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DOLs Final Rule for Overtime Exemption: The Duties Test (Video)
Do you know and understand the overtime exemption rule recently released by the Department of Labor? In this video, Lisa Smith gives an overview of which duties qualify an individual for exemption. Transcript Under the final rule that was issued May 18 of 2016, we know that the duties tests…
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Leadership and Teamwork: Blending I and We
"There is no I in TEAM" is a popular expression, but great teams know that individual leadership is essential to effective teamwork. In fact, without effective leadership, teams often lose focus and direction, and work and morale suffer as a result. Different leadership approaches work equally well on teams. When…
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External Leadership for Teams
When we talk about teamwork, we often focus on internal dynamics: goal setting, communication, leadership and process. It is equally important, however, to build team skills in political savvy and external awareness. These skills help the team scan their environment for new information, and prepare key stakeholders for future steps…
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Five Communication Tips for Teams
Communication is a central activity for all teams. In this post, we review five practical communication tips that lead to better teamwork. Make it common practice to revisit the goal. Many team-focused articles talk about the importance of mission clarity and alignment, but too often, teams don't actually ask, "wait,…
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Making the Most of the Excel Macro Recorder Feature
Did you ever think to yourself, “There should be a shortcut for that!” Well, even if there isn’t, there can be! All you may have to do is record a macro. A word of caution before we begin: The one thing you can be sure of, as new versions of…
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Department of Labor Releases Final Rule for FLSA Overtime Exemptions (Video)
Is your company aware of the recent release of the final rule for overtime exemption? Be sure you are up to date with all the new FLSA updates. In this video, Lisa Smith goes into a brief overview of the ruling. Transcript As you probably know, the Department of Labor released…
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PivotTable from a PivotTable
While it is not technically possible to pivot a pivot table, you can reduce the number of records to analyze by using some of the functionality available in Excel 2010 and later versions. Download Pivot Table from Pivot Table.xlsx to work along. The Steps To accomplish the goal of reducing…
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List of Essential Excel Formulas
There are hundreds of functions in Excel that can be very helpful in crunching numbers and transforming data into information. Here are three categories of critical functions that every savvy Excel user should know how to read and use. See these formulas and functions in action by downloading: List of…
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It’s About Time! Excel Timesheet Formulas
Date and time math is one of the strengths of Excel. However, it helps to know a few secrets and hidden gems to make your timesheet calculations work smoothly. In this practice, we’ll work with several different Excel functions. But first we need a basis from which to understand how…
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Effective Business Communication
It was a cold Christmas Eve, and I was on a conference call at 2am. I cringed as the project manager belittled her team members and complained about having to take time away from her family. She never once acknowledged that everyone else on the call was also missing family…
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