“It’s really a matter of determining how much it bothers you,” said Pam Wyess, outlining a five-step process for those attending Human Resource Development’s course on “The Choice Is Yours: An Introduction to Attitudes in the Workplace.”

• Determine your involvement. Is this person important to you? Has this attitude been demonstrated before? Does it bother you? Are you willing to invest time to try for a change? “If you answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, remove yourself from the situation,” Wyess said. “If you answer ‘yes,’ go on to step two.”
• Seek to understand the other person. Try to determine what caused the behavior. Seek that person’s thoughts on the matter and confirm your understanding of them by restating them. Then determine if you want a change in that person’s attitude and behavior. If ‘yes,’ go on to the next step.
• Try to influence the individual’s attitude by acknowledging the behavior that bothers you and discussing it with the person.
• Resolve the problem through mutually defined solutions. “The more the other person contributes to the solutions, the more the likelihood of success,” Wyess noted.
• Recover from the experience. Regain your positive attitude, follow through with commitments you’ve made to the other person, and then be sure to acknowledge changes in that person.

Performance discussions are often totally avoided or are handled very badly. The reason being is that they can be the bearers of bad news and perceived as being highly confrontational. Many organisations struggle to follow through on their performance management systems because of this, leading to passivity, lack of accountability and poor performance standards. These three tips are very useful to use in a performance discussion.

1. Identify the most important issue - Identify the “one big thing” the employee needs to work on. People can only work on one or two issues at a time, so even if there are several areas for development select the highest payoff issue. Ask yourself, “if the employee improved upon this aspect of performance would it increase overall effectiveness?” If the answer is a resounding yes, then you have uncovered the “one thing”. If the answer is “no”, or “well, maybe”, then keep looking.
Managers often give blanket statements, indicating that everything about the individual is not working. They struggle to get specific.

2. Craft the message - Create a statement describing what you want the employee to develop by describing the opposite of the area for performance improvement. In Steve’s case the message might sound something like this, “Given that you’re interested in a sales engineering role there’s one aspect of your performance that you’ll need some coaching on. In a customer facing role, particularly during the pre-sales period, it’s key to project a down to business formal persona. Would you be open to some coaching in this area?”

3. Manage the discussion - There is a better chance that the employee will be open to hearing what you have to say when the discussion is approached in a helpful “here’s what I’d like to see you develop” manner as opposed to a “here is the problem with you and all of the examples that prove the problem”. Demonstrate your support on the developmental areas while making it clear that the employee is ultimately responsible for reaching performance objectives. Conclude performance discussions by assessing and confirming the employee’s willingness to take responsibility for the area of development.

For further assistance with Performance Management call 0861HRadvice!

]]> http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/tips-for-effective-performance-discussions/feed/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/busy-with/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/busy-with/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:24:14 +0000 Diana Rankin http://www.hradvice.co.za/?p=279 We often hear the comment:”where has all the time gone? I’ve got nothing done today!”

This appears to be a very real and common problem in the workplace. Some of the observations that have been made are:

• Employees struggle to prioritise the important tasks and then just tackle anything and everything that lands on their desks
• Employees may not have a clear idea of what their Key Performance Areas (KPA’s) are so they assume these, possibly resulting in the wrong focus areas
• Employees are just genuinely overworked and just do not get to everything
• Employees are bored in their role and get distracted by the wrong things for example, Facebook, telephone calls, perpetually reading e-mails, having extended breaks and general unnecessary chit chat
• Some employees are absolute perfectionists and over analyse and scrutinise their work. This may take up unnecessary time and focus. They struggle to look at the big picture
• Employees avoid certain tasks because they are too difficult and appear unachievable. This could be because they do not have the right skill set or they fear failure
• The employee’s work ethic does not match the needs of the organisation. This is often an attitudinal problem where employees may not have respect for the manager’s or company’s deadlines and levels of expectations on deadlines

What can be done to avoid these problems?

• Ensure a strong job skill fit. The employee needs to have the skills for the job they have been employed to carry out. Be thorough in your recruitment process
• From the outset an employee needs clearly defined KPA’s. They have to be in agreement with these KPA’s. Review the KPA’s regularly. This process should identify why the employee is not getting to everything and prompt solutions
• Have regular feedback sessions with your employees and tackle concerns and problems immediately. A healthy forum leads to constructive guidance and employees begin to feel they can also ask for assistance where necessary
• Hold employees accountable for boundaries that have been set by the company. For example: if there is a limit on internet and telephone access and the employee exceeds it, then have a conversation with the employee, explain your dissatisfaction, get their response and if necessary, deduct the excess cost. Many employers leave these issues until they are so frustrated they want to fire the employee
• As Managers build confidence and develop a skill set to deal with conflict. Letting problems blow over normally results in dirt in someone’s eye!!

