The article below is a good reminder if what can happen when we fail to remember what we have told an employee in their annual/semi-annual evaluation.

More often than not, an evaluation turns into a document that says what we want our employee to be. Often evaluations are not honest. A supervisor believes if he says nice things about an employee; hard worker, productive, honest, creative, etc., that the employee will do everything possible to mirror what the supervisor has written. This does not happen, the employee doesn’t change at all.

Here’s the problem, three months after the evaluation the employee is discharged for not being lazy, unproductive, dishonest, uncreative, etc., and the employee uses the past performance evaluation in his law suit for wrongful termination.

10th Circuit: Positive Evaluations Raise Doubts About Employment Decision

A performance-based employment decision that is inconsistent with the employee’s past performance evaluations may be evidence of pretext, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held.

In 2005, Boeing Co. sold its Wichita, Kan., aircraft plant to Spirit Aerosystems Inc. Because Spirit had no employees of its own, it relied on Boeing’s supervisors to recommend which Boeing employees to hire after the takeover. Walt Galloway, supervisor for the loft tooling unit, recommended that Spirit hire three of the five employees from that unit. James Woods, who was not selected for hire, sued both Boeing and Spirit for age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Woods had worked in Boeing’s Wichita plant since 1978. Galloway became Woods’ supervisor in April 2003. In his only evaluation of Woods’ performance, Galloway rated Woods as “met all expectations” in all categories including skills, knowledge, quality, productivity and team abilities. Galloway also wrote “you have performed well” and “keep up the good work.” Two of the other members in the loft tooling unit received better ratings than Woods, and the remaining two received the same ratings as Woods.

When Spirit asked for hiring recommendations, Galloway selected 17 of the 24 employees he supervised. All seven of the employees not selected were 48 years old or older. In Woods’ unit, Galloway recommended that Spirit hire the youngest of the three employees with the lower performance ratings.

According to Galloway, Woods was not recommended for hire because of his “limited skills/low quality/low productivity/marginal teaming abilities.” Woods claimed he was not recommended because of his age; he was 55.

The trial court dismissed Woods’ claims, and the 10th Circuit reversed.

The court stated several reasons to question the truthfulness of Galloway’s explanation for not recommending Woods. First, Galloway used the same criteria to recommend against hiring Woods that he used to conclude in his evaluation that Woods was meeting all expectations. Second, Galloway’s assessment that Woods had “marginal teaming abilities” was not based on any objective criteria. Third, all of the employees that Galloway recommended against hiring were 48 or older.

The court held that a jury must evaluate these facts and decide whether Galloway’s reasons for recommending against Woods’ hire were truthful or whether the decision was really based on Woods’ age.

The 10th Circuit’s decision was unanimous, but one of the judges on the panel expressed reluctance. Judge Anderson stated that “[t]his is a very thin case,” and although he agreed with the result, he could not find any prior cases with such little evidence of discrimination.

Woods v. The Boeing Co., 10th Cir., No. 07-3358 (Dec. 8, 2009).

Professional Pointer: Plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases often point to past positive evaluations to show that the employer’s unfavorable action was dishonest or “pre-textual.” Because it is a natural human tendency to sugarcoat and avoid confrontation, managers must be trained, monitored and encouraged to give accurate, candid and honest feedback to employees in performance assessments. When making a termination decision based on performance, prior performance evaluations should be carefully scrutinized for inconsistencies. If the employer makes a decision based on a decline in performance, the employer should document those changes. This case is a stark reminder that courts will often allow an employment discrimination case—even a weak one—to go to trial if the employer’s reasons for making an unfavorable decision are inconsistent with prior documented performance assessments.

Michael A. Warner Jr. and Abizer Zanzi are attorneys with Franczek Radelet PC, a Worklaw® Network member firm in Chicago.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Randall Barker is the VP of Human Resources for A Plus Benefits, Inc.

5 Frequently Asked Questions About The Exempt Employee Definition

Some of the most common questions received cover the definition of an exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The definition is important because an employer must pay overtime to employees who work more than 40 hours per week unless an employee meets the definition via certain tests regarding job duties and salary.

