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Employee Relations

Maybe at least the bagels and coffee are still free?

10/09/2014
Underperformers in IBM’s Global Technology Services strategic outsourcing group have been ordered to spend one day per week for the next six months in training—and take a 10% pay cut for the duration.

Employee’s performance hit the skids? Find out why with this 6-step inquiry

10/06/2014
When an employee’s job performance suddenly declines, too often managers and HR wait and hope it gets better. Not smart. Whether it’s an issue with management, personal problems or a mismatch between the employee’s job and skills, it’s key to quickly find out why employees are struggling. Here are six tips for this discussion.

Focus on behavior when disciplining jerks

10/06/2014
Some employees behave in ways that create an unpleasant environment for their co-workers, subordinates or supervisors. There’s no reason to put up with bullies and other ill-behaved employees.

This Halloween, get a monster morale boost … but avoid the legal scares

10/02/2014
For some businesses, Halloween is not just another day at the office. These organizations see it as an opportunity to energize the workplace and build company spirit. Here are tips for celebrating, and to avoid legal trouble related to costumes …

How to make yourself into a leader, not just a boss

09/26/2014
Some people use the words interchangeably. But for many people, the traditional boss is someone who turns employees off, while a leader turns them on. That’s why it’s important to understand how to become a true leader of your team. Here are some useful guidelines.

For 55% of workers, what they do is who they are

09/22/2014
More than half of working Americans say they get a sense of identity from the work they do, but education and income levels play a big part in the degree to which people feel that way.

7 great meeting icebreaker tips

09/22/2014
Getting meeting participants comfortable with one another and ready to work can be a big challenge, particularly when individuals don’t know each other or have worked together only once or twice. Here are icebreaker tips to move past that awkward stage and get things rolling.

The old suggestion box: How to make it work

09/18/2014
Some suggestions from our readers … and some ideas that might be charitably considered, well, unusual.

Get more done! Sign on to that conference call

09/17/2014
According to a new survey by Intercall, a phone service provider, 82% of employees polled admit to working on unrelated items while on a conference call.

Fantasy football comes at a cost

09/16/2014
Yes, it’s a morale boost, but it doesn’t come free. Employers can expect to “pay” an employee (earning a $40,000-per-year salary) $356 in lost productivity to play a season’s worth of fantasy football on company time.