]]> http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/busy-with/feed/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-gems/are-you-frustrated-with-certain-behaviours-of-your-staff/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-gems/are-you-frustrated-with-certain-behaviours-of-your-staff/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:29:06 +0000 Rob Rankin http://www.hradvice.co.za/?p=277 Do you struggle with staff not making deadlines? Do people arrive late for meetings? Are cell phones answered during serious conversations or discussions on critical matters? Do staff arrive for meetings prepared and with good contributions to make? Do you have breaches of confidentiality at the office?

If the answer to this is NO, then read no further! For those who aren’t so sure I’d suggest its time for a self audit. One of the requirements of labour law is fairness - some speak of a two way street - I prefer, Do unto others as you would want done unto you.

So the real questions I have for you are:

Do you meet your own deadlines? Are you late for meetings? Do you regard your calls as more important than the issue of the person meeting with you? How much effort do you make in having the correct information and your thoughts in order when going into a meeting? Who are you sharing confidential matters with? If you have an open-plan office, to what extent do you take confidential calls in closed boardrooms, or away from the office?

I often see major disparities in the way management handle themselves, yet expect a different set of rules to apply to their staff.

Management need to set the example, be accountable, look to constantly “up their game”, improve their own standards, so that others want to follow them.

Do you provide the example others want to follow?

For some, one of the major lessons that managers have learnt during the tough times has been the need to retrench staff. This process requires tough, straight talk about serious matters. With retrenchment, consultation is necessary i.e. providing opportunities to consider alternatives to losing jobs, perhaps conducting business differently to reduce costs and work more efficiently.

May I suggest that consultation isn’t something reserved for bad times. Your staff normally understand their own jobs best, they certainly should know how the business runs, and many heads are better than a few. They can offer useful input on many things, if managers provide the correct forums and opportunities for them to do so.

Apart from chats around the tea trolley, consider more structured time with staff on a face to face basis, and collectively, departmentally and as a company as a whole.

Just as when adversity strikes, it’s necessary to be honest and open; to explain the situation and your resolve in finding solutions - together, - so do the same with the challenges and opportunities that 2010 will bring…and do it in direct, crisp, assertive language. Look staff in the eye and speak positively, explaining clearly what is needed and ensuring they all understand. Don’t beat around the bush, prepare, then talk with confidence, assurance and the facts! - staff need strong leaders.

Have a policy of inclusion, rather than exclusion - ask yourself if there is any reason why certain people shouldn’t hear the information you want to share. The more who hear it first-hand, the less chance for corridor talk, gossip and the grapevine.

When everyone understands the problems - and what they can do to help - they feel empowered to pitch in, contribute and grow.

• “It’s ok , but I do not really have a choice, I have to earn a living to support my family”
• “I just do what I am asked to do”
• “I don’t really know, I have not really thought about it”
• “I love what I do and would not change it for the world!”

So what would your answer be?

Based on these different responses the commitment, degree of accountability and growth in the position would vary, BUT ultimately any employer would like to hear “I love what I do and would not change it for the world”.

The truth is that not many employees really spend enough time and effort on identifying where they are going with their careers. Being in a comfort zone; and fear of change are two major inhibitors. This is even more pertinent when companies are going through streamlining, re-structuring and retrenching due to the economic crunch. The learning should be that there are no guarantees in life and YOU are responsible for your career!

Having passion for your position shows in the following ways:

• your attitude is positive
• your performance is strong
• your growth in skill and knowledge in your position

Employees who show passion, confidence and accountability are the ones that a company will take steps to retain and develop!

The reason people seem to use this phrase is because they feel unfairly treated…that part I get. But loyalty isn’t based on a one-sided philosophy. For the most part, I see situations where reciprocity simply isn’t there. Manager expectations and employee expectations simply don’t align. Managers want loyalty from their staff, but aren’t loyal to their staff themselves; and vice versa. An employee may be asked to work late, or help out in a crisis situation, yet when that employee needs a break to attend to a crisis of their own, the request is denied OR said the other way, an employee is given time off for a personal matter, but when the crunch comes and a manager needs a bit of extra effort from the employee, it is not forthcoming. It’s a matter of give and take.

