Share The Knowledge: Forward this newsletter to a colleague.

Subscribe to AHI's Free E-Mail Newsletters: • HR Soapbox • Benefits Alert • Employment Law Today View samples and subscribe by visiting our website.

1. FEATURE STORY:
HOLIDAY PARTIES: JUST ADD ALCOHOL FOR POTENTIAL MAYHEM

Any time alcohol is available at holiday parties, the potential for employee misbehavior increases. Obviously, not serving alcohol at the party would likely solve that problem. But many employers still opt for cocktails. So, if your organization plans to serve alcohol at this year's party, limit it by utilizing the following tactics.

• Take the focus off of drinking. Promote the other aspects of the party, such as the menu and entertainment, so employees can look forward to the food and dancing, rather than the liquor selection.

• Accept cash only, or tickets, please. Require employees to pay for drinks. Have unlimited free non-alcohol beverages available for employees who don't drink and to encourage drinkers to save their money. Or consider utilizing a drink-ticket system in which each employee is entitled to two drinks on the house, and no more.

• Time it right. Choose when to have alcohol available, either pre-dinner or during dinner only. If you do choose to have the bar open during the entire party, always make sure it closes at least one hour before the party ends.

• Choose alcohol and food wisely. Serve only beer and wine, not hard liquor. Limit the amount of salty, greasy, or sweet foods because they tend to increase thirst.

• Invite families and/or clients and vendors. The presence of employees' family members or other work-related colleagues should hopefully encourage employees to be on their best behavior.

Although you have the best intentions for limiting alcohol consumption, there is still the chance employees may get out of hand with their behavior or be too impaired to drive. Here's how to prevent those situations from happening.

1. Designate managers to monitor employees' behavior. They should look out for: how much employees drink and whether they have a safe ride home; employee interactions, especially those who become "too friendly" with each other or if tempers rise; any other employee activities that may be dangerous to themselves and others.

2. Cover all transportation bases by: 1) arranging for a taxi or car service for employees; 2) asking employees to designate a driver ahead of time, such as a family member to take them to and from the party if they plan to drink; 3) suggesting that employees carpool with each other so that those who drink can ride with those who don't. Just be careful not to make employees feel like that is a requirement.

3. Prepare for the possibility of pre-partying. It's safe to assume that some employees will start the party on their own before they arrive to the actual party, so to minimize that possibility:

• Impose a rule that employees who arrive drunk will not be admitted to the party, and a pre-designated driver (e.g., an employee-volunteer or a taxi) will take the intoxicated employee home.

• If the party is after work, arrange for free transportation from your company's site to the party site and back, so employees don't have the chance to hit happy hour beforehand.

• Remind employees about your company's rules of behavior, public intoxication, fighting, harassment, etc., that will be enforced at the party by circulating e-mails and memos a few days before the party. Trying to explain this to an employee who is already drunk when they show up to the party will not work.

For advice on how to handle employee misbehavior at your company's next event, check out The Employee Problem Solver. You'll find entire modules dedicated to harassment, fighting, off-duty conduct, and obscene language, among others.

2. CATHIE'S CORNER:
BETTER TO DISCUSS SALARY REQUIREMENTS UP FRONT OR
PUT IT ON THE BACKBURNER?

The baseball season may be over, but it continues to keep a prominent place in the sports news as teams recruit players who have gone to free-agent status. Here in Boston the two biggest questions were, will the Red Sox re-sign Mike Lowell and what's going to happen with A-Rod?

The A-Rod question reminded me of a number of friendly arguments I've heard, and occasionally participated in, regarding the issue of discussing salary requirements during the hiring process. Alex Rodriguez's agent had made the numbers quite clear; he was expecting an obscene amount of money and would not even talk to a team that would not meet that figure. There are very few teams that have a large enough payroll to pay a single player as much as he was asking for. Teams that cannot afford to pay the figure will not waste their time in negotiations.

Personally, that's the school that I subscribe to. I don't want to waste time talking to a candidate if their salary requirements and the amount the job is paying are too far apart. If they're reasonably close together and there's some flexibility, fine. But if there isn't any way to bring the figures together, there's no point in pursuing the issue.

However, there is another school of thought that says that a job is worth what a job is worth (my husband the baseball scout says, "Please don't tell that to the players' union") and that salary discussions can only be a distraction. Those who subscribe to this belief point out that if an applicant knows the salary range, he or she will automatically expect to receive the high end of the scale, and feel cheated if they do not. Despite what I said above, I can't argue with that.

I have to admit that I don't think the argument is one-sided either way. Both schools of thought have merit. I think it's even possible that you might handle different positions differently. To continue the baseball analogy, while A-Rod had a fixed-dollar figure below which he was not willing to go until he realized he had over-estimated his market value (and went groveling back to his old team), other players will be looking at the totality of the contract they are being offered; length of contract, location, bonuses, and various other perks might be considered in making a decision. Some teams may be willing to think creatively to get just the right player for their team; others may have a very definite idea of what they can or cannot afford to give or give up and will be willing to pass on just the right third baseman in order to hold onto the minor league players they have a plan for.

You might be willing to give an extra week of vacation in exchange for a slightly lower salary, or to pay the applicant's COBRA premiums during the waiting period for your health insurance to kick in. Or, for just the right applicant, you may be willing to increase the salary you had initially budgeted for the position on the condition that they will have to wait longer for an increase.

Whatever you decide you can or cannot afford, good luck in hiring the best members for your team!

Catherine Bannon is the President of HR by Request, Inc., in Marshfield, MA (catherine.bannon@gmail.com). Bannon worked for 10 years in HR management before starting her consulting firm.

A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT NEED NOT BE "HOSTILE"

Conduct need not be threatening or abusive in nature to amount to an illegal hostile environment. Otherwise legal actions, such as asking an employee out on a date, giving a worker flowers, or putting an arm around the shoulders of a subordinate, can amount to...View the full story on our website.

Kick back, relax, and take a few minutes to check out the new HR Soapbox, "Jerks At Work: The Holiday Edition," in which an editor vents about the people at work who add to your typical holiday irritations.