Issues and answers in employee development

Keeping baby boomers on board past retirement age [December 18, 2006]

Issue: Like many employers, your company is concerned about the upcoming retirement of large numbers of baby boomers. Many companies would like a significant number of their baby boomer employees to continue working past retirement age. What are some things employers can do to entice these employees to stay?

Answer: Beginning in 2006, every day marks the 60th birthday of one or more of the nation's 78 million baby boomers. The jobs that will be most affected by baby boomer retirements are: airline pilots, management analysts, teachers/special education, photographers, teacher's aides, industrial engineers, social workers, HR professionals, postal workers, and police, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Although two-thirds of companies expect baby boomer retirements to have a measurable impact on their organizations, more than three-fourths of employers have not yet started planning to deal with how this issue will affect them, according to ClearRock, an executive coaching and outplacement firm. ClearRock has found that flexible working arrangements may not be sufficient to keep as many baby boomers on board as companies would like, and monetary inducements, such as bonuses or enhanced pension formulas, may be required to fill the gap.

ClearRock’s survey revealed that the top methods that organizations are planning to implement to try to retain baby boomers on their payrolls past retirement age include:

• flexible hours and schedules (79%);

• part-time positions (67%);

• telecommuting (53%);

• boomers serving as mentors (18%);

• stay bonuses (5%); and

• enhanced pension formulas (5%).

Source: ClearRock Executive Coaching & Outpatient, http://www.clearrock.com.

Low-cost perks and employee recognition build loyalty and retain workers [April 19, 2004]

Issue: With indications that the labor market is improving and that hiring is starting to pick up, many employers are concerned about losing employees and top talent. Some employers are taking steps to head this off by offering loyalty-building perks that keep employees happy and encourage them to stick around.

Answer: Low-cost, on-site services like banking machines, employee-paid fitness centers, dry cleaning pickup and delivery services, barbecue grills, financial services referrals and even company-sponsored career counseling can go a long way in making employees happy. Employees appreciate perks that establish a friendly climate in the workplace, as well as services that make it easier to balance their work and personal lives.

Some employers are also taking simple steps to recognize high performers. Try treating employees to a dinner at a nice restaurant after completing a big project, celebrating team accomplishments with a party or a company picnic, or just sending e-mails thanking employees for a job well done. These types of gestures build the loyalty that is likely to keep employees with you, even when new opportunities arise elsewhere.

Fun, flexibility are facets of managing newest generation of employees [May 14, 2007]

Issue: You have been asked to develop a training session on managing new, young employees who are members of the Millennial generation. What tips can you include in the training?

Answer: Members of the Millennial generation-those born during the years of 1977 to 1989-are still just joining the workforce. As such, they will need a lot of guidance and training. Here are some tips for developing a workplace that retains and motivates the newest generation of employees.

• You be the leader. This generation has grown up with structure and supervision and parents who were role models.

• Challenge them. Millennials want learning opportunities and desire to work on projects that they can learn from.

• Let them work with friends. Millennials want to work with people they “click with” and like to be friends with co-workers.

• Have fun. Millennials like a bit of humor, silliness or irreverence in the workplace.

• Respect them. Treat their ideas respectfully even though they haven’t been in your workplace for a long time.

• Be flexible. Millennials are multitasking and busy and won’t give up their activities just because of their jobs (Claire Raines, Connecting Generations: The Sourcebook).

Source: CCH HR How-to Intergenerational Issues.

Are your training programs working? [February 4, 2002]

Issue: Over the past few years, your organization has instituted a number of training programs for both employees and management staff. As the person responsible for training, you carefully selected the programs to be used and you carefully track who has completed training in which areas. But, after all of your careful planning, how do you know if the training is effective?

Answer: Testing and measuring learning is a complex process. It often requires the expertise of educators, psychologists and statisticians to design and implement measurement methods that meet standards of validity and reliability. However, even without a formal validation method, measuring results can provide a good indication of whether a training program has worked. There are several levels on which a program can be judged:

1. On the basis of the participants' reactions;

2. On the basis of internal criteria-whether the trainees learned what was taught;

3. On the basis of external criteria-whether training results in some measurable change in the organization.

Participants' reactions. Ask trainees how they feel about the training and what they think they've gained from it. Participant reaction, of course, won't all be positive. Some trainees will tell you that they found the training a waste of time. Their reactions may be based on many things other than what they did or did not learn. They may result from a proverbial chip on the shoulder or a general suspicion of anything management does. But if you do get a large number of negative reactions, you have a clear signal that there is something wrong with your program, your instructor or both. Ask participants specific questions that require specific answers:

• What did you learn?

