Past Issues of Merit Guidelines™
Previous editions of Merit Guidelines™ are available for download.
For your convenience, we have summarized the articles in each issue, under the link for that issue. All issues are in PDF format.
August-September 2008
How To Build a Culture of Trust
Trust drives financial returns, retention of talent and impacts the loyalty of your customers. But trust in the workplace isn't something that can be coerced or directed — it has to be earned. This article looks at how organizations can build and strengthen this essential business element.
Get Employee Communications Out of the Stone Age
You wouldn't dream of carving the CEO's latest message in stone and lugging the tablets from employee to employee. But if you haven't recently reviewed your internal communication methods, your efforts might be perceived as being that outdated. To ensure you're communicating effectively, consider how you're presenting your messages. This article explores several key elements, including speed, format and content.
Making the Most of a New Hire's First 90 Days
Filling open positions in your company is a demanding job, requiring a great deal of time to research, recruit and screen candidates, and put together attractive offer packages. But the hard work isn't over once that great candidate says "yes." A new employee's first 90 days on the job are a crucial time. This article reviews what businesses can do to take full advantage of these important days.
Five Key Questions to Ask About Misconduct Investigations
"All complaints will be swiftly and thoroughly investigated." No doubt this sentence, or something similar, appears in your employee handbook. Unfortunately, there will be a time when you'll have to put those words into action. This brief article explains five key questions to ask to ensure the complaint process is handled appropriately.
Ask the Advisor: The Office Politics of Politics in the Office
As our country prepares to elect the next president, political discussion may be more prevalent in the workplace and even become heated. And this year's field of candidates opens the possibility that the conversation might veer to gender, age, race or religious discrimination, which could lead to more serious problems. This article provides advice to employers on how to draw the line when it comes to politics and work.
June-July 2008
Creating a Diverse Workplace
Savvy business leaders know that workplace diversity involves creating an inclusive, progressive environment that values and leverages every staff member's background. This article reviews the deeper definition of diversity and some ideas for better managing diversity within your organization.
Smart Ways to Protect Your Employees' Sensitive Information
The HR department is the keeper of some of the most sensitive data in the company, and it has a slew of privacy-related requirements to comply with. This article explores a number of actions companies should consider to safeguard sensitive employee data.
Inappropriate Workplace Behavior can be Costly
Severe examples of a hostile workplace, such as sexual harassment and discrimination, tend to garner headlines, lead to lawsuits and worry some company leaders. But there are other forms of inequitable behavior or unfairness that exist in the form of covert actions, which often go undetected or overlooked — and can be just as costly. This article explains what workplace unfairness looks like and what organizations can do to combat it.
Approach Hiring From the Other Side of the Desk
"Know your audience" is excellent advice for writers, speakers and HR executives with jobs to fill. As the competition for talent remains intense, hiring managers and HR professionals need to put themselves in the prospective hire's shoes. This brief article looks at employment approaches that are applicable to job seekers as well as employers.
Ask the Advisor: How can we Quell Office Noise?
Noisy work environments lead to increased stress and distraction, validated in a Cornell University study. This article discusses noise-abatement strategies to help employees stay well and productive.
April-May, 2008
A Green Workplace: Good for Both Employees and the Bottom Line
Is running your organization as successfully as possible and being environmentally responsible mutually exclusive? Not necessarily. Making your work environment greener can be good for your employees and bottom line as well. This article explains how workplace activities affect the environment, and inexpensive and effective ways to be green at work.
Career Pathing as a Retention Tool
"I'm leaving the company to advance my career and take on new challenges." It's a hard message to take from a valued employee during an exit interview. Most employees want to keep learning, achieving, taking on more responsibility and earn bigger paychecks. If they don't think that is possible with your organization, they'll probably seek it elsewhere. This article offers tips on developing career paths in your organization.
You Heard It Here First — Using the Office Grapevine to Your Advantage
When you hear the term "office gossip," you may think of employees standing around the water cooler talking about each other's personal lives. Actually, a great deal of office gossip involves business matters. This article looks at how organizations can make office gossip work for them.
