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Employee Relations

Details make the difference when defending discipline

09/16/2015
We’ve said it before: Document every disciplinary action and be specific. The employer in this case won because it had excellent contemporaneous records to explain its disciplinary action.

Don’t confuse coaching with feedback

09/14/2015
Renée Robertson, founder and CEO of Trilogy Development, explains the subtle difference.

Older workers ‘coasting’?

09/14/2015
Here’s how to handle those employees who think they’ve earned the right to ease into retirement.

5 Ways to Make Your Virtual Meetings More Engaging

09/02/2015
While we all go to lots of meetings (too many?), more and more people are spending more and more time in meetings using technology, rather than being face to face with everyone. And while meetings are still meetings and people are still people, virtual meetings are different. One of the biggest challenges with virtual meetings is keeping people engaged and participating. Having led many virtual meetings, I’ve found five things that can help make a difference to increase participation and engagement, and reduce distractions for meeting participants. Let me share them with you here.

How to write performance goals: 10 sample phrases

09/02/2015
Well-written performance goals help energize employees and point them in right direction. But some managers and HR pros have trouble finding the right words. Here are 10 phrases to adapt, from 2600 Phrases for Setting Effective Performance Goals by Paul Falcone.

Back to school: 4 teacher tactics to use with your staff

08/28/2015

Teachers are some of the first “managers” that people ever encounter. Teachers organize each day to get maximum results from their charges, and they must deal with a wide variety of skills levels, motivation levels and communication challenges along the way. Here are four ideas worth borrowing from teachers to bring to the workplace.

You can tell your employees where they’re headed–can’t you?

08/26/2015
A recent survey revealed many people would be more engaged in their work if only their bosses could paint a picture of their future.

Disability isn’t ‘get out of jail free’ card–it must be revealed before discipline

08/24/2015

Some workers who learn they’re about to be disciplined or even fired for poor behavior may try to use an alleged disability as an excuse. But if they never revealed before that they have a disability, it’s too late to try that tactic on the eve of being punushed.

Anticipate lawsuit by offering second chance, fresh supervisor to struggling employee

08/24/2015
If a marginal employee is having a hard time getting along with his boss, think about giving him a second chance with a new supervisor. It may help—and it won’t hurt if you still end up firing the employee.

Disciplinary cases require detailed records

08/24/2015

You know the mantra: To win lawsuits, you must document, document, document! When it comes to employees who sue you for discrimination after they have been disciplined, documentation means making careful, contemporaneous notes about alleged rule-breaking or other wrongdoing. It means and saving records for every disciplinary action. You can’t just zealously document misdeeds by the employee you think will sue. You have to do it for everyone.