FreshView
a publication of Cascade Employers Association
MARCH 2011
Dollars & Sense Poll |
In This Issue:
- Performance Appraisal Horror Story
(With a Happy Ending) - Oregon Regional Pay Survey at Your Fingertips
- Paying For Travel Time
- Did You Know?
Performance Appraisal Horror Story (With a Happy Ending)
By Jerry Bumgarner, CCP, Director of Research & Compensation Services
Cascade Employers Association
jbumgarner@cascadeemployers.com
I got my first performance appraisal about seven years into my HR career. While I was excited about it, I also had reservations because I had heard about how supervisors hated to give appraisals (second only to firing someone). I soon discovered that I didn't like being on the receiving end of an appraisal either. In fact, it turned out to be such a horrible experience I never wanted to receive another one. It was a complete surprise. I got a big "thumbs down," a "no confidence" vote. I was suddenly a failure after years of success in sports, in the classroom, and on the job. It upset me so much I considered leaving the company so I wouldn't have to work for that supervisor.
I'll stop here to provide a little background about why I felt so violated by my supervisor. It began on my first day with the company. When I arrived at the Employment office, I was introduced to another person who was also starting that day...my new supervisor. The person that hired me as a Compensation Specialist had left the organization and I was meeting his replacement. No big deal, I thought. It didn't matter to me who I worked for.
I began doing the job for which I was hired and, being a "good employee," I gladly accepted "other" duties and responsibilities whenever they were assigned by my new supervisor. While my background was in compensation, many of my assignments involved our group insurance plans, labor negotiations, employee relocations, employee discipline, etc. Since I still performed many compensation related duties, I viewed these assignments as being great for my professional development even though they were not part of my job...I thought.
During the first six months with the company, my supervisor and I spent considerable time together. In addition to project work, we often went to lunch to discuss projects and worked many late hours to complete pressing assignments. We were a great team. I loved my job. I felt like everything was going well. At least he never gave me any feedback to indicate otherwise. As far as I knew, nothing was wrong with my performance. Everything was going just fine...that is, until my first performance appraisal. I went to the appraisal expecting to hear I was doing great. Instead, I was totally surprised by the negative feedback he gave me, and even more surprised to discover that his view of the job was very different from mine. I couldn't believe he waited six months to tell me.
While my appraisal "horror" story and HR career could have ended on a sour note, thanks to our very astute Human Resources Director, my story actually continued with a positive conclusion. The HR Director, realizing I felt I had been treated unfairly, met with me and my supervisor to lay out a plan. His plan included several compensation related goals that were to be completed during the next six months. Each of these goals contained very specific expectations regarding what was to be achieved and how. I accepted them as a challenge and, after agreeing to seek frequent input and meet regularly with my supervisor to review my progress, I set out to prove what I knew I was capable of.
With clear targets at which to shoot, I knew what to pay attention to and ended up accomplishing much more than I would have otherwise. I was so on fire and committed to exceeding my supervisor's expectations. I did whatever it took, including working many extra hours. I also discovered I didn't have to go at it alone. My supervisor, the one I didn't want to continue working for, turned out to be an excellent professional mentor once he started being truthful with me. As a result of the feedback he gave during the six months trial period, I learned a lot and remained focused on my goals.
When the time arrived for my second appraisal, I knew exactly what to expect. No surprises this time. Because of the goals I received and the feedback I got along the way, I knew going in that I had exceeded my supervisor's expectations. It was truly a "win/win/win" for the Company, my supervisor and for me. To top it off, three months after this review I was promoted to be the Compensation Manager for the company. So, what started very badly for me ended as a positive career experience. When I reflected back over the 35 years since this experience, I realized that the biggest wins for me were that I became a more engaged employee and learned how to do appraisals right. Today, I consult with Cascade's members and train managers and supervisors on how to align employee performance with their organization missions and goals.
While many organizations have employee performance appraisal systems similar to the one in my story, very few include processes that measure employee performance versus goals. The result...many supervisors still say they don't like giving appraisals and many employees still hate to receive them. With specific goals, appraisals are easier for supervisors to give. The premise here is simple. Employees are more likely to hit performance targets and contribute to the organization's success, if they know in advance what the target looks like. While it takes time to do it right, there are many pay-offs. In addition to supporting the supervisor/employee relationship, employees will be more focused and engaged, customers will be happier, and the organization can expect better results.
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Oregon Regional Pay Survey at Your Fingertips
By Elizabeth Fuss, Human Resource Consultant
Cascade Employers Association
efuss@cascadeemployers.com
It's difficult to find reliable salary information in the online world. Luckily, with the SalaryTrends® Oregon Regional Pay Survey, your task to find that information becomes a little easier. As a member of Cascade, when you contribute and update your company's salary information online, you receive free access to the Oregon Regional Pay Survey. Even if you are not a member of Cascade, entering your salary information gives you deep discounts on our survey products.
You can be confident that this information is reliable and current because participants just like you are constantly updating their information. Overseen by our compensation experts, the Oregon Regional Pay Survey provides you with up to date salary information for hundreds of job titles.
