One of our biggest learnings is that the the success or failure of such meetings is hugely dependent on the language that is used. This may appear obvious but in practice it can be a challenge!

• I often wonder how much time goes into thinking about the impact of our words. Do we seek advice, sleep on it, research and understand the situation to its full extent?
• Are our words destuctive or constuctive and bring about a positive change?
• Are we honest and direct in our approach or do we tend to candy coat the situation because we are  afraid of the consequences? What is the outcome in the long run anyway?
• Do we consider the desired outcome or do we act on emotional impulses and create a whirl wind?
• Do we create an environment of fear through our words and stifle growth and creativity or encourage the voice of employees to flow with constuctive confidence?
• Are our words about ourselves and personal gain or are we outward focused considering the other side?

In closing I would like to share the language used by Bill Hybels, author of Powerful Leadership Proverbs during performance feedback sessions:

“For instance, if a serious problem exists with an underperforming staff member - especially if that person has been confronted by others before my meeting with them - I might look at them and say, “This is your 911 call. What we’re dealing with here carries with it the top level of urgency and importance. If this behaviour does not change - immediately - you will be asked to leave our staff. This is what I want you to remember when you walk out of the room today. Nine-one-one…are we clear?” We usually are.”

No mincing of words, clear, concise and it calls for action!

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-training-development/do-you-delegate-key-responsibilties-to-your-staff/ http://www.hradvice.co.za/hr-training-development/do-you-delegate-key-responsibilties-to-your-staff/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:25:41 +0000 Diana Rankin http://www.hradvice.co.za/?p=278 Too often we observe that managers are over worked and stressed and when we dig deeper we see that they are struggling with the ‘art’ of delegating.

Delegation is often met with trepidation. There are many reasons why management don’t readily delegate:

• They are worried that the person won’t do the job as well as they could themselves
• The manager thinks that the person is not able or willing to do a good job. Perhaps there have been times when the person produced poor results - sloppy, late, incomplete, or just wrong. Perhaps the manager had to step in and take back the assignment.
• Managers may hesitate because they think that the other person lacks the required skills or because they think that the person lacks interest or motivation to do the job right
• Managers fear that by delegating, they are working themselves out of a job
• Sometimes managers simply don’t know HOW to delegate

Consider, though, that at least part of the problem may be the manner in which you, as a manager, are delegating. You may be having specific problems, for example:

• Projects are being completed past the deadline date
• Your instructions and advice may seem to be treated lightly, even ignored
• You are continually interrupted and requested to explain the process again
• Staff complain about lack of co-operation from others in completing the task
• Individuals decide to go off on a tangent, doing it their own way
• Projects are delayed until the last minute, forcing a rushed, unsatisfactory finish
• You have way too much on your plate

What are the benefits in delegating successfully?

• As a manager you need to get work accomplished through others. Delegating helps you get more done, and allows you to apply the strengths of your team members
• You will save time and deal with your core responsibilities. You will have time for new and interesting assignments
• Your overall work standards will improve
• You will not reach burnout stage, and instead are both pleasant to be around and a good motivator and mentor
• You are offering others an opportunity to learn, grow and be recognised for good work. You need skilled, effective staff that can get the job done
• You may be surprised by the positive way in which some staff take on the additional responsibility
• You and other staff are more likely to be promoted if you have groomed someone to take your place
• Things get done!

To master the ‘art’ of delegating you first have to acknowledge that there could be a problem. Ask your boss and colleagues whether there are any areas that they believe you can improve on. A Behavioural Assessment commonly known as the Personal Profile Analysis is a powerful tool used in identifying the delegating styles of managers in a business.

I’m more concerned about this medium being used for innuendo, disparaging remarks about others and cheap digs. There seems to be a lot of this around.

Someone said that the internet brings those far away close, and drives those that are close further away. I am finding that, as with email, these beneficial communication tools are also used rather as an alternative to actually talking to one another face to face. Particularly on tough issues, matters that may lead to confrontation or conflict.

These situations demand the good ol’ “talk it through together” approach. This requires learning skills on how to deal with the tough stuff effectively - things that frankly we can’t ever learn enough about.

So when next you have a problem with your boss, a colleague, friend or are angry enough to vent to the entire digital universe…..don’t! Make the effort to work out how best you can reach your desired outcome, sincerely and to the benefit of all concerned.

By all means tweet…..just don’t be a twit!

It made me think about why are we not “doing more” and a few thoughts came to mind:

• Not enough time to be in a quiet place to absorb what we have been exposed to
• Too stressed to prioritise action steps. How many strategy sessions have you attended where you are setting the same objectives from one year to the next?
• We are not held accountable to bring about change. Once we have been on a training course to what degree is change, growth and improvement monitored?
• Lack of planning. This is such an obvious action step yet we seldom sit and plan times, dates and expected outcomes.
• Laziness - just not energised to move forward? Expect others to bring about change and blaming others or your circumstances for the lack of change?
• Fear of change. Working with Behavioural Styles for 10 years now there are distinct styles that thrive on change and others hold on to conventional methods for dear life.