• What was the most helpful part of the course?

• What was the least helpful part of the course?

• How could the instructor have been more effective?

• Was enough time dedicated to each subject? If not, what would you recommend we change for future programs?

• How will you apply what you learned in this course when you return to your job?

• Is there any follow-up training or assistance that you feel might help you implement what you've learned? If yes, what would you recommend?

Some organizations find it helpful to have participants evaluate a course after they return to their jobs and attempt to put their learning into practice.

Learning-interior changes. Another gauge of training success is to measure what has actually been learned by the individuals as a direct result of training. A written test or an observation of sample work can tell whether the information your instructors tried to teach was learned.

In deciding whether training was successful on this level, the production records of those who received training can be compared with those who have not. Do those who undergo training reach an acceptable level of production sooner than others? Do they waste fewer materials, have fewer accidents, file more letters or sell more computers?

Checking on behavior changes six months or a year after the end of a training program will indicate how well the program took. Have the initial changes faded with time or has the work environment reinforced the new behavior and encouraged its continuance?

Organizational impact-external changes. Where the effectiveness of training is most noticeable is in how it pays off for the organization as a whole. Various organizational records will show whether, overall, the training program has had a positive impact, such as:

• Amount and quality of production,

• Materials wasted,

• Number of accidents,

• Clearing out of backlogs,

• Number of grievances,

• Turnover,

• Absenteeism,

• Sales rates and other business measures.

Finally, one of the most acceptable methods of evaluating training is cost effectiveness. While cost may not be the best method, it is certainly one of the methods that must be used. Tie other evaluations with cost data and report each.

All bonuses are not created equal: Prorated bonuses and the FMLA [October 2, 2006]

Issue: Your organization is designing a bonus program that is intended to reward employees’ contributions to the organization’s growth and success. Because employees who are out on leave are not actively contributing to the organization’s overall performance, you’d like to prorate bonuses for employees who don’t meet an annual goal of 1,950 hours worked. Does such a program interfere with employees’ rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act?

Asnwer: Depending upon what a bonus program rewards, bonuses may be prorated without violating the Family and Medical Leave Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently ruled that if the program rewards employee production, then prorating bonuses for FMLA absences is generally allowed; if it rewards the absence of an occurrence (like no on-the-job injuries or accidents or perfect attendance), then prorating bonuses is not allowed.

That ruling involved a situation questioning whether an employer illegally interfered with an employee's rights upon his return from eight weeks of short-term disability FMLA leave when it did not award him a full annual bonus payment under its Partnership Plan. Instead, he received a payment prorated on the basis of the time he was absent. The appeals court agreed that the Partnership Plan was a production bonus and prorating the bonus was permitted.

FMLA regulations provide that an employee is not entitled to the accrual of any right of employment, but is entitled to those rights of employment to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave. As applied to bonuses, the court said, this means that an employer may not reduce an absence of occurrence bonus paid to an FMLA leave taker if the employee was otherwise qualified but-for the taking of the FMLA leave. However, that employer may prorate any production bonuses to be paid to an FMLA leave taker by the amount of any lost production (be it hours or another quantifiable measure of productivity) caused by the FMLA leave.

The employee had argued that it was an absence of occurrence bonus, that all that was required was that he be employed, not fired. No, the appeals court said, the company's focus is to incent employees to contribute to Vanguard's performance and production by meeting a predetermined hours goal. The appeals court also rejected the argument that the Plan unlawfully discouraged the taking of FMLA leave since it did not prorate for vacation and sick leave. Proration occurs for many other types of leave and the FMLA regulations did not require the equal treatment of those who take unpaid and paid leave.

The appeals court held that the hours-based Partnership Plan was a bonus program designed to reward employee production, which could be prorated to account for the hours not worked by those employees who take FMLA leave. Prorating the bonus for time spent on short-term disability leave did not interfere with the employee's FMLA rights.

The court explored the distinction between absence of occurrence bonuses and production bonuses: production bonuses are those types of bonus programs that 'require some positive effort on the employee’s part at the workplace,' as distinguished from a bonus that merely rewards an employee for 'compliance with the rules.' Because it can be difficult for a court to shift through the jargon-laden terms of an organization’s bonus program to ascertain the goal actually being rewarded, employers who wish to prorate bonuses should state their intent to reward employee production and clearly articulate the program’s productivity goals.

Source:Sommer v. The Vanguard Group (3rdCir 2006) 153 LC ¶35,184, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 21638.

