What's worse?

Getting a slew of negative publicity for firing an employee who made disparaging comments your organization on Facebook or having to hire him back after his manager doesn't follow proper procedures for employee terminations?

Baseball fans have already heard this story since it was widely reported last week that the Pittsburgh Pirates had hired back Andew Kurtz, after firing him the previous week. Kurtz performs in mascot races between innings at Pirates home games, running while dressed as a giant pierogi. Here's a link to a good overview in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette if you want to read more.

This story captured a lot of a media attention but there are many instances when managers create additional liability for their organizations by failing to follow procedures. It's a particular challenge with human resources issues because managers are paid to make decisions, but you don't want them acting unilaterally without careful consideration or help from an HR professional.

A few of our clients have asked us to help them educate their managers on when to contact HR, so we've put together an interactive workshop called Managing Within the Law. It uses a lot of scenario-based learning and the line managers who participate are often surprised that the common sense response is often the wrong move.

Have a good story to share? Drop a comment on my blog -- I always enjoy an interesting HR adventure!