I would like to invite you to embark on “The Road Not Taken”. This poem by Robert Frost is memorable and can make a difference:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;…..

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages ad ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

Take that bold step to bring about change and action!

As long as there is work there will be problems, big and small. It is worth spending time to understand your problem-solving style. By taking this time out you will become more effective when hurdles arise. It’s in your interest to make your staff as effective as possible - this will reduce the time you need to spend resolving the problems they can alleviate themselves. Their problems then, are less likely to become yours.

Problem-solving may be an issue if you or you colleagues are:

• ignoring important details
• not taking time to study the problem and understand it
• facing the same problem repeatedly, but never reaching conclusive results
• avoiding problems whenever possible, skirting the issues
• trying to solve everything individually rather than including one another
• blaming other colleagues for problems and not being accountable for problems created by yourself

Being aware of your behavioural style can help you work with your and your colleagues natural strengths in solving problems as well as helping you to adapt and approach problems in a new way.

Briefly different behavioural styles approach problem solving in the following ways:

You will be a combination of the following DISC factors

High Dominance - assertive, competitive, self-starter

“let’s find a quick solution”

High Influence - communicative,persuasive, optimistic

“I know just how to solve this problem by working together”

High Steadiness - amiable, dependable, persistent

“I need to think about this problem before I can offer you a solution”

High Compliance - accurate,conventional, systematic

“I am going to consider the problem from every angle”

To reduce the pain associated with problem solving find out more about your personal problem solving style and strategies by contacting me on 083 2342202.

TIPS FOR WALKING YOUR TALK

• Model the behaviour that you want to see from others. There is nothing more powerful for employees than observing the “bosses” do the actions and behaviours they are requesting from others. If you as a manager express that you do not approve of gossip but talk behind everybody’s back you are defeating the object totally. Mahatma Gandhi’s quote; “Become the change you want to see in the world” is so relevant.
• If you make a rule or a design process, follow it, until you change it. Why would employees follow the rules if the rule makers don’t?
• Act as if you are part of the team, not always the head of it. Dig in and do actual work, too. Employees will appreciate that you are personally knowledgeable about the effort needed to get the work done. They will trust your leadership because you have undergone the experience.
• Help employees achieve the goals that are important to them, as well as the goals that are important to you.
• Do what you say you’re going to do. Don’t make rash promises that you can’t keep. Employees want to trust you and your leadership.
• Build commitment to your organisation’s goals, values and culture. Other than to make money why does your organisation exist? Use every possible communication tool to build this commitment.
• Hold strategic conversations with employees so that they are clear about expectations and direction.These strategic conversations will build internal confidence and stimulate departmental co-operation.
• Ask senior managers to police themselves. They must provide feedback to each other when they fail to walk their talk. It is not up to the second level of managers and other employees to point out the inconsistencies. Confronting a manager takes courage, facts and a broad understanding of the organisation. Senior managers must be accountable to one another for their behaviour.

Incorporate these tips and behaviours to ensure the success of your organisation. Practice what you preach!

The employer must give due consideration to the reasons given and then decide.

Dismissal is one option.

Perhaps there is another position in the company where the employee is capable of meeting standard. It could be offered to the employee at the lower salary. It is important that the employee is given this option in writing and that the requirements and salary package of the lesser position are well set out. The employee must either accept or reject this demotion in writing.

Please always reduce important matters like this to writing. It never fails to amaze us how employers go to all the trouble of meeting on critical matters with staff but don’t set out important decisions or agreements clearly in writing. People often agree in meetings about things, but change their minds when it’s time to sign! Signing is often the real litmus test of whether there is a sincere agreement/clear understanding, or not.

It is important to have the same people at the follow up meeting as were at the first meeting i.e. the employee, employee representative, line manager or Head of Department and a good minute-taker.

This meeting is the opportunity for all parties to feedback on what actions have been taken since the first meeting and what progress has been made. If performance has improved to the required standard, the only step required may be to establish a further review date to ensure that the standard is being maintained. If, however, progress has not been made, the meeting must establish:

• the reasons why (both employer and employee)
• what additional assistance the employer can offer
• what actions the employee will take to achieve the required standards
• a reasonable time by which these standards must be reached

Once again the content of the meeting should be noted and the employee informed in writing that this is the final opportunity to improve, to meet and maintain the performance standards required.

This naturally assumes that the employer has done what they promised to do! It’s imperative that the employer takes these matters very seriously so as not to jeopardise the employee’s future or the company.

The next step is usually the final step….but more about that later!