Category Archives: Bahaviour

‘Tis the Season of Abundance and Joy!

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Christmas parties can be a mixed blessing. They’re good to help both keep morale high and reward staff for a good year. But parties are not always without their problems– you can’t totally control all your staff, especially after a drink or two! Also,not everyone likes parties, so don’t make them compulsory, as some people find social situations too overwhelming.

Costing on average around £50 per head, produce an Office Party Policy to set expectations on behaviour, backed up with a Social Media policy warning staff not to post inappropriate photographs and risk damaging your brand’s reputation. Email all staff a couple of weeks prior to the event, attaching the policies, to bothremind them of the details of the party and your expectations of theirbehaviour, gently stating that the party is an extension of their working hours.

Remember, as the employer, you’re ultimately responsible for any shenanigans! So to avoid any pit falls and embarrassment, set up the ground rules first. Then relax and enjoy the event with your staff.

The ‘Alternative’Festive Menu

Cocktails and Wine

Can you guess which member of staff will be the one who gets a bit tipsy first?There’s always that one! Then there’s the wine lover who ends up getting a bit emotional, and the beer quaffer who may get opinionated, offering unwanted advice to all and sundry. Not forgetting the cocktail lover who thinks they’re the life and soul of the party! You know the ones. But we’re all human, and we all have our little foibles, whether alcohol induced or otherwise. So let themenjoy themselves, in moderation – you, too. Relax and enjoy a glass or three. Just remember not to make any drunken promises to your staff that could bite you in the backside later. Finally, make sure you have plenty of soft drinks available,too.

Your Starter for Ten

Everyone loves a traditional prawn cocktail or salmon starter. Or do they? Perhaps a member of your team is allergic to shellfish. Remember to check for allergies prior to the event.

Going Crackers

No Christmas meal is complete without pulling crackers, donning hats, enjoying the cheap gifts and laughing at the lame jokes. But once the crackers are pulled, keep an eye out for staff going crackers, or flirting inappropriately to try and ‘pull’ a colleague. Gentle flirting is one thing, but let’s keep it atthat, guys! Your policy should remind staff that what one person may find funny,another may find offensive – the last thing you want is a grievance about someone’s behaviour when you all return to work.

What a Turkey!

Onto the main course. Things are getting serious now … or seriously silly! But when it comes to the meat, consider those people of different faiths. Have you ensured there are Halal or Kosher choices, and vegetarian alternatives? Did you check that anyone has any other dietary needs? For the meal to be a success,and for your staff to feel appreciated, valued and listened to, getting this bit right is essential.

Brussels Sprouts – Loathe ‘em or Love ‘em?

I love Brussels Sprouts, especially stir-fried with garlic, chilli and ginger. But not everyone does. The point I’m making here is to not treat everyone the same and assume they all want or need the same thing. I’m not just talking about the festive season, either – don’t look at your staff as a whole but see them as individuals, too, with different needs. 

Christmas Pud with Lashings of Brandy Butter

Of course, some people may prefer mince pies, and others may loathe desserts with dried fruit. Ensure there’s a variety of desserts available so that people don’t feel left out – just as can happen with equality issues in the workplace.It’s important to cater for and embrace all desserts, tastes, ethnicities and sexual preferences so that everyone feels included.

Secret Santa

Many people love the secret swapping of silly gifts at Christmas. But what happens when someone opens a present that they find inappropriate, or worse still,offensive? Make sure you communicate with staff well in advance of the event. Make it clear that if they want to take part in the Secret Santa, gifts should be respectable and sensible. This can be subjective, of course, but most people should understand the sort of gifts to be avoided.

Taxi!

It’s over! Everyone’s talked, eaten, laughed, joked, enjoyed a tipple or two and hopefully had fun. Now it’s time to get everyone home safely. Did you know that it’s your responsibility as the employer to ensure that drunk staff get homesafely? If budget allows, arrange mini-buses or taxis in advance, or designated drivers for groups. Or at least encourage your staff to check the last bus andtrain times and provide the number of a couple of cab companies.

Finally,if you’ve chosen to have your Christmas event mid-week (not advisable), make sure that everyone had plenty of prior warning that they are expected in work the next day, fully functioning!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year!

The 12 Days of Christmas

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On the first day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, a Contract in a pear tree. Make sure that you have up to date contracts for all your employees.

 

 

 

 

 

On the second day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, two boxing gloves. Don’t go picking a fight with your employees just because they don’t do what you want them to do. Learn to manage them properly!

 

 

 

 

On the third day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, three French Hens. If you have employees from Europe, keep an eye on our blog for news of how Brexit could affect your employees and your business.

 

 

 

 

On the fourth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, four dreaded words. “You have been fired!” Before you rush to sack anyone, check to make sure you have a good reason and make sure you do it properly.

 

 

 

 

 

On the fifth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, five golden things. Here are the five stages of HR that your business will go through.

