Tag Archives: employee

Getting Started with Performance Appraisals

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Here are some things to think about, before you carry out your annual staff appraisals, to make them less daunting and more effective. We’ll go into more details on these tips and what to actually in the appraisal meeting, at our forthcoming workshop on 11 September 2013.

Prepare. A good appraisal form will provide a natural order for proceedings, so use one. If you don’t have a standard appraisal form then find one online – there are plenty of templates available. Organize your paperwork to reflect the order of the appraisal and write down the sequence of items to be covered. If the appraisal form includes a self assessment section and/or feedback section, make sure you give this to each member of staff in plenty of time, allowing them to complete it before the meeting.

Part of your preparation should also consider ‘whole-person’ development, beyond and outside the job skill-set. Many people are not particularly interested in job skills training, but will be interested and motivated by other learning and development experiences. Get to know what your people are good at outside of their work. Appraisals are not just about job performance and job skills training. Appraisals should focus on helping the ‘whole person’ to grow and attain fulfilment.

Inform. Let your staff know when and where their appraisal will be held. Give them the chance to assemble any data and relevant performance and achievement records they need.

Venue. Plan a suitable venue that’s private and free from interruptions. Privacy is absolutely essential.

Layout.  Room layout and seating are important elements as they have huge influence on atmosphere and mood. Irrespective of content, the atmosphere and mood must be relaxed and informal. Remove barriers – don’t sit across the desk from your staff member; use a meeting table or easy chairs and sit at an angle to each other.

Introduction. Relax your member of staff by opening with a positive statement. Smile, be warm and friendly to create a calm and non-threatening atmosphere. Set the scene by explaining what will happen and encourage a discussion and as much input as possible from them

When you spend some time thinking about how you’ll carry out your annual appraisals, they’ll be much more effective for both you and your members of staff.

For more information, come to our workshop on 11 September 2013 for just  £12 +VAT. Click here for the details and online booking.

What Do Employees Want from Appraisals?

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Many people have had bad experiences of appraisals, so many employers don’t enjoy carrying them out. However, for your business and your staff to progress, some form of regular appraisal is essential.

If you put yourself in the shoes of your members of staff, you can both get more from your time together. There are five things that your employees need to know at their appraisal:

  • Tell me what’s expected of me – talk to me about goals and expectations so that I can work towards them.
  • Give me the opportunity to perform – give me the chance to take responsibility and let me show you how good I am.
  • Tell me how I’m getting on – if you like what I’m doing, tell me; if you’re concerned about my progress, I need to know that too.
  • Give me support guidance and development – help me to grow and develop by giving me what I need to reach my goals.
  • Recognise my contribution – say thank you to show that you’re grateful for all the hard work I put in.

When you can meet these five needs, you’ll be able to carry out a much more effective appraisal, both for you and your employees. On 11 September I’m running a short workshop to help you carry them out even more smoothly. To book your place online, click here.

Setting Objectives for Your Staff

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Setting objectives for your members of staff to reach is a great way to stretch them and to help them to grow and develop their careers. Encouraging them to achieve more is also great for your business. But what’s the best way to set objectives? Should they really be SMART? How do you find a suitable objective for someone who does the same thing every day or has worked for you for 20 years and needs to carry on doing the same? Do you treat new employees the same as long serving ones the same?

What is a work objective? It is a mutually understood agreement about a specific work outcome that a staff member is expected to achieve by a certain deadline. It is not a list of all the activities that member of staff should carry out.

Why set work objectives? Setting objectives allows your employees to understand exactly where their role fits within your company and what their responsibilities are. It helps them gain a better understanding of the value and contributions they bring to the company. Objectives focus on outcomes rather than activities and allow both staff and employer to measure success.

What is the right mix of goals? There are a number of different types of objectives that you can set and you need the right combination for each member of your team.

  • Essence of the job objectives – ones that clearly define tasks that are required to complete the job. These objectives should be very personalised to each individual position and employee. For a long term member of staff, these objectives may remain the same over time.
  • Project objectives – ones that your employee should pursue with a clearly defined beginning and end. New members of staff may need shorter projects when they first join the company.
  • Professional development objectives – what an employee will learn in the next six months or a year that will help their professional growth. It’s important to think beyond skill improvement and consider objectives that develop each employee and help your organization as a whole. New members of staff may meet development objectives quickly; more established members of your team may need more encouragement to think about their growth and development, if they do the same work every day over time.
  • Performance objectives – very basic, but what time your employees should start work, what they wear and how they should behave. New employees may need these goals specifically outlined when they start working for you.

Once you’ve set objectives with each member of your team, you’ll need to review them regularly, when you carry out formal appraisals or less formal ‘job chats’. Work with all your employees and you’ll be able to develop them and your company.

Want to know more about Appraisals? Come to the workshop I’m running on 11 September 2013. To book your place online, click here.

Dealing with Gross Misconduct – How do You do it?