People normally choose to be loyal first - until that loyalty is abused. Once employees feel abused, they revert to the basic contract of doing just enough to earn their pay/not get disciplined. Disillusioned managers give that person routine work rather than the interesting and challenging tasks.

Regard for the person to whom loyalty is shown usually grows out of, not one, but a number of ongoing instances of:

- mutual respect

- affirmation and acknowledgment

- appreciation

- honest, sincere, trusting conversations, and

- acts of kindness

If you feel a loyalty gap in a relationship you have, ask yourself if you are doing enough of the above.

Stressful times call for extraordinary action rather than hiding behind closed doors hoping it will all go away. When managers sign up for management it involves a steep learning curve, and way more than anticipated. You can’t be paid enough to be a manager, but most managers will tell you that they learnt more through managing than in their other positions. One of the highlights or lowlights (but always a big part of the job) is managing people.

Hiring, firing, motivating and incentivising, performance managing, getting the best ROI from a very variable component of the business are some of the challenges.

I’ve seen 2 views managers take on this:

• anything to do with their people is “for HR to sort out”; or
• taking a healthy interest in developing their skills in managing their staff - after all it is their staff.

I’m an advocate of the latter. Use our specialist skills to develop yours, but be committed, be involved, take an interest. You aren’t expected to be the expert in all things to do with HR, but the more you understand how to interact with your staff, to manage them through the tough stuff, and mentor them on how to do better, the more satisfaction you are likely to gain.

We regularly receive calls where managers explain that they’ve had numerous meetings with a staff member, either on performance or disciplinary issues, but these haven’t been reduced to writing. Now it’s crunch time and they want to take serious action - some even want dismissal.

Some say - “we had many discussions and at the last one, we agreed that…”

…well, I’ve watched many discussion like that. The manager often does all the talking, the employee is either shell-shocked or doesn’t feel it would be worth responding. Some employees aren’t assertive enough to respond, and some are actually guilty but don’t want to admit it. But there certainly isn’t agreement.

Amnesia is a very real condition, even these days! Managers and employees often choose to forget facts when it suits them.

So, please reduce important conversations to writing. Often it is useful to pre-empt a discussion by setting down the 3 or 4 pertinent points you wish to make, then work through them with the other person, noting their side of the story. Summarise with decisions made or actions that need to be taken. Make two copies and ask the other party to sign for it. eMail is also great for this - ask the recipient to confirm receipt.

If the other party refuses to sign, chances are that they are not in agreement! That’s a fair warning bell, so get to the bottom of the matter - don’t just leave it. The act of signing is crunch time.

People will tell you that verbal agreements stand, but do yourself a favour, save some pain, get it in writing!

The person raising the issue is all too aware of “the power of the forum” and relies on the idea that this impromptu attack will take the person off guard and create the desired damage, either to that person’s integrity or the perception of the department or the person’s ability to manage the department, in the eyes of those attending the meeting.

This is political manipulation in one of its common forms. These people are usually trying to get ahead by trampling on others.

Don’t let this happen to you. Here are a few pointers:

1. As a principle, don’t allow the matter to go unchallenged
2. Address the chairperson, not the person raising the point
3. Insist on responding - since the matter was raised in the forum, make sure you respond in the same forum. This doesn’t mean you need to handle all the content of the query then, but you should show your willingness to address the issue
4. Apologise for taking the time of the attendees, point out that the matter clearly isn’t on the agenda, and had it been, you would be in a better position to give a constructive and more complete response
5. Explain that if the person who raised it had brought it to your attention earlier, you would have certainly tried to address the matter in advance and if it had remained unresolved you would have understood why it needed to be taken further. (Often, the forum in which the matter is raised is not the correct one to resolve it, it’s merely the forum where that person believes s/he can create the largest waves).
6. Empower the chairperson by suggesting that you will deal with the matter outside of the meeting. If the issue is relevant to that forum, you could suggest that the matter be placed on the agenda for the next meeting, where you can present the facts and give appropriate feedback

It’s unlikely that you will be challenged again in the same way. See this approach along the lines of the laws of nature…for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction…just in these cases, you choose to offer an appropriate and respectful manner for issues to be addressed.