How Multitasking Can Make You Less Productive
The term "multitasking" became popular with the advent of computers to describe how a single processor can simultaneously execute multiple processes. This concept was then touted as a way for humans to increase productivity in the workplace. The problem is that the human brain can't efficiently concentrate on several things at once. This brief article addresses ways employees can be more efficient other than multitasking.
February-March, 2008
Avoid the Drain of Bad Meetings — 5 Dos and Don'ts for Productive Gatherings
Many managers would admit that meetings can be the curse of the business day. Bad meetings are a drain on any company's time, resources and employee morale. This article offers five dos and don'ts for productive meetings.
Why (and How) More Organizations are Linking Performance to Pay
The pay-for-performance compensation strategy isn't just for company executives. It's a time-tested strategy for rewarding all of your employees while better motivating them to meet company goals. Why are more companies implementing pay-for-performance strategies? This article looks at their advantages and how to implement them.
Bridge Staffing Needs with Independent Contractors
When there is a specific job to accomplish but current employees don't have the necessary skills, many companies think bringing in a new employee is their only option. But before posting openings on the job boards another alternative may be considering an independent contractor to handle some of the work. This article offers insight on how to manage independent contractor relationships.
Will You be Able to Communicate During a Crisis?
If disaster strikes your company, do you know how to quickly reach employees and their families? Will you be able to talk to them quickly and efficiently? If the answer to these questions is anything but a resounding "yes," it's time to create or review your crisis communications plan. This brief article explores some of the key components of such a plan.
Ask the Advisor: Determining Whether a Mentoring Program is Worth It
Traditionally, mentoring programs have matched junior employees with more senior professionals with the goal of helping the less experienced enhance their careers. But it's not just the early-career employees who can benefit from mentoring these days. This article takes a look at today's environment, some of the advantages of mentoring, and factors to consider before implementing such a program in your business.
Year End, 2007
How to Turn Your Employees Into Idea Machines
Do you think that creativity in business is limited to what goes on in the advertising or marketing departments? Think again. Innovation and fresh ideas are needed in all parts of a company to stay ahead of the competition. This article looks at the characteristics of creative companies and how to foster an innovative workplace.
The Fine Art of Delegation
Excellent delegation skills need to be in the toolkit of every manager in your organization. Done well, delegation lets managers perform more effectively and helps to build bench strength in your company. Done poorly, it can create even more work and destroy morale. This article explains how to delegate successfully.
Adding "Detective" to Your HR Responsibilities — Three Common Types of Bogus Resume Claims and How to Uncover Them
People aren't always truthful when writing their resumes. In the best-selling book Freakonomics, the authors estimate that 50% of people stretch the truth when searching for a job. Considering this statistic, it is important for HR professionals to add "detective" skills to their capabilities. This article explores three common types of bogus resume claims and how to uncover them.
Prevent Employee Burnout with R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Aretha Franklin knows how important respect is to personal relationships. But it is also a critical value in professional ones. Researchers at the Wharton School of Business drew a conclusive link between employees perceiving a lack of respect from their bosses and co-workers and high levels of job burnout and turnover. This brief article reviews the researchers' 2006 report "What Makes the Job Tough?" and how employees define respect.
Ask The Advisor: Are Work-Life Clashes Destructive to Your Workplace?
Workers' lives today are more complicated than ever before. Employers who recognize this, and take steps to help, are in a much better position to attract and retain the best people. But before you can help with life-work balance, you have to understand what is stressing employees, such as having a family member deployed in the military, dealing with a child's performance in school or rebuilding after a natural disaster. This article offers solutions for some of the issues that make employees' lives stressful.
October-November, 2007
Why you Need a Road Map for Emergency Succession
Would your company be plunged into operational chaos if one of its leaders left because of a career opportunity elsewhere, a "no confidence" board vote, a personal or family crisis, a debilitating injury or illness, or even death? Well, that doesn't have to happen. Be prepared for unanticipated leadership loss by developing an emergency succession plan. This article reviews some of the elements such a plan should include.
