MRA Blog

4/1/21

We all know April Fool's Day as the annual tradition when people play practical jokes on family, friends, neighbors, the mailman – it doesn't matter who you are - everyone is fair game. But, for the last two years, more serious things have happened on April 1 - Federal legislation responding to the pandemic have gone into effect.

3/24/21

We have heard the warnings. Employee turnover is going to go through the roof as the pandemic winds down. Our Turnover Survey results say that retirement is on the top of the list of why leaders are leaving. Are organizations as prepared as they should be to replace their senior leaders?

3/17/21

How did your organization’s culture fare the last year? Was it already good and got even better, or was it not so great, and it officially tanked? Does your organization align with the good culture category – or not so much?

3/10/21

Can you believe where we were headed one year ago? And that a year later, we would be fighting to return to life as we knew it.  We thought it would be interesting to ask people what they have observed over the past 12 months that surprised them, and here’s what they said.

3/3/21

We aren’t talking about the minivan or the furnace - it is your Occupational Wellness that may be needing some attention. Here are a few tools that can help you make an overhaul on your occupational wellness.

2/25/21

Were you one of the 800 plus people in attendance at MRA’s recent (and wildly popular) Employment Law Update webinar, where the information shared was outstanding and plentiful? We’ve rounded up some of the most talked-about subjects at the conference (via the event’s chat) that were posed to the attorneys.

2/17/21

What sets successful HR pros apart from the rest? Often, it’s a certification. But passing the exam can be tough, so MRA offers a prep class designed to help you succeed.

2/11/21

February has become known as Black History Month, a time to recognize the achievements of people and events in the history of the African American movement. We’ve put together some ideas to get you envisioning how you can embrace and learn about Black history all month long.

2/4/21

Punxsutawney Phil - everyone’s favorite groundhog. Enter 2021, when he once again saw his shadow (sigh). But that is okay. We will plan on keeping our snowblowers, boots, and shovels out for a while yet. What about plans at work? Do you know what’s coming at you in the next six weeks? What can you do to get prepared?

1/27/21  

Filling open roles during a pandemic has added more steps to the already challenging recruiting profession. With that in mind, here are five things to consider incorporating into your 2021 recruiting regime.

1/21/21

Change. It’s been a constant thing the last year. From masks to social distancing, makeshift home classrooms to contactless pickups, we are all well-versed in change. While change is hard, it can be the perfect trigger to “reset” your mind to focus on the positive things that may come from going in a new direction.

1/14/21

It has been poked fun at all over the place since the pandemic hit. Saturday Night Live, Tik Tok, memes, even online retailers have played with the fact that Americans are drinking and turning to drugs now more than ever. But it isn’t a laughing matter.

1/7/21

While COVID-19 is still causing quite a bit of a fuss, it’s time to reconsider the business of human resources and what you need to focus on in the new year. We talked with some colleagues and here is their top five list of things that didn’t get done last year that need to get done now.

12/10/20

Ho-ho-ho… the holidays are here! For some people, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. For others, the season cannot be over fast enough. For those in the second camp, an Employee Assitance Program can be a great tool to help navigate a person’s way through the holidays.

12/2/20

MRA recently held a virtual event, the 2020 Economic Update: Guidance in an Uncertain Economy. We are not going to lie, given the doozy of a year we’ve had, we were expecting a grim economic prognosis to round out 2020. But surprise! This forecast was upbeat and optimistic. A breath of fresh air to say the least.

11/18/20

What do you do when your co-workers have a hard time keeping their distance or their masks on at the office? Our answer may surprise you because it’s so basic. 

11/11/20

In January of this year, a lot of us thought we knew what the year ahead was going to look like, how things would go, where we should be sitting on the bus. Here's a reminder to rotate. Change your seat. Things look the same if you don’t mix it up.

11/5/20

On the job, we can all do our part to embrace a diverse and inclusive workplace. Here are a few tips to help drive forward the ADA and all the good it has accomplished.

10/29/20

Two big events are happening in the next few days. Here are some tools and resources to keep you in the know.

10/22/20

Emotional intelligence is noticing behavior, being authentic, and having the ability to make difficult conversations productive. It’s about responding rather than reacting. Why cultivate your EI? The reasons are many.

10/14/20

MRA’s annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Conference was held last week and there was a lot of valuable information shared with the 700 plus virtual attendees. Here are some pieces of wisdom from our presenters.

9/30/20

Last week, MRA hosted a members-only event, CompTrends 2020, where we reviewed our highly anticipated Compensation Trends Survey results, a timely topic for many. Check out what attendees learned during the webinar.

9/17/20

We’ve officially hit the six-month mark of COVID. Six months of many of us working from home, six months of stress and anxiety, which is leading to burnout. Resiliency. It’s defined as the readiness to bounce back from adversity. If the pandemic were a professor, we’d all have resiliency PhDs.

9/3/20

MRA co-hosted the 2020 HR Leadership Conference on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020, where attendees were inspired and energized by Captain Ron Johnson, who spoke about worthy leadership. Captain Johnson’s timely and compelling presentation struck a chord with conference-goers. Here is his story.

8/27/20

A face mask. The world’s newest fashion accessory. And just like return to work policies, face masks come in every shape and size imaginable. There are disposable masks, homemade ones, fancy masks, and… those that are inappropriate. 

8/19/20

Today, it’s all about Zoom meetings. But it’s not simply Zoom meetings, it’s what they bring (and don’t bring) with them that’s hurting our workforce.

8/12/20

Chances are you have found yourself in a situation where you wanted to talk with a coworker about something from their background that’s different than yours, but you weren’t sure what to say. Here are a few tips that can open the door to stronger working relationships and an inclusive culture.

8/5/20

We’re all well aware that we’ve had some free time on our hands the last few months, thanks to the pandemic. What to do? Consider upping your game and get specialized with PHR or SPHR certification.

7/30/20

This week we are writing to all the HR practitioners out there to remind you that you are crushing it. We know you are giving it literally all you’ve got at work, and at home, keeping it together when somedays you feel like you’re falling apart.

To all our HR friends:

7/23/20

We googled “burnout” and it was as though we googled “the year 2020”. 

We thought it would be insightful (and reassuring) to hear from real HR folks about how they deal with it all, what keeps them going and how do they refuel?

7/15/20

Because sitting down in a room with a group of colleagues isn’t really a thing right now, MRA created Peer Learning Circles. These one-hour virtual sessions speak to one of the many challenges hitting the business world right now.

7/10/20

With cases of COVID on the rise, we find ourselves again asking, “now what?”. It's a good time to think about mid-March when this all began. Let’s take what we’ve learned, (or what we should have learned), and put it to work for us now.

6/26/20

A recent survey by WorldatWork revealed that 54 percent of respondents expressed they were unaware of Juneteenth, even though it’s the oldest national celebration of the end of slavery in the U.S. With this in mind, we looked at what companies are doing to close the gap of the big divide.