Productivity / Performance

When merger looms, focus on evaluations

03/19/2012

HR professionals are often among the first to know that big organizational changes are on the way. If you learn about an upcoming merger, don’t spill the beans, but do diplomatically prod managers to complete all pending performance evaluations.

Track what happens to everyone on a PIP

03/19/2012

Here’s a tip if you use performance improvement plans (PIP) before termination. Track what happens to everyone who’s on a PIP. Note those who quit instead of facing discharge.

8 tips to gain CFO’s wellness program buy-in

03/14/2012

If you want the C-suite to support employee wellness programs, show your chief financial officer the money. Here are eight suggestions that can help you convince your organization’s top brass that programs promoting health and wellness are good for your business’s bottom line:

How often do you review and revise job descriptions?

03/06/2012

The need to hire someone new is the major impetus to revise job descriptions.

Details, details: 5 online tools to help employees focus

03/05/2012

Increased workloads … tighter deadlines … fewer resources. All of these have conspired to put a premium on employees’ ability to remain focused on the details of their jobs. Here are five free or low-cost sources designed to measure and improve attention to detail.

Incompetence can’t turn manager into hourly

03/02/2012

Sometimes an employee promoted to management just isn’t ready for new responsibilities. Maybe she’s having a hard time thinking like an exempt employee, longing for the days when she was entitled to breaks and overtime. Fortunately, if you discipline such employees for neglecting their duties, they can’t later claim they actually were hourly employees entitled to overtime.

Problem employee both brash and unskilled? Focus on performance issues when disciplining

03/01/2012

Where should you focus if an employee is both difficult to get along with and doesn’t perform as well as she should? It’s actually an easy call. Avoid a potentially successful lawsuit by focusing on poor performance rather than demeanor or other subjective problems.

A 360-degree review can be used to show process was fair

03/01/2012

Some employees can never seem to see that their bad attitudes and behaviors cause workplace problems. Confronted with complaints, they inevitably claim their subordinates or customers are wrong. When they’re finally terminated, they’re quite likely to sue. That’s when it’s handy to have a performance appraisal process that uses 360-degree reviews.

Do you have an official policy that regulates romantic relationships between co-workers?

02/21/2012

In the workplace, love may be in the air, but most employers turn a blind eye.

6 ways–beyond ‘fixing’ the employees–to improve productivity

02/17/2012

When productivity dips, it seems logical to blame employees for not engaging in the job. But that might not be what’s going on. The problem: Identifying what that “something” is that’s sapping productivity—and getting rid of it. Six factors to examine: