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Streamline your performance reviews so you can see business results.
3 steps to implementing more effective employee evaluations
If any CEO, or manager for that matter, were asked about their company’s most valuable asset, employees would undoubtedly fall into the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. While technology and other products may be at the center of many companies’ offerings, employees are likely the key behind their success. That’s why it may be time to seriously think about restructuring employee evaluations so that they’re perceived as the...
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How to develop employee evaluations that don’t waste everyone’s time
Employee evaluations. They’re easily in the top three of the most dreaded meetings at every corporation, quite possibly just behind that meeting announcing your termination. Yeah, they’re that bad, according to surveys about these performance appraisals. Even worse, both employees and managers find them ineffective. Here’s the breakdown according to a survey: 58 percent of managers reported that performance...
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How to use effective employee evaluations to guard against liability
It’s among the things managers dread most: terminating an employee when things are not working out. While you may have thought you clearly articulated the reasons for the termination, you could still be setting up your company for a lawsuit. According to CNA Insurance, employment disputes are at the core of nearly 75 percent of all litigation filed against companies — moreso than general liability or property...
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Is it time to end annual employee performance reviews?
Expedia did it. So did Deloitte, Gap, Microsoft and Adobe Systems. These companies all decided to put an end to the annual ritual of employee reviews — opting instead to give feedback through other processes, like real-time conversations and spontaneous reviews. It seems to be a small yet growing trend, according to Cliff Stevenson, senior research analyst at the Institute for Corporate Productivity, who was...
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Overcome your employees’ distaste for performance reviews
Seems like we still have a love-hate relationship when it comes to peformance reviews, with most of us finding little to love about them. Even top-performing employees dread them, according to research by psychologists from several universities. Why? No one seems to appreciate critical feedback — one of the key tools for improving performance. The study, which included surveys of 234 employees at a large...
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3 tips to decrease costly employee turnover
With the search for top talent becoming increasingly competitive, it’s no wonder many businesses are faced with the challenge of retaining employees. The climate has significantly changed, according to a Forbes article. Employees are no longer concerned about being stigmatized for showing a resume with stints at companies lasting only one or two years. In fact, depending upon the industry, employees who stay at...
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Attracting Talent to a Small Businesses, Part 2
Last week we covered one overlooked tactic for attracting top-notch talent to small businesses: leveraging built-in small biz advantages. This week we continue that discussion with another talent magnet: creative (read: affordable) benefits and perks packages. There’s always a company that can outspend you – that’s a given. Paula Andruss, writing for Entrepreneur, shares some ideas for attracting and retaining a...
Read MoreAttracting Top Talent to a Small Business: Leverage Built-in Advantages
On-site childcare, stocks, hefty bonuses, and a Starbucks in the lobby for good measure. How can small businesses compete with that when recruiting highly skilled workers? It’s doable, of course, but many small businesses unintentionally sabotage their efforts. Talent recruitment and retention is a big topic, and we won’t bite off more than we can chew today. In this post, we’ll focus on what your small business...
Read More7 Reasons Why Employees Leave (Part 2)
Last week, we discussed three reasons why employees ditch their jobs. Not the secondary or sugar-coated reasons they give you in the exit interview, but the real reasons that soured them on your organization. Leigh Branham, author of “The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave,” calls them the “deadly sins leading to turnover and apathy” in a piece he wrote for the American Society of Association Executives earlier...
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Scientists Show That Incentives Hurt Performance: So What Does Motivate Employees?
Traditionally, companies seek to motivate employees through rewards like money, awards, gifts, time off, or a cheesy holiday party. Studies show that not only is this technique failing to provide the intended motivation, it’s also worsening performance in some cases. During a recent TED talk on the puzzle of motivation, Dan Pink elaborated on the way managers are rewarding employees and how they’re doing...
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