The FLSA provides exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees; outside sales personnel, certain specialized computer personnel; certain highly compensated employees; certain retail sales employees; and employees covered by the Motor Carrier Act (MCA). In order to qualify as exempt from the overtime pay requirements, an employee must pass three tests: the salary level test, salary basis test, and duties tests.

Here are some common questions about exempt employees.

Q: Our company’s business has fallen off dramatically. Can we require that each exempt employee take a one-week unpaid furlough before the end of our fiscal year?

A: Unfortunately, many employers are in the position of looking for ways to cut costs, and many are opting for furloughs as a means to cut costs without cutting jobs. The Department of Labor recently released several opinion letters addressing how furloughs affect exempt employees. The following are the main principles:

• Weeklong furlough. If an employer sets up a weeklong furlough and doesn’t pay exempt employees, there is no risk of losing the employees’ exempt status because the FLSA regulations provide that exempt employees need not be paid for any workweek in which they perform no work. In this case the exempt employee cannot work any time during the workweek. It must be stressed when a weeklong furlough is imposed that those employees who are on furlough may not do any work from home. Employees working from or with blackberries and iphones during a furlough can create a situation where the furlough is in reality not a furlough at all and employees must now be compensated for the entire workweek. Exempt employees should be expressly forbidden to do any kind of work during a furlough, make sure there is no misunderstanding.

• Partial-week furlough deducting employee pay. If an employer sets up a partial-week furlough and deducts the pay of exempt employees for the furlough days, the employees are at risk of losing their exempt status and may be entitled to overtime. It is easiest to say, just don’t do this.

• Partial-week furlough using vacation time. If an employer sets up a partial-week furlough and uses vacation time for the furlough time so that the employees receive their usual salary, there is no risk of losing the exemption. But this requires that every employee on furlough has enough vacation time to cover the furlough. Don’t be tempted to subject only those employees with vacation/pto to a partial-week furlough. The decline in morale that will result from this will not be worth it.

• Permanent furlough arrangement. Employers may set up a permanent change in an employee’s usual weekly schedule, such as changing the weekly work schedule from 5 days to 4 days, and altering the employee’s salary to match. As long as the exempt employees’ receive at least the $455 weekly salary required by the FLSA for exemption, they will remain exempt. For example, Dan is an exempt employee and has enjoyed a salary of $600 per week for a 5 day work week. Going forward Dan will be assigned a 4 day workweek and his salary will be reduced to $480 a week (in this case a 20% reduction). Since Dan still makes more that the FLSA required $455 per week, the salary level test has been satisfied.
Based on this information, you may require exempt employees to take a one-week unpaid furlough without jeopardizing their exempt status.

Q: Can a full-time exempt employee be suspended without pay?

A: Deductions from the pay of exempt employees may be made for unpaid disciplinary suspensions of 1 or more full days imposed in good faith for infractions of workplace conduct rules. The disciplinary deductions must involve serious misconduct (harassment, workplace violence, safety violations, etc.), not performance or attendance issues. The employer must have a written policy applicable to all employees in order to make disciplinary deductions. For example, an employer may suspend an exempt employee without pay for 3 days for violating a generally applicable written policy prohibiting sexual harassment or workplace violence.

Q: Can we require exempt employees to clock in and out for lunch periods and at the start and end of the workday?

A: Employers may require exempt employees to clock in and out for lunch periods and at the beginning and end of their work day. There are a number of reasons why an employer might want to require exempt employees to “punch a time clock” in the same way that non-exempt employees are required to do so. One reason involves the equitable treatment of all employees regardless of level in the company. Another reason is that a time clock provides a record of exempt employees’ attendance.
However, in order to continue to be classified as exempt, these employees must be paid on a salary basis meaning they must paid a fixed salary each week. The United States Department of Labor (DOL) enforces regulations that define the salary basis requirement for exempt status (29 CFR 541.118, 541.212, and 541.312). To be exempt, administrative, executive, and professional employees must generally be paid a predetermined amount each pay period that is at least the minimum weekly salary required by the regulations (currently $455 per week). The amount paid may not be reduced because of a variation in the quality or quantity of the work performed. With few exceptions, the employee must receive his or her full salary for any week in which he or she performs any work without regard to the number of days or hours worked.

Accordingly, if an exempt employee clocks in late to work or leaves early at the end of the day, the employer may not dock his or her pay as it does for a non-exempt, hourly employee.

