Workplace of Choice

It's the end of a long, stressful year and your employees deserve a reward for all their hard work.  The holiday season reminds us that a party is a great way to show employee recognition and let employees relax and enjoy some leisure time together and with management.  Company parties take on many different forms - during the day in the conference room for pizza, after work at the boss's house, or on a Saturday night at a function hall ballroom.  Perhaps you've conducted harassment training recently so feel you've covered all the bases, but whether you're hosting a casual or more formal event, there are some additional topics you should be mindful of to ensure the company and the employees enjoy themselves in a safe and legal way.

Be sensitive to the fact that there are many religious holidays that occur at the same time, don't focus the party around any specific religion.  Also, company parties should be voluntary; employees shouldn't feel pressured to attend or discriminated against for not attending. 

Alcohol can increase the chance of negative behaviors and liability.  If you are serving alcohol, consider serving beer and wine only, distribute drink tickets or consider a cash bar to decrease the chance that someone might imbibe too much.  Note the ages of any younger employees to be sure you aren't serving minors.  Serve plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages.  Arrange for a cab service to be available to drive anyone home who should not be driving.

Assign one or more persons to abstain from alcohol and "monitor" the party at all times.  This person can be on the lookout for someone who shouldn't drive or they can spot a potential harassment issue.  Remind employees that your anti-harassment policy is in place at all times, regardless of the time of day or the location.  Just because they are not "working" does not mean that they shouldn't remain professional during the party.  If employees are welcome to bring a guest, be aware that guests may not understand the company's policy guidelines and that employees are responsible for their guests.

January is a popular time for legal HR issues to arise coming out of the holiday party season.  But if you're aware of potential risks and assume a heightened sense of employee behaviors, everyone is sure to have a great, risk-free time!

Tell us your ideas on creating on fun, safe and legal holiday party.

 

 

As the holidays approach and we prepare to give thanks for what we have, now is also the time to give back.  Beyond the obvious benefits, you'll also find that giving back as a company will increase employee morale, employee motivation and can be great for team building.  There are many ways your company can give back to the community - here are a few to get you started:                                          

Food or Clothing Drive - Many organizations are always looking for food or clothing donations - contact your local Red Cross or shelter to see how you can help out.  Set up a box and a time period for employees to bring in donations.  Have fun with it, have departments decorate their box or hold a contest on who can fill their box the fastest. 

Toy Drive -Who doesn't love buying and giving toys?  A toy drive can collect generic gifts to be given to any child or you can hook up with a local organization so that you can personalize the gifts.  Many local organizations will give you a wish list and ages of the children so that you can buy specific toys that you know the children will love.  Be mindful, most organizations can only accept toys that are unused and unwrapped in their original packaging. 

Community Service Afternoon - plan to close the office for an afternoon and, as a group, volunteer to paint a local shelter, serve at a soup kitchen, or bring cheer to a nursing home or hospital.  You'll find that many employees will cherish the opportunity to really get involved and doing it together is a great way to build camaraderie.                                                                      

Reading Hour - If you are unable to volunteer as a group outside of the office, try bringing the opportunities directly to you.  Contact a local school, boys/girls club or afterschool program and invite a group of children into the office.  The children would love to learn about the business and get a tour of the office; or host a reading hour where employees read to small groups or individuals.  

Competencies serve as the barometer for evaluating employees' skills and are the building blocks for a quality performance management program.  Competency modeling, when completed effectively, will help support the strategic thinking and objectives, as well as the business priorities and organizational environment of an organization - the very things that are continuously changing. Because the organization is continually changing, it is imperative that companies make certain that the competency structure also evolves to keep up with those changes.

Adjusting and reviewing your core competencies periodically is paramount because it will:

• Allow you to gather new research to build and improve your existing model.
• Allow you to maintain what is effective from the existing model.
• Allow you to better evaluation your employee's performance.
• Allow you to recognize the degree of change in the organization and sum up the spirit of new business priorities.

The main drawback to updating your current competencies is the time  and associated cost investment required from management to do so, however, the benefits of a good core competency program far outweigh the drawbacks.

Are your compensation programs ready for when the pendulum swings from an "employers' market" to an "employees' market"?  How can you best retain key talent that has helped you weather the storm?  Below are some suggestions to help your company prepare for the shifting market. 

- Take inventory: Do you know who your key performers are? Do you know what skill sets you need to retain and/or recruit for? Conduct a "Skills Inventory" to be sure you retain those employees with critical skill sets and begin recruiting for those skill sets you need to staff for. If you need to provide training to employees in order to increase skills or for career development, identify which training programs they need and consider offering them as "brown bag lunch" sessions or ½ day sessions.

- Performance Management: Giving employee feedback is free and it sends a very strong message that you value their contributions during these difficult times and want them to stick around for the better times to come. If you haven't given your employees an annual performance review, you need to do it now! You want them to know where they stand, especially when the market starts to come back. Remember, Performance Management is a two-way process, so if your Manager hasn't given you your Performance Feedback, it's perfectly acceptable to ask for it!

- Spend your bankroll wisely: While the market is showing signs of strength, many companies may not have a "pot-of-gold" to spend on employee investments. You can still make the money go a long way by making sure you spend it wisely:

• Focus on your key performers: Who is critical to retain?
• Average performers: If they're meeting "average expectations" they may not necessarily need a salary increase if they're keeping pace with the market
• Needs improvement: Take the time to work with those employees that need to improve their work. Document a Performance Improvement Plan to help them get back on track.
• If you can afford to do merit increases for your "key performers", but can't do it all now, try 6-month increments. This will send them the message that while you can't make up for lost time, you can give them smaller merit increases more often.

- Career Pathing: Be sure that employees know their next level in their career ladder. For key employees, put together a career development plan to help them get the training, skills and support they need to keep moving. An employee who is challenged may be less likely to start "shopping around."

- Set Goals: Use a cascading goal setting process to communicate the company's goals. Be sure to use a company-wide venue (all company meeting, webcast, e-mail, etc.) to share the goals.

- Open Door Policy: As the market shifts, encourage Managers and Employees to check in with each other...a simple question along the lines of "How are things going" can facilitate an honest and open conversation between an Employee and their Manager.

- Get Creative: Maybe now is the time to implement some of those programs you've been thinking about doing. New programs can send a message to employees that the Company is will to try new employee programs to retain employees.

- Communicate, communicate, communicate: Now, more than ever, is the time to communicate honestly and openly about current company business conditions. Employees only know what you share with them...prevent the company "grapevine" from growing by communicating honestly and openly with employees. This will also help build trust which is a must in creating a positive working environment.

- Say Thank You: The last 12 months have been trying times at work and home for employees and their families. A simple "Thank You" can go a long way to recognize the stress and difficult conditions all employees have endured. Consider hosting a company luncheon or ice cream sundae party whereby the Executives "serve" the employees; a personal "thank you note" to each employee from the CEO; or a small token gift (Dunkin Donuts gift card, Cafeteria gift card). Employee incentives can go a long way towards employee motivation!

How is your company preparing for the changing markets?