Got a Bright Idea you Need to Promote? Arm Yourself with the 4 P's to Gain Key Stakeholder Buy-In
You've identified a need in your organization. You've done your research. You're confident that launching a new online training portal, fine-tuning the recruitment process or making other significant change is the right course of action. But depending on the size and culture of your organization, you might have to persuade others, such as your boss, your boss's boss, the board, process owners, other managers or all of the above. This article looks at the four P's for acquiring key stakeholder buy-in: preparation, perspective, persistence and patience.
The Rules of Engagement: Know What it Takes to Help Employees Feel Connected
The labor shortage is here. With U.S. unemployment rates hovering below five percent, according to the Department of Labor, attracting new employees is tougher than ever — as is retaining them. One way organizations have been dealing with these problems is by focusing on "employee engagement." This article reviews how some organizations define employee engagement and examines factors that drive engaged employee behavior.
Ask the Advisor: Enforcing your Gift Acceptance Policy During the Holidays
Gift acceptance policies can be difficult for companies to enforce — especially at year-end when vendors, suppliers and customers are likely to present employees with tokens of their appreciation. This article explains some of the issues employers should cover with their staffs, including the company's interpretation of its own gift acceptance policy.
August-September, 2007
How Are We Doing? — An HR Assessment can Answer this Important Question and More
Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City, was famous for asking his constituents, "How am I doing?" at every opportunity. Call it a grass-roots performance review. Have you ever wondered what your employees' response would be if your HR department asked, "How are we doing?" This article discusses the importance of an HR assessment to HR and your company.
How to Communicate Merger Plans with Employees
When two companies merge, it's a little like a second marriage. Both parties hope for a fresh start but may bring considerable baggage with them, including cultural differences. This article examines how to help ensure your merger or other organizational change is as successful as you hope and how to communicate its progress to your staff.
"Tell me About a Time…" Use Behavioral Interviewing to Learn More About a Job Candidate
It's been said that past behavior is one of the truest predictors of a person's future success. That is the premise behind behavioral interviewing — a technique in which questions are framed to candidates to elicit real-world stories from previous work experience. The answers you get can offer a glimpse of how they'll handle certain situations and what skills they'll bring to your organization. This article looks at advantages of behavioral interviewing and the types of questions to ask.
Teams Don't Need to be Location-Based
As technology becomes more sophisticated, business gets increasingly global and the war for talent continues employers are discovering that location isn't necessarily everything. It's perfectly plausible for team members to be located in different cities, states or even countries. It is erroneous to think that problems of distance, culture, time zones related to location will grind collaboration to a halt. This brief article explores strategies to help organizations ensure virtual teams thrive.
Ask the Advisor: Curbing Attitude Problems
Just about every workplace has at least one employee who is perceived as competent but difficult, particularly because "difficult" can be defined in so many ways. Sometimes troublesome employees are lone wolves who won't share information or credit, sometimes their social skills are lacking, and sometimes they simply aren't up to the job. This article reviews how to communicate this issue to problematic employees and work with them to change their ways.
June-July, 2007
Mix, Assess, Repeat — For Best Results, Tailor Your Pay Strategy to Company Goals
There is no single compensation plan that is right for every organization. That is why, when creating a compensation philosophy, job one is taking a hard look at the big picture: Compensation is all about attracting, retaining and rewarding the employees who will help your company achieve its goals. Of course, your organization also needs to take into account what it can afford while still being competitive. This article explores a number of employer options to consider when designing a compensation plan.
Preparing for Retirement, but Not Yours — Theirs: How to Cope with an Aging Workforce
Baby boomers are quickly approaching retirement age, which may drastically affect many organizations' workforces. This article explains how preparedness and willingness to step outside of the business-as-usual box may help your company turn this demographic reality into a positive force for business success.
School's Not Out for Many Employers
More than 90% of employers responding to the 2006 Education Assistance Plans survey, conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, reported that they offer some kind of tuition reimbursement program to their employees. This article looks at why these programs are increasingly important for organizations and suggests some details about such plans that should be made clear.
Five Things to Keep in Mind About Employee Surveys
Done correctly, employee surveys can elicit useful information on everything from policies to benefits, proving that it never hurts to ask. Done incorrectly, however, surveys can annoy workers and leave you with meaningless - or even misleading - data. This brief article reviews five things to keep in mind about employee surveys.
