Ask the Experts: Goals, Participation & Pay

On Oct 3, 2025

In the latest installment of New Jersey Business Magazine’s Ask the Experts column, HR professionals working with the New Jersey Business & Industry Association respond to executives’ inquiries on three interesting workplace issues:

How can we help our employees write professional goals that are meaningful and motivating to them? Some of our employees don’t know where to begin.

Getting started can be the hardest part of setting professional goals, especially for employees who haven’t thought about it before or don’t see any value in it. Here are a few ways you can help your employees create and feel connected to their professional goals:

• Share upcoming projects, team priorities, or company goals with employees. Ask them to envision how they could contribute to these efforts in specific, measurable ways.
• Encourage employees to think in terms of the results they’d like to achieve or where they have room to improve.
• Ask employees what skills they’d like to develop or what kind of work they’d like to try. Then, look for ways to tie that interest back to their current role.
• Tell employees that you will reward success (if you can follow through). Ultimately, professional goals will only be meaningful and motivating if they result in a good outcome for employees. Many companies tie bonuses and promotions to successful goal completion.
• Remind employees that while professional goals are a tool to help them contribute effectively and ultimately grow in their careers, working towards these goals can have immediate benefits. They can reduce day-to-day frustrations, make routine tasks easier, improve both individual and team performance, and result in other benefits.

We have several employees who seldom speak up during meetings. How can we encourage them?

Employees may be hesitant to speak up during meetings for many reasons. Here are a few ways to encourage participation:

• When planning meetings, always include time for discussion and questions. Add this time to the agenda. If you think you’ll run out of time, consider removing or tabling an agenda item so there’s still time for discussion.
• Share the agenda ahead of the meeting. Giving employees time to review the agenda in advance allows them to prepare their thoughts and feel more confident when contributing.
• Acknowledge and express appreciation when employees speak up. Ask follow-up questions to show you value their input. If the matter raised can’t be immediately answered, let the employee know when you’ll get back with them. If their input leads to change, give them credit for the idea.
• If you host remote meetings, make sure someone is watching the chat. Employees who may not be comfortable cutting in or holding the floor out loud may still be trying to contribute via the meeting chat.

If we send employees home early because business is slow, do we have to pay them?

Whether they need to be paid depends on the employee’s classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Exempt employees will need to receive their full day’s salary, and nonexempt employees will need to be paid for the hours they actually worked.

• Be aware that several states require reporting time pay, sometimes known as show-up pay. These laws typically require employers to pay a certain amount to employees simply for showing up to work. They’re meant to prevent unexpected wage loss and discourage employers from overscheduling.

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