For the second year in a row, HR Solutions At Work recently participated in the Multi-Chamber Expo run by the Waltham Chamber of Commerce. Over 75 vendors exhibited, representing a variety of local businesses that included local universities, radio stations, non-profit organizations, and more. The live DJ, free food, and prize raffles added to the lively and fun atmosphere of the expo. 

Representing HR Solutions At Work were (pictured above, left to right) Office Administrator Alisa Lackey, Program and Communications Manager Jennifer London, and Director of HR Services Natalie Costello. We did manage to sample a few of the goodies on offer (shoutout to Lizzy’s Ice Cream in particular, based right in Waltham, for loading us up with more free ice cream than we probably should have consumed in one sitting!), but most of our time was spent networking, explaining how our company differs from other fractional HR companies, and — always a crowd favorite — running our HR trivia game. (It’s hard to resist a giant “FREE CHOCOLATE” sign, but it turns out it’s equally hard to resist a colorful spinning prize wheel.) 

This was our second time running our trivia game, and by far our favorite part was when people came over thinking this would be an easy “win” and then realized there’s so much more to learn about HR rules and regulations — especially as the employment laws keep changing, workplaces keep adapting, and so on. (Our second-favorite part was watching people’s faces light up when they won a full-size chocolate bar!)

In fact, our trivia game has been so popular, it’s got us thinking: Maybe, in 2025, we should bring some of this trivia fun to our social media. Good idea? Bad idea? Be honest: are you only in it for the chocolate? Let us know what you think over on our LinkedIn page!

A huge thank you to Waltham Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Molyna Richards for organizing the event and including us once more.

It feels like it’s only been a blink since we celebrated our tenth anniversary, but somehow an entire year has passed. The past year has seen our company nearly double in size, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be slowing down anytime soon.  

We held our second all-hands offsite this year at the beautiful MIT Endicott House in Dedham, MA. As a fully remote company, having our employees together in one place (in person!) is a pretty exciting occasion, and we had so much fun getting to know each other better and learning from each other over the course of the two-day meeting. 

Highlights included trainings on writing investigation reports and taking notes for investigations; having one of our clients meet the entire team over Zoom; presentations about employment law updates relating to pay transparency, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, marijuana in the workplace, non-competition agreements, and the Fair Labor Standards Act; and learning about the HR services we offer, including workplace assessments.

We can’t wait to see what the next year will bring. Thank you to all of our clients, referral partners, and, most importantly, our amazing team, many of whom are in the photo above! 

HR Solutions At Work recently participated in the May 8, 2024, Business Expo run by the Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce. With nearly 100 exhibitors and an attendance of roughly 1,000 business professionals, the event was a flurry of activity and networking.

Representing HR Solutions At Work were (pictured above, left to right) Director of HR Services Natalie Costello and Program and Communications Manager Jennifer London. The big draw at our exhibitor booth was our “FREE CHOCOLATE” sign, which proved impossible to resist. Participants answered HR trivia questions for a shot at winning the prize, which was a full-size chocolate bar. (That’s right, full size: we don’t mess around over here when it comes to chocolate!) Some attendees even came over just to test their HR knowledge, not for the chocolate. It was a lot of fun! We also answered questions about our services, met some amazing people, and learned a lot about our fellow organizations in MetroWest Boston. 

A huge thank you to Director of Programs and Events Carlene Covino, as well as the whole Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce, for putting on such a wonderful event and including us!

That’s a wrap! The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) Trainings for EEO Professionals, both Train-the-Trainer and Investigation Skills training, have wrapped up for 2024. HR Solutions At Work founder Judy Kalisker has served on the faculty for the annual program as a volunteer since its inception in 2000.

This series of training programs helps EEO professionals identify and develop the skills needed to conduct effective internal discrimination complaint investigations and provide critical discrimination and harassment prevention training. There is one more session for 2024: “Responding to Accommodation Requests.” More information on this course, and the link to sign up when new courses are added to the schedule, can be found here on the MCAD website.

HR Solutions At Work can also offer customized training for internal HR and management teams. If you’d like to learn more about this or any of our outsourced HR services, please contact us here.

Did you know that HR Solutions At Work does custom webinars for small business owners? We can tailor HR and legal content to fit any industry, from tech and health care to construction and farms. Best of all, we do this for free for networking groups and associations!

We recently hosted a webinar, highlighting our custom HR services, for a group of community farm executives. These attendees represented a variety of independent farms united by the shared goal of equitable access to healthy, sustainably grown produce for all, and we were thrilled to be able to support this mission. Judy Kalisker and Natalie Costello led the lively and interactive webinar, which covered a range of topics including compensation packages, equitable benefits, feedback, and performance reviews.

The webinar focused not only on the macro level of these topics, which are applicable to any industry, but also on the micro level of what is unique to farms and to nonprofit organizations. The participants appreciated the guidance tailored to unique challenges in their industry.

Webinar participants commented that they had never heard of this kind of program before at other HR companies. One participant said that having all of the farm’s HR needs serviced by one organization was a “game-changer.” Another nonprofit operations leader wrote to us afterward (they agreed to be quoted here), saying:

Finally! This is the HR resource that I’ve been looking for for so long. You have no idea how much weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

For our part, we left the webinar feeling energized and excited to plan more webinars for a variety of industries in 2024. We’d love to hear from you: Do you think your industry’s small business owners would benefit from a tailored webinar? Is there anything in particular you’d like some guidance on?

Please contact us if you’re interested in having HR Solutions At Work create a free custom webinar, lunch & learn, or coffee chat for a networking group in your industry. If you would prefer to set up a one-on-one meeting with our Director of HR Services to learn more about our outsourced HR solutions for small employers, please contact us here.

In October 2020, Judy Kalisker was featured on the Channel Maven Consulting podcast focusing on diversity and inclusion in the workplace — issues that are just as relevant today as they were then. In the interview, Judy talks about how some conversations about social or political issues can create tension in the workplace. Among other things, she also discusses the distinction between diversity and inclusion on the one hand and discrimination and harassment on the other.

One point to remember when it comes to DEI training, Judy points out, is that “no one should be made to feel uncomfortable because of who they are.” And, importantly: your diversity and inclusion training should tie to your business goals, company culture, and policies.

Many employers and managers think they should know how to address potentially divisive issues in the workplace and handle important conversations, but these issues are complicated and involve not only the business decisions your organization’s leaders are trained and experienced in, but also legal and HR issues. That’s where we come in. We provide advice and HR solutions for employers, such as workplace training and investigations, that help employers navigate these tricky issues.  

If you have questions about this, or if you’d like to hear more about our advice, outsourced HR solutions, workplace trainings, or investigations, please send us a note and we’ll get in touch to discuss your needs.