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Gross misconduct is behaviour so bad that it destroys the relationship between you and your employee and it usually results in dismissal. But what exactly can be considered gross misconduct? It’s important to know, so that you can avoid unfair dismissal claims.

Here’s how to identify and manage gross misconduct.

What is gross misconduct?

Gross misconduct is a serious breach of contract and includes any misconduct which, in your opinion, causes serious damage to your business, or irreparably breaks down trust and relationships.

There is no exhaustive list, but it can include theft, physical violence, bullying, damage to property, accessing pornographic sites, damaging your firm’s reputation, inability to work due to alcohol or drugs, breaching health and safety rules, failing to obey instructions, or serious neglect of duty. Repeated minor misconduct, such as being late to work, is not gross misconduct, although it can lead to dismissal after previous unexpired warnings.

Should my staff handbook include examples of gross misconduct?
Include a list of examples of what usually counts as gross misconduct, but state that it is non-exhaustive as you cannot provide for every eventuality. Each case should be looked at individually and consideration should be given to all the circumstances.

What procedure should I go through if someone has committed gross misconduct? When disciplining an employee you should follow your own disciplinary procedure and the Acas Code of Practice. If you don’t follow the Code it may render a dismissal unfair and could increase the amount of compensation an employment tribunal awards against you.

If you believe an employee has committed gross misconduct, you may need to suspend them to allow a full investigation to take place. This won’t be necessary in all cases, but it will usually be appropriate in cases of serious misconduct. If an employee is suspended it should be on full pay.

Carry out a fair and balanced investigation. At the end of it you may decide that no further action is necessary. However, if matters are to be taken further the employee should be invited to a disciplinary hearing where they will be given the opportunity to state their case and respond to the allegations against them. The hearing should then be adjourned for you to make your decision. You should notify the employee of your decision in writing and inform them of their right of appeal.

How can I decide if something counts as gross misconduct or not?  
If you’re unsure, get legal advice. In any case, if an incident is not obviously gross misconduct, it’s always better to go for the lesser sanction than to dismiss someone as such a dismissal may be held unfair. The current maximum compensation for unfair dismissal is £74,200.

If you need any more advice about identifying or dealing with gross misconduct, please do get in touch, to make sure you can avoid and tricky situations.

How Can I Sack Someone Legally?

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This is a question I’ve been asked recently. It’s easy to fire someone, but not so easy to do it without getting into trouble, so here are some tips for sacking staff legally.

1. When you fire an employee, remember the three essential steps

First, invite the employee to a meeting with you. Make sure they realise it’s a disciplinary meeting, not a chat about the weather. Second, let them have their say. Take notes and record how long it lasts so you can prove it wasn’t rushed. Third, ask a senior manager to review your initial decision – you need an impartial opinion. If you fail to follow any of these steps, the dismissal is unfair and could go to a tribunal.

2. Fire employees consistently

Last year, you discovered that someone in your sales department had been colluding with a rival. You gave him a warning. A few months ago, you found out that another salesman was doing the same thing. You sacked her. Watch out – if you behave inconsistently, you won’t have a leg to stand on in court.

3. Take your time and don’t rush into firing anyone

Don’t ambush a member of staff with an allegation and fire them on the spot. Notice of a disciplinary hearing must be given at least 24 hours before the meeting.

4. Be wary of sexual discrimination

Dismissing or demoting a pregnant employee (or woman on maternity leave) can lead to problems. It can be considered as sexual discrimination, even if you believe you have a strong case for sacking her. Make sure you get the legal issues right.

5. – and other minority groups

Regardless of length of service, i’?s unlawful to dismiss an employee on these grounds: sex or marital status; colour; race; nationality or ethnic origins; physical or mental disability; sexual orientation; religion.

6. Record everything

Companies get into legal hot water by forgetting to record things like verbal warnings. Make employees sign a form to say that they’re aware of the action taken against them and agree that it’s fair. Don’t let anything slip by undocumented.

If you need to sack someone, follow these steps carefully. Get some advice before you rush into doing anything and you’ll avoid costly problems.

How to Improve Employee Retention

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Employee retention is about keeping the great staff you have, once you’ve found them.  There are a number of factors that have an impact on improving staff retention, including:

  • Improving communication processes
  • Staff involvement
  • Confident senior and line managers with strategic direction for your organisation
  • Providing training and development opportunities
  • Market-aligned pay and benefits
  • Fair and effective management of staff by managers
  • Competence of line management.

Focus on improving these areas and you will be able to improve your employee retention. But don’t get complacent – there are many threats to retention. What might cause your employees to leave? They include:

  • Re-organisation of your company – particularly if staff are not consulted
  • Redundancies – people can lose morale when others leave
  • Recruitment freezes – this could be a sign that the business is not going places
  • Lack of confidence in management – if you people don’t have confidence in their managers they may not stay
  • Line manager incompetence ‘ your line managers may not have the skills to keep your staff!

What’s the biggest threat to employee retention? It is poor employee engagement. Work on improving your employee engagement and high employee retention will follow.

For more on employee retention, click here to watch a short video.

