We make a point to stay on top of practices and policies that can impact your career.
Please browse our archive of pertinent articles, papers and helpful links to in-depth information on important issues.
Additional information regarding interview tips, hiring tips, attraction and retention strategies, industry news and trends, and our monthly newsletters, all offered from our tenured Staffing Consultants and staff, can be found under Articles & Insights.
May 2015: Avoid Hiring Mistakes
For many, May brings thoughts of impending summer vacations, beautiful "sleep with the windows open" nights, and for the unfortunate few, spring allergy season. However in the corporate world, May signals the imminent influx of new graduates into the workplace and an uptick in hiring. As...
OPEC Response to Oil Prices
OPEC Response to Oil Prices and It's Affects on Employment I am not sure if you all have seen the plummeting prices today but for the first time since 2003 (12 years) oil prices dropped below $30 and it has prompted OPEC to consider an emergency meeting next month. This is obviously good and bad...
April 2015: IT Retention Strategies for all Generations
Money is not the secret to employee happiness or retention! Over the years, companies have evolved their thinking and are now coming up with creative solutions in targeting and retaining employees from all generations within the workforce. Below is our featured expert, Kristen Gaustad,...
March 2015: Mobile Device Management & BYOD
One of the most talked about areas of BYOD is the debate of MDM, Mobile Device Management. Below is our featured expert discussing his experience in MDM, challenges faced and solutions for this evolving workplace issue. With 29 years in IT and a bachelor’s degree in Technology Management I...
April 2015: Communicating effectively via email
Having just returned from a bit of an extended holiday weekend in which I was blissfully oblivious of anything work-related, I invariably came back to a mountain of emails in my inbox. This is not really an atypical occurrence for me as email seems to have become the preferred mode of...
February 2015: IT Networking Tips for Building Business Relationships
In a recent CIO Panel discussion hosted by Women in Technology International (WITI) Houston Chapter, a hot topic was centered around how to stay relevant at any level in your technology career. Each CIO panelist made the recommendation to maintain your networking calendar, with one recommending...
March 2015: Open Communication in the Workplace
If you're in the Baby Boomer generation like me you remember the Billy Joel song where he sang "Honesty Is Such a Lonely Word... " In the dictionary, honesty is defined as truthfulness and fairness, not cheating and stealing, yet in the workplace honesty does not just concern lying, stealing or...
February 2015: Overcome a Toxic Boss
Valentine's Day (or the Feast of St. Valentine) has been traced back to Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages when the tradition of courtly love flourished in 18th century England and is still celebrated today in various ways all around the world. So with all the love floating around out...
January 2015: Biggest Challenges Facing Employment in the Downstream Energy Industry for 2015
I was recently interviewed by one of the nation's leading energy magazines and asked my thoughts about the biggest challenges facing the downstream industry in terms of employment for 2015. My answer was echoed in this article by Dorothy Davis Ballard Entitled "Your New Year's Resolution: Bring...
December 2014: Holiday Etiquette for the Workplace
In keeping with our annual tradition of our December newsletter addition being more "in the holiday spirit", I thought I'd share some excerpts from a poll that was taken for "About.com" by Susan Heathfield, a management and organizational development consultant who specializes in HR issues. She...
November 2014: Workplace Happiness, Engagement, and Performance
It's that time of the year where there's a definite nip in the air, orange and red leaves cover the ground, and the smell of pumpkin pie and turkey are imminently around the corner. So it's appropriate that our thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and all that we have to be grateful for. This article...
October 2014: Improve Refinery Safety Performance
An article entitled "Can Oil Refineries Fix Stupid? - Improve refinery safety performance by establishing the proper leadership culture" by Steve Pagani that appeared in the e-newsletter "RefinerLink" on 9/7/14 (http://www.refinerlink.com/blog/Can_Oil_Refineries_Fix_Stupid) really struck a chord...
September 2014: The Importance of Punctuality and Keeping Appointments
I'm sure that your lives, like mine, revolve around "keeping an eye on the time." Whether for personal or professional obligations, we can't get away from our time obligations and the need to stay on schedule for fear of turning our whole day upside down. And yet it continuously amazes me (and...
August 2014: Time Management Tips to Achieve Your Full Potential
If you are good at what you do on the job ... if you are a conscientious, committed professional ... two things will be true: (1) you'll get more to do, and (2) you'll want to do it all well. That's when the vicious cycle kicks into action. A few projects turn into many, with demands that...
July 2014: How to Play it Safe, Heat Hazards at Work
Hearing the announcers at the World Cup in Brazil comment on the heat and humidity, "much like Houston, Texas" it reminded me that not everyone is prepared to deal with 90+ degree temps and 80+% humidity. For Houstonians like me, this is the summer norm. We laugh when others talk about seasons...
