Communication

Suggestion box winners: Beer, bikinis … and then maybe a nap

12/01/2009

Suggestion boxes seem like such a good idea! They’re an easy way to solicit employee input. They send the message that management cares. They get workers involved! What could go wrong?

How to set challenging but realistic goals for employees

11/30/2009

Goals are the heart of any pay-for-performance system. They set the standard against which employees’ progress is measured—and on which bonuses and raises are based. But goal setting can be a tightrope act. To establish goals that improve organizational performance, ask these eight questions, developed by the Harvard Business School:

Employee recognition: Have you hugged your employees today?

11/18/2009

You might think that recognition is about the rewards you give employees for long years of service or for retiring after a notable career. It’s really not. Recognition is about employee engagement. And employee engagement starts with employer engagement. How you treat people today is going to determine whether your valued employees stay with you when the financial crisis is over.

Seek employee input to blunt cost-cutting anger

11/11/2009

For countless organizations, cost reduction remains an overriding business imperative. But too many employers continue to swing the budget ax without seeking employees’ suggestions for what and where to cut. To cut costs in ways that have the least impact on retention and productivity, take the following steps that experts recommend for including employees in the decision-making:

Attitude, absence & foul language: 3 scripts for those conversations you’d rather not have

11/10/2009

Paul Falcone, author of 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees, offers these scripts to follow when you need to have awkward but essential conversations with employees. Here’s what managers should say after they’ve said, “Hey, got a minute?”

Checklist: How to set challenging but realistic goals for employees

11/04/2009

Goal setting can be a tightrope act for supervisors. Set the bar too low and you end up with an unmotivated, unproductive employee. Set it too high and you’ll create frustration and the possibility the person will do something unethical to achieve the goal. To make sure you’re setting goals correctly for employees, ask yourself these eight questions:

Hand-helds, laptops and ‘friending’: Managing the new culture clash

11/03/2009

Technology is blurring the lines between work and leisure and revealing real tensions between Gen Y, Gen X and baby boomer employees. The generations have very different ideas about what is and isn’t an appropriate use of technology in the office. Here’s one simple solution for bridging the gap.

Manager’s guide: 8 tips for setting realistic goals for employees

11/03/2009

Use multimedia campaigns to nurture employee self-service

10/27/2009

Having employees handle their own pay and benefits administration is the Holy Grail of comp and benefits pros. But merely offering self-serve online resources to employees won’t automatically make them self-sufficient. Instead, initiate a long-term, multimedia strategy using techniques that encourage employees to help themselves.

What do workers want? Studies show staff/boss disconnect

10/23/2009

Sometimes it seems like supervisors and employees work in entirely different places. Several recent studies show that bosses and front-line employees have widely varying views about their organization’s priorities, morale, compensation and benefits. Here are seven key flashpoints: