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Employee Relations

What to do if an older worker’s performance is slipping?

10/01/2007

A participant in the Forum section of our HR Weekly e-letter posed this question: “One of our employees is nearing 80 and his performance is slipping badly. Is there an alternative to harsh evaluations and termination? We’d like him to depart with dignity.” Here’s how some HR professionals replied …

Study: Managers overrate their own success

10/01/2007

If you believe you’re a top performer at work, you’re not alone. An impossible 90% of managers think they’re among the top 10% of performers in their workplace, according to a BusinessWeek poll of 2,000 managers.

False move can revive expired claim—As retaliation

10/01/2007

Employers nationwide breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that employees must promptly bring discrimination claims. But the decision in the Ledbetter case isn’t as simple as press coverage may have suggested. In fact, any move a supervisor makes that could be interpreted as retaliation for the earlier, expired claim may be seen as retaliation for earlier complaints …

The dreaded reference check: What to say about former employees?

10/01/2007

Q. What may an employer say about why an employee left or was fired? …

Stay competitive by aligning benefits with staff expectations

10/01/2007

An organization’s HR professionals and its employees don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to benefits. The Society for Human Resource Management’s “2007 Job Satisfaction Survey Report” revealed some good examples …

3-Month ‘Future Leave’ Helps Retain Employees

10/01/2007

Employees at Accenture, a management consulting company, can take three months off—for any reason—and their jobs will be waiting for them when they return. As part of the company’s Future Leave program, which grants unpaid leave of up to three months with continued benefits, supervisors don’t even ask why the employee wants to take the time off …

Prepare employees for benefits changes or lose their trust

09/25/2007

As your organization shifts more responsibility to employees to manage their own health and retirement expenses, you risk alienating your work force. But it doesn’t have to be that way …

Cut health insurance costs by uncovering ineligible dependents

09/25/2007

Employers are looking for ways to cut health care costs, which continue to rise each year. One of the easiest ways to trim that expensive bill: Make sure each employee’s dependents are actually eligible for coverage. Here’s how to conduct an eligibility audit.

Self-Test: Are you an effective delegator?

09/24/2007

Successful delegation means much more than passing along work to your employees and hoping for the best. It requires good communication and managerial skills, which must be developed and practiced. Audit your delegating skills by answering yes or no to the following 10 statements:

Independent Contractor or Employee? How to Make The Call

09/18/2007
White Paper published by The HR Specialist ______________________ For years, the IRS has relied on a 20-factor test to determine whether a worker is considered an “employee” or an “independent contractor.” Conferring contractor status on a worker often benefits the employer, who is then not obligated to withhold income tax or to pay Social Security […]