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Employee Relations

Free food! Boost morale, productivity by feeding the staff

02/01/2007

Your organization may spring for pizza when everyone works late or buy a cake for employees’ birthdays. But employer-provided food can do more than fill the bellies of hungry staff …

Setting layoff criteria? You can ignore past performance

02/01/2007

When planning a layoff or restructuring, you can set criteria for who gets the ax by focusing on employees’ potential future contributions and ignoring their past performance …

Smoking-Cessation benefits expand productivity

02/01/2007

How much does having a smoker on staff add to your costs? On average, smoking breaks and higher health costs related to smoking cost employers the equivalent of nine weeks’ lost productivity per year …

The right way to accommodate employees with diabetes

02/01/2007

The numbers are daunting: Diabetes affects about one in 14 Americans and it’s the fifth leading cause of death in the country. Almost 80 percent more diabetics are in the U.S. work force now than just a decade ago, and experts predict those numbers will rise. For employers, the twin epidemics of diabetes and obesity are eating into profits and creating legal land mines …

No policy? Punish moonlighter anyway

02/01/2007

Q. We just discovered that an employee we hired two months ago is working for another company, too. He is a salaried employee and hardly ever in the office. Is there anything we can do? Is it too late to add a no-moonlighting policy to our handbook? —K.T., California

Inheriting staff? Setting higher standards is perfectly legal

02/01/2007

If you’re part of a new management team bent on improving overall performance, don’t let lawsuit fears keep you from imposing higher standards on inherited staff …

‘Virtual officing’ allows Forest Service to retain top staff

02/01/2007

Some of the National Forest Service’s star employees have considered turning down promotions rather than relocating to major Forest Service locations in cities. Many have said they’d quit rather than abandon their rural lifestyles …

‘Balanced hours’ program helps recruit, retain lawyers

02/01/2007

Law firms often eschew scheduling flexibility because their income is based on billable hours. But the loss of a few hours isn’t as expensive as recruiting new lawyers. That’s why law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham introduced its Balanced Hours program, allowing its busy lawyers to telework and flex their schedules …

Candy bars and $100 bills help recognize work ‘Stars’

02/01/2007

Since San Joaquin Gardens, a continuing care retirement community, began handing out candy bars and $100 bills, employee turnover has dipped 6 percent …

‘Gift of time’ benefits: Nice perk, but consider safety, too

02/01/2007

To thank employees for working 10-hour days during the busy tax season, RSM McGladrey gives them back some of their time: four hours of it, to be exact …