Author: Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

How SPIFFs Will Turbo-Charge Your Sales Performance

In yesterday’s Advisor, experts Jerome A. (“Jerry”) Colletti and Mary S. Fiss clarified Fast Start Bonuses and Overachievement Incentives for “turbo-charging sales performance. Today, their take on SPIFFS, plus an introduction to a special guide for smaller comp/HR departments. Colletti is Managing partner of consulting firm Colletti-Fiss, LLC; Fiss is a partner. They shared their […]

Your Tracking Nightmare —Multiple Stacking Leaves

What’s Happened in Leave Land? The first challenge is the multiplicity of types of leave entitlements—workers’ compensation, short-term disability, FMLA, Military FMLA, state family leave, paid family leave, and the ADA. The result? Potential stacking of up to 5 or more types of leave, says Southard. The second big factor, she adds, is the explosion […]

Wage/Hour: Good News Ahead (for the Attorneys, That Is)

There’s good news (sort of) and bad news for employers in the outlook for 2012, say attorneys from the Employers Counsel Network. They covered new developments in wage/hour compliance during a presentation at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Nashville and Las Vegas.

How to Turbo-Charge Your Sales Incentives

Three “turbo-charged” sales incentive techniques will accelerate your sales performance, say experts Jerome A. (“Jerry”) Colletti and Mary S. Fiss. They shared their tips at the WorldatWork’s Total Rewards Conference and Exhibition, held recently in San Diego. The three turbocharged techniques Coletti and Fiss suggest are: Fast Start Bonuses, OA incentives, and SPIFFs. Colletti is […]

GAO Study: IRS Too Tough in Adoption Tax Credit Enforcement

The IRS has been too vociferous in auditing individuals who have claimed the adoption tax credit, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests in a report. In “Adoption Tax Credit: IRS Can Reduce Audits and Refund Delays,” the GAO reports that the IRS: (1) did not sufficiently train and communicate with its auditors who were examining […]

$1 M in back wages recovered for NJ gas station workers

A multi-year investigation by the United States Department of Labor into violations of wage and hour laws by New Jersey gas stations has found “consistent and widespread noncompliance,” according to agency officials. The investment action recovered more than $1 million in back wages for 295 workers. In an agency statement, DOL Secretary Hilda L. Solis […]

Sometimes You’ve Gotta Use the “F” Word

Here’s Oswald’s take on the “F” Word: According to the article the writer analyzed 50 recent news releases announcing coaching changes in college football and basketball. Of the 50 releases reviewed, not a single one contained the word “fired” — zip, zilch, nada. “How can that be?” Well, while none of the coaches was fired, […]

Sometimes You’ve Gotta Use the “F” Word

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR A recent Wall Street Journal article—“A Four-Letter Word Schools Won’t Use”—intrigued me, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. The Journal article said that colleges absolutely refuse to use the “F” word. Yes, it’s true. Schools avoid using the word “FIRE” at […]