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Productivity / Performance

Focus reviews on performance, not emotions

07/09/2019
When you evaluate an employee who isn’t living up to performance expectations, avoid commenting on her emotional state. Focus on objective criteria like unmet goals or sales quotas. Otherwise, you risk a lawsuit claiming discrimination on the basis of disability.

Staff playing hooky to visit legal bookie? BET on it!

07/02/2019
Illinois and the District of Columbia are about to join seven other jurisdictions that allow legal betting on sporting events. Employers there are bracing for the possibility that wagers could get in the way of work.

Snapshot: Inconsistent sleep habits affect productivity

06/25/2019
Workers who consistently go to bed and wake up at about the same time say they are significantly more productive than those whose sleep schedules vary.

5 ways to handle the suck-up on your team

06/11/2019
“A ‘yes-man’ who agrees with everything a manager says can be just as destructive as a disengaged employee who doesn’t say anything at all.

Managing depressed employees: What supervisors need to know

05/22/2019
Given the American Psychiatric Association’s estimate that one in six people will experience depression at some time in his or her life, chances are significant that you’ll deal with the issue among your staff. Yet despite its prevalence, don’t expect team members to readily come forward.

Healthy culture pays off in financial and people terms

04/30/2019
Cultural factors such as collaboration, employee engagement, employee retention and customer satisfaction have a clear relationship with revenue growth, researchers have found.

The best way to help employees set goals

04/25/2019
How you set goals for your employees is important, not just for clarity as to what needs to be done, but also for the motivational value it can add for the employee if you do it right.

3 steps to turn around a culture

04/25/2019
If morale has tanked, customer complaints are rampant, and turnover is high, a hostile work environment may be to blame. You will need to address the underlying issues in order to overhaul the culture and create a work environment that people are happy and proud to be a part of. Start here.

Take informal, interim reviews seriously, too

04/25/2019
Plenty of research is floating around that supports the idea that annual performance reviews aren’t effective in driving higher performance—but should you stop conducting them?

Don’t worry about motivation; hire self-motivated people instead

04/22/2019
There’s a philosophy out there that you can motivate almost anyone to do their job. It implies we can motivate someone, as well as take away their motivation. Although this viewpoint is typically well-intended, it is counterproductive to greater success.