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Productivity / Performance

What’s Working: 6 Hot Compensation & Benefits Best Practices

09/16/2008

On-site scuba lessons, desks on wheels, employee shopping sprees and unlimited time off are just a few of the ways innovative employers recruit, reward, retain and refresh workers. See if any of these best practices—some simple, some extravagant—inspire you to take a fresh look at your company’s perks.

Document poor work to make sure firing sticks

09/15/2008
Jerilyn Lucas, a bank branch manager, seemed to be in over her head. She struggled with basic operational matters. Her staff began complaining that she frequently missed work. Lucas’ supervisors repeatedly warned her about her performance. When the bank eventually fired her , she sued …

Tell supervisors: You can’t just make up your own performance appraisal standards

09/05/2008

Employers that let supervisors add to or alter the way they conduct performance appraisals are playing with fire. For example, supervisors should never be allowed to assess things like tardiness and attendance using anything but official HR records …

Salaries up slightly in ’09, with more pay for performance

09/05/2008

Despite the economic gloom dominating the headlines, three new national salary surveys predict that U.S. employers will generally hold salary increases steady in 2009. The surveys show employers plan to award average pay increases at or near 3.8% next year, nearly identical to raises given in 2008 and 2007. But smart employers aren’t handing out 3.8% across the board …

Survive the ‘perfect storm’ by matching pay to performance

09/05/2008

If your organization has plenty of employees but not enough of the ones with the skills you need to survive the economic downturn, you’re going to have to change the way you pay them. Make three changes to weather the tempest …

Document deficiencies, don’t fret over false accusations

09/03/2008

Some employees—confronted with their own shortcomings—insist on deflecting blame. Perhaps they try to argue that so-and-so—who doesn’t belong to the same protected class—always gets away with the same poor work and conduct that they’re being criticized for. If you truly believe there is no merit to such an employee’s allegations, you probably don’t need to sweat it …

8 strategies: Make flex plans work for you

09/02/2008
Your organization wouldn’t offer flexible work arrangements such as flextime and compressed workweeks if management didn’t believe the benefits outweighed the costs. Yet surveys show that few organizations have formal and consistent policies in place to manage their flex programs.

Don’t let disability assumptions lead you to believe employee can’t work at all

09/02/2008

Employers that wrongly regard injured employees as disabled by refusing to consider them for any open positions may be setting themselves up for “regarded as disabled” litigation. The ADA makes it illegal to discriminate against employees by assuming they are disabled when they are not …

Handle with care if older employee’s performance slips

09/02/2008
When some employees approach retirement, they begin to coast. They may think that there’s no way their employer will let them go at their age, assuming management will be afraid of an Age Discrimination in Employment case. The truth is, that worker isn’t untouchable. Here’s how to handle the situation when you discover the employee is still coming to work but has mentally retired …

What to do when an employee threatens violence

09/02/2008
Q. I work in the HR area at my company and just learned that an employee who is experiencing some personal problems is now having performance problems at work. I also learned the employee has made threats about hurting his boss and a certain co-worker. What should I do? …