Katie Shpak

Direct Reports: What Are They and Why Are They Important?

Katie Shpak | August 21, 2023

What Is a Direct Report? A direct report is an employee who works directly below a leader within the company who is above them in the organizational...

Role Ambiguity: How It Impacts Employee Retention and How to Avoid It

Katie Shpak | August 18, 2023

What Is Role Ambiguity? Role ambiguity occurs when an employee is not given a clear job description; there aren’t defined objectives for the role and...

Should HR Provide Birthday Cakes for Employees?

Katie Shpak | August 11, 2023

Have you experienced the Pandora’s box of complaints and chaos that occurs around birthday party celebrations at the office? It begins with a few...

Should Organizations Encourage Employees to Donate to Charity?

Katie Shpak | July 24, 2023

It’s common for organizations to encourage employees to support a particular charity. Your organization may have a charity that it supports, or...

How and When to Calculate Overtime Pay

Katie Shpak | July 5, 2023

Do you have hourly employees who exceed the 40-hour work week? If so, they need to be paid overtime! With the Department of Labor issuing new ov...

When Do Deductibles Reset?

Katie Shpak | June 6, 2023

Some organizations renew health plans mid-year, which could cause worry among employees regarding their deductible timeline. There could be concern...

What Is a CP-575 Letter and Do I Need One?

Katie Shpak | May 30, 2023

If you’re running a business, especially one with employees, you’ve probably encountered the term CP 575 letter or CP 575 form. But what exactly is...

Gross Misconduct: Meaning, Examples, and How to Manage It

Katie Shpak | May 25, 2023

As an HR professional, situations involving gross misconduct can arise and demand immediate attention. But what exactly does gross misconduct mean,...

What Is a Recruitment Video and Why Should You Have One?

Katie Shpak | May 10, 2023

Envision a time when you were applying for jobs. You’d browse Indeed, LinkedIn, company pages—you name it—for hours on end. It was monotonous and...

How to Handle Anger in the Workplace

Katie Shpak | May 4, 2023

We have all gone to work in a bad mood. Maybe you got into an argument with a spouse or significant other. Perhaps you were up all night with a sick...