Monthly Archive for May, 2009

  • Why is Termination Sometimes a Good Thing for the Employee Being Fired?

  • Terminating an employee may be unpleasant, but it may be the best thing you can do for an employee who is not pulling her weight on the job. The reality is that she won’t go any further than she has, given the poor quality of her performance. Further, her coworkers aren’t likely to be supportive [...]

  • Do I Need to Document the Termination Meeting?

  • Yes. Documentation of the termination meeting is important, regardless of the reason for termination. Actually, documentation of termination due to a serious rule infraction may be more important than documentation of a termination meeting due to continued poor performance. Assuming that the incident is serious, necessitating immediate termination, you will want to write up the [...]

  • What do I do if an Employee Becomes Very Emotional, Or Even Threatening, When I Terminate Her?

  • The responses run the gamut from tears to shouts to threats of violence. If you have reason to believe that an employee might become emotional or even violent, you may want to arrange to have a mental health professional—perhaps a member of your company’s Employee Assistance Program—or a security person present, depending on the reaction [...]

  • What is the Best Way to Conduct a Termination Meeting?

  • A termination meeting should last no more than ten to fifteen minutes and have the sole purpose of conveying the decision to terminate the employee. For the meeting, you should: Prepare what you will say ahead of time. Give an adequate reason for the discharge. Allow the employee to have his say. Make it clear [...]

  • What is Termination for Cause?

  • Termination for cause is immediate termination prompted by breaking the code of acceptable workplace behavior—like possession of an unapproved weapon at work or a hand in the till or endangering the health and safety of coworkers. Tell Me More Employment at will theoretically gives you freedom to fire workers whenever you wish. But unless you [...]

  • What Alternatives do I Have to Termination?

  • If you think the worker is worth saving, you may want to place the person on probation, place him on suspension, or demote him. If a newcomer has failed to meet your expectations or a long-term employee is not able to handle the needs of a changing job, you may want to ask the employee [...]

  • Can an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Solve Performance and Discipline Problems?

  • An employee assistance program is a company-sponsored program instituted to help employees deal with personal problems that are interfering with their productivity. Such problems include alcoholism, marital difficulties, depression, and other psychological concerns. The counselors are not company employees but independent contracts—usually specialists who provide this service to several organizations. Managers should be trained to [...]

  • What if Bad Job Performance is Due to a Physical Problem?

  • If you have a reasonable belief that the employee is not able to do the job because of a physical problem, then you have the right to ask a disability-related question of the employee or require a medical examination. Let’s say that Barry has worked for you for seven years without either a tardiness or [...]

  • How do I Counsel Employees for Misconduct or Rule Violations?

  • Most organizations have two counseling tracks: One is for performance problems (see Performance Management); the other is for rule violations and other misconduct. Counseling for rule violations or other misconduct begins immediately with a verbal or written warning, depending on the nature of the infraction. Sometimes an employee is suspended without pay for a period [...]

  • Can I be Sued for not Firing Some Employees?

  • This problem arises when a manager becomes aware that one of her employees may cause harm to others yet fails to take any action to prevent the employee from in fact causing harm. If the employee should subsequently injure another employee, a customer, or another person, the injured party may sue the employer for being [...]

  • How do I Conduct an Internal Investigation?

  • If you weren’t present and can’t speak from personal observation, you will need to speak to those who were present. This is particularly true if the defendant denies the offense. Meet with witnesses as soon after the incident as possible. The questions asked should be open-ended and phrased to show no bias to influence answers. [...]

  • How do I Conduct Progressive Discipline?

  • Like your performance appraisal system, unless your employees see the disciplinary system as fair and equitable, it will cause you more problems than it can cure. Most important, your practice of progressive discipline must keep in mind your employee’s dignity, legal rights, and the union agreement where one exists. The system itself should contain rules [...]

  • What is Progressive Discipline?

  • Progressive discipline is a system designed to encourage employees to work according to certain rules of good behavior and good conduct. When these rules are broken, specific actions are taken—from verbal warnings to suspensions, to reprimands, and finally to termination. Which action to take depends on the following: The type of offense. The effect that [...]

  • How Can I Use the Evaluation to Set Employee Development Plans for the Next Year?

  • At the same time that you share your year-end written appraisal of an employee, lay the groundwork for the next year’s performance by working out an employee-development plan. Too often managers talk only about the financial consequences of the employee’s performance and just pay lip service to the developmental side of the appraisal process. But [...]

  • What do I do When an Employee Disagrees with Something I Have Written on the Performance Appraisal? If I Accept Their Argument, Can I Upgrade Their Assessment?

  • If an employee disagrees with your assessment—even refuses to sign the appraisal form—don’t become upset. Explain that the signature does not represent agreement with the evaluation. It only signifies that the employee has seen the appraisal, discussed it, and been given a copy. If the employee wishes to refute your assessment, suggest he write a [...]

  • Is There Any Best Way to Conduct the Year-End Performance Appraisal Interview?

