Tom’s Tips – Catching Them Doing Something Right

What do you do with employment applications for candidates that you did not hire? Do you put them in a files or throw then out? The anti-discrimination laws may require you to keep for at least a year these applications, along with resumes, interview notes, drug screens, employment tests, reference checks, and background or credit…

Leadership, at its core, is all about influence through relationships. I have often noted that the greatest leaders are not those who feel they have to do it all, but those who have the ability to create loyalty from a team who can do it all – a team made up of quality people with…

Hartville, Ohio is home to America’s largest independent home center at 305,000 sq. ft. In the middle of Hartville Hardware sits a 1,850 sq. ft. “American House” – which was featured in the March 2013 issue of Home Channel News magazine – that is constructed entirely of “Made in the USA” products. Every product, from…

All companies have trade secrets. It may be a list of customers, the best installers, future opportunities, warehousing techniques or similar information. To protect this important information, it must be kept confidential and limit access to those that need to know. A new federal law, Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”), now allows parties to bring…

I know myself pretty well. I have been through pretty much every behavioral profile known to man. I am aware of my strengths and seek to avoid situations that magnify my weaknesses. As I look back on my career, I have to admit that was not always the case. In the mid 1990’s I attended…

Many states have scheduled increases in their minimum wage.  Fourteen states have announced they will be raising their minimum wages the first of the year.  A number of other states will adjust their rate annually based on the cost of living.  In addition, some cities, counties, state governments, and companies have higher minimum wage rates…