FreshView
a publication of Cascade Employers Association
NOVEMBER 2012
Dollars & Sense Poll |
In This Issue:
- Employee Goals … The Key to Appraisal Success
- Must the Cost of a Wellness Program Be Reported on an Employee’s Form W-2?
- Resource Roundup for Hiring Veterans
- Survey Spotlight
- Did You Know?
Employee Goals … The Key to Appraisal Success
By Jerry Bumgarner, CCP
Vice President, Great Performance Solutions
jbumgarner@cascadeemployers.com
When done correctly, performance appraisal is an important management tool that contributes to employee engagement and customer satisfaction, and has a measureable impact on the bottom line. Based on personal experience working with all types and sizes of organizations, I’ve found that most organizations provide ongoing feedback to employees and conduct annual performance appraisals. However, I’ve also discovered that goals/expectations are frequently left out of the process.
In the absence of goals, supervisors tend to focus on employee behaviors (how the work was accomplished) in their appraisals. As a result, the supervisors doing appraisals and the employees receiving the appraisals end up resenting the process. Don’t get me wrong, while I believe how the work is done is important, supervisors must also address what was achieved … the goals (how well the work is to be done) for the process to be complete.
“…clarity is the first and fundamental operational component for creating high performance environments.” |
It is all about “clarity” regarding what’s expected of employees to succeed. To be truly effective, performance appraisals need to be a reasonably simple, ongoing/day-to-day activity consisting of three elements: specific goals that are communicated to employees in advance; regular ongoing coaching and performance discussions; and periodic documentation and discussion about performance results (the annual appraisal). Leave out any one of the three elements (especially goals) and the program will be less effective.
At the same time, if you allocate too little time to the goal setting and coaching phases of the review cycle, then the year end appraisal is likely to be a painful, time-consuming process affecting all parties … including the company. On the other hand, if you spend more time up front clarifying expectations and coaching employees for success, the year-end appraisal should take less time and be far more constructive.
| Typical Time: 10% | 10% | 80% |
| Ideal Time: 30% | 40% | 30% |
To ensure optimum support of both employee and organization success, I believe a solid performance appraisal program must include all of the following 7 elements:
- Supervisor and employee understanding of company mission and goals
- Appraisal-related training for all supervisors and employees
- Employee accountability for performance and increased involvement in the process
- Clear and compelling employee performance goals/expectations
- Open/honest/ongoing performance coaching and discussions
- Maintaining performance-related documentation throughout appraisal period
- Summarizing and discussing employee performance results versus goals
While these 7 elements suggest the need for a degree of structure and formality, I believe this is necessary for employers to realize the valuable bottom line impact of effective performance appraisal programs. If your appraisal program is not working as effectively as you would like, take a look at what might be missing and fine tune it to the advantage of your organization. Why? Because it works!
I once worked for a company that conducted employee performance appraisals without having established goals in advance. The company was drastically underperforming compared to the industry. Within three years after introducing goals for all employees, company profitability had improved by more than 300%. It really works! That’s because individual employee goals were linked to the mission and goals of the company.
“People with clear, written goals accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.” |
The second most common missing performance appraisal element is training. Establishing measureable goals for employees is a skill that has to be learned. If your organization is anything like those I have encountered, then most of your supervisors, managers, and employees have never received formal training in this critical area. To succeed in their jobs, all of your employees need to be properly equipped. Performance appraisal training is a great investment that will pay off.
If you would like to consider investing in your team’s success, give me a call today about performance appraisal training. I really want to help!
Must The Cost Of A Wellness Program Be Reported
On An Employee’s Form W-2?
Provided by: CCH
Issue: You are preparing to report the cost of health coverage on employees’ 2012 Forms W-2 pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Your manager has asked you to confirm whether the cost of coverage provided under an employee assistance program (EAP), wellness program, or on-site medical clinic is required to be included in the aggregate reportable cost. Is such coverage included?
Answer: Coverage provided under an EAP, wellness program, or on-site medical clinic is only includible in the aggregate reportable cost to the extent that the coverage is provided under a program that is a group health plan for purposes of Internal Revenue Code Sec. 5000(b)(1).
Does the employer charge a premium?
An employer is not required to include the cost of coverage provided under an EAP, wellness program, or on-site medical clinic that otherwise would be required to be included in the aggregate reportable cost reported on Form W-2. It constitutes applicable employer-sponsored coverage if that employer does not charge a premium with respect to that type of coverage provided to a beneficiary qualifying for coverage in accordance with any applicable federal continuation coverage requirements.
If an employer charges a premium with respect to that type of coverage provided to a beneficiary qualifying for coverage in accordance with any applicable federal continuation coverage requirements, that employer is required to include the cost of that type of coverage provided.
Is the employer subject to continuation coverage?
An employer that is not subject to any federal continuation coverage requirements is not required to include the cost of coverage provided under an EAP, wellness program, or on-site medical clinic.
For this purpose, federal continuation coverage requirements include the COBRA requirements under the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or the Public Health Service Act and the temporary continuation coverage requirement under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Source: IRS Notice 2012-9, Q/A-32, January 23, 2012.
Resource Roundup for Hiring Veterans
By Michelle Toney, Director of Knowledge Development
& Elizabeth Fuss, SPHR, Human Resource Consultant
efuss@cascadeemployers.com
This week has been especially focused on honoring those who have served our country. Below is a quick roundup of only a few of the resource pages (or articles) available on how to best support and reintegrate veterans into the workplace.
- The USERRA page, for employee and military rights.
- The ESGR resource is great information on how to support the Guard and the Reserve.
- The Vow To Hire Heroes Act, information on tax incentives which will expire on December 31st, 2012.
- You can add a job to the Veteran’s Job Bank.
- Contact your local Employment Office and they can connect you with veterans who are looking for work.
- Get educated about challenges, such as PTSD, which may mean needed accommodation for employees.
If you have any further questions or ideas, please contact us.
Survey Spotlight
By Tina Hamel, Survey Manager
thamel@cascadeemployers.com
SalaryTrends® surveys from Cascade Employers Association cover the pay practices of diverse organizations from various markets (Oregon, SW Washington, Northwest Regional, and National), and include multiple relevant data summaries. These valuable tools enable users to evaluate their competitiveness within specific talent markets.
Open for Participation:
- Business Trends Survey (formerly Economic Trends)
- Oregon Regional Pay Survey (Always Open)
Contact us with questions at surveys@salarytrends.com.
Did You Know?
The end of the year is the perfect time to gather compensation information and communicate the value of your benefits package to employees.
Providing useful, straightforward information to your employees about the value of the salary and benefits they receive can reduce turnover, increase morale and raise trust levels.
We’ve developed an easy and straightforward way to collect and explain your comprehensive benefits structure to your employees. For a useful communication tool (pdf), just click here.
©2012 Cascade Employers Association. All rights reserved.
SalaryTrends® is a trademark of Cascade Employers Association.
4068 Hudson Avenue, N.E. Salem, OR 97301
Salem 503.585.4320 Portland 503.224.5219 Toll-Free 800.535.5518
cascadeemployers.com
Send a message to: Cascade