Ep. 7 - Karen Young: President&Founder of HR Resolutions, LLC - a podcast by Peter Margaritis, CPA & C-Suite Radio

I’m happy to have Karen Young of HRResolutions.com on the show. She’s a purposeful HR person who believes in creating drama-free workplaces through purposeful communications and a “Yes, and…” approach.
Just as she discusses in her book, ‘Stop Knocking on my Door,’ Karen believes that drama occurs in the workplace when we fail to communicate fully with our people. If we have to say “no”, this is our opportunity to have a courageous conversation and explain our reasoning to them. There are a few key aspects to having courageous conversations:Practice with someone – become comfortable with what you have to say in your role as a leader
Write your talking points down – this will keep your conversation on track and ensure you hit all your important pointsDon’t beat around the bush – the sooner you have the conversation the easier it will be
Karen’s a big proponent of the idea of “hire slow, fire fast.” She recommends taking your time in finding the right person for the job. To aid her company in hiring, she’s instituted a revolutionary new practice: the first step of the application process is for applicants to respond with their understanding of her company’s core values and what they mean to the applicant. This allows her to get the right people on the bus. As long as your bus is full of valuable people, you can fit them where they need to be in the organization and teach them the skills they need along the way.With the whole hiring and firing process, Karen says that most employers don’t know that as soon as they hire their first employee, they’re now responsible for at least 12 different employee regulations. From unemployment exposure to age discrimination to disability issues, employers need to do some research before they make their hiring and firing decisions. Explore your options and don’t be accidental in your choices. Making well-informed decisions can save you lots of headaches down the road.
Regarding the idea of firing fast, “If you’ve made the decision to fire, you are not doing anyone any favors by dragging that out.” Don’t use excuses and don’t talk around it. Make your conversation short, sweet and honest and practice ahead to make it easier.Karen recommends keeping in mind that even though you have to fire someone (or just not hire them in the first place), they can still be a valuable referral resource for you in the future. Handling the situation correctly with compassion and dignity is the smart thing to do as you never know what the future can bring and how a relationship can re-develop at some point.
I had a really great talk with Karen today and I truly appreciate her taking the time to share herself and her wealth of HR knowledge with us. 
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:How the “Yes, and…” approach is applicable to human resources work
How you can protect yourself from legal exposure through correct hiring/firing practicesHow to judge the “fit” of a prospective employee within your company culture
How interns can be a valuable piece of your company’s piePlus much more…
 DON’T STOP HERE…
Learn more about Karen Young and HR Resolutions: Website | Facebook | YouTube | LinkedInKaren’s Book ‘Stop Knocking on my Door: Drama Free HR To Help Grow Your Business’: AmazonLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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