Leslie Speas

I started my career in HR in 1990 as a fresh-faced, big-haired, recent graduate. As of now, I have officially been in HR for 36 years. I’m not sure if it’s grit or insanity that has gotten me through. 😂 When I started in 1990, fresh out of grad school, cell phones were new (mostly in bags with no texting), email was barely a thing, there was no internet, and presentations involved overhead projectors and transparencies. A lot has changed. And a lot hasn’t. Here are five things I’ve learned:...

Have you ever had to lead—or simply work alongside—someone who was never happy, stirred up drama, and seemed to drain the energy from everyone around them? Most leaders can identify that employee. The harder part is knowing what to do about it. One difficult employee can have a big impact on morale, productivity, trust, and even retention. Recently, I've been helping several clients work through situations like this, so I thought I'd share a few strategies that can help. 7 Tips for Managing...

As employees take well-deserved vacations this summer, many organizations discover something important: Vacation season is often a stress test for their people systems.