Question

1. CREATIVECOUNT is an accounting services firm, which operates in all 50 states and has over 10,000 employees. You are the HR assistant to the HR director. The director has compiled and given you the following evaluation and layoff policies. Your job is to evaluate them based on the instructions below.

1. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 1: Since CREATIVECOUNT values its employees and its reputation for providing excellent accounting services, it has adopted a continuous improvement evaluation and layoff policy. Each year, you will be evaluated by your immediate supervisor based on your knowledge, skills and performance. If you score below expectations, you may appeal your supervisor’s evaluation to your supervisor’s manager. In the event that layoffs are necessary, they will be based on an employee’s most recent evaluation.
2. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 2: Since CREATIVECOUNT values its employees and its reputation for providing excellent accounting services, it has adopted a continuous improvement evaluation and layoff policy. Each year, each employee will be evaluated based on a normal distribution of performance. Specifically, 20% of all employees will be ranked as “A” performers, 30% of all employees will be ranked as “B” performers, 20% of all employees will be ranked as “C” performers, 20% of all employees will be ranked as “D” performers and 10% of all employees will be ranked as “F” performers. One of the criteria used in the evaluation process is whether an employee has shown continuous improvement. Accordingly, employees with greater seniority will be evaluated because of the expectation that they have greater knowledge and abilities, thus higher expectations will attach to them during the evaluation process. In the event of layoffs for any reason, “F” performers will be terminated first, followed, in sequential order, by “D”, “C”, “B” and finally “A” performers.
3. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 3: Since CREATIVECOUNT values its employees and its reputation for providing excellent accounting services, it has adopted a continuous improvement evaluation and layoff policy. Each year, your immediate supervisor will evaluate you. Evaluations will occur, over time, based on seniority, with those of greater seniority being evaluated before those with lesser seniority. Layoffs will be based solely on the basis of the most recent evaluation and seniority will not be considered at all during the layoff decision-making process.
4. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 4: Since CREATIVECOUNT values its employees and its reputation for providing excellent accounting services to a diverse client base, it has adopted a continuous improvement evaluation and layoff policy. Each year, your immediate supervisor will evaluate you. You will be evaluated based on your skills, knowledge, performance and personal contribution to the diversity of the CREATIVECOUNT workforce. Layoffs will be prioritized on the basis of your most current evaluations.

Evaluate the relative merits of each of these policies and identify any potential legal problems with each of them, setting forth each and every word, phrase or sentence which raises potential issues along with the law that applies. On the basis of your evaluation, select the best policy, then set forth what changes, if any, you would make to the chosen policy in order to improve its legality, practicality and coverage.

Answer 1

Evaluation of each and every policy

Policy 1 Merits :

1. Evaluation every year helps to increase the productivity and efficiency of employees.
2. Continuous Improvement and evaluation will help the HR to know about the exact position of their employees in an organization.
3. Review by immediate supervisor helps to monitor better as they have allotted the work so therefore in a better position to judge.
4. The standard is set and evaluation of performance will be calculated on that basis in case of deviation there can be chances of layoffs . Therefore there is room for effective employees only.

Demerits:

1. Layoff will be based on the most recent evaluation only. For e.g. Mr. A performance is outstanding in 3 quarters however in the 4^th quarter his performance declined. This will become the reason for his layoff
2. The employee’s average performance is not analyzed however decision is taken on most recent evaluation.
3. There can be other side as well i.e. for e.g. A’s performance was below standard with first 3 quarter and in last quarter it was satisfactory. The overall performance will be judged on the most recent evaluation.
4. Hence this policy will not be effective as employees for the whole year will give poor performance and at the last will give satisfactory performance to prevent from layoff.

Policy 2 Merits

1. Ranking of employees help the HR to know the size of employment.
2. The ranking will help the employee having F rank to improve and attain higher ranks.
3. The employees who can meet the expectation can stay and other can leave the organization.
4. 20% for A ranking 30% for B category, 20% for C category 20% for D and 10% as F category.
5. In process of layoff also the employee giving less value or no value will be asked to leave for e.g. employees from category F

Demerits:

1. The notion of seniority. I.e. the more the senior member the more the skills. In will be ineffective for fresher having no experience but having more skills.
2. Hierarchy will prevails and biased decision will be taken.
3. The standard i.e. higher expectation is not the correct way to evaluate efficiency. Efficiency means the way by which the employee reduces the cost of production and give the desired result .This way is not the correct way of evaluation.
4. Pursuing of this policy means that there will always be Mechanic Approach and hierarchy system in the organization. The juniors will not be able to get progress and can never be ranked on A .

