable hours.
Preview: “If a project diverges from its initial estimate, it’s better to warn clients of delays or cost overruns well before they happen. Still, it’s easy to miss the warning signs if you can’t track the status of projects in real-time. If you lack decent project visibility, the following are a few challenges you can expect to run into.”
Read on at the Replicon blog (and don’t miss the second and third parts of the series).
Why your projects fail: Combating project overrun with visibility
Even the most experienced of project managers understand that the occasional overrun project is inevitable, and managing things like risk and scope creep are just part of the job. Still, too often do projects fail due to failure to accurately and methodically track progress, inability to communicate proactively with clients, and lacking historical information on which to base cost and timeline estimates. Strive to take on less risk by considering a few of our suggestions.
Preview: “In their 2015 Chaos Report, the Standish Group assessed more than 50,000 projects, and found that less than 29 percent of them were successful (i.e. on-time, on-budget and completed as planned). Even more disturbing is their finding that as many as 19 percent of all projects fail outright. While multiple factors contribute to these statistics, arguably the most overarching, universally-significant variable is visibility (or lack thereof) into your projects. This may seem like just another industry term that doesn’t actually mean much in practice, but in reality visibility is critical to the success of your projects — and consequently, your business’s bottom line.”
Read on at the Replicon blog.
Exempt vs non-exempt workers: simplify employee classification
Confused about the FLSA and employee classifications? Unsure of who exactly is exempt from current overtime legislation, and who is non-exempt? We present a few strategies to help simplify even the most convoluted employee classifications under the FLSA.
Preview: “Classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt has been a hot topic lately, and a particularly fruitful area for lawsuits – contributing to 17 percent of wage and hour litigations since 2007. With the pending overtime rules and the recently released sick leave mandate (applicable in a number of states and cities), businesses will need to consider multiple factors when it comes to reassessing and possibly reclassifying their workforce.”
Read on at the Replicon blog.
Replicon co-CEO Lakshmi Raj talks women in business, and how she got ahead
Co-CEO and co-founder of Replicon Lakshmi Raj discusses being a self-proclaimed “female entrepreneur in a white man’s world,” and the many challenges she’s faced head-on over the years. For those seeking advice on dealing with challenges specific to women in business, Lakshmi draws on 20 years of experience and success as a co-CEO and co-Founder to help aspiring female entrepreneurs get ahead.
Preview: “Although the last 30 years in America have seen many important social changes, the perception that women do not fit the image of the ideal leader is still pervasive and resistant to change. I would say gender or the so called “glass ceiling” is still a big hurdle. There are going to be people that take you less seriously based on gender. If you look for them, they’ll be there. You almost have to let go of thinking about this and looking for them. On the flip side, if you pretend that this bias doesn’t exist, it’s not going to go away either. You just have to move on, hoping you’re a part of this bigger revolution and that it will eventually change. You can do something about yourself, not anyone else.”
Read on at the Replicon blog.