Q: If an exempt employee comes into work for half of an hour and needs to leave due to personal reasons are we required to pay the employee for the entire day or can we use available PTO time?

A: As a general rule, employers may not deduct from an exempt employee’s weekly salary because of a partial day absence from work. He or she must be paid the full weekly salary even though a partial day was missed. However, if the employer has a written policy of which the employee is aware providing for the use of accrued paid time off in partial day increments, the employer may charge a partial day absence to vacation or other accrued paid time off. The result is that the employee still receives the full salary for the week. We suggest that all businesses have a bona-fide leave bank policy which is explained in more detail below.

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued an Opinion Letter addressing this issue. The relevant paragraph is copied below:

“To respond to your specific concern about whether or not an exempt employee’s accrued PTO leave bank may be reduced for partial day absences, the answer is yes. Where an employer has a benefits plan (e.g., vacation time, sick leave), it is permissible to substitute or reduce the accrued leave in the plan for the time an employee is absent from work, whether the absence is a partial day or a full day, without affecting the salary basis of payment, if the employee nevertheless receives in payment his or her guaranteed salary. Payment of the employee’s guaranteed salary must be made, even if an employee has no accrued benefits in the leave plan and the account has a negative balance, where the employee’s absence is for less than a full day.”

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has strict rules about deductions from the pay of an exempt employee.

• Personal reasons. If the business has instituted a bona-fide leave bank plan and the employee is question has a zero balance in his leave bank deductions may be made when the employee is absent from work for a full day or more for personal reasons other than sickness or disability. Thus, if an employee is absent for a day or longer to handle personal affairs (including play, i.e. skiing, fishing boating, camping, ect), his or her salaried status will not be affected if deductions are made from his or her salary for such absences. If an employee is absent for less than a day, he or she must be paid for the full day.

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. Employers may dock the pay of otherwise salaried and exempt employees for family and medical leave-related absences of less than 1 full day without affecting their exempt status but only in situations where the employer is required to provide leave under the FMLA.

If you have questions about how to institute a bona-fide leave bank plan you can receive further information from our professionals in the A Plus Benefits HR Department.

Q: Do you have a policy for giving exempt employees compensatory time? Specifically, when employees travel for the company on weekends, the company would like to show their appreciation by giving them an additional day of PTO.

A: Instituting a formal compensatory time off policy for exempt employees is legal, but many employers avoid formal policies due to the complications such a policy can create. Employers sometimes avoid formal comp time policies because they may create the expectation that exempt employees work set hours or that certain work is “extra.” Instead, many employers opt to grant additional leave to exempt employees on an individual and discretionary basis, based on exceptional performance.

If your organization wishes to provide comp time to exempt workers in a formal policy, it is best to set out a policy or clear expectations regarding when comp time is earned, how it will be tracked and within what time frame it must be used. Don’t confuse this kind of comp time pay with what many businesses want to do in relation to comp time/over-time pay with non-exempt employees. It is still contrary to current rules/laws to have a comp time plan for hourly paid employees wherein an employee is given additional time off instead of overtime pay..

For example (exempt employees):

• The policy should first limit and define the employees eligible for comp time to those that are exempt from overtime provisions of the FLSA. The policy should specifically state nonexempt positions are entitled to overtime pay and must be compensated for any hours worked over 40 hours in a work week and are not eligible for compensatory time off.

• State that the employer has no legal requirement or obligation to grant compensatory time off to exempt employees. A supervisor may choose to grant compensatory time off to exempt employees who are required to work in excess of 40 hours per week for special projects or during weekends or any normally scheduled time off. State how compensatory time will be granted (e.g., on an hour-for-hour or other basis).

• Require supervisory approval of work that qualifies the exempt employee for comp time. Consider requiring recordkeeping of hours worked, use of timesheets, etc., depending on the work environment.

• Set time periods for use of comp time (i.e., within a year of date which comp time is accrued, within 60, 90 days, etc.)

• Set limits on when an employee can use comp time (i.e., allowing supervisors to deny comp time leave requests if taking such time will “unduly disrupt” the department’s operations.

• Set limits on the number of hours of comp time an employee can accrue in a set period.

Again, if a business would like to institute a comp time plan to reward exempt employees, technical assistance can be obtained from one of our professionals in the A Plus Benefits HR Department.