Law: layoff due to discrimination on the basis of Ranking covered under the Discrimination Act.

Policy 3 Merits:

1. Evaluation on interval basis, i.e. timely evaluation and at regular interval throughout the year.
2. All will be evaluated whether seniors or juniors. However there is chronology i.e. seniors will be evaluate first and then juniors.
3. The layoff will be base on the lack of competencies occurred in evaluation and seniority will not be the bar.

Demerits

1. The layoff on the most recent evaluation is not justified as discussed above.
2. The chronology will not improve the performance of juniors as they are under the impression that always seniors will be evaluated and then they will.

Law : if the age of employee is 40 or above they will come under The Age discrimination in Employment Act 1967 and Old work Benefit Act.

Law: layoff due to discrimination on the basis of seniority covered under the Discrimination Act.

Policy 4 Merits:

1. The evaluation will be comprised of the skills the employee possess, the knowledge they have and the contribution they give to society.
2. Continuous evaluation will boost the employees to give better progress report in the evaluation.

Demerits:

1. Base is not correct that is the most recent evaluation.

Hence these are the following and merits in each of the policy.

From the above discussion according to me Policy 4 should be adopted with some modifications.

The modifications are as follows

1. Evaluation of all the progress report to be taken at the time of layoff.
2. The policy should be governed by Workman’s Compensation Claim i.e. the workers have right to report about the immediate supervisors in case of any unethical behavior.
3. 60 days notice if there is massive layoff.
4. Age will not be considered. Every employee will be given fair chance in the organization.

Answer 2

Evaluation of Proposed Policies:

1. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 1: This policy is based on continuous improvement evaluation and lays off employees based on their most recent evaluation. While the emphasis on continuous improvement is positive, potential issues may arise in the fairness and subjectivity of evaluations. The appeal process may help address some concerns, but it may not guarantee complete fairness.

2. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 2: This policy uses a normal distribution of performance to rank employees, and layoffs are based on the performance ranking. While it introduces a structured evaluation process, potential issues arise with the use of a forced ranking system. Forced ranking can create unhealthy competition and may lead to biased evaluations.

3. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 3: This policy evaluates employees based on seniority and the most recent evaluation, without considering seniority during layoffs. While seniority-based evaluations can be straightforward, basing layoffs solely on the most recent evaluation may lead to potential discrimination issues if there is a pattern of giving negative evaluations to specific groups.

4. CREATIVECOUNT Proposed Policy 4: This policy evaluates employees based on skills, knowledge, performance, and personal contribution to diversity. It prioritizes layoffs based on the most current evaluations, emphasizing performance and diversity. However, potential issues may arise in defining and measuring personal contribution to diversity, which could lead to subjective evaluations.

Identifying Potential Legal Problems:

• Policy 1: The subjectivity in evaluations and the lack of clear criteria may result in discrimination claims or disputes over fair evaluations.

• Policy 2: Forced ranking systems can lead to employee morale issues and potential discrimination claims, as they may disproportionately impact certain groups.

• Policy 3: Basing layoffs solely on recent evaluations without considering seniority could lead to age or other protected class discrimination claims.

• Policy 4: Subjective evaluation of personal contribution to diversity may lead to discrimination claims if not applied fairly and consistently.

Selecting the Best Policy and Proposed Changes:

Among the proposed policies, Policy 4 seems to be the most balanced and comprehensive, as it considers performance, diversity, and continuous improvement. To improve its legality, practicality, and coverage, the following changes could be made:

1. Clearly Define Diversity: Provide specific criteria and guidelines for evaluating an employee's personal contribution to diversity to ensure fair and consistent assessments.

2. Train Evaluators: Conduct training for supervisors to minimize bias in evaluations and ensure that they are equipped to assess employees objectively.

3. Regular Review of Evaluation Process: Conduct regular reviews of the evaluation process to address any concerns or issues that may arise and make necessary improvements.

4. Incorporate Employee Feedback: Include employee feedback as part of the evaluation process to enhance transparency and employee engagement.

5. Establish Appeal Mechanism: Implement a fair and transparent appeal process for employees who feel their evaluations are unjust, providing a platform for their concerns to be heard.

By making these changes, Policy 4 can be strengthened to provide a fair, objective, and comprehensive evaluation and layoff system that aligns with CREATIVECOUNT's values and promotes a positive work environment for its employees.