 

 

 

 

 

On the sixth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, six staff-a-laying. Keep your employees delivering all those golden eggs, to the best of their ability, by looking for ways to develop them and their performance.

 

 

 

 

On the seventh day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, seven swans-a-swimming. If, like a swan, you’re all grace and elegance above water, while below you’re frantically paddling to keep afloat of all things HR, just get in touch to see how we can help.

 

 

 

 

On the eighth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, eight maids-a-milking. Except that these days, you have to let the men do the milking too, if they want to! You’re not allowed to discriminate. Acas can help you create a fair workplace.

 

 

 

 

On the ninth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, nine ladies dancing. And the men can dance too!

 

 

 

 

 

On the tenth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, ten lords (and ladies) leaping at the Christmas party. Make sure you lay down a few rules for proper behaviour, so that things don’t get out of hand.

 

 

 

 

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, eleven pipers piping. Make a big noise when your staff do a great job. Look for the best way to reward them.

 

 

 

 

 

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my HR Consultant gave to me, twelve drummers drumming. I keep drumming good HR practices into my clients’ businesses, to help them grow successful companies that are great places to work.

 

 

 

Merry Christmas …

And have a stress free New Year with lots of happy, productive employees!

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Take Seven Steps to Improve Employee Performance – Part Two

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Improving the performance of employees is something that all employers should be thinking about on a regular basis. But what happens when someone isn’t performing as well as they could be? What do you do when one person’s performance starts to affect the rest of the team?

There is a simple seven stage process that we recommend you use in these situations. Recently we wrote about the first three steps to look at – holding informal conversations, offering support and carrying out a performance review meeting. Click here to read about them again, or if you missed them.

Here are the next two steps of the process to follow.

Step 4: Make a Decision

Once you’ve carried out the performance review meeting with your employee, you need to make an informed decision about the action you need to take, in order to improve their performance. Take your time in reviewing the situation and don’t be too hasty to make your decision. Consider all the facts and the situation.

It could be that you need to provide your employee with a clearer job description and expectations for what you want them to achieve. They might need training in order to be able to carry out their job to the standard you expect. In the worst cases, you might need to give them a warning about their performance and explain how you want the situation to improve.

Step 5: Inform Your Employee of Your Decision

Make it completely clear what decision you have made, following the meeting with your employee. Telling them face to face is usually the best way to do this, as it allows further discussion. You should also put your decision in writing, so that there is a record of your decision on file, should any issues arise later.

At this stage, it is also vital that you agree the next steps with your employee. What actions do you want them to take and by when? Explain the goals you want them to achieve, or tell them about the training you need them to undertake. Again, make sure everything is in writing.

There are two more steps that you need to follow, in order to fully tackle performance issues. We’ll cover them in a future blog. If you can’t wait until then and you have employee issues that you need to deal with now, don’t leave them to escalate. Contact us on 0118 940 3032 or email sueferguson@optionshr.co.uk for some help and advice.

Communication is the Most Powerful HR Tool

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Communicating on a regular basis with your employees is one of the most powerful HR tools available to you. Talking to your staff can help prevent small issues from turning into more complex, potentially expensive ones, such as grievances or disciplinary problems. Finding out what your employees are thinking can even help you encourage them to work harder for your business.

How do you do this?

One of my clients called me in to help them sort out some problems recently. The management had noticed that their staff were complaining about not being told what was going on in the business. There was actually nothing happening for them to worry about, but because the management didn’t tell them anything, they started to think that the management was hiding something. A regular open forum was held at their quarterly staff meetings, giving employees the chance to speak up and ask questions; but no one ever did. So the managers assumed that everyone was happy.

To find out more, I arranged a meeting with a cross section of the staff, to ask them how they really felt about the communication in the business and how it could improve. One thing they told me was that no one liked asking questions in the open forum. No had had the courage to stand up in front the whole business to speak out!

Next I had a meeting with the directors of the business, to report back what I had found out. There was another staff meeting coming up, so instead of expecting employees to voice their concerns at the open forum, we came up with an alternative. Before the staff meeting, we would split the employees into a number of smaller groups, each with one of the directors. They would ask their group how they would like to be communicated with. One person from each group would then bring forward the ideas from their group to present to the whole business. This allowed people who were brave enough to stand up in front of the colleagues the opportunity to do so.

At the very next staff meeting, a whole range of issues where brought up in front of the whole business in this way. It gave the employees a real chance to tell the management what they thought. There was an opportunity to really discuss, openly, what was going on in the business (and what wasn’t going on!) Concerns were aired and fears where allayed. The end result was a very happy staff – and happy management too.

This is just one example of how communication can be used to improve a business. This solution worked for this business – what is important is that you work with your staff to find out what will be the most appropriate for them.

When you have regular and open lines of communication with your employees, you can help to prevent negative issues from arising and build a happy, engaged and productive team for your business.