Randall Barker is the VP of Human Resources for A Plus Benefits, Inc.

The 3-Legged Dance a.k.a. The Bermuda Triangle of HR
(or Why You Really Want Access to Experienced HR Professionals)

In this update we mention ADA, COBRA, PDA, ERISA, FLSA and Recordkeeping, some of these regulations have minimum employee counts to be effective for an organization and some effect a business because you have one employee. You may not be required to comply with all of the regulations mentioned above today, but as your organization grows you will most likely be required to comply with all of them at some point in time.

Much of the information that follows below comes from recent HR Updates delivered to us by BLR.

Much has been written about the Bermuda Triangle of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), but that’s not the only triangle that makes FMLA compliance tricky. Compliance gets even murkier when the ramifications of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), ADA, and COBRA are factored in.

FMLA regulations specify that the FMLA does not override other applicable laws, and that where multiple laws apply to a leave situation, FMLA should be coordinated with the other applicable laws. Understanding which laws apply in a given situation, and how they interact, can be complex and confusing, to say the least.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and FMLA
The PDA, which amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, makes it unlawful to fire, fail to hire, refuse to promote, or otherwise discriminate against a woman because she is pregnant.
The basic principle behind the PDA is that women affected by pregnancy and related conditions must be treated the same as other applicants and employees on the basis of their ability or inability to work.

As regards FMLA leave, this means:
• A pregnant woman may not be forced to go on leave as long as she can still work.
• If other employees who take disability leave are entitled to get their jobs back, so are women who have been unable to work because of pregnancy.
• If pregnant employees are treated differently with respect to their FMLA leave than nonpregnant employees who request leave because of a serious health condition, you may be guilty of discrimination.
• If a woman is terminated allegedly because of pregnancy or the birth of a child, she may be able to sue under both FMLA and PDA.

Please keep in mind that some states have laws that mandate maternity leave (not Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, or most western states except California)

COBRA and FMLA
COBRA contains rules regarding employees’ rights to healthcare coverage.
The major question for employers who must comply with both COBRA and FMLA is when COBRA benefits begin. According to guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS Notice 94-103), taking leave under the FMLA does not constitute a COBRA-qualifying event setting off COBRA’s notification requirements. A qualifying event does occur if the following conditions are met:

• The employee (or spouse or dependent) is covered by the employer’s group health plan on the day before the first day of FMLA leave,
• The employee does not return to work at the end of the FMLA leave, and
• The employee would, in the absence of COBRA, lose coverage under the health plan before the end of the maximum coverage period provided by COBRA.

If these three conditions are met, a qualifying event occurs on the last day of FMLA leave. The maximum COBRA coverage period is generally measured from the date of this qualifying event. If coverage would be lost on a later date, the maximum COBRA coverage period would be measured from that date.

The IRS guidance also says that:
• Any state and local laws that require group health plan coverage during a leave of absence for more time than required by FMLA do not affect the determination of when a COBRA qualifying event has occurred.
• A qualifying event also occurs if an employee fails to pay his or her share of group health plan premiums during the FMLA leave or declines group health plan coverage during the leave.
• The right to take COBRA continuation may not be conditioned on repayment by an ex-employee of any premiums paid by the employer for group health coverage during FMLA leave.

In part 1 above we entered the Bermuda Triangle of HR—the dangerous waters where the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) intersect. Today, we’ll see what the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) have to do with the FMLA, and we’ll introduce a comprehensive program that will keep your FMLA hassles to a minimum.

FMLA and ERISA
The FMLA allows for the discontinuation of employee health benefits during a leave if the employee fails to pay his or her portion of the premium. However, the FMLA requires that any discontinued benefits provided pursuant to an employee benefit plan, as defined by ERISA, be resumed when an employee returns from FMLA leave, without any qualifying period.

This requirement makes it necessary for employers to review their benefit plans to ensure that an employee returning from leave will be able to be fully reinstated to all benefits. For example, it may be necessary for the employer to continue life insurance for an employee on FMLA leave to avoid the employee’s having to pass a new physical for the life insurance carrier.

In addition, any period of FMLA leave must be treated as continued service for purposes of vesting and eligibility to participate in pension and other retirement plans.

