I have to be honest, the past couple of weeks of my life can easily be characterized as blissful, upbeat, and downright thrilling! One might think the levity in my step is due to summer’s dynamic and awe-inspiring energy or the fact that my family vacation is right around the corner. While the aforementioned are also true, I must admit it has everything to do with the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA World Championship and simultaneously made history!

One of the main factors that contributes to the United States being a world super power is in large part due to its economy. While in recent years the US economy has suffered major setbacks and the deterioration of many industries due to offshoring and certain product lines becoming obsolete, the broader economic landscape has been a world leader for well over a century.

Regardless of the nature of the transaction, during a merger or acquisition, all employees find themselves surrounded by change, impacting everything from organizational culture to the snacks in the kitchen. From here it is an exercise in simple logic - with change, comes uncertainly - with uncertainty, comes attrition. Is there no way to interrupt this equation?

Globally, the workforce is getting older while also getting younger, creating the perfect conditions for leadership challenges. And that means, no matter where an employee works around the globe today, they probably work for an organization struggling to retain its talent. According to Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends 2016 report, 28% of companies reported weak or very weak leadership pipelines, only 7% believe they are “excellent” at building Millennial leaders and only 13% report they are “excellent” at building global leaders. From the workforce perspective, 63% of Millennials say their leadership skills are not being developed, and in the next year, 66% of employees from this same generation expect to leave their jobs.

White-Collar Exemption Changes Are Here Last March, I wrote an article when the topic of the DOL FLSA White Collar-Exemption change was being discussed. At that time there was a lot of uncertainty about what the new minimum salary threshold would be; when this rule would take effect; and how much supervisory responsibility an employee would have to have to be considered exempt. Well, wait no more because effective December 1, 2016, the new rules go into effect.

As a consultant in the field of Human Resources, I am often approached for guidance on how to conduct a difficult conversation in the workplace. I’ve had COO’s come to talk through how to share with their CEO (and boss!) that their contributions in staff meetings are negatively impacting employee morale and undermining their position as COO. I’ve had employees come to me and ask how to talk to their manager about why they feel overwhelmed and underpaid in their role. I’ve had friends call me up and ask about best practices for approaching their manager to let them know they will be resigning from their position. These topics, along with a number of other topics in the workplace, are never an easy conversation to approach and I have found myself consistently providing the following advice in each scenario. Added bonus, these tips apply to those not-so-easy conversations at home as well!