Michael's Thoughts

I decided this would be a list of the good, the bad and the ugly, I hope it helps you as you begin to review your employees. These phrases for effective performance reviews can be slightly altered as needed for your employee appraisals.   Attendance and Punctuality Positive Jim has been a valued member of team by always being someone we can count on. Jim's attention to his attendance and punctuality has made our team function much better over the past year. Tim is very reliable in his attendance and consistently shows up on time. Janet begins each day refreshed and ready for any of the challenges she faces. George always ensures his employees adhere to their lunch schedules and breaks. Negative Todd is continually late for work and should work on this over the next few months to improve in this area. Heather fails to show up to work on time and keep a normal work schedule Timothy leads meetings which frequently run beyond their allotted time. Over the next year, Timothy should e

One of the times of the year some managers dread is annual performance review time. Unfortunately, we often do not provide frequent enough informal reviews to our employees and have to pop everything on them one time a year. Do you keep track of the accomplishments of your employees throughout the year? Do you correct "on the spot" or save it for a once-a-year bitch-fest? Do you keep track of your own accomplishments throughout the year?   More Frequent Performance Review One way you can mitigate the Annual performance Review Blues is to provide more frequent performance reviews. When I managed a JC Penney store, I would often provide quarterly quick review sessions with my employees. This provided them an opportunity to see how I, and their upper management view their performance, accomplishments, and problems. Many times these were revealing and difficult sessions, but when annual performance review time came none of what I said was a surprise.   These frequent perfor

Many People do not realize how easily criminals can obtain your personal information without breaking into your home. in public places, for example criminals may engage in "shoulder surfing" watching you from a nearby location as you punch in your telephone calling card number or credit card number or listen in on your conversation if you give your credit-card number over the telephone to a hotel or rental car company. Even the area near your home or office may not be secure. Some criminals engage in "dumpster diving" going through you garbage cans or a communal dumpster or trash bin- to obtain copies of your checks credit card or bank statements, or other records that typically bear your name, address, and even your telephone number. These types of records make it easier for criminals to get control over accounts in y our name and assume your identity. If you receive applications for "preapproved" credit cards in the mail, but discard them without tea