Employee with ongoing poor performance issues:

We have a situation that has been ongoing now for some time and I guess we have been avoiding dealing with it in any progressive manner. Basically one of our managers has been doing the same job for a number of years and really has been left alone to do it even through the generally feeling by myself (CTO) and the CEO is that it is not being done as well as it should be. However we have never actually came out and talked to her about any of our concerns and so all of her performance reviews look like there haven’t been any issues.

Now it has come to a head because we are expanding and there just doesn’t seem to be the capability to perform at the standard we need. How do we approach this with the employee in question and be fair and reasonable in our needs from her and her department?  

Reward and recognition:

We want to recognise some of the members of our team who are really making a significant difference in the quality of the work they are doing and in their commitment to the business needs in such difficult times. However we have been through pay freezes and bonus cuts, is it inappropriate of us to think about introducing a reward and recognition programme to recognise the contribution of these individuals and reward them even if it is only for small monetary values?  

Using Jobbridge to find interns:

We are keen to support this government initiative but are not really sure how to go about applying to participate in it or just how much overhead and paperwork will be involved if we venture in that direction. Is there any support or guidance you could provide us with based on what you see other companies doing?