Employee Relations Archives

Kimberly Prescott
Blog
January 26, 2026

The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why HR Problems Get Expensive Fast

Most HR problems don’t announce themselves as emergencies. They show up quietly: a misclassified employee here, an outdated handbook there, or a manager handling a sensitive issue based on instinct instead of policy.

For small and midsize businesses, it is easy to push these issues down the priority list. The assumption is often that nothing bad has happened yet, so the risk must be low. In reality, HR risk compounds over time, and when it finally surfaces, the cost is rarely small.

Let’s take a closer look at how ignoring HR problems gets expensive fast, and why proactive HR support often costs far less than fixing problems after the fact.

Kimberly Prescott
Blog
November 7, 2022

How to Handle Employee Terminations

Letting go of an employee is one of the most difficult parts of an organization’s human resources team. It’s a sensitive event that can go awry when not handled in the proper way. If you have an upcoming termination to deal with, read through these helpful tips from Prescott HR before approaching your employee.

Come Prepared

One of the worst ways to handle a termination is to come unprepared to your meeting. Before you even set a time to sit down with your employee, you and your executive team should gather documentation for why you are letting your employee go. Sit down with the employee’s personnel file and compile a list of reasons for the termination. You want to make sure that you are thinking through the termination in an unbiased way to avoid employment discrimination in your decision-making process. That’s where having documentation to back up your decision can help.

Don’t Catch Them Off Guard

In a sensitive situation like a termination, you want to show respect for your employee by not catching them off guard. Before you let an employee go, there should be procedures in place to warn the employee of potential termination. Make sure that your team has tried to effectively communicate any issues to the employee before termination in order to give them a chance to correct their output. If the employee continues to underperform after several warning meetings, then they should not be surprised or caught off guard during their termination meeting.

Be Direct

If preventative measures have unfortunately not worked with an employee, then it’s time to let them go for the good of your organization. In these circumstances, you have to be clear, concise, and direct. There should be no room for drama or lingering questions. When you sit your employee down, give them a brief and direct communication that they are being let go and the decision is final.

Always Be Empathetic

Keep in mind that termination is a very difficult topic and the employee you are letting go is a human being. Always practice empathy and respect, even in the event of a difficult termination. How you handle a termination will also reflect on your other team members’ willingness to stay on board at your organization. If not handled properly, this can put a sour taste in the mouths of other team members.

Don’t Skip Offboarding

Even in heightened emotional states, it’s important to not skip out on offboarding practices. After you make the announcement that you are letting an employee go, be sure to collect all necessary company property and remove employee access to company assets.

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help to handle a team member’s termination? We are here to help! Prescott HR offers a wide range of services that can help your organization evaluate your team’s current skills, plus offer ways to improve. Our stringent HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with precisely what you need. Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

Kimberly Prescott
Blog
October 24, 2022

Gen Z and Workplace Expectations

Gen Z, also known as “Zoomers,” is the generation demographic succeeding Millenials. Born in the mid to late-1990s and early 2010s, this generation is starting to enter the workforce and they are bringing a slew of new expectations with them. If you aren’t sure how to manage Gen Z’s workforce expectations at your organization, keep reading for a few helpful tips from the experts at Prescott HR!

What is Gen Z Like?

To better understand Gen Z, it’s helpful to take a look at trends in the generation’s overall upbringing. Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and portable electronic devices from a very early age, which is why they are often dubbed “digital natives.” Studies have shown that members of Gen Z are a more educated, well-behaved, stressed, and depressed demographic than generations before them. These are all important considerations to keep in mind when hiring Gen Z employees at your organization.

What are Gen Z’s Values?

While this is a broad assumption of an entire generation’s values, there are trends in what Gen Z expects between an employer and employee relationship. Here are several important factors:

Work-Life Balance

This is a big one. Flexibility at work is a top priority for Gen Z workers and often falls at the top of the list for this generation’s job seekers. Gen Z values their professional lives almost as much as their personal lives, so they want to work for an organization that does not compromise their freedom outside of work. We recommend offering flex or remote work options to your employees to help establish a proper work-life balance in the office.