Ask the Advisor: Advising Employees on Retirement Plan Investments
Among the many provisions contained in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 is one that redefines what types of assistance employees can get about their investments in a company-sponsored 401(k) or similar qualified retirement plan. This means the door is now open for companies to allow their plan providers to give professional investment advice that is specific to the employee and is offered through computer modeling or face-to-face consulting. This article provides more detail about what can be offered.
April-May, 2007
One Size Doesn't Fit All When It Comes to Training
Just because you can educate employees virtually, and perhaps more quickly, by conducting training online doesn't necessarily mean it is the best approach for all types of learning. In some cases face-to-face, instructor-led training may be more effective. This article reviews the pros and cons of traditional and online training in order to help you determine which method best meets your objectives.
Preparing Employees for 360-Degree Performance Evaluations
Have you wanted to get performance feedback from the people your supervisors oversee? The 360-degree performance tool can yield important insights into how workers are perceived by subordinates and promote a companywide culture of openness and honesty. This article offers tips on coaching employees and managers to get useful input during this process.
Know Your Hiring Costs
All business decisions come down to dollars and cents. How much is it going to cost to implement a particular program and what is the potential value to your company? In most cases costs are fairly easy to calculate, such as when you buy a new computer or launch an ad campaign. But when it comes to hiring an employee, the costs are not as clear. This article looks at the upfront and hidden costs involved with hiring.
Are You Keeping Your Secrets Safe?
In today's electronically-driven world, it's easier than ever for employees, contractors and visitors in your workplace to walk out the door with confidential information and trade secrets. This brief article outlines strategies to keep your organization safe, such as closing electronic loopholes and educating employees.
Ask the Advisor: How to Handle Religious Observation and Workplace Scheduling
Accommodating the religious beliefs of employees can be a challenge for organizations. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers need to make a reasonable effort to let workers fulfill their religious duties as long as it does not create an undue hardship for the business. Many states also have laws covering this requirement that differ from the federal law, and of course, the definitions of "reasonable effort" and "undue hardship" vary by company and circumstance. To help simplify matters, this article reviews some factors you should consider.
February-March, 2007
Doing Well by Doing Good: Consider a Corporate Social Responsibility Program
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs aren't just for large corporations with multi-million dollar budgets. Companies of all types and sizes can reap the benefits of operating in a socially responsible manner, even if it's only on a small scale. This article looks at what a CSR program entails and how to start one.
Offer Letters Under the Microscope
It's the best advice career counselors give job seekers: If a company makes a job offer, get it in writing. The same is true for employers: Provide offer letters with each new hire. Offer letters protect you and future employees from misunderstandings about the job and compensation. This article discusses what you should include in an offer letter.
Reduce Anxiety Over Compensation Changes
Change can be stressful for your sales force, particularly when it may affect their livelihoods. This brief article looks at some ways you can relieve some of their anxiety when making compensation changes. Tips include giving sufficient notice and involving sales staff in the process.
Reap the Rewards of an Executive Retreat
The reality is that there are numerous ways a retreat can go wrong, scuttling all your good intentions and leaving you with a big dent in your budget. For a positive outcome, you need to plan and execute the retreat carefully. This article reviews the keys to success, which include developing an agenda that all participants can sink their teeth into, managing the logistics carefully, and planning for and conducting appropriate follow-up.
Are Your Internships a Win-Win?
"Nearly six in ten hiring managers say they're likely to offer a regular full-time position to a college graduate who interned at the organization and performed well," according to CareerBuilder.com. This article explains how to make the most of an internship program.
Ask the Advisor: How to Inoculate Against Spring Fever
In parts of the country markedly affected by winter, warmer temperatures heat up employees' collective desire to "play hooky." And even workers in more temperate climates are not immune to spring fever — only two federal holidays fall between New Year's Day and Memorial Day, and not all businesses close for the Martin Luther King holiday or President's Day. This article offers four strategies to keep your staff members at their desks and productive, as well as to acknowledge that everyone needs to recharge at this time of year.