Happy Staff are Healthy Staff

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Well being and staff engagement are very closely linked. When your staff are happy and engaged with their work, they will be less stressed and therefore healthier. When your staff are less stressed and healthier, they will find it easier to be engaged with their work. And engaged, happy staff are far productive than unhappy staff.

Employee well being is about being healthy, self confident, having emotional resilience, having a sense of purpose, an active open mind and a supportive network of relationships.

When you can look after the physical and emotional well being of your staff, and pay attention their personal development and their values, your business will benefit, as this diagram shows.

 

Source: ‘What’s happening with well-being at work?’ CIPD May 2007

So look after your staff and you will see your business prosper!

How do you make sure your staff are happy and healthy?

What is Motivation and How Can You Improve it in Your Staff?

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Motivation determines how your employees choose to allocate their energy – where they put their focus. When they’re at work, you want them to put their focus and energy onto what they’re doing and onto your business.

Motivation is affected by a number of factors, including:

  • Being treated with fairness and respect
  • Getting pride and fulfilment from their work
  • Feeling that they and their work are valued
  • Confidence in the direction in which the organisation is going.

How does motivation work? There are five components, as shown in this diagram.

 

Source: XpertHR 17 November 2010

Your actions create results; these results are evaluated by other people; outcomes occur as a result of those evaluations; your needs will either be satisfied or not by those outcomes. Positive evaluations or outcomes can lead to needs being satisfied and increased motivation!

So what can you do as a manager, to improve motivation in your team?

Think about your answers to these questions:

  1. Do you treat employees with fairness and respect?
  2. Do you know what motivates the different members of your team?
  3. Do you use this information to play to their strengths and keep motivation up?
  4. Are your team meetings a two way process?
  5. Do you allow the sharing of ideas from members of your team?
  6. Do you share achievements of the company and of individuals?

How many of those questions did you answer No to? If it was more than three then you might have a problem with motivation – or you might see one emerging soon!

Employee Engagement – Where is it Going?

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According to the CIPD Employee Winter Outlook for 2012-2013, employee engagement levels dipped to just 35%. At the same time, a massive 61% of employees are neither engaged nor disengaged with their jobs and their companies.

On a more positive note, engagement is highest in small businesses, with 60% of staff in small businesses saying they’re happy at work. Perhaps this is because a disengaged member of staff can cause more problems within a small team and issues can be spotted more easily than in a large business?

Employees with the shortest service are the most engaged at 43%. This means that as a manager, you need to make sure you look after your staff as they continue their service with you. Don’t get complacent and assume that they’re still happy just because they haven’t left.

56% of staff agree they have achieved the right work life balance. Is this enough or do you want more of your staff to have the right balance?

Here are some more interesting numbers from the survey:

  • 19% feel it is likely or very likely they could lose their job
  • 20% are looking for a new job
  • 26% of senior managers are looking for a new job
  • 36% of employees with 1 or 2 years service are job seeking
  • 33% report that redundancies have been made
  • 14% say redundancies are planned
  • 42% of employers have frozen pay
  • 20% report that working hours have been decreased

How engaged are your staff? How has this changed in the last year?

How Happy Are Your Employees? How Do You Know?

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I’ve written a lot recently about employee engagement. What is it? It’s a positive attitude held by your employees towards your company and its values. An engaged employee knows where your business is going and works with colleagues to improve performance to benefit your business. But how do you measure engagement? How do you know just how engaged your people are with your business?

To find out how happy your employees are, you could start with a survey. This will give you a quantitative measure, such as a score or the percentage of people saying they are ‘very happy’, ‘quite happy’ and so on. It relies on a quantity of people answering the survey to provide an accurate result that is representative of your staff.

A good survey helps you not only determine the level of engagement (or disengagement) within your company, as well as which elements help drive engagement, are very good or need work. An employee engagement survey can help you find out how your people feel about whether or not they feel listened to, how much they trust their leaders and other emotions, views and experiences.

So why not just ask how engaged your employees feel?

Probably because job satisfaction is not the same as being engaged. Since studies show that 70% of UK workers don?t actually trust their management, can you trust them to give an accurate answer to this question?

The other thing to consider with surveys is that they are not engagement. When the results are in, what happens next? Engagement isn’t something you can tick off.

So what do you really want to measure? Employee engagement is inextricably linked to increased customer satisfaction and subsequent profitability. So rather than trying to measure employee engagement and customer satisfaction separately, you can evaluate the two together. If customer satisfaction improves, then your people are more engaged. If sales are up, customer satisfaction is increased and employee engagement is raised.

So what’s the best way to measure employee engagement? Start by carrying out an employee engagement survey to establish baseline scores. Use the results to decide what improvement initiatives you are going to use. Then resurvey periodically to measure the effectiveness of changes you make.

Just remember that employees feel engaged when they feel listened to. So if you carry out a survey, really listen to what your people say and do something about it. That way everyone will see the benefits – your employees, your business and your clients.

How happy are your clients? How do you know?