FLSA and FMLA
The FMLA and the FLSA interact in two important ways. First, the FMLA provides a special FLSA exemption for salaried, exempt employees. Second, the FMLA requires that FMLA-covered entities maintain records in accordance with the FLSA.

Exemption for Salaried Employees
Normally, employers may not deduct hourly amounts from exempt employees’ salaries. The FMLA provides an exception, stating that an employer may deduct hourly amounts from an employee’s salary when providing FMLA leave without affecting the employee’s exempt status under the FLSA.
Recordkeeping

The burden of proof is on the employer to prove an employee is ineligible for leave because he or she has not worked the requisite 1,250 hours. In determining an employee’s eligibility for leave under the FMLA, the appropriate measure of “hours of service” is the standard used by the FLSA that considers only actual hours worked by the employee.

If you do not keep time records, you may have a difficult time establishing your case. To this end, the FMLA requires employers to make, keep, and preserve records related to their obligations under the FMLA, according to the recordkeeping requirements of the FLSA.

FMLA hassles—they just won’t go away, will they? And, now, of course, there are all the new FMLA responsibilities—like military leave and reinstatement. Still a little shell-shocked?

The issues touched on above are the kind of issues handled daily by the HR Professionals at A Plus Benefits, Inc. If you have questions or concerns about these issues or other employment related matters please contact one of our HR Professionals.

Randall Barker is the VP of Human Resources for A Plus Benefits, Inc.

9 Leadership Strategies to Beat the Recession Blues
Wednesday, December 09, 2009 by Steve Bruce BLR Daily Advisor

It’s been a lean time for most companies, and the dark days of the recession have spawned a troubling new issue—widespread loss of employee engagement, says consultant Jon Gordon.

“Even if companies haven’t literally lost their employees, many have lost them psychologically,” warns Gordon in his new book, The Shark and the Goldfish: Positive Ways to Thrive During Waves of Change. “Leaders have to change that.”

“You need to personally make sure that your company is a place where people want to work. You must focus on winning in the workplace if you want to win in the marketplace,” says Gordon. Here are his nine strategies for boosting morale and engagement in the current economy.

1. Focus on People, Not Numbers“It’s not numbers that drive people, but the people that drive numbers,” Gordon points out. After all, he says, numbers are just indicators of how well your people are executing. Remember, he says, “Culture drives behavior, behavior drives habits, and habits drive results.”

2. Model Good Behavior
Leaders set the tone for employees. They can inspire, or they can extinguish. For example if you greet workers cheerfully even though you’ve both had to come into work an hour early, they’re likely to mirror that attitude. “Whatever you expect from your people, you must also expect from your senior leadership,” Gordon says.

Leaders need to be humble and hungry, he explains. Humble in that they seek to learn, grow, and improve every day, and hungry with a passion to work harder than everyone else.

3. Practice Positive Leadership“Positive leadership” means remaining purposeful in the face of adversity. “While it’s important to acknowledge the obstacles your organization is facing (after all, no one really respects a naïve Pollyanna!), don’t dwell on them, and don’t bring up bad news before you’ve pointed out one or two things that are going well,” says Gordon.

Optimistically focus on where you are going. Remember, Gordon says, “Culture drives behavior. You win in the office first. Then you win in the marketplace.”

4. Fill the Void
In these uncertain times, employees are questioning how their industries and jobs will be impacted. This uncertainty creates a void, and “Where there is a void, negativity will fill it,” Gordon believes.
In the absence of clear and positive communication, people assume the worst, Gordon says. As a leader, you must personally meet with your employees and continually communicate, communicate, communicate.

“Make transparency the norm, not the exception,” asserts Gordon. “Talk to your team members often, and let them know where they stand. Host frequent town hall meetings in which you listen to employees’ fears, concerns, and ideas, and share your vision for the future.”

5. Tell Energy Vampires, ‘It’s time to get on the bus … or off.’ You might think that a few nonconformists and cynics won’t be a major problem, but Gordon insists you’d be wrong. He calls those who are a constant source of negativity “Energy Vampires” because they suck the energy and life out of everyone around them.

“Once you’ve identified the naysayers, gently approach them and give them a chance to get on the bus and share in a positive vision,” Gordon advises. If they refuse to get on board, you must get them off the bus. “Even if your biggest complainer is your highest performer, the negative energy outweighs any positive contributions,” Gordon says.

