Carnival of HR

By: Tushar Bhatia
Date: April 28th, 2010

Its Carnival time again! The Talent Junction blog is delighted to host this edition of the carnival. Thanks to all who contributed a post. Before we begin here are some tributes:

First, thanks to all of you in the HR community who continue to share your thoughts in how to improve the greatest asset for organizations – their people;

Second, to hundreds of our customers who share so much with us and allow us to continuously learn and apply;

and Last to my sweet daughter, who would have turned 12 today….we miss you Sayeesha.

So let the carnival wheel start to roll now……. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in:  Human Resources | 49 Comments »

Getting the Performance Appraisal Right

By: Tushar Bhatia
Date: April 19th, 2010

Most companies want to appraise their employees on a periodic basis and their Human Resources department is generally responsible to manage this process. I have often seen that the buy-in and participation from the Line managers is not as much as one would expect. Based on my meetings with a large number of HR managers, Line Managers & Senior Level Executives, I have come to realize that there is much more to a Performance Appraisal than what is truly understood by all stakeholders.
This article discusses how HR Managers can create a Performance Appraisal System that adds true value to the organization and becomes a useful and strategic employee development tool. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in:  Employee Appraisals, HR Best Practices, HR Technology, Human Resources, Performance Management | 39 Comments »

Variable Incentive Plans: A Motivation & Retention tool

By: Tushar Bhatia
Date: April 6th, 2010

Since the past two years Variable Incentives did not work very well since most employees wanted the security of a high base-pay and meeting targets was largely unpredictable. The economy is on an up-swing again and employers & employees see new opportunities for increasing incomes.

Organizations want to curtail their fixed costs, hence salaries may not increase dramatically and immediately, but Variable Incentive Plans are coming to the fore to retain high-performers and encourage achievement.

As soon as we think of Variable Incentives, our thought goes to the employees in the sales department, but in my recent research I have found that each employee, irrespective of their department can be included in the company Variable Incentive Plan. Although the goals, their relative importance and the expected achievements may vary across job roles. The rest of this article explores the various categories of Incentives that can be applied to employees in different job roles and how HR can use this tool to motivate and retain employees across the entire company. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in:  Compensation Planning, Employee Rewards, HR Best Practices, HR Technology, Payroll, Performance Management | 22 Comments »