Health and Wellness

In line with a better work-life balance is access to important mental health and wellness resources at work. As mentioned above, Gen Z is one of the most stressed generations of our time. Having access to health and wellness programs at work is a great way to appeal to this younger generation and demonstrate that you value their well-being in and out of the office.

Social Issues

Gen Z is a very organized generation, especially when it comes to social and cultural issues affecting our country. They are one of the most involved generations in organized social activities that advocate for change. That’s why many Gen Z employees want to work for organizations that align with their values. As an employer, this could mean offering paid time off for your employees to volunteer with an organization that matters to them.

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help with understanding Gen Z and their workplace expectations? We are here to help! Prescott HR offers a wide range of services that can help your organization evaluate your current policies and incorporate new ones, as needed. Our unintimated HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with precisely what you need. Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

Kimberly Prescott
Blog
October 17, 2022

How to Reward Employees for Good Work

In order to keep your team members happy, you have to be willing to recognize and reward the work being accomplished by your employees. That’s why we recommend implementing an employee rewards system that appropriately acknowledges your team’s work in a fair, consistent, and authentic manner.

Keep reading to learn more about how to reward good work from the experts at Prescott HR.

Why should your organization recognize good work?

Nothing makes an employee feel valued quite like public recognition of their hard work, and as an employer or manager, it is your responsibility to identify opportunities to make your employees feel valued and appreciated.

Recognizing the efforts your employees are putting into their jobs is a great way to boost company morale and increase employee retention, all while creating a positive work environment that attracts the best talent available in your field.

Here Are Some Ways to Reward Good Work

Now that you understand how important it is to reward your team members for their hard work, here are some inexpensive and authentic ways to show your appreciation below.

A Handwritten Note

A handwritten note of appreciation is a small and often undervalued gesture in today’s world. We tend to take for granted how important it is to sit down and write out our appreciation for other people’s efforts. A handwritten note or post-it note is a small way to show your employees that you care about their work and value their efforts.

Give a Shout Out

Nothing feels better than being recognized by your peers for your hard work. That’s why we recommend giving one hardworking employee a special shout-out before a team meeting. Just be sure that you are recognizing your employees in a consistent and fair manner.

One suggestion is to keep a spreadsheet of different employee recognition efforts to make sure you aren’t showing favoritism to a select group of team members.

Organize a Group Lunch

Finding a set time to leave the office and bond as a group over lunch is a great opportunity to reward good work. This could be a monthly effort on your part as a manager to organize a group lunch, or a quarterly reward when your team meets its goals.

You’ll want to ensure that you are selecting restaurants that accommodate any dietary restrictions your team members follow, so ask before you make a reservation at a particular place.

Feature a Team Member in Company Communications

Another underutilized opportunity to communicate an employee’s hard work is to recognize them in a company newsletter or e-blast. Create a section in your publication that highlights an individual team member’s background, current role, and efforts.

Use this company newsletter or e-blast blurb to rotate through different team members to ensure everyone gets their chance to feel special and appreciated.

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help with implementing an employee rewards system? We are here to help!

Prescott HR offers a wide range of HR services that can help your organization set up an employee rewards system that is consistent and fair to all team members. Our stringent HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with precisely what you need.

Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

Kimberly Prescott
Blog
September 19, 2022

Become a Better Leader

Hiring the right leaders to run your organization can make or break your business. That’s why it is crucial to continually train your management team so they can work to improve their leadership skills. Keep reading for a few helpful tips to become a better leader from the experts at Prescott HR.

Listen more than you speak

An effective leader is one who listens more than he or she speaks. Every employee wants to feel heard, no matter their role at the organization. Allowing your employees to speak openly about their frustrations, concerns, or ideas is a great way to promote a positive work environment. A great leader is one who listens and conveys that they value their employee’s opinions.