6. Forbid All Complaining
Successful organizations with great cultures focus on solutions, not on complaints, Gordon says. His rule is simple: “You are not allowed to complain unless you also offer a solution.”

7. Teach Your People to Be Heroes, Not Victims
Gordon points out that both heroes and victims get knocked down. The distinction is that heroes get back up while victims simply give up.

Help your employees to realize that they are not victims of circumstance, Gordon says. Remind them that they have a high locus of control—in other words, they have a significant influence over how things turn out. “True, you can’t always control the events in your life, but you can control how you respond to these events—and your response determines the outcome,” Gordon says.

8. Focus on the Small Wins
The key, says Gordon, is to always place your attention on those little, ordinary, nonspectacular “wins” that add up to big successes. His credo is to expect success, look for success, and celebrate success.

“Keep in mind that employees might be discouraged or burnt out right now, so make sure to really highlight and celebrate the small wins in order to foster loyalty, excitement, and confidence,” Gordon urges. “Championships are won as the result of many small wins.”

9. Make Sure You Have Sharks in Your Key Positions
When the economy was thriving, it didn’t matter as much if key employees turned in a mediocre performance. Now, that isn’t the case, Gordon says. He suggests looking at your team and figuring out which people display the characteristics of driven, go-get—’em “nice sharks” and which are “goldfish” or more natural relationship managers.

Your sharks are the people you need in sales or business-driving positions, Gordon suggests, not your goldfish. People who aren’t in the right positions won’t thrive—and your organization will constantly find itself struggling, he says.

Too many organizations have goldfish types in sales positions, and that’s why they aren’t thriving, Gordon says. “Put your people in the right positions and allow them to do what they do best—and they will help your company to perform its best.”

Randall Barker is the VP of Human Resources for A Plus Beneifts, Inc.

Top 10 Ways to Reduce Bad Behavior at Work
(from BLR HR Daily Advisor 11/23-24/2009)

Workplace incivility is an often overlooked, expensive, yet treatable malady, says the new book, The Cost of Bad Behavior. Authors Christine Pearson and Christine Porath show how to calculate the cost and what to do about eliminating the undesirable behavior.

What Is Workplace Incivility?
Pearson and Porath offer several examples of incivility:
•Taking credit for others’ efforts
•Passing blame for mistakes
•Talking down to others
•Spreading rumors
•Setting others up for failure
•Belittling other’s efforts
•Withholding information
•Making demeaning or derogatory remarks
•Taking resources someone else needs
•Paying no attention to people, texting during meetings, failing to return phone calls or respond to e-mail.

What’s the True Cost?
Pearson and Porath have developed a system for calculating the actual cost of incivility. Essentially, you estimate the numbers of employees who will, for example:
•Lose work time worrying about an incident and future interactions with the offender
•Lose work time avoiding the offender
•Experience a lessened sense of commitment to the organization
•Intentionally reduce their efforts at work
•Intentionally reduce their hours at work
•Leave their jobs because of incivility
•Be indirectly affected by observing uncivil behavior

Add to that the number of customers who will turn elsewhere because they are turned off by the incivility they experience when dealing with you.

Once you know that, you calculate cost based on hours lost and sales lost. There are, of course, a number of assumptions involved, but the underlying result makes it clear: This is a bottom-line issue; uncivil behavior really does cost companies substantially.

The good news is, you can do something about it, and it’s not overly time-consuming or expensive. Here’s what Pearson and Porath suggest:

1. Set Zero-Tolerance Expectations.
Set clear expectations for civility from the top. For example:
“Treat each other with respect.” (from Boeing’s integrity statement)
“Treat everyone in our diverse community with respect and dignity.” (from the mission statement of the Mayo Clinic)
“Nike was founded on a handshake.” Implicit in that act was the determination that we would build our business based on trust, teamwork, honesty, and mutual respect. (from Nike’s Responsibility Governance statement, which is reviewed and signed annually by every Nike employee.)

