HR Consulting Firm: The Sky's The Limit Consulting

What Makes a Great Leader - Part Two

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 07:09:14 -0800

What Makes a Great Leader - Part One

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 07:00:55 -0800

Preserving the “Human” in Human Resources

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 07:37:20 -0800

Human Resources encompasses many different areas, some often ignored. In preparing for my Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) Certification, there were six modules:

Strategic Management
Workforce Planning and Employment
Human Resource Development
Total Rewards
Employee and Labor Relations
Risk Management

These focus areas have shifted a little since I obtained this credential in June 2010, the essence remains. Yet too often the focus that small businesses and/or start-ups are advised to consider is not incorporating all these essential areas. They are directed towards compliance with external entities including governmental regulations, setting internal rules, policies and procedures. In addition, internal HR professionals must also recruit, hire, classify and compensate quality employees.

So, what’s missing? The “human” side of business. Leadership, Communication, Culture, Training and Development, Employee Engagement and Performance Management. For more than a quarter of a century, my consulting work (training, facilitation and coaching) has been in all these areas in corporate, government and nonprofit organizations. The issues are universal regardless of the type of employer. If you would like to discuss ways to preserve the “human” among your human resources, contact us for a complimentary consultation.

Focus on the Front Line

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:04:37 -0800

First Five Minutes

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 09:38:50 -0800

Everyone Counts: Embracing a Multi-Generational Team

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 09:29:37 -0800

Each generation is molded by the events that occur as they are moving from children to teenagers to young adults. Current events that happen locally, nationally, and even internationally will impact their age group. Economic variables and media will identify each group as well. These will shape not only their preferences and their values but what skills they bring to the workplace. Employers benefit from not only understanding but adapting and, dare I say, embracing these differences.

These groups and their birth years are:

Traditionalists (born 1928-1945) - most here may have retired but some are still working because they want to or because they may need to financially
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) - many here have also retired or are approaching retirement
Generation X (born 1965-1980) - one of the top two groups present in today’s workplace; some are also approaching retirement or past the midpoint of their work lives
Millennials (born 1981-2000) - this is the other of the top two groups; they will soon become the largest part of the workforce
Generation Z (born 2001-2020) - the oldest of this age group has been entering the workforce most recently with more joining each new year

Employee turnover, in what is currently an employee rather than an employer’s market, impacts productivity, profitability, and a team’s morale. When there is appreciation and trust among team members, performance is enhanced and people will stay working together longer.

What to consider:

Broaden your talent pool: Consider the value of each group’s employees. Look at job descriptions and realize that...Read More

Bullying in the Workplace

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 06:30:20 -0800

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Inaction at a Cost

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 09:23:21 -0800

Currently, eight states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New York, Virginia, and Washington), Washington, DC, and the cities of New York and Chicago have legislated mandatory workplace harassment prevention training. Training must take place at least once every two years for employers in both public and private sectors. Employers who must comply will vary among the jurisdictions based on the number of employees and other factors. Other states like Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont encourage but do not require sexual harassment training. The remaining states consider anti-harassment training a best practice. Still, employers in other jurisdictions continue to offer continuing education on this sensitive topic as a best practice.

Vector Solutions published a white paper just recently based on a study with these 10 revelations:

One-third of employers have dealt with either a sexual harassment or assault claim.
The cost of sexual assault to the US economy is $220 billion each year.
Invisible costs are lower productivity, absenteeism, increased health-care costs, lower morale and harm to one’s reputation.
Almost ¾ of all women in corporate America experience sexual harassment and/or assault at some point in their careers (that should draw a red flag!).
And almost 1/10 of rapes occur at the workplace (also alarming).
Certain professional roles are impacted at higher percentages (people working alone, employees working for tips, those in male-dominated environments or workplaces with imbalanced power structures).
Retaliation is faced by ¾ of those who report their experiences.
The four main generations currently working together in the workforce are: Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1965-1980), Millennials (born 1981-1996), and Generation Z (born 1997-2012). Generation Alpha is also being considered, although they are still relatively young and entering the workforce. Each generation has been shaped by common experiences in their coming-of-age years which is how groups are often characterized.

Generation Z will become the largest in the workforce in just 10 years from now, 2035, representing 31%. In a recent survey in Newsweek, 40% of 1500 US employees surveyed identified those in Gen Z as the most difficult to work with and 36% also stated that they were the most difficult to lead. They themselves even agreed, 40% and 33% respectively, calling out their own peers as the worst managers.

As a generation, they are defined as Digital, Global, Social, Visual and Mobile. They have grown up with technology that older generations have come to know later in life. They connect more globally on social trends, food and fashion. Having grown up when social media was prevalent, they mostly connect virtually and tend to watch videos every day, preferring to watch more than read. They are also more likely to move jobs, industries and where they live.

With a greater understanding of this growing generation, open communication between what is important to them and how they function will reduce potential conflict rather than attempting to mold them into what an earlier generation may be like because that’s not the way they were raised.
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