Although the annual performance review has received much criticism from practitioners and researchers alike, organizations continue to use coaching and/or reviews to maximize employee effectiveness and minimize liabilities. A semester class is a great context to practice skills relating to tracking and reviewing performance. This article describes…

There are often situations in facilities management where the daily repetition of certain tasks can seem meaningless to the employee if facilities managers are not conscientious. In this article, Joe Whitefield asks and answers the question: If your workplace morale is sagging a bit, what can be done to prop it up? To answer that question, he…

Human competence is a vital element for any organization that expects to survive and then thrive. Developing individual performance ability is necessary but not sufficient because trained people alone will not make an organization successful. We must determine what people should deliver and why it should be delivered in order to add measurable…

The paper considers the extent to which the education sector has embraced performance management and performance-related pay. It contemplates the transfer and adaptation of performance management by the public sector as an audit mechanism for improving the performance, productivity, accountability and transparency of public services. The paper…

School librarians need evaluation forms that fit their unique roles and responsibilities and acknowledge both the similarities and differences between classroom teachers and school librarians. The incorporation of American Association of School Librarians' (AASL's) "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs"--a resource that sets…

If money is the root of all evil, is it also the root of all motivation? When talking about workplace performance and training, the experts' consensus is a resounding "No." This article discusses why cash doesn't motivate everyone all the time when it comes to workplace performance and training and takes a look at what does.

Why don't employees always do what they're supposed to do? The reasons are often as ambiguous to them as they are to their supervisors. Different roles come with different perceptions. Understanding and finding solutions will help one create an approach to staff development that will target the reasons why staff don't always perform at their best.…

Attracting, developing, and retaining employees, ensuring a pipeline of qualified people, and building a culture of engagement and productivity are important to the success of any organization. It is called "talent management." With the right technology support, talent management's real value is that it allows organizations to identify high…

Directors of early childhood programs are an amazing lot! There's so much dedication, such hard work and creative problem solving. But then that inevitable undertow of deadlines, crises, and illness begins to suck directors down. With crisis management becoming a way of life, they don't even recognize their vital signs slipping away. The author…

Action plans have been shown to improve transfer of learning and have proven an effective tool in training evaluation. This study describes how action planning was simply and successfully adapted to a preexisting curriculum with few additional resources. The decision to use participant action planning, the administration of it, and the…

For flooring manufacturer Mohawk Industries, it is not enough to teach employees how to be great. The long-time Training Top 125 contender focused last year on helping employees to blaze their own learning paths while meeting organization imperatives. That meant improving the technology that supports employee performance, as well as creating new…

School principals are second only to teachers among school-based factors that influence student achievement and they are critical to attracting and retaining effective teachers and other school staff. Yet in the past, federal policymakers haven't given school leadership much attention. This reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education…

Three leading corporations, the Ritz-Carlton, Accenture, and Healthcare Corporation of America, were examined to see how they handled problems that also were faced by school districts. Their strategies for recruiting and retaining employees, measuring performance, and providing professional development differed significantly from those of most…

This article questions commonly held beliefs about training as a component of performance improvement solutions. Rather than being based on theoretical and empirical support, many beliefs about training are based on little more than myth. Part 1 of this article presents myths about the relationship of training and performance and myths about…

Teacher evaluation has emerged as a major focus for reform at the highest levels of education policymaking, and for good reason. Most evaluations are based on scant evidence of actual effectiveness, produce inflated ratings, and provide teachers with little useful feedback. This paper offers policymakers and practitioners important "lessons…