Howard Risher

Howard Risher is a private consultant who focuses on pay and performance. His career extends over 40 years and includes years managing consulting practices for two national firms. He recently became the editor of the journal Compensation and Benefits Review. He also has an MBA and Ph.D from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Contact him at h.risher@verizon.net.

One Last Time: Yes, Financial Rewards DO Really Improve Performance

Howard RisherAugust 16, 2013

There is solid evidence from a number of major reviews of the research over 30 years that financial rewards can be expected to trigger improved … Read more

The Simple Truth About Performance Reviews: We Need to Do a Lot Better

Howard RisherMarch 1, 2013

This was prompted by John Hollon’s TLNT article, Weekly Wrap: Surprise! We STILL Really Hate Performance Reviews. In his own style, John was highlighting a … Read more

Is This The Final Straw for Forced Ranking of Employee Performance?

Howard RisherJuly 10, 2012

This one cannot be blamed on HR but on a current August 2012 Vanity Fair article — How Microsoft Lost Its Mojo — that argues that the … Read more

Performance Management: What HR Should Learn from Football

Howard RisherApril 30, 2012

Last week’s annual NFL draft reminds us that effective performance management practices are demonstrated in live action every weekend in the fall. … Read more

The Case For Performance Management: 8 Steps to Make It Happen

Howard RisherApril 3, 2012

At first I was going to comment on Derek Irvine’s post here on TLNT, Still a Good Question: Do We Really Need Annual Performance Reviews?, but then I … Read more

HR Should Focus on Confirming Its Value, Not on Cost-Per-Hire

Howard RisherMarch 21, 2012

Something snapped the other day when I read the TLNT post on HR’s “first official standard” on cost-per-hire – after two years of work by a 42-member … Read more

Here’s Why It’s Finally Time to Redefine the Role of HR

Howard RisherMarch 8, 2012

Over the past decade or so we have learned a lot about what contributes to work environments where people work hard and are committed to the success of … Read more