Does HR know what employees value most? [February 17. 2003]

Issue: As an HR generalist, you plan to develop a rewards and recognition program to boost job satisfaction levels at your company. Before you do that, however, you want to make sure you understand what workers value most about the employment relationship. What do workers say will make them happy? How does this compare to what HR professionals think workers need to be satisfied on the job?

Answer: A survey by USATODAY.com and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the answer varies depending on whom you ask.

Employees say job security. According to employees, the top three aspects that are “very important” to worker satisfaction include:

• Job security (65%);

• Benefits (64%); and

• Communication between employees and management (62%).

HR pros say communication. HR professionals ranked the following as “very important” to workers’ happiness:

• Communication between employees and management (77%);

• Recognition by management (62%); and

• Relationship with immediate supervisor (61%).

Is HR in tune? Considering the differences in responses, the question raised is whether HR professionals are in tune with employees. The survey indicates that HR professionals believe that employees place a significant emphasis on workplace relationships. Employees, however, are focused more toward the tangible items like benefits and job security, possibly due to the current economic environment.

Demographics define differences Opinions also differed by employees’ age and gender. Workers age 35 and younger rated communication and work/life balance as equally important (66%), while older workers age 35 to 55 ranked job security first (71%). Women ranked flexibility to balance life and work issues (72%) and communication (71%) as their top concerns, while men placed benefits (62%) and job security (61%) as their highest priorities.

In terms of overall satisfaction with their current job, only 11 percent of employees responding said they were dissatisfied. The majority, a total of 77 percent, said they are either satisfied or very satisfied with their current job.

The study surveyed more than 1,000 workers and human resource professionals during September 2002.

Source: What do workers value? Depends who you ask, The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) press release, December 4, 2002, www.shrm.org

Disciplinary challenges: Tips for successful intervention [March 17, 2003]

Employee discipline and discharge inevitably may be a challenge to HR professionals, yet no successful business can run smoothly in the absence of well-followed policies and procedures in these areas. That’s why it’s critical to develop a systematic way of looking at these issues, advises Peter Steinmeyer, a partner with the law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green, P.C.

“Remember your purposes for taking disciplinary action,” urged Steinmeyer. “First, you are trying to effect a change in the individual’s conduct or performance,” he said. “Second, you are trying to set a standard for other employees to work by.”

Effective discipline Steinmeyer provides HR these tips for successful management of employee discipline:

• Know your facts about the incident, conduct, or performance problem before initiating disciplinary measures.

• Make sure the rule that was broken has been communicated effectively.

• Make sure the rule is related to the allegations and the plan for discipline

• Evaluate past similar cases to ensure consistent application of the rule.

• Assess the reasonableness of the discipline in comparison to the infraction.

• Assess the seriousness of the problem against proposed disciplinary measures.

• Listen to the employee’s position and note any representations he or she makes about the situation.

• Provide adequate warning before proceeding with additional discipline.

• Interview any witnesses to the misconduct or performance issue.

• Document every aspect of the process.

Follow progressive discipline. Although there is no legal requirement to have one, HR should consider creating a progressive discipline system. Such systems can be immensely helpful in documenting not only employee problems, but all of the organization’s efforts to work with the employee to resolve them.

Discharge tips Steinmeyer offers these words of wisdom to keep in mind during the discharge process:

• DO remember that truth is your friend. In short and concise terms, let the employee know the truth about why you are letting him or her go.

• DON’T make false excuses to avoid hurting the employee’s feelings or to avoid a confrontation.

• DON’T make references to age, race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, marital or family status, pregnancy status, veteran status, outstanding workers’ compensation claims, or protected charges or testimony (such as charges filed with a government agency or lawsuits-past or current.)

• DON’T make discharge decisions in the heat of the moment. Things always seem different in hindsight, and consultation with a manager who has authority over the situation, a supervisor, other HR members, or even corporate counsel may reduce some of the intensity of the moment and aid you in making a better decision.

• DON’T discuss the termination with individuals who have no authority or involvement. Doing so puts you and the company at risk for a successful defamation suit.

• DO remember that this is a business decision and one that you are entitled to make. Therefore,

• DON’T be gun-shy about taking disciplinary action, up to and including discharge, when and where the circumstances necessitate it.

Source: Peter Steinmeyer, partner, Epstein, Becker & Green, P.C. , “The Do’s and Don’ts of Performance Evaluations, Discipline & Discharge,” Breakfast Briefing held in Chicago, Illinois.