Fair Compensation to Non-Family Talent in a Family Run Business

Diversity Fatigue—Is the Alphabet Soup of Legal Diversity Organizations Helping or Hurting?

By Michelle P. Wimes

I pride myself on being an upbeat, optimistic, get-it-done kind of person who more often than not can find the bright spot in any situation no matter how dire. Even practicing law for 13 years failed to instill in me the skeptical, almost pessimistic outlook many lawyers seem to embrace. But, lately, I have to admit, after six-plus years of being a diversity and inclusion practitioner in a major law firm, I am starting to feel a bit fatigued. The fatigue arises from the slow progress we are making in diversifying the legal profession and the sheer amount of work that remains to be done. … Continue Reading

Why We Need to Change Performance Management to Talent Development

By Kristi Erickson

Performance management. Let’s think about that for a minute. When you Google the word “management,” here is what you get:

• The process of dealing with or controlling things or people;
• The responsibility for and control of a company or similar organization.

It’s all about control. A logical person might conclude that a process called performance management has at its core the intention to control performance. And they’d be right! … Continue Reading

Performance Management: Close Supervision Could Result in Constructive Discharge Claim

It’s only natural for managers to monitor the performance of an employee following a leave of absence to ensure that the employee falls smoothly back into the swing of things. There is a fine line, however, between monitoring performance and intensely scrutinizing it. If a manager crosses that line and the employee quits because of it, your organization could be on the hook for constructive discharge. Here’s how. … Continue Reading

All About Toxic Employees in the Workplace

(Editor’s Note:  Negative attitudes, cynicism, disrespect, triangulation — create a toxic work environment.  They incubate lawsuits.  Benoit’s excellent article will give you the tools to recognize toxic employees and articulate a plan for removing them from the workplace. — Mary Wright)

How to Drive Turnover Down Among Your Company’s Most Valuable Employees

By Adrienne Fox

Data reveal causes and patterns that help you enhance retention. 

Employers haven’t had to worry much about turnover during the past four years—two years of a Great Recession followed by two years of a jobless, anemic economic recovery. Voluntary turnover rates decrease as unemployment rises. In January 2009, when the unemployment rate passed 7.5 percent, the number of nonfarm employees voluntarily quitting their jobs sank to 2 million from 3.5 million in January 2001, when the unemployment rate was just above 4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. … Continue Reading

Sorry: You are NOT the Most Valuable Employee

By Robin Schooling

I recently received a resume from a job candidate who, in the section of his resume entitled Awards and Accomplishments, listed the following:

Recipient of the XYZ Company ‘Most Valuable Employee’ Award for November 2010 & February 2011

Now good for him – he’s obviously pretty proud.  Accompanying the bragging rights was, no doubt, a paper certificate with his name hand-calligraphied by his manager’s wife and a 2-for-$20 gift card to the local Applebee’s (I feel free to make this snarky comment based on the industry in which he worked and the location of his employer).

I’m not trying to diminish something that apparently made Joe Applicant feel good. … Continue Reading

Who Do You Reward? Celebrating Employee Success

By  Derek Irvine

The last few years have been difficult, indeed, for many organizations. Layoffs, pay cuts, pay freezes – these were the norm across organizations of all sizes and industries of all types. In recent months, we’ve begun to see a turnaround as struggling companies see a return to profitability.

How organizations react to that success is quite telling. And that reaction usually takes one of two forms: … Continue Reading

Employee Retention — Retaining High Potential Employees

By Ron Ashkenas

To retain high-potential employees, the conventional wisdom is deceptively simple: Identify, develop, and nurture them. By paying special attention to the very best people, they will stay with the firmand eventually emerge as key leaders. … Continue Reading

Employee Retention — How to Keep Good Employees

By Sylvia Anne Hewlett

Attracting and retaining top talent are perennial concerns among managers, in good times and in bad. With salaries frozen even as the scope of work expands, managers find it nearly impossible to lure A-players and compensate existing high performers without breaking the budget. The good news? They may not have to. … Continue Reading