Productivity / Performance

How to manage and grow your A+ employees

03/19/2014

“To get people to grow,” says Sander Flaum, CEO of global advertising firm Euro RSCG Becker, “you have to help them learn something new every day.” Here are more of his thoughts on what it takes to find and keep the best workers.

Turn slackers into stars! How to spark the turnaround

03/17/2014

Dealing with underachievers requires using judgment and some knowledge of human psychology. Here are some ways to get underachieving employees moving in the right direction.

Could manager’s telecommuting ban be bias?

02/24/2014

Q. We have a bunch of employees who telework. One manager wants to follow the approach Yahoo took last year and eliminate teleworking. He believes that employees are not actually working and that their inability to see the whites of each other’s eyes is limiting their collaboration. He’s made some comments in the past that make me think he really worries that female employees are spending work time caring for their children from home. What should we do?

Consider alternatives to your formal annual review process

02/24/2014

Many companies—including Adobe and Netflix—have abandoned annual reviews, focusing instead on continuous performance management. Could this process work for you?

A 10-step ‘prescription’ to create a happier workforce

02/17/2014

Most employees feel stressed, doubtful about job security and less invested in their companies and careers. You can and should do something about it.

Consistency is key when firing for performance

02/14/2014

Poor performance sounds like a legitimate reason to fire someone. That doesn’t mean the employee won’t sue. If that happens, you must be prepared to show that other employees who held the same position and had similar performance issues were also terminated. If not, you had better be able to explain why.

Changing employee behavior: 8 simple steps for ‘the talk’

02/11/2014

Smart business people know it’s more profitable to keep existing customers than constantly having to find new ones. That’s because the costs of acquiring new customers are so high. The same principle applies to employees.

Speed up a team slowpoke

02/01/2014

Every team has at least one employee who is slow to deliver work. The person almost always is the reason the team falls behind or fails to meet goals. Ramp up the energy and output of a slowpoke with these tips:

Progressive Discipline

01/18/2014

HR Law 101: The most reliable way to protect your organization from charges of wrongful discharge is to establish and enforce a system of progressive discipline. Make it clear to all your supervisors that they’re expected to abide by your policy …

Do annual reviews work? A case study, success story & interview

01/15/2014

When Suzanne Benoit, SPHR, joined Wright-Ryan Construction as its HR director, she learned that the company had been using an annual performance review process that wasn’t yielding the results it wanted. She then created a new process designed to improve performance, accountability and employee engagement. Here’s a conversation we recently had about how that process worked and its results.