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Productivity / Performance

Discovered new hire’s litigious background? Don’t retaliate

05/01/2007

Hired a dud who, you just found out, has a history of crying discrimination? Make sure you have solid, business-related reasons for any discipline you take. Here’s why …

Too old and white for HRD? Don’t discuss ‘Dream’ staff

05/01/2007

The New York Human Rights Division is facing age and race-discrimination lawsuits by two former employees who say they were tossed out for being old and white …

Should we give reviews to independent contractors?

05/01/2007

Q. We have several independent contractors working at our company, as well as many regular employees. We give performance reviews to regular employees, but not the independent contractors. Should we?—M.L., California

Reserve Rewards for Top-Notch Performance

05/01/2007

Imagine if your organization’s managers could stop paying people and start buying their results, one by one. What do you think would happen if every manager had the discretion, the ability, the skill and the gumption to start negotiating with employees as if they were outside vendors? …

Break-Time Massages Ease Stress, Boost Productivity for $1 a Minute

05/01/2007

It costs the California-based digital marketing company Organic $1 a minute to boost its employees’ productivity. How? Through 20-minute massages that employees can take advantage of at the office …

Teacher bonuses linked to higher student performance

05/01/2007

Administrators in Arkansas’ Little Rock School District wanted to link financial awards for teachers to academic improvement in their students. The teachers agreed to the program without knowing what the payoff would be …

It pays to hear both sides of the story before a firing

05/01/2007

If your organization is like many, someone in HR ultimately decides whether to terminate an employee for poor performance based on supervisor recommendations and supporting documents, such as performance reviews. That can spell trouble if there’s more going on than meets the eye ...

Even Years Later, ‘Getting Even’ Can Still Be Retaliation

05/01/2007

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes it illegal to retaliate against employees who complain about discrimination. Ordinarily, employees must show a strong time-related connection between their initial complaint and the alleged retaliation. However, employees can file years later if they can show that the individual who allegedly retaliated waited until he was in a position to order a payback …

You can force ‘Fitness for duty’ exam with good reason

05/01/2007

It certainly shouldn’t be a routine practice, but you can require employees to undergo “fitness for duty” examinations. The trick is knowing exactly when and why such an exam is legal—or not …

Seek accommodations even if the effort seems impossible

05/01/2007

As soon as an employee makes it known that he needs accommodations, it’s up to the employer to start an interactive accommodations process, even if it turns out that no accommodation is possible …