By Lynne Curry It’s not your imagination. There are more incidents of violence across our country than ever before. It doesn’t matter where you live. Nor that you don’t believe it could happen in your town, your workplace or at your kids’ school. You’ve seen the news reports. The violence in workplaces including offices, schools, restaurants, train stations, malls, and … [Read more...] about Workplace active shooter: Run, hide, fight
Risk management
Is your law office vulnerable to Russian cyberattacks?
The White House is urging businesses to review and improve cybersecurity because of a heightened risk of cyber attacks from Russia. A statement from the Biden-Harris Administration advises businesses to take the following steps: Mandate the use of multi-factor authentication on your systems to make it harder for attackers to get onto your system; Deploy modern security … [Read more...] about Is your law office vulnerable to Russian cyberattacks?
Watch for harassment by emoji in your office
By Lynne Curry “How much trouble are we in?” the office administrator asked. I looked at the sheaf of text and Slack messages, loaded with emojis, and stopped on one sent in early March that asked, “Good to know you’re almost done with the project and headed for the weekend. Do you garden?” flanked by an eggplant emoji. Other texts included peaches, dump trucks, sweat … [Read more...] about Watch for harassment by emoji in your office
High at work: Anyone else smell that?
By Paul Edwards More often than you would think, we get calls from managers wondering what they can do about someone whom they think is impaired at work. When that happens, we immediately go into crisis control mode because, well, impairment at work is never acceptable. In this article, we are going to discuss impairment and odors from the perspective of marijuana … [Read more...] about High at work: Anyone else smell that?
Protect your data as Russia-Ukraine war increases cybersecurity risk
By Ron Slyker As part of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian cyberattacks have primarily targeted Ukrainian government and bank systems, but the attacks may spread to countries outside of Ukraine soon. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) and the FBI have warned organizations to increase protection as a precaution in case these attacks begin to affect … [Read more...] about Protect your data as Russia-Ukraine war increases cybersecurity risk
4 ways to prioritize staff mental health
Mental distress has long been a hidden issue in the workplace. Employees are often unaware of the resources—if any—available to help them, while employers may be unaware of the effects mental distress has on safety and their bottom lines. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has brought this issue to the forefront for many employers. Over 40% of Americans report experiencing … [Read more...] about 4 ways to prioritize staff mental health
Your keycard could be your office’s top security threat
By Todd Burner The days of tumbler locks and keys are fading, especially in high-traffic areas. Proximity cards—those credit-card-sized, contactless devices that grant users access to a variety of areas—have largely taken their place. But for too many facilities that card represents one of its biggest security gaps. Proximity cards (also known as keycards) are incredibly … [Read more...] about Your keycard could be your office’s top security threat
A manager tries to hold it all together during Omnicron surge
By Lynne Curry “I’m overwhelmed,” the manager said when he called. “Senior management pressures us to maintain high levels of productivity, but nearly a fourth of our employees call in sick every morning. On our last all-manager Zoom call, our CEO said our productivity is down and made it clear we’re expected to handle our employees’ anxiety and get them refocused on their … [Read more...] about A manager tries to hold it all together during Omnicron surge
Tips to keep your law office data in the cloud secure
By Ron Slyker As manager of a law office, the security of data in the cloud is one of your many responsibilities. The trick to avoiding a cloud data security breach is to pay close attention to your cloud applications and user behavior. While analyzing the software and looking at user behaviors takes time, the benefits of reducing cloud and data security breaches make it … [Read more...] about Tips to keep your law office data in the cloud secure
Don’t write a positive reference for a problem employee; instead do this
By Lynne Curry Question: After an investigation, we fired one of our employees for threatening and stalking two co-workers. He now demands a positive letter of reference, which I’m writing. I tried to appease him with an innocuous letter that gave the dates on which he’d worked here along with what his job duties were. He refused to accept this, and frankly he scares … [Read more...] about Don’t write a positive reference for a problem employee; instead do this