Lay out clear expectations

Nothing can send an office into chaos faster than an organization that does not clearly communicate expectations and goals for its team. As a leader, it is your responsibility to clearly articulate and outlines your expectations for each team member. An employee can’t succeed if they don’t understand the overall goal they should be working towards. If your employees continue to fail or not meet vague instructions, that can affect overall team morale.

Encourage professional growth

To avoid burning out your team, it’s important to encourage your team to engage in continued education or additional training. As your team members learn additional skills, they will feel empowered to take a more hands-on approach to their career development. That’s great for both your employees and your organization as a whole!

Lead by example with work-life balance

Work-life balance is a tricky subject, which is why it’s your responsibility as a manager to lead by example. Avoid sending team communications in the middle of the night or on weekends, as that conveys a message to your team that you expect them to be working off-hours, as well. A healthy organization is one that prioritizes employee wellness, and that includes a manager’s overall wellness, too!

Give and accept feedback

Honest feedback is crucial to becoming a better leader. Whether you are the one giving honest feedback to your employees, or you are accepting feedback from your team, it’s important to encourage healthy conversations about how to improve. A great way to establish a culture of honest feedback is to schedule one-on-one meetings with each of your team members on a monthly basis.

Find a mentor

Is there a leader in your local community whom you admire? Consider asking them to become your leadership mentor. Leaders lead by example and there’s no better opportunity to improve your leadership skills than by connecting with a mentor who you admire.

Work with Prescott HR

Does your organization need help with leadership development? We are here to help! Prescott HR offers a wide range of services that can help your organization train better leaders. Our unintimated HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your business with exactly what you need. Give us a call today at 443-351-8818 or contact us online.

Kimberly Prescott
Blog
September 12, 2022

Tips to Cut Down Employee Turnover

High employee turnover is something many organizations are experiencing this year, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Resignation. Luckily, hiring and retaining top talent for your organization is a craft that your business can learn and improve on when given the right training resources.

Keep reading to learn a few helpful ways to cut down employee turnover from the team at Prescott HR.

Why does employee turnover happen?

Before you start to cut down on employee turnover, it is crucial to understand the root issue, or issues, of why your team members are leaving. If you are experiencing high employee turnover, it’s important to evaluate different facets of your business that may be contributing to the overall problem.

Here are some common examples of workplace issues that may lead to high employee turnover:

Poor compensation or lack of benefits
Lack of growth opportunities or recognition
Poor leadership or a toxic work culture
Lack of flexibility or work perks

How to prevent high employee turnover

Now that you have a better understanding of potential flaws within your organization that could lead to team dissatisfaction, you can take steps to cut down the turnover. Here are several examples:

Keep compensation and benefits competitive. A major contributor to high employee turnover is poor employee compensation. More organizations are hiring now than ever, and it doesn’t take much effort for your employees to research what other professionals are earning in their roles at other organizations. As an organization, it’s your responsibility to continually evaluate if your business is offering competitive compensation and benefits packages to your employees.
Recognize and reward your team members. Employees need to feel satisfied in their workplace, which goes hand in hand with employees showing gratitude to their team members. If your organization has become toxic or is displaying poor leadership, employees can feel like their contributions are not valued and will be more likely to leave. Make sure that your managers undergo continual leadership training and engage in authentic ways to show employee appreciation to your team.
Offer more workplace flexibility. Workplace flexibility has become a major hiring perk for organizations across the board. Work professionals are seeking more work-life balance, which has led to a demand for more flexible work options. If your organization is not providing this flexibility, like remote work options, then you may experience a higher employee turnover.
Provide opportunities for growth. Many employees can burn out at a job simply because of a lack of opportunity for growth. That’s why it is crucial for every organization to continually offer opportunities for growth amongst their employees. This can include opportunities like continuing education or mentorship programs to make your employees feel like your organization is investing in their professional growth.

Work with Prescott HR

Is your organization experiencing high employee turnover? We are here to help! Prescott HR offers a wide range of services that can help your organization hire and retain top talent in your field. Our unintimated HR practices allow us to be focused and effective, providing your