The document provides six suggestions for improving HR performance appraisal and employee relations. The suggestions are: 1) Provide regular feedback to employees, 2) Terminate poorly performing employees following proper procedures, 3) Pay overtime even if unauthorized, 4) Treat exempt employees properly by not docking pay for partial day absences, 5) Ensure FMLA leaves are properly designated, and 6) Regularly review and update HR policies and procedures. Implementing these suggestions can help limit liability, improve morale, and enhance professional standards.

1. Hrm performance appraisal
The six suggestions on the "To Do" list that follows are based on common sense and are
relatively easy to implement, plus when executed properly, they can have a strong impact
on your effectiveness. On the one hand, they are designed to limit corporate liability and,
on the other, to build morale and improve overall employee relations. Either way, you are
taking action to set a positive tone while improving professional standards.
1. Make sure employees get feedback on a regular basis. Once-a-year evaluations are
not enough. Employees should receive regular input from their supervisors. These
discussions should typically focus on day-to-day performance objectives rather than on
past mistakes or failures. This approach requires supervisors to observe and evaluate their
employees regularly and to work closely with targeted individuals, as needed. In addition,
make sure your managers give positive feedback for a job well done.
2. Terminate poorly performing or disruptive employees. This advice is an obvious
companion to the first suggestion. However, many managers are unwilling to terminate
an employee even when the action is justified. The most common reason is the fear of
being sued, but others include organizational inertia, fear of confrontation, and concern
for the employee's economic well being.
However, if you allow a poorly performing or disruptive employee to continue working,
productivity and efficiency will suffer and discontent will spread. You can help limit the
possibility of legal claims and make yourself more comfortable with the decision by
following your normal disciplinary process before you terminate. For most employers
this includes:
- Giving notice to the employee of the specific performance problems and the
consequences of not improving;
- Establishing goals for improvement;
- Setting a reasonable timeframe for meeting the goals (normally two weeks to 30 days);
- Following up to see if there is improvement; and
- Terminating the employee if the goals have not been met.
3. Pay overtime, even when you do not think it was properly authorized. One of the
surest ways to provoke a wage and hour claim is *not* to pay employees properly for
overtime they have worked. According to Department of Labor (DOL) regulations, if you
are aware that an employee is working more time than is scheduled, you must
compensate the employee, even if you did not specifically request the additional work.
For example, if your policy requiring prior authorization for overtime work was not
followed but a manager was aware the employee performed the work, you should pay for
the overtime. You may, however, discipline the employee (and manager) under your

2. normal disciplinary procedures for violating your work rule prohibiting unauthorized
overtime.
4. Treat your exempt employees properly as exempt. Most employers expect their
exempt employees (those exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA)) to work as long as it takes "to get the job done." Yet, some of
these same employers also penalize their exempts by requiring them to use hours of paid
vacation or sick time when they leave early to take care of personal business. This
practice can backfire in two ways.
First, it may jeopardize the employees' actual exempt status. The FLSA prohibits
employers from docking the pay of exempt employees for absences of less than a day.
The DOL does permit vacation or sick leave offsets since the employee does not
experience a reduction in compensation. However, a few courts have disagreed.
The dissenting courts have determined that this practice, in fact, treats the exempt
employee like an hourly, nonexempt employee and, therefore, triggers loss of the exempt
status. As a result, you may be put in the position of having to pay overtime to the
employee, and others similarly situated, if they lose their exemption because of your pay
practice. (Note that there are special rules for exempt public employees allowing them to
be considered exempt even if their pay is reduced for partial-day absences.)
Second, and perhaps just as importantly, the offset policy creates poor employee
relations. Exempt employees will resent being required to use paid leave for partial-day
absences, particularly if they regularly work more than 40 hours per week. If your
concern is that your exempt employees may abuse their status by leaving early or coming
in late, address those issues as a separate matter. For example, discipline exempt
employees who do not complete their work or are not available when needed. In other
words, do not penalize all your exempt employees just because of the possible abuses of a
few.
5. Make sure you designate leave appropriately under the FMLA. The single biggest
compliance mistake most employers make under the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) is their failure to notify an employee that a leave is specifically covered by the
FMLA. When this failure occurs, you cannot count the time off against the employee's
12-week FMLA allotment until proper notification is given. As a result, the employee
still enjoys the protections of the law, including continuation of health care coverage and
reinstatement, but does not draw down the 12 weeks of protected FMLA leave until
notice is given.
To prevent this problem, every time an employee requests a leave (such as for workers'
compensation, short-term disability, or pregnancy), you should immediately determine
whether the employee's need for leave is covered by the FMLA and then whether the
employee is eligible for FMLA leave. If the leave qualifies, you should give the
employee written notice that it will be counted against the FMLA's 12-week entitlement.

3. 6. Review your HR policies and procedures. Clearly written policies that are regularly
reviewed can be both an effective employee relations tool and a good defense against
employee lawsuits. In contrast, policies that are out-of-date or improperly applied can
have exactly the opposite effect.
So, make sure that your policies reflect any new laws, regulations, and court cases that
can affect both policy language and how you implement the policies. Most experts
suggest both a thorough review at least once a year and the use of a notification service or
publication to keep you posted during the interim. Of course, if you revise any of your
policies, you should distribute and thoroughly explain the changes to all employees.
* Ensure Success - Don't Get Overwhelmed * Many successful executives will tell you
that the best route to achievement is commitment followed by action. In this case, think
in terms of "must" and "will" rather than "should" when you address the six HR items
suggested above.
Another way to ensure success is to break up these six priorities into groups and tackle
them three at a time. Studies have shown, particularly in the military, that personal
effectiveness diminishes dramatically as you take on more than three priorities at once.
So, plan your HR priorities accordingly and take steps to implement these positive
actions so that you can enjoy the benefits of better HR management.
http://performanceappraisalebooks.info/ : Over 200 ebooks, templates, forms for
performance appraisal.