• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Productivity / Performance

The 6 biggest retention mistakes … and how to fix them

02/14/2011
With unemployment still floating above 9%, it’s a bit easier to find good employees. But keeping the best people never has been and never will be easy. What can you do to keep them around? A recent Harvard Business Review pointed to these key retention mistakes and solutions to fix them:

Document efforts to help employee improve

02/11/2011
Nothing makes an employer look better in court than clear proof that it tried to help a struggling employee improve her performance. That’s why you should keep track of those efforts.

Offer reasonable ADA accommodations–but you don’t have to provide full-time helper

02/11/2011

It can be devastating when an employee becomes severely disabled in the prime of life, especially if it’s clear the disability means she will never be able to perform her old job without substantial assistance. Well-intentioned, compassionate employers try their best to help. But the tough question is how far they should go to accommodate the disabled employee’s restrictions.

Injured employee may have returned too soon: Can we require him to take more leave?

02/10/2011
Q. We’re afraid that a previously injured worker returned from medical leave too soon. Can we require him to take additional leave if it’s obvious that the injury is still hurting his job performance?

Has the recession changed productivity expectations?

02/04/2011
A full 86% of U.S. executives say their company demands more time and commitment from employees now than when the recession began, according to Deloitte’s 2010 Ethics & Workplace Survey.

Addressing performance problems: 7 steps to success

02/01/2011
Talking with employees about performance problems can be uncomfortable for any manager. But it’s also a crucial part of the job and, if done well, will ultimately make a manager’s job much easier. Feel free to pass along these seven performance-improvement tips to your organization’s managers.

Block inadvertent bias from creeping into reviews

01/31/2011
When drafting performance reviews, every manager aims to be fair and consistent. But research shows that, too often, a concept known as “rater bias” can subtly—and inadvertently—influence a manager’s ratings. Here are the six most common types of bias to be aware of when drafting reviews or other types of feedback:

Track potential disciplinary problems as they occur

01/21/2011
For most problem employees, deteriorating behavior and performance is a gradual process. Smart employers track the downward trajectory along the way.

After employee has complained, be prepared to defend even minor work changes

01/21/2011
Employers can defend against alleged retaliation by showing they had a good reason for the adverse action. For example, if a supervisor moves an employee to another position for a legitimate management reason, that’s not retaliation. Consider the following case.

When deciding on employee discipline, you don’t have to be absolutely right–just fair

01/21/2011

Supervisors have to make decisions on how to run the workplace every day. They can’t spend hours deliberating every move. Imagine how little actual work would get done if supervisors had to double-check every decision to make absolutely sure it was correct. Fortunately, courts don’t require perfection from employers—just assurance that they acted fairly and in good faith.