I've heard many horror stories from employees who have notified their supervisors that they are resigning from their jobs:
When I handed in my resignation letter, my boss stopped talking to me.
I thought he liked me, but when I told him I was resigning from my job, he made my life a hell on earth.
Everything seemed to be going well in my job but when I told him that I was leaving, he fired me.
Do any of these stories resonate with you?
Some managers have difficulty with accepting the fact that an employee chooses to leave. For some, an employee's decision to end their employment seems to represent some type of a hidden message or indictment on their effectiveness as a manager.
Employees leave for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's for career advancement. Sometimes it's to make more money. Some employees leave their jobs to go back to school full time.
Sometimes, employees leave because they have issues with their supervisor, or the company.
That's why exit interviews can be an invaluable tool that can help you to understand why your employee decided to leave their job and, help you to assess what their experience was like while working with your company.
When meeting with your employee, be open and receptive to their feedback, whether you agree with what they are saying or not. Use your employee's exit to learn more about what has worked well in terms of their actual job and what things were detrimental to doing his or her best work. Learn about their perspective about the company; everything from their thoughts about company benefits to policies and procedures.
Remember that not everyone will feel comfortable answering your questions. Get their permission to meet with you for an exit interview in advance, and let the employee know that their response is voluntary. Be sure that they are aware that the goal is to learn what you can do differently or better.
No matter what the reason is for your employee's resignation, it's incumbent upon you as a supervisor to separate your emotional response from the reality of the situation. Use an employee's resignation as an opportunity to learn what you can do to make any necessary changes that will only enhance the experience for all of your staff.
Dianne Shaddock is the Founder of ESBHR.com, a website which provides "Quick and Simple Human Resources Strategies for Small Businesses, Non Profits, and Entrepreneurs. Go to http://EasySmallBusinessHR.com for more tips on how to hire and manage your staff more effectively. Easy Small Business HR, Your Personal HR Consultant!
Filed under Health Insurance by on Sep 8th, 2010. Comment. 
In May 2008, the BBC Watchdog programme alerted viewers that a number of people were reporting itches, blisters, burns and rashes after buying imported Chinese leather sofas.
The reason: sachets containing the chemical dimethyl fumarate (DMF) had been used by Chinese manufacturer Linkwise to prevent mould from growing on their leather sofas during transportation and storage.
Unfortunately, the chemical, which is sometimes used as a fungicide, led to severe allergic reactions in some people using the sofas.
Tests have shown that DMF can cause severe eczema, a term referring to a range of skin conditions which are difficult to treat. The allergic reactions occur when the substance warms up.
Consultant dermatologist Dr Sandra Winhoven explained the condition at the time: 'The substance that's causing the sofa dermatitis outbreak is a fungicide, and this fungicide has a very low vapour point. So when it gets warm, more of it gets released.' As a result, the summer months led to higher numbers of allergic reactions.
Symptoms of eczema
Eczema, which is sometimes known as dermatitis, can refer to a range of unpleasant and distressing symptoms including itching, blistering, redness, swelling, dryness, crusting, flaking, cracking, oozing and bleeding of the skin. These symptoms can be very damaging to a person's quality of life, and some of the sofa rash sufferers reported symptoms of depression as a result.
With up to 50,000 households having been sold a contaminated sofa, and many people suffering from increasingly severe reactions, sufferers were often unaware that the reaction they were experiencing was connected to their sofa.
Some sufferers even unwittingly aggravated their injuries by staying at home to recover from their symptoms, thereby further increasing their contact with the problem sofa.
How the stores reacted
The sofas were sold by Argos, Land of Leather and Walmsley Furnishing. After learning of the problem with their sofas, the shops selling them responded in different ways. According to a Daily Mail report from June 21, 2008, Argos, who had sold the most contaminated sofas, withdrew the sofas from their shops and notified buyers, contacting them to arrange collection of the products.
Land of Leather, meanwhile, withdrew the sofas but was criticised for not notifying buyers, while Walmsley said they had removed the sachets from sofas they sold after they learned of the issue, though they also did not recall the sofas which had already been sold, as Argos had done.
Claiming compensation for sofa rash
In the UK's largest ever consumer injury claim, thousands claimed for compensation against the stores where they bought their sofas. Compensation is expected to total up to £10m for this initial class action.
Along with the thousands already claiming compensation, an estimated tens of thousands could have suffered or still be suffering from burns which have not yet been linked to their sofas. These cases could lead to further claims for compensation.
If you have been affected by a 'toxic' sofa and experienced skin problems as a result, you could be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries and money lost due to time off work.
National Accident Helpline can help you make a sofa burn claim. We will put you in touch with a specialist personal injury lawyer to help you with your claim.
Filed under Health Insurance by on Sep 3rd, 2010. Comment.
Clinton supporters, can you explain the details of her contribution to Children's Health Insurance program?
Her website says
"..her successful effort to create the SCHIP Children's Health Insurance program which now covers six million children"
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/healthcareplan/
while looking for details I came across Ted Kennedy's site
http://www.tedkennedy.com/content/622/improving-the-health-of-americas-children
which goes into details on how he was involved in the SCHIP program.
and then saw this:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/06/clinton_claims_credit_for_child_program/
So why is it that Ted Kennedy is never mentioned when she takes credit for this program?
Could this be why Kennedy endorsed Obama rather than Clinton?
John, you haven't answered the question at all. What exactly was her role? It was NOT as leader, clearly Kennedy was. Are all Clinton supporters just reciting the same mantra with no details? Why don't you try researching it yourself and then let me know.
Good luck with your question . Her name will appear, but that's about it. Ditto for New York. As NY Senator, Hillary also asked for and received 20 million dollars from the feds to assist the families of policemen and firefighters after 9/11.
But try to find exactly how Hillary was instrumental in that endeavor. You won't find it. What you will find is Hillary turned most of that money over to CORPORATIONS to disperse the funds accordingly. Of course, there were the expected tax breaks. All legal, yes, but it's one more instance of Hillary billing herself as a major player when she was nowhere to be found.
Filed under Health Insurance by on Aug 20th, 2010. Comment.