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Employee Relations

Promote staff volunteerism, but not for firm’s benefit

06/01/2005

Q. Our CEO just implemented a new employee evaluation goal based on their volunteer work throughout the year. The more they volunteer, the higher the points they receive on their review, ultimately increasing their salary. Can we do this without risk? —T.M., Maine

Sharpen your no-solicitation policy; vague language may let union in

05/01/2005
The best way to prevent employees from rallying support for a union in the workplace is to write and enforce a specific no-solicitation policy. To make sure it passes legal muster, …

How to set a work/home boundary that works

05/01/2005
Issue: How deeply do you want to get involved with employees’ personal lives?
Risk: Becoming a sounding board for every personal problem will eat up your workday (and drain you …

How to discuss performance problems with employees

05/01/2005
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Don’t retaliate against employees for controversial public opinions

05/01/2005
If your organization does business with any government entity (from a state agency to a local school board), be wary of allowing government officials to become involved in your employee discipline …

Train all supervisory employees how to spot and take complaints

05/01/2005
Don’t think that you can automatically swat away a pesky sexual-harassment suit by saying the complaining employee didn’t follow your complaint procedure to a “T.” Courts may let employees pursue their …

Don’t ‘get tough’ on certain staff; tie punishment to crime

05/01/2005
Issue: Supervisors tend to be quicker in disciplining employees that have given them trouble in the past.
Risk: Singling out certain “troublemakers” for discipline can spur a retaliation lawsuit.
…

Explain true health costs to employees; they’re clueless

05/01/2005
If you feel that employees don’t appreciate your company’s benefit plan, a new study shows why: They grossly underestimate your investment, particularly your contribution to health insurance costs.
More than …

Cut your legal risks by reworking exit interviews

05/01/2005
Issue: Gaining more value from your exit interviews.
Risk: Intelligence gathered often falls into a “black hole,” so mistakes are repeated and legal land mines are overlooked.
Action: Ask …

Union, no! Less reason to fear union-organizing campaigns

04/01/2005
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says union membership fell to 12.5 percent of all U.S. employees last year, down from 12.9 percent in 2003. That’s the lowest percentage of union …