Follow these simple steps to add or update your data:
- Go to SalaryTrends.com
- Click on Oregon Regional Pay Survey
- Click on Enter My Pay Data Now!
- Follow the instructions to enter your data.
- If you have forgotten your user name or password, or need a new login, email surveys@salarytrends.com for assistance.
Then, voila! You have current pay data at your fingertips and ready for you to use at the click of a mouse. Looking for particular job data? Here's how you access it:
- Go to SalaryTrends.com
- Click on Access My Subscription
- Login with your user name and password
- Select which report you want (nonexempt, exempt, regional executive or national executive)
- Find the job you are looking for in the Index.
- Go to the page for the job you want, and print out the data.
Give yourself a break and access this great benefit today. Current, accurate pay data. Just when you need it.
Paying For Travel Time
By Patrice Altenhofen, President
Cascade Employers Association
paltenhofen@cascadeemployers.com
Question: I want to send a promising hourly employee, Mary, to meet with a customer in California, but am unsure how to pay her for time spent traveling. Mary works at our Oregon plant. Can you help?
Answer: Since Mary is paid on an hourly basis, it is critical to pay her for all "worktime" under state and federal wage and hour regulations. All worktime must be paid and included when calculating overtime.
The regulations focus on two common travel situations – travel that occurs on a special one-day assignment, and travel that occurs during an overnight trip.
If a special one-day assignment requires an employee to travel more than thirty miles from the official work station, time spent en route must be counted as hours worked. This is paid time whether the employee is driving or riding as a passenger and regardless of the time of day the travel occurs.
While on an overnight business trip, whether travel time is worktime depends upon the time of day the travel occurs, as well as what activities take place during that travel. It does not depend upon the day of the week the travel occurs. Consider Mary's overnight business trip below.
Scenario
Mary is an hourly employee who works in Corvallis normally from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
She must fly to Los Angeles to meet with a customer. She takes a 5:45 p.m. flight out of Portland on Friday, preparing notes en route.
She arrives at her hotel in L.A. at 9:00 p.m. and works on her notes for another hour.
Mary leaves her hotel at 7:00 a.m. and attends a 7:30 a.m. breakfast meeting with the customer on Saturday morning.
She catches an 11:00 a.m. flight home that day, arriving in Portland at 1:30 p.m.
Issue 1: Mary leaves for the airport at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, driving her own car, and arrived at the Portland airport at 4:45 p.m.
Mary's time driving to the airport is worktime for two reasons. One, it took place during her normal working hours. Two, Mary's driving was an integral part of the travel activity.
Had Mary taken a shuttle, the travel time would still have been considered worktime, as it took place during her normal work hours.
Issue 2: Mary's flight departed at 5:45 p.m.
Generally, an employer is responsible for compensating an employee for travel which takes place within normal working hours. Mary's travel on the airplane took place outside her normal working hours and is therefore not worktime.
Issue 3: Mary reviewed her notes while traveling and in the hotel.
An employee who performs services for the employer while traveling must be compensated for that time. The same is true for work performed after normal business hours. Mary’s activity was related to her job and furthered the interests of her employer. Therefore, her time spent performing this job (i.e. reviewing her notes for the meeting) is worktime.
Issue 4: Mary slept from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.
Not all time spent on a business trip is worktime. For instance, any non-business meal period or times when an employee is allowed to sleep would not be considered hours worked.
Issue 5: Mary spent 30 minutes traveling in a cab from her hotel to her breakfast meeting.
Because the time spent traveling to the breakfast meeting does not occur during Mary's normal work hours, it is not worktime.
An employer is responsible for compensating an employee for travel which occurs within normal working hours, even if the travel occurs on a non-work day. Even though Mary's travel occurred on a Saturday, it took place outside her normal working hours and is therefore not worktime.
Had Mary driven herself to the meeting, it would have been paid time, however.
Issue 6: Mary met with customer from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Time spent for the benefit of the employer, even if it occurs outside normal work hours, is worktime. The entire meeting is worktime.
Issue 7: Mary left the meeting at 9:30 a.m., took a cab to the airport, flew to Portland and was home by 4:00 p.m.
This travel time occurred within Mary's normal work hours and is therefore worktime.
Hourly employees should be required to take rest and meal breaks while traveling. Meal breaks can be unpaid, as long as the employee is not performing any work.
It is important for employers to review an hourly employee's travel plans in detail prior to departure, and to debrief with the employee upon return to ensure all worktime is paid appropriately.
Cascade Employers Association is a diverse industry association of over 500 employers, dedicated to providing employment knowledge and workplace solutions in the area of human resource management.
Did You Know?
In an even percentage of the time (40%), flexible work arrangements are decided and granted by the position and on a proposal basis. This is in non-union organizations with under 100 employees, and includes both exempt and non-exempt classifications.
Are flexible work arrangements something you consider a benefit in your organization?
Look here each month for a specific policy or benefit practice and see how your practices compare to other employers just like you.
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