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Productivity / Performance

Don’t let fear prevent firing of whistle-blower: Your complete records will back you up

09/23/2011
Some whistle-blowing employees think they can’t be disciplined if they report alleged wrongdoing to authorities or upper management. That’s not true. Employers can always discipline employees who break rules or perform poorly. The key is fairness and equal treatment.

Remind supervisors: Constructive criticism is expected–not an excuse for employees to sue

09/02/2011

Some employees are overly sensitive. They may perceive punishment or discrimination in something the boss considers merely constructive criticism. Tell supervisors: Don’t shrink from offering criticism, even in the case of a high performer who otherwise has earned a good evaluation.

Are there perils in giving a pay raise in hopes of boosting employee performance?

09/02/2011
Q. About four months ago, we gave a pay raise to a marginal employee who is pregnant, in hopes that it would improve her job performance by boosting her morale. Unfortunately, her performance has gone from bad to worse. If we fire her for poor performance, can she successfully argue that the recent raise indicates that she was performing well and that our reason for terminating her was discriminatory?

Note to thin-skinned employees: Constructive criticism doesn’t qualify you for unemployment

09/02/2011

Employees who work under genu­­inely intolerable conditions can quit their jobs and still collect un­­em­­ployment compensation. But those situations are rare—and don’t provide cover for overly sensitive workers. Supervisors routinely criticize employees and offer suggestions for improvement. That’s normal and doesn’t constitute harassment.

Keep meticulous employee performance records

08/26/2011
Face it: One of these days, a disgruntled former employee will sue your organization. You can’t predict which one—or for what reason. That’s one of the most important reasons to keep detailed and meticu­­lous records on employee performance.

Is it legal for employees to secretly record their performance evaluation meetings?

08/26/2011
Q. One of our employees secretly used his iPhone to make an audio recording of his review meeting. Is that legal?

Placed on PIP? That’s no reason to quit

08/26/2011
Employees placed on performance improvement plans (PIP) sometimes suspect that they are about to be fired. But that doesn’t mean they can jump the gun, quit and apply for unemployment compensation.

All together now: Teaching workers to ‘manage’ their bosses

08/02/2011
Pay-for-performance is effective only when managers spell out for each employee exactly what he or she must do to get paid more or reap perks like flexible scheduling. In reality, too few managers do that. They need to know supervision is a two-way street. Solution: Sometimes employees must “manage the boss.”

6 ways to hand out praise that counts

07/27/2011
If you’re in a supervisory position, don’t wait until it’s time for a formal performance review to dish out the positive words. Here are six guidelines for effective praising, from Bob Nelson, author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees:

Boss keeping an eye on underperformer? Make sure he’s not being unfairly singled out

07/22/2011
Watch out if a supervisor starts keeping extra-close tabs on an employee’s work in the wake of declining productivity or a poor review. You must make sure all employees in a similar situation get the same close attention.