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Productivity / Performance

3 free tools to perk up employee teamwork

03/01/2008

If your organization hasn’t moved beyond “reply all” e-mails as its sole means of online employee interaction, promote any of these three options to spark more interaction and productivity …

Simple ways to salvage ‘Below-Standard’ employees

02/26/2008
Every manager has employees who perform below standard. They’re not terrible employees, but they’re not achieving the quality or quantity of work they’re capable of. Try these tips for letting underachieving employees know what’s expected and get them moving in the right direction.

Praise Your Way to Success: 6 Steps to Effective Employee Recognition

02/05/2008

Many managers can muster up praise for their workers only during annual reviews … if at all. That’s why you need to teach supervisors how to give employee recognition and give them the tools to make it easier. Here are the six steps …

Succession planning is a dying art: Don’t settle for ‘Succession by Default’

02/05/2008

In their zeal for short-term company goals, an increasing number of U.S. organizations are allowing  managers to wallow in daily routines instead of preparing them for the next job. As a result, the next job is often with another company.

Consider 360º evaluations to catch supervisor-Bias problems

02/01/2008

Sometimes, it’s hard to see what’s actually going on down at the frontline supervisor level. A rogue manager may be spouting all sorts of garbage and getting away with it—until he fires someone who ultimately sues. Then, it may be too late to save the company from a costly jury verdict. One way to spot potential problems is with a simple HR evaluation technique—the so-called 360-degree evaluation …

Employee perks that won’t break the bank and won’t affect compensation calculations

02/01/2008

Q. We are entering our busy season. Although our budget is tight, we’d like to reward those employees who go above and beyond with some sort of additional “perk.” Can you recommend some low-cost ways to reward exceptional performance? …

Tell supervisors: Absolutely no ethnic comments allowed

02/01/2008

What seems like a joke to members of the majority can be deeply hurtful to members of a minority. These days, that’s a particular issue in areas with a large concentration of people of Middle Eastern heritage—such as Michigan. As the “war on terror” shows no signs of abating, it makes sense to remind managers and supervisors to stay away from any comments on ethnicity …

Don’t let managers fly solo on terminations

02/01/2008

Virginia Schurmeier, an operations analyst for a food wholesale company, was fired for alleged poor performance. She sued, claiming the real reason was sex discrimination. Her proof: A male co-worker who had worse performance appraisals than she had wasn’t fired …

7 ways to get the most out of Millennial employees

02/01/2008
In today’s workplace, many supervisors have to manage people from four different generations, all of which respond to different kinds of carrots, sticks and management styles. The breakdown: Traditional workers: born before 1946 Baby Boomers: 1946–1964 Generation X: 1965–1979 Millennials: 1980–1995 According to anecdotal information and research (see box below), managers in U.S. organizations are […]

How managers can motivate their long-Term employees: 10 tips

02/01/2008

1. Coach them up. Use training, workshops or refresher courses to stimulate longtime workers and expose them to new methods or ideas …