2. Look in the Mirror.
Remember, say Pearson and Porath, that as individuals rise in the organization, they are less and less likely to hear negative information, including that about their own civility. Here’s what the book suggests:

Self-examination. Ask yourself:
•Do I behave respectfully to all employees?
•Do I take my frustrations out on employees who have less power than I?
•Do I treat individuals, on whom I rely or who can do good things for me, better than others?

Peer review. Seek out the opinions of peers who may be straighter with you than subordinates.
Videotape. Videotape yourself at meetings. One CEO who did this was stunned: “I didn’t realize what a jerk I sounded like.”

3. Weed Out Trouble Before It Enters.
The easiest way to foster civility is to keep uncivil people out, say Pearson and Porath. No uncivil vendors, contractors, customers, or employees. To accomplish this:

Do thorough reference checks. Pearson and Porath were “stunned” to see that many firms don’t bother with reference checks, or do very cursory checks.

Don’t go on gut. Your gut feeling may generally be reliable, but collect evidence.

Desperation. Don’t allow yourself to act hastily out of desperation, Pearson and Porath say. Take the time to be sure of a good hire.

4. Teach Civility.
Many offenders “just don’t know any better.” Pearson and Porath’s research suggests that training can make a difference. For example, teach coaching, how to listen, how to respond, and how to receive and give feedback.

Also, include civility at performance rating time.

5. Train Employees and Managers to Recognize and Respond to Signals.
Many offenders reported to Pearson and Porath that their companies just didn’t seem to care about how employees treated one another. The employee thinks, why should I bother if no one cares? Charge your supervisors and managers to be alert for signals of incivility.

•Are there certain people with whom no one wants to work?
•Are there certain managers whom no one wants to mentor?

6. Put Your Ear to the Ground.
Combining 360 feedback and organizational data is very helpful at pinpointing problems, Pearson and Porath have found.

Organizational data, such as absence records and turnover stats, can reinforce 360 results. However, say Pearson and Porath, be very careful using these data. Take into account the many reasons why two facilities in different areas of the country, or doing different kinds of work, could reasonably have significantly different results on the various metric scales.

7. When Incivility Occurs, Hammer It.
If you ignore incivility, say Christine Pearson and Christine Porath, authors of The Cost of Bad Behavior, it festers. It continues toward the people it started with and expands to other people. Some of Pearson and Porath’s research participants noted that they have stopped using the internal hiring systems at their companies because they have been burned by managers who gave glowing recommendations to uncivil workers just so that the manager could pass the problem off to another department.

Pearson and Porath stress the great importance of civility where employees interact with customers. On Disney properties, they say, reports of incivility are dealt with instantly. “Suits” (security personnel, dressed in business attire) descend out of nowhere, and the employee is gone.

8. Take Complaints Seriously.
It takes a lot of courage for lesser-empowered individuals to lodge a complaint about incivility. They fear not being taken seriously, or worse, being made to feel that they are the ones committing the crime.

To counteract that, employees need to know that you will respect their complaints and take action. Pearson and Porath note that in talking to employees, they have never had any difficulty finding out who are the uncivil members of the staff.

9. Don’t Make Excuses for Powerful Instigators.
Pearson and Porath have heard lots of excuses for habitual offenders:

“That’s just how Darwin is.”
“We can’t afford to lose Sally.”
“We’re dealing with Rob, but bringing him around in his own time [his own way, in his own style]. That is the best approach to use with him.”
“I don’t like to get involved in employees’ personal matters.”
“Tracy doesn’t mean any harm. He’s just [overworked, having problems at home].”
“I have bigger problems to deal with.”

The cost of cutting loose habitually uncivil employees will never be as much as the outrageous price of keeping them, Pearson and Porath say.

10. Invest in Post-Departure Interviews.
While departing employees often won’t speak up in an exit interview, Pearson and Porath find that they often will open up 6 months later. Give that a try, they suggest.

A Plus Benefits Comments:
The cost of sending a post-departure interview questionnaire to a former employee is relatively small when compared to the information that might be discovered from the returned forms.

If nothing else, the employee who has left your organization may feel that you really did care about them and other employees. A good employee who departed may think about returning or the former employee may be more willing to refer qualified friends and associates to your company.

Can’t we just all get along? It’s a big part of civility. Organizations that practice and enforce civility experience less stress and higher productivity as well and lower turnover.

Randall Barker is the VP of Human Resources for A Plus Benefits, Inc.