Employee Relations

Don’t use discipline system to settle old scores

10/22/2009

Do you have a progressive disciplinary system? Don’t short-circuit it!

Record infraction, punishment for every rules violation

10/21/2009

Make a note every time you take disciplinary action against an employee. You need documentation that explains why each employee was punished.

8 lessons you can learn from the fed’s top agencies

10/13/2009

Set aside any notions you might have that the federal bureaucracy is inherently dysfunctional. In fact, Uncle Sam’s best agencies have a thing or two to teach private-sector employers. Here are eight lessons employers can learn from the biennial agency-by-agency ranking of federal employers by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.

8 keys to effective performance appraisal

10/13/2009

It happens to every manager: You sit down to prepare a staff member’s review and realize you can remember only what the person has done the past few weeks. Supervisors should never rely solely on memory to evaluate employee performance. The most useful, easy-to-implement way is to create and maintain a log for each person. Here’s how.

Handle supervisor harassment with a good policy, timely investigation and independent review

10/12/2009

It’s one of the toughest HR problems: Handling a sexual harassment claim when the alleged harasser is a supervisor. But all is not lost. With proper planning, you can minimize the liability risk. Here’s how:

How to reduce liability for harassment: Do the right thing

10/11/2009

In a case that has simple yet profound lessons for employers, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an employer wasn’t liable for co-worker harassment—all because the company acted fast and effectively when it discovered the harassment.

Investigate even ‘frivolous’ complaints

10/09/2009

It may be tempting to ignore complaints you suspect are frivolous or unfounded. Don’t give in to that temptation! Instead, investigate the case as you would any other. Then resolve the matter and document everything—including whom you talked to and what they said. It’s the best way to short-circuit a meritless employee lawsuit.

‘Kevin eats all the good cookies!’… and 12 other weirdest complaints to HR

10/06/2009

You have to handle plenty of serious employee gripes about benefits and harassment. But as shown by a new CareerBuilder survey of 2,600 HR pros and hiring managers, you also have had to deal with some truly offbeat complaints. For example:

Can we require employees to get flu shots?

10/06/2009

Approximately 3 million doses of the vaccines designed to prevent the H1N1 flu virus—swine flu—shipped last week. Local health authorities are preparing to offer vaccines as early as this week. Can you—should you?—demand that your employees get flu shots?

Before firing, make sure you treated others just the same

10/05/2009

Before you fire any employee, double-check to make sure others who performed just as poorly or made similar mistakes were also terminated. Doing so may prevent a lawsuit … or, if you are sued, at least provide evidence that you treat everyone alike.