Tag: HR

Layoff, Furlough, or Pay Cut: Which Is Best?

When you’ve trimmed all the fat you can trim from operations and marketing and the budget still isn’t balanced, companies have to turn to labor costs. But what’s the best option? There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Hiring Freeze Instituting a hiring freeze is an almost knee-jerk reaction in many organizations. But there are […]

Steps to Reduce Conflict, Prevent Violence in the Workplace

Violence in the workplace is one of several concerns when you have conflict between employees. HR professionals need to take complaints and investigations seriously to ensure that situations don’t escalate, and they also need to be sure that safety and other legal obligations are being met. In a BLR webinar titled “Workplace Conflict Resolution: Peacekeeping […]

Should Incentive Plans Be a Component of Your Compensation Program?

In a BLR webinar titled “Smart Compensation Strategies for Small Employers: How to Maximize Your Budget and Reduce Legal Risks,” David J. Wudyka outlined some tips on implementing effective incentive plans. Why Implement an Incentive Plan? Incentive plans can be an effective part of a company’s compensation strategy. However, it is important to analyze whether […]

IRS Releases 401(k) Compliance Check Survey Results

There are more than half a million 401(k) plans in the United States, covering 60 million Americans, says the IRS. That is just some of the information in the 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire Interim Report, which the IRS released on Feb. 16, 2012. The report summarizes survey responses from 401(k) plan sponsors that filed a […]

Executive Compensation 101: Key Terminology

This will help you understand the key elements that every good executive compensation program includes, and ensure you’re knowledgeable about the broad strategies and concepts involved with designing (or re-designing) and administering a successful executive compensation program. In a BLR webinar titled “Executive Compensation: How to Design an Attractive and Cost-Effective Plan for Your Organization,” […]

Paired Comparison: Simple, Inexpensive, and It Works

Big companies use complex quantitative job evaluation systems, says Wudyka, who is managing principal of Westminster Associates in Wrentham, Massachusetts. However, smaller employers don’t need point count systems; they can use paired comparison. Wudyka’s tips came during a recent webinar sponsored by BLR. Paired Comparison One very efficient, effective, and low-cost method of ranking jobs […]

Smart Compensation Strategies for Small Employers: How to Maximize Your Budget

What’s Different About “Small Business”? When it comes to running compensation, small business have several challenges, says Wudyka, who is managing principal of Westminster Associates in Wrentham, Massachusetts. His tips came during a recent webinar sponsored by BLR. Small businesses, he says: Need “flexibility.” Small businesses need flexibility in anything they do when it comes […]

Implementing Pay Grades and Ranges: Common Pay Structure Issues

You also may find yourself facing employees who don’t fit into the standard pay grades for one reason or another or who have maxed out at their existing pay grade. You may even have an employee who is pointing to online salary information and claiming she’s not getting paid enough, which is a position HR […]

Metrics: 2 Common Errors That Make Them Worthless

Metrics guru Dr. John Sullivan says that human resources managers make two key mistakes when using metrics. Sullivan is a metrics consultant and professor of management at San Francisco State University. Mistake #1: Metrics in a Vacuum The first mistake, says Sullivan, blogging on www.ere.net, is that comp/HR managers tend to develop and implement metrics […]