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Employee Relations

Performance slipping under new supervisor? Find out if standards have changed

11/12/2012
If a former employee sues after being fired for poor performance, his attorney will almost certainly ask to look at past performance appraisals. Any that indicate the employee had previously been doing a good or excellent job may be used against you as proof the employee was fired for illegal reasons.

Boost retention: Focus on every new employee’s ‘5 Firsts’

11/08/2012

Keeping your best people doesn’t have to take a lot of time. All it really takes are small doses of quality time that make the most of first impressions. Hiring and retention guru Mel Kleiman offers a five-stage timetable for getting new hires to peak performance and keeping them there.

Turn your recognition program on its head with peer-to-peer initiatives

11/07/2012

Is your recognition program a top-down affair, with execs deciding how to sprinkle around the praise and prizes? Actually, studies show peer-to-peer recognition can boost employee morale and productivity more than traditional reward programs. Some examples:

Discipline OK even if employee has complained

11/01/2012
Courts are consistently hesitant to second-guess well-founded employment decisions. Of course, they won’t let you get away with discriminating or retaliating against an employee for filing an EEOC complaint or lawsuit. But that doesn’t mean you can’t discipline an employee if she needs prodding to meet your legitimate expectations.

Lesson of Hurricane Sandy: It’s time to update your crisis-management plan

10/30/2012
Hurricane Sandy is a powerful reminder: Natural (and man-made) disasters can threaten at any time. Smart employers make contingency plans so they can stay up and running even when normal work operations are disrupted. Here are eight key pieces to a crisis-management plan, which you can coordinate with the appropriate departments.

Add credibility to your investigations: Have employee sign off on your notes

10/30/2012
If you interview employees during the course of misconduct investigations, make sure to take accurate notes. Then, before concluding the interview, have the employee read and sign the notes, attesting that they accurately reflect what was said.

When disciplining older worker, be sure to document all examples of poor performance

10/29/2012
Employees who sue for age discrimination under the ADEA must prove that, if not for illegal age discrimination, their employer wouldn’t have taken an adverse employment action. That’s why, when age may be an issue, em­­ployers are better off having several good reasons for terminating the employee.

Rocky Mountain climb grows into charity event

10/25/2012
A climb up one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains that started as a team-building event for a handful of MegaPath Corp. employees in 2005 has grown into an annual event to raise money for two children’s health charity organizations.

Michigan firm’s employees say collective ‘thanks’ to truckers

10/23/2012
During National Truck Driver Appre­­ci­­a­­tion Week in September, employees of Troy, Mich.-based Meritor personally extended their thanks to the professional drivers who serve the company’s manufacturing plants.

Last-chance agreement can head off discrimination suit

10/22/2012
An employee you’re about to fire says he’s being discriminated against. If you think he’ll sue if you terminate him, consider offering him a last-chance agreement—all he has to do is promise not to sue for discrimination.