  • The year-end appraisal meeting is similar to the other quarterly meetings in that you discuss performance and chart progress toward achieving objectives. But the conclusions at this meeting will determine the employee’s rating for the year, as well as salary increase, bonus, or other financial reward. So it will demand more preparation to prepare you [...]

  • How do I Coach an Employee?

  • The term coach is associated with on-the-job training, but the role of coach involves more than training, albeit that is part of the responsibility. Besides training, as coach, you are responsible for: Acting as a role model. Hiring the best employees. Creating a work culture in which employees have reason to be motivated. Clarifying expectations—both [...]

  • If I Bring Up a Problem, What do I do or Say if the Employee Becomes Emotional?

  • If employees cry in response to your criticism, offer some compassion, along with tissues and time to compose themselves. Suggest a second meeting later in the day. Demonstrate your concern but don’t let the emotional outburst distract you from the purpose of the meeting, which is to get the employee’s performance back on track. If [...]

  • If the Performance Problem is Due to a Personal Problem, How do I Start Talking About Someone’s Personal Life Without Appearing to be Nosy or Invading Privacy?

  • If you and the employee have developed a good personal relationship, you won’t be considered nosy. You have always shown interest in the employee as a person. All you have to do is to carry this further by commenting about the employee’s obvious change in performance. If you don’t have this kind of positive long-term [...]

  • How Can I Counsel a Poorly Performing Employee?

  • The secret to good counseling is achieving the following objectives with the marginal performer during a one-on-one meeting: Get the employee to agree that there is a need for a change in quality of performance. Identify the nature of the problem in the employee’s performance. Reach agreement on the specific actions that the employee will [...]

  • When Should I Discuss Money?

  • Salaries shouldn’t be a part of the quarterly discussions. They shouldn’t be discussed until the year-end appraisal and then only after you have completed the year-end evaluation. Keeping the topics separate ensures that the subject of money doesn’t distract the employee from discussion of his or her performance. Tell Me More Your company may be [...]

  • How Should I Best Approach Quarterly Meetings?

  • You can approach these meetings as problem-solving sessions, in which you identify gaps in performance and discuss with the employee how these performance gaps can be addressed. Or you can use the appraisal form that your firm uses and go down the list of each goal or standard to discuss progress to date. Or you [...]

  • Why do Most Appraisal Programs Call for Formal Reviews During the Year?

  • Such meetings ensure that you discuss your employee’s performance and review progress toward set objectives. These sessions—semiannually, quarterly, or every four months—enable you to identify problems and come up with action plans to get the employee back on course. The final assessment is done at the end of the year.

  • What are the Most Common Errors Managers Make in Performance Appraisals?

  • The "halo effect" and "pitchfork effect" are rating biases, and one of seven common errors managers make in appraising employees. Here are the others: They set poor standards of performance. They don’t set aside sufficient time for the appraisal process. They spend more time talking than listening to the employees they are appraising. They don’t [...]

  • What is the "Halo Effect"?

  • The "halo effect" is a tendency in performance appraisals to assess an employee as outstanding because of one very impressive trait or accomplishment on the assumption that her other accomplishments were equally impressive. For instance, you were so impressed with the speed at which Patricia works that you ignore her rudeness to customers or failure [...]

  • What Should I Document as Part of Performance Management?

  • While documentation can protect you in a legal issue, supporting your assessment when questioned in court, it also ensures you conduct accurate and effective appraisal discussions with your employees. Consequently, you want to be sure you document helpful information. Which means, for instance, you shouldn’t document hearsay ("Tim says Roger is starting to drink at [...]

  • What Can I do to Make Sure my Assessment is Legally Defensible?

  • Most lawsuits related to performance appraisals are based on the failure of a manager to: Follow the program’s procedures consistently. Have sufficient documentation to support evaluations. Be objective in assessments by applying criteria consistently. Tell Me More Let’s assume, for instance, that your organizational policy calls for quarterly reviews but you review one employee only [...]

  • Are There Legal Implications in the Performance Appraisal Process?

  • Yes. Performance appraisals can influence compensation, promotion decisions (and the opportunities to gain promotions through training or a high-visibility project assignment), layoffs (downsizing tied to job performance), and termination for cause. Consequently, appraisals are targets for legal action by disgruntled employees who charge bias in your evaluation or the way you implement the appraisal system. [...]

  • What Are "Stretch" Goals?

  • By suggesting that you add "stretch," your manager is suggesting that you are not setting challenging goals. They are easily reached because they either reflect the same level of performance over the last few years or demand minimal performance on the employee’s part. Of course, the more "stretch" you put into an objective, the more [...]

  • How Can I Get Employees to Accept Being Evaluated?

  • It may help if you remind your employees that such evaluations are part of everyone’s job; even the CEO’s job performance is assessed. A more concrete step is to involve the employee in the assessment early on, before appraisal interviews and before you present the employee with the goals against which his or her performance [...]

  • How Should I Phrase a Goal or Standard?

  • Begin with an action verb, describe the immediate results if necessary, include the date by which you want the goal achieved, and define the overall result desired (in terms of quality like greater customer service or quantity like increased sales or reduced costs). Tell Me More As an example, the goal might state: "Interview four [...]