Human Resources

This year, I had the opportunity to participate in a leadership conference—and yes, it happened to be geared towards women working the construction industry. However, I would say that the key takeaways I got from this two-day conference and networking event would benefit not just women, but anybody…

Since Glass Magazine began covering the post-Recession labor shortage in 2014, a similar theme has been clear throughout: the process of recruiting and retaining employees is constant and ever-changing. Every aspect of the process—from recruitment tactics to branding to labor pools to internal…

Or should that be, “A good employee is hard to keep”? I am pretty sure every employer in our industry has run into the same HR issue of trying to figure out where to find good talent and dealing with the inevitable question of how to keep these assets productive in their own company, and not in…

“John. Wait, stop right there.” “What?” “Stop right there and go back to that prior statement.” “What statement?” “The one where you mentioned lack of experience in the supply chain; I think it may be the biggest issue of them all as to why so many projects take longer, and require more work…

I’m writing this blog post in the middle of a snowstorm that Seattle news reporters have dubbed “Snowmageddon.” (It’s extreme, I know. I’m from Michigan.) We normally get one to two inches of snow per year in the lowlands. Snow in the rainy Pacific Northwest is a complete and total disruptor. So…

Partnerships result in a well-defined relationship between people that involves close cooperation, defined roles and responsibilities, and rights for all parties involved. Partnerships stand for two or more people being mutually bound together, working to achieve a common goal, through both the…

“Business cultures eat business strategies for breakfast!” I heard this quote from a business consultant during a recent meeting. So often, organizations will adopt a new strategy only to quickly abandon it if goals aren’t met. The truth of the situation is that the strategy wasn’t properly…

I recently returned to the auto dealership where I bought a pickup truck 17 years ago, motivated by the great initial experience. Sadly, my most recent experience was terrible. The salesperson took my order for the truck and then moved to California without telling anyone. No one called from the…

Management and ownership transparency improves operations, boosts employee satisfaction and provides an enormous amount of good for the bottom line. A survey conducted by the TINYpulse Company of over 40,000 employees from multiple industries found that transparency represents the leading factor…

Since Glass Magazine started reporting on the glass industry labor shortage in mid-2013, the issue has changed from a concern over finding qualified glaziers to an industry-wide need for good workers. Glass fabricators, metal companies, machine manufacturers and glazing firms report having trouble…