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Productivity / Performance

9 surefire morale deflators–and how to avoid them

11/23/2010

With everything on your radar during the workday, it’s easy to forget about employee morale. But keeping the team engaged isn’t something that can be ignored or postponed. To keep morale on your radar, be aware of some of the common management mistakes that undermine it. Here are nine main deflators of employee morale, plus tips on avoiding them:

5 mistakes to avoid when recognizing employees

11/18/2010
If a star employee has ever surprised you during an exit interview by saying she had been dissatisfied with her job for a long time, you’re not alone. It’s common to find a vast divergence between employee satisfaction and management’s take on the situation. Managers frequently make five big mistakes that can send your valued employees packing. Luckily, they’re easy to fix.

The best defense against bias lawsuits: Equal treatment for all your employees

11/15/2010
An employee who thinks her supervisor is out to get her may be on the lookout for perceived discrimination. She can turn a negative performance appraisal into a bias lawsuit. The only way to prepare for surprise lawsuits is to consistently treat all employees alike and document that fair treatment. For example, performance evaluations should include as many objective measures as possible, making it easier to compare employees.

Baytown falls victim to growing age bias lawsuit trend

11/15/2010
Former Baytown municipal employee Richard Hensley is suing the city, arguing that a negative performance appraisal he received reflects a pattern of discrimination against older workers. The lawsuit argues that the city of Baytown routinely replaces older employees with younger, unqualified replacements.

Good documentation wins cases–even sensitive ones

11/15/2010
Having complete records of why you disciplined an employee often gives a court the information it needs to decide whether you’ve discriminated—or even retaliated against someone who has leveled serious charges against you.

Keep good records–they’re the key to winning lawsuits

11/08/2010
Remind supervisors: They can’t be careless about documenting poor performance, tardiness and other indications that an employee isn’t performing as well as expected. Good records provide the basis for valid discipline.

Establish clear performance expectations so courts can judge if employee was meeting them

11/01/2010

Courts often hesitate to second-guess employers when they fire employees for what seem like honest reasons. And employers that set out clear performance expectations and then show how the terminated employee fell short rarely lose a lawsuit. That’s because, absent smoking-gun evidence of discrimination, fired employees have to prove they were meeting their employer’s legitimate expectations.

4 phrases that can sabotage job reviews

11/01/2010

When supervisors talk with employees about job performance, they must beware using common phrases that can unintentionally communicate the wrong message, or come across as too negative … or even legally dangerous. Feel free to share this “Memo to Managers” article with everyone in your organization who conducts performance reviews. Bonus: They’ll also learn the two phrases virtually guaranteed to spark a lawsuit.

Fire blatant rule-breakers–even ‘top producers’

11/01/2010

Some employees think that being the best employee in a division or company means not having to follow the rules. That isn’t true and can be downright damaging to morale. If you decide to fire the employee because of disruptive and uncooperative behavior, don’t worry that he’ll win a lawsuit just by virtue of productivity.

4 steps for implementing a variable pay program

10/26/2010
Making variable pay work requires lots of interaction throughout the organization before, during and after implementation. As the business unit most likely in charge of implementation, it’s up to HR to make